By Steve Harmic, Penn State
DUBOIS – Instructor of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) James Kuterbach has been named the DuBois Educational Foundation (DEF) Educator of the Year. Nominations for the award come straight from the students themselves, and each year the DEF presents the award to a Penn State DuBois faculty member who has made a difference in the lives of students.
DEF President James Baker presented the award to Kuterbach. He also shared some comments from students who nominated Kuterbach for the award.
One student said, “He has a true love of teaching and can always get his students excited and engaged in learning. Learning is fun when he is teaching, and students always leave his class excited to come back for the next one.”
Another student said of Kuterbach, “I have never met such a dedicated person. He has so many inspiring stories about his experience in HDFS.”
“Mr. Kuterbach has the ability to inspire those that he teaches. He shows respect to his students and goes above and beyond our expectations,” said one student nominator. That student also related ways in which Kuterbach was supportive as they dealt with an illness in their family, and the death of a loved one. The student said, “Needless to say, I missed some classes. Without the help of Mr. Kuterbach, I could not have stayed on top of my classwork. He is truly my hero for this semester and totally deserves this award.”
Upon receiving the Educator of the Year Award, Kuterbach said, “I’m overwhelmed. It feels great to know that my students nominated me for this, and said such nice things. It’s easy to be a good instructor, though, when you have such great students, and have the support from faculty and staff that we have here.”
Kuterbach’s HDFS students go on to work in fields such as mental health, addiction counseling, behavioral counseling, probation, and more.
In addition to teaching, Kuterbach also serves on the campus Early Intervention Committee, which assists students dealing with emotional, behavioral, or academic issues. He also serves on the campus Enrollment Management Committee.
