McHenry County College (MCC) recently announced Magdalena Farc as its 2024 Faculty Member of the Year and Anne Meny as its 2024 Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year. The award recipients, selected by peers, are chosen based on their commitment to teaching, contribution to the college community, and professional development.
Farc has taught psychology at MCC for 16 years.
“Magdalena is not only an excellent teacher who cares deeply for her students, but she is a psychologist who is passionate about making the world a better place and helping students become well-rounded members of our community,” said Dawn Katz, Dean of Business, Social Sciences, and Public Services at MCC. “Through all her work and interactions, she remains humble, gracious, and scholarly.”
Farc strives to bring psychology to life in the classroom, sharing relevant ideas with students and working with them to build a community of strong minds and compassionate hearts.
In addition to making a difference in the classroom, Farc has taught for MCC’s Kids and College program, actively participates in recruitment and retention initiatives, and has supported student organizations such as the Homeless Aid Coalition and MCC’s chapter of PSI Beta, the Community College National Honor Society in Psychology. She is also a leader among faculty and is the former chair of the Psychology department, serves on several faculty committees, and helped design the faculty speaker series, Experts and Insights.
“I feel honored to be a teacher and inspired to encourage my students as they strive to grow in knowledge,” Farc said. “My greatest joy at MCC is to witness my students adding meaningful chapters to the stories of their lives. I hope they all become lifelong learners and master themselves and their worlds with success and integrity.”
Farc has a Ph.D. in social/industrial-organizational psychology from Northern Illinois University.
Anne Meny, the Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year, has taught French at the College since 2009.
“Anne’s work as an adjunct instructor of French embodies the tenets of excellence to which all teachers aspire,” said Joe Sullivan, Dean of Arts and Humanities at MCC. “She models for her students the curiosity and enthusiasm necessary for lifelong learning. She is an excellent instructor and is truly deserving of the MCC Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member Award.”
In her French classes, Meny prioritizes “gamification,” or the use of games and hands-on activities that help students practice the language. She encourages her students to be curious, ask questions, and get to know their teachers.
“Some students are very hesitant to speak during class, especially when it is a foreign language and they know they are more apt to make mistakes,” she said. “However, if I bring in a French educational board game, they are speaking, playing, and practicing vocabulary and grammar concepts without realizing or caring that they are speaking in class. To them, it's just a game, but what I've really done is trick them into speaking and learning.”
Meny is also a consultant for the McGraw-Hill textbook her students use in the classroom, and influences how that book remains relevant as its editions evolve.
Meny earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degree in French from Northern Illinois University.