Dr. Timothy N. Trainor, who taught computer information systems and psychology at Muskegon Community College for more than 33 years and who authored or co-authored more than 18 computer textbooks, has been awarded Distinguished Faculty status by Muskegon Community College.
Trainor becomes the ninth MCC faculty member to earn the special recognition. Recipients are chosen by the MCC Faculty Senate with the approval of the MCC President and Board of Trustees. The latter came at the January board meeting on campus.
Previous MCC Distinguished Faculty Award recipients are: Jack W. Rice, Mary Kathryn (Kasey) Hartz, Wilma J. Kyvig, Donald J. Goodman, Robert E. Sheets, Dan Yakes, Carlo Spataro and Bill Jacobks.
A native of Royal Oak, MI, Trainor graduated from Kimball High School. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Western Michigan University and his doctorate in human development/psychology from the University of Kansas.
Trainor joined MCC in 1976. In addition to teaching, he chaired the Technology Council and the Faculty Association’s Scholarship Committee. He impacted thousands of students in positive ways as an exceptional instructor who maintained a standard of academic excellence. The MCC Student Government Association presented him with its Outstanding Faculty Award. He also received the Liberal Arts Network for Development (LAND) Innovation Award for the development of an Interactive Media and Game Designer Degree.
“The draw of technology to me has always been its potential to improve our lives, especially how we educate ourselves,” he said. “I have used technology to teach college classes online and developed multimedia materials for on campus courses. Experience has taught me successful strategies for integrating technology into the classroom using my understanding of how we learn and a realization that people learn in different ways.”
Trainor was a leader in the development of a culture of entrepreneurship at MCC.
“I believe my community needs to promote the idea that people can work for themselves,” explained Trainor, who worked with MCC colleagues and administrators to launch an Entrepreneur Associate’s of Applied Science degree. “As part of Muskegon Community College’s faculty, we realized that a two-year college was perfectly positioned to help do it.”
Trainor retired from MCC in 2010 and resides in Muskegon, where he formed a Web game development company, Gwythdarian, LLC, with MCC instructor Jim Landes.