Daniel J. Yakes, who taught history and anthropology at Muskegon Community College from 1966 until his retirement in 2008, received the MCC Distinguished Faculty Award on Aug. 21 during a special ceremony in Collegiate Hall.
The invitation-only event was held as part of Faculty Seminar Days just prior to Fall 2014 semester classes.
Yakes becomes the sixth MCC faculty member and the first since 1996 to earn the special honor, whose recipients are chosen by the MCC Faculty Senate with the approval of the MCC President and Board of Trustees.
Yakes, who chaired the Social Science Department for 11 years, earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in History from Western Michigan University. He also earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Kansas.
A noted author, his publications include: The Many Lives of Muskegon (1979) with Hugh Hornstein; Muskegon: First Hand (1985) with Hugh Hornstein; Looking Aft: A History of the White Lake Yacht Club and White Lake Tourism (2003); and An Illustrated History of the Muskegon Country Club: 1908-2008 (2008) with Steven S. Demos.
Previous MCC Distinguished Faculty Aware recipients are: Jack W. Rice, Mary Kathryn Hartz, Wilma J. Kyvig, Donald J. Goodman and Robert E. Sheets.