Muskegon Community College Faculty Honored with Award

Dr. Sue Meeuwenberg

Dr. Sue Meeuwenberg

On Thursday, August 18, 2022, Muskegon Community College (MCC) honored Dr. Sue Meeuwenberg with the college’s Distinguished Faculty Award. Meeuwenberg, a highly respected instructor for 30 years, led initiatives that positively impacted thousands of students and employees at the college. 

Meeuwenberg was recognized during the MCC Faculty Seminar Days in Collegiate Hall among current faculty members, staff, and past colleagues. Provost and Chief Student Services Officer Dr. Kelley Conrad shared that she has a deep respect and admiration for Meeuwenberg who brought a sense of delight and optimism to every project. “Sue’s fingerprints are still all over this college and still impact our work today,” said Conrad. Meeuwenberg’s son, MCC Math Instructor J.B. Meeuwenberg, talked about the time and dedication his mom had for the college. “I always try to emulate her work ethic,” he added. Sue thanked the college for the award, shared a few memories, and concluded with saying, “I love this place, it’s kind of a family thing.”   

The MCC Faculty Senate, with the approval of the MCC President, chooses the recipients for this prestigious honor. Previous MCC Distinguished Faculty Award recipients include Jack W. Rice, Mary Kathryn (Kasey) Hartz, Wilma J. Kyvig, Donald J. Goodman, Robert E. Sheets, Dan Yakes, Carlo Spataro, Bill Jacobks, Timothy N. Trainor, Blair Morrissey, Beth Smith and Richard Doctor.  

Meeuwenberg joined MCC in August 1979 as an instructor in the Business Department. She taught Office Technology, Intro to Computers, and Business Math. Given the opportunity, she developed a Word Processing Degree program at MCC and wrote the accompanying textbook.   

In 1990, she was named Outstanding Vocational Educator in Michigan and was honored at the annual Trends Conference in Traverse City.  

Meeuwenberg accepted an offer by the MCC Information Technology Office in the 1990s to present workshops to teach Groupwise, an email and calendaring program, to all MCC personnel. Meeuwenberg developed all the training materials and, over the next three years, met and worked with every MCC employee.  

In 1999, Meeuwenberg became the Distance Education Coordinator at MCC. Adamant that students and faculty should not be instantly forced into joining the online ranks, she developed a rubric for students before enrolling in an online class and for faculty before teaching an online class. Meeuwenberg formed a faculty advisory committee to assist her in evaluating the online courses. She was one of the early Center for Teaching and Learning staff members who mentored faculty in Blackboard, the learning platform at that time.  

Meeuwenberg retired from MCC in August 2009. In recent years, she has served on the MCC Alumni Relations Committee, where she has spearheaded outreach efforts to engage MCC retirees in the life of the college.  

A native of South Haven, MI, she earned both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Western Michigan University, and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. From 1972-1979, she taught at Fremont Public Schools and Fruitport Community Schools.

Meeuwenberg resides with her husband, Jerry, in Nunica, MI.