CTLT Assistant Director Lauded for Lifetime Achievement

Claire Coleman Lamonica

Dr. Claire Coleman Lamonica, Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT), is the fiftieth recipient of the Illinois Association of Teachers of English (IATE) Lifetime Achievement Award. IATE is the oldest English professional organization in the United States, having celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2008. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to IATE members who have given extraordinary service to the organization as well as having served both the wider profession and their home schools long and well. “I was incredibly honored to receive this award,” said Lamonica. “The list of prior recipients includes so many people—colleagues here at ISU and around the state—who have had a real impact on the lives of students, the profession of teaching, and my own growth as a professional. It’s a bit overwhelming to see my name joining theirs.”    

Lamonica has served as District Leader, Conference Program Chair, Vice President, President, and Newsletter Editor for the organization. In receiving this honor, she joins four other ISU English professors, three of whom have had posthumous departmental scholarships established in their names: Taimi Ranta, John Heissler, and Glenn Grever. Lamonica became the assistant director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology at ISU in 2006 after eight years in the English department.

During her speech in accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, Lamonica referenced her friend, colleague and mentor, ISU Professor of English Janice Neuleib, as an inspiration for her own leadership and success. “Jan has been my mentor and my friend for a long time, and I’ve come to have a real appreciation for the contributions she has made to the English Department, the College, and the University,” Lamonica said.