CCV proudly recognizes members of its outstanding faculty with the annual Teaching Excellence Award. Faculty are nominated by students, staff, and faculty colleagues. Recipients are selected by Academic Council, which includes faculty, staff, and student representatives. This year, CCV is pleased to honor Daniel Lemay, Robert Mandatta, and Brenton Murphy.
Helping Students Reach Their Goals
Daniel Lemay has spent more than three decades teaching math at Oxbow High School in Bradford and nearly as long teaching at CCV, where he has helped generations of students build confidence in a subject many find intimidating.
A graduate of Johnson State College with a degree in mathematics, Daniel began teaching shortly after college and later earned a master’s degree from Saint Michael’s College. He joined CCV in 1993 and has taught every semester since. “It’s a privilege teaching college courses,” he said. “The thing about CCV is that you’re an instructor, you’re not trying to make a name for yourself. I just help people reach their goals.”
Daniel teaches statistics and precalculus at CCV and was among the early faculty members to embrace online learning, helping bring statistics courses online when CCV first expanded its virtual offerings. He continues to take this open approach to technology in his classes today. “I might be old-school in a lot of ways, but I’m certainly not afraid to step up and try something new.”
“I think my teaching style is as a coach more than a lecturer,” he said. “I’ll spend some instructional time, and then I’ll sit right with students and do problems with them…modeling that you’re not perfect as long as you can figure out what you did wrong, that’s how you learn.”
That supportive, collaborative approach reflects what Daniel enjoys most about teaching: helping students achieve goals they may not have thought possible. He especially enjoys teaching students at CCV. “CCV students are interactive,” he said. “They bring life experiences into classes, and I try to encourage those discussions about where they are seeing some of this math in their work and in the field.”
Daniel hopes students leave his classes knowing they are capable of tackling difficult challenges and can apply the concepts they learn in the future. Receiving the Teaching Excellence Award, he said, is an affirmation of that work. “It’s nice to be recognized for good work. It’s a kind of confirmation.”
‘A Guide on the Side’
“Be the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage.” That simple phrase captures Robert Mandatta’s approach to teaching and the philosophy he has brought to CCV classrooms for the past 25 years. By encouraging students to become active participants in their own learning, he helps them discover strengths and abilities they may not realize they possess.
Robert’s entry into teaching started long before he became a CCV instructor. In 1977, he moved with his family to a remote, 200-year-old farmhouse on Galusha Hill in Topsham, where they lived off the grid and raised eight children. Without electronic devices, family life centered on storytelling, music, writing, and learning together. What began as family presentations on favorite topics eventually evolved into homeschooling for their youngest children. The experience reinforced a philosophy that continues to shape his teaching today: “The best way to learn something is to teach it.”
Robert studied psychology and law, earning a master’s degree in mental health law from Vermont College, which later merged with Norwich University, and completing the legal program at Woodbury College. He built a career working in a variety of fields, including public defense, publishing, educational consulting, and family services. His professional experiences continue to inform the psychology and human development courses he teaches at CCV. “My field experience strongly influences my teaching in that I know what skills are required for entry into the field,” he said. “I also require students to explore their professional goals and options.”
When Robert arrived at CCV in 2002, he was immediately drawn to the College’s innovative approach to online learning. Over the years, he has designed and taught more than 50 online courses while embracing new initiatives the College introduces, finding creative ways to weave them into his classes to have the greatest impact on students. His courses often use novels, personal experiences, and real-world case studies to help students connect academic concepts to everyday life.
At the center of Robert’s teaching paradigm is a belief that students, not instructors, should be at the heart of the learning experience. “Instead of the spotlight being on me and my knowledge, which I then spoon-feed to students, the spotlight is on them,” he said. He views himself as a course designer and learning coach who helps students discover their strengths. “What I enjoy most about teaching is waking up students to their often hidden gifts and talents for serious learning, both personal and academic.”
Robert is equally passionate about making sure all students feel welcome and supported. “Whether students come with serious learning challenges, advanced academic skills, or are new to college-level learning, all are welcome,” he said.
For Robert, receiving the Teaching Excellence Award during his 25th year at CCV feels especially meaningful. “It inspires me to further expand and fine-tune my courses,” he said. “As always, my aim is to help Vermonters reach their professional goals while improving their academic skills, preparing them for future learning. In short, Life = Learning.”
Learning Is Cumulative
Brenton Murphy believes learning never stops, whether he’s working with patients as a naturopathic primary care doctor or teaching future healthcare professionals at CCV.
A self-described “huge nerd” who “loves learning”, Brenton originally planned to become a high school chemistry teacher before pursuing a career in healthcare. He completed his undergraduate degree at Stony Brook University where he found the field of public health. “It was a little bit like the health education teaching piece alongside my pre-med studies,” Brenton said. “It felt very natural and kind of what I wanted to do while still figuring out where I wanted to go.”
He later learned about naturopathic medicine as an alternative, more holistic approach to healthcare and was immediately drawn to that work. “That aligned more with how I saw healthcare and being able to spend more time with patients and teach people,” he said. “I just felt like that would have a bigger impact for my patients in the future.” He completed his doctorate at Bastir University, and later a Master of Public Health at the University of New England. Today, he works at Biologic Healthcare in Brattleboro.
Along the way, opportunities to mentor and tutor students reinforced his passion for education. Brenton joined CCV in 2018 after relocating to Vermont, and has taught courses in clinical medical assisting, phlebotomy, pharmacology, and medical billing and coding. His healthcare experience allows him to bring real-world skills and examples directly into the classroom and connect with students who may later become his colleagues.
“My favorite part of teaching is seeing students get it and seeing when the gears finally click and they have the ‘aha’ moment,” Brenton said. “In terms of working with CCV students, too, is just the variety of backgrounds where people come from. It’s just really nice being able to have all these different perspectives and skill sets in the classroom and being able to see the students learn and grow from one another.”
He hopes students leave his classes remembering a lesson one of his own professors shared: “Life is cumulative.” He continued, “I hope students walk away from my class knowing that the skills they learn and the knowledge they gained is something that they are going to use continuously through life.”
Receiving the Teaching Excellence Award was an unexpected honor. “Just knowing that I helped even one person or student, or a faculty member saw the positivity that I’m able to bring to the classroom, felt really good.”
