Faculty Focus

Dana Campbell

• Department Chair, Physical Science; Instructor, Chemistry

• B.A., Northeastern Illinois University

• M.S., Governors State University

“It’s really satisfying when I can make a class fun so students relax enough to perform well,” says Dana. He teaches Fundamentals of Chemistry (CHM-111) and finds that many students are very nervous about the subject. To help them feel less intimidated, Dana uses real-life situations whenever possible. For example, he encourages his students to go to the grocery store and read the ingredient list on cheap ice cream. “They figure out what they’re eating isn’t really ice cream—it’s chemical soup,” he says.

Dana wants his students to speak up if they don’t understand something. “I encourage students in all classes—not just mine—to ask questions so they get the full benefit of their education,” he says.

William Johnson

• Coordinator/Associate Professor, Heating and Air Conditioning

“The most satisfying part of my job is when former students return to say ‘thank you,’” says Bill. “Usually they want to share a ‘remember when’ story with me.” After teaching at Moraine Valley for over 28 years, he certainly has his own share of those stories.

Bill teaches all of the heating and air conditioning classes, as well as courses needed for the HAC Stationary Engineering Program. He enjoys helping his students prepare for their careers and believes hands-on experience with the latest industry technology is the best way to learn. “If you let students take something apart, rather than just explaining it to them, they gain a better understanding of the process,” says Bill.

Donna McCauley

• Coordinator/Professor, Recreation Therapy and Recreation Management

• B.A., Illinois State University

• M.A., George Williams College

“As a professor teaching in a career area, the most satisfying aspect of teaching is seeing your students graduate, find employment, and gain satisfaction from their career,” says Donna. As a full-time faculty member since 1993, Donna teaches the required core courses for the Recreation Therapy and Recreation Management degrees, as well as College 101.

Donna believes it’s important to use different teaching strategies to meet the needs of all her students. She incorporates technology, group activities, and team-building exercises into her classroom. Donna also helps students gain hands-on experience through participation in special events, workshops, field trips, and internships. Donna knows that no two individuals learn the same way, so she continually looks for ways to help her students succeed. “Truly, whatever it takes to help a student, I do,” she says.

William Muller

• Department Chair, Developmental Education

• Professor, Communications/Literature

• B.S., M.S., Illinois State University

• D.A., University of Michigan

“Our students are interesting and diverse,” says Bill, “which means that Moraine Valley’s a wonderful place to learn about different cultures.” Bill joined the faculty full time in 1977 and teaches COM-085 and COM-090. “Over my 30-year career, I’ve taught thousands of students,” he says. To meet students’ varied needs, Bill incorporates technology such as personal response system clickers. “These allow students to answer questions I’ve projected on a screen. The system can tabulate their responses and display a graph indicating how well the class understood a concept,” he says.

Bill has seen the campus change over the years. “When I first visited Moraine Valley, I drove back and forth on 111th Street looking for something that resembled a college,” he quips. “There is no way that I would have imagined it would eventually become the beautiful campus it is today.”