For nearly 22 years, Merri Fefles-Dunkle has dedicated her talents, enthusiasm and passion to Moraine Valley. She was recognized for her efforts as the 2025 Professor of the Year.

Having grown up two blocks from the college, Moraine Valley has always been a part of Fefles-Dunkle’s life. She was a student at the college in the 1990s and worked as a secretary in the continuing education department. When she was in graduate school, Fefles-Dunkle worked summers at Moraine Valley in the Registration Department. Many of her family members work in education, but she never expected to follow a similar path. However, because she was at Moraine Valley so often, a part-time teaching role fell in her lap in 2002. By 2003, she was a full-time instructor.

Fefles-Dunkle has played an integral role in educating students, fellow employees and the community. In 2024, she led 11 students and community members on a trip to Greece through a social science class, teaching them about the country’s history and culture while partnering with the American College of Greece. Prior to creating the class, Fefles-Dunkle heralded the college’s participation in the Soliya Connect Program, which encourages a virtual exchange between Moraine Valley students and partner universities across Europe and the Middle East. As the facilitator of the college’s Study Abroad Program, she introduced a virtual Study Abroad opportunity during the pandemic, allowing students to explore places from home, including Venice or Florence in Italy and rainforests in Costa Rica, led by experts on the ground.

Fefles-Dunkle has collaborated with colleagues throughout the college, contributing to Women’s History Month activities, Greek/Italian Day and a Unity Walk on campus in 2017 during the aftermath of the Muslim travel ban and the rescinding of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In response to the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, she presented a comparative study on “Policing in Northern Ireland” with then-college Police Chief Pat O’Connor.

Fefles-Dunkle has regularly invited veterans to campus to present and speak with students, and invited her aunt, who lived through the Great Depression, to speak in 2008 and 2021. In 2006, Fefles-Dunkle visited Russia on a Fulbright grant, and upon her return, introduced a Traveling Gulag exhibit in the Library. She also engages students through a number of panel discussions and presentations on campus, ranging from presidential and midterm elections to women’s rights and Illinois history.

Through updates to her Illinois History and Local History course curriculum, Fefles-Dunkle has her students explore local sites such as Starved Rock State Park, the Pullman Historical District, Marshall Field’s Historical Landmark and the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. She also has engaged students in interdisciplinary learning and service to supplement their studies in sociology through raising money for children living in an orphanage in Russia; serving and preparing meals for families at the Ronald McDonald House; interviewing residents at local assisted-living facilities; and leading students in serving meals at a homeless shelter in Palos Hills.

During fun and interactive campus events, such as Learning College Day, Fefles-Dunkle has regularly presented on topics, including how to create a faculty-led study abroad course, the rise of populist parties in Europe and even Greek history through food. In addition to her work in the classroom, she has co-chaired the Academic Quality Improvement Program, which provides innovative means for colleges and universities to maintain regional accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission and participated in new faculty orientation sessions.

“I feel very honored, proud and grateful to get this award. We all do our work, right, but it’s reassuring to be recognized by your peers.

Sometimes you don’t know if what you’re doing has an impact, so it’s nice for peers and administrators to recognize you. It’s a challenge for our disciplines in this socio-media environment. But we’re all, in our own way, working in a challenging time to make a difference,” she said. “I love interacting with students. I learn from them and the way they think. They contribute to the marketplace of ideas in the classroom.”