Three Pitt State teachers chosen for Outstanding Faculty Award 

Three teachers chosen by students for the 2023 Outstanding Faculty Award will be honored at a come-and-go reception on Tuesday, May 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Ballroom C of the Overman Student Center.  

Students, alumni, colleagues, family, and friends are invited to drop by to celebrate with Professor Barbara “Bardie” McClaskey (Nursing), Professor Joe Levens (Construction), and Associate Professor Laura Covert-Miller (Health, Human Performance, & Recreation). 

President Dan Shipp and Provost Howard Smith will offer informal remarks about the winners at 1:30, and students from Nursing, Construction, and HHPR also will share brief reflections.  

Refreshments will be served, and a selfie station will be set up for capturing photos. 

The annual award is given by the Student Government Association after a nomination process open to students. This year, there were over 50 nominations and the selection process was difficult, officers said. 

Joe Levens 

Levens is a two-time Pitt State graduate (BST ‘77, MET ‘02). In 2022, he was chosen by the national Associated General Contractors of America organization for the Outstanding Educator Award.  

He began his construction career with Martin K. Eby Construction Co., Inc., holding leadership positions in a variety of areas within the company.   

In 2010, he joined the faculty in the College of Technology, where he teaches courses in the School of Construction, serves as the faculty advisor for the Associated General Contractors of America student chapter, and is the director of the Kansas Center for Construction Advancement. He’s a graduate of the Leadership Kansas program, and in 2001 was the recipient of Pitt State’s Outstanding Alumni Award.  

Here’s what students had to say in their nominations: 

• When I did not do as well on a test as I had hoped, I went in to review with Joe about what I missed and he ended up explaining it in several different ways, ensuring that I understood it. 
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• He is someone that I know I can talk to about career advice, and he has reviewed job offers for me. 
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• Joe includes us in industry events so that we don’t feel too young or out of place when we graduate. 
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• He always has an open door policy for a student to walk in and talk. I have had many conversations about the next step as a young professional and how to set myself apart from others. 
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• If Joe gets to read this, thank you for being you every day and being someone who is the definition of great.
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Barbara “Bardie” McClaskey 

McClaskey just completed 31 years as a full-time faculty member in the Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing, where she served six years as a part-time clinical instructor prior to that. She serves as the advisor of the Pitt State chapter of the Kansas Association of Nursing Students, co-advisor of Omicron Delta Kappa, and co-advisor of the Newman Club.  

Prior to the pandemic, she took students every year for 20 years on field experiences in nursing care, including 200 to Juarez, Mexico, and nearly 100 to an elder care clinic in New Orleans. 

McClaskey also is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, and she has helped in the delivery of numerous Pitt State students — one of whom is graduating with a nursing degree this week! 

Here’s what students had to say in their nominations: 

• She has definitely taken away a lot of fear I had about college and helped get me on my feet to understand what I’m doing. 
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• She sets us up for success when it comes to our future years in college and in life. She explains topics in ways that makes them easier to understand. She is the reason students who were close to dropping out did not do so. 
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• When we lost a peer, she was there for us. 
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• Aside from excelling as a professor, she also has a very kind heart. She has worked with me one on one when I felt down on myself and anxious to take a test in her class. She helped me understand the information and gave me excellent emotional support and encouragement. 
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• She has helped many incoming students seek mental health help, talked and encouraged them on bad days, and checked in when they might have just been going through some minor issues within their transition to Pitt State.
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Laura Covert-Miller 

Laura Covert-Miller joined the Health, Human Performance, and Recreation Department in 2012. She also is the director of the Ability Lab, which focuses on student-led research and programming for individuals with disabilities and older adults.  

In 2018 and 2021, she and the Therapeutic Recreation program were chosen by Special Olympics Kansas for the Southeast Kansas Organization of the Year Award for improving the lives of those with intellectual disabilities. In 2022, she received the Golisano Health Leadership Award from Special Olympics Kansas.  

She is the founder of the annual TR-Iffic events at the Plaster Center and the Golden Gorillas senior program at the Pittsburg YMCA. 

Here’s what students had to say in their nominations: 

• She has given me many great opportunities to represent myself and PSU out in the community, which has now led to me knowing what I want to do when I graduate.  
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• She has changed my whole thought process on older adults, kids with disabilities, motor skills, tone of voice, and more. 
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• She goes above and beyond to make sure we get hands-on experience and fully understand the material we are learning. She wants to see each and every one of her students succeed. 
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• She has made me feel so much more prepared for when I go out into the workforce and has created so many experiences and opportunities for me and others. 
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• She takes learning outside of the classroom and gives her students real world chances to apply the knowledge we learn. 
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• She will always go above and beyond to help students, no matter their major and no matter their problem.