Skip to Top NavigationSkip to ContentSkip to Footer
Ferris State University BulldogFerris State University Logo

Gogolin Named Ferris' 2010-11 Distinguished Teacher Award Recipient

Greg GogolinAs a member of what he describes as a distinguished team of faculty members in Ferris State University’s College of Business, Greg Gogolin was “honored” to be named the 2010-11 recipient of the university’s Distinguished Teacher Award.

Gogolin was the choice of the Distinguished Teacher Award Committee, chaired this year by Cami Sanderson, an associate professor of Communication in the College of Arts, Sciences and Education. A professor who has gained notoriety for his work with Ferris’ Information Security and Intelligence program, Gogolin experienced a rush of emotion as he learned of the recognition.

“It’s humbling to receive this kind of honor. It’s especially humbling considering the caliber of professors that I’ve had the opportunity to work with from the beginning of my career here at Ferris,” said Gogolin, who has been employed at Ferris since 1999. “My mother was a finalist two times for the award, several years ago when she was a professor at Ferris, and I know how good she was as a professor. This is a great honor.”

Gogolin, who has more than 20 years of industry experience in information systems to his credit, emerged as the choice of the Distinguished Teacher Award Committee after a thorough process to evaluate candidates.

“Our selection results from the committee’s year-long efforts which included numerous classroom visitations, the evaluation of hundreds of student surveys, hours of interviews with finalists, meeting attendance, and the reading and evaluating of semifinalist essays and curriculum vitae,” Sanderson said in the award’s announcement.

Gogolin earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Applied Biology and Computer Information Systems from Ferris in 1987. He earned a Master of Science from Ferris in Computer Information Systems Management in 1991 and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2000 to conclude what he described as 19 years of attending college to discover what he wanted to do in life, professionally.

After spending time strengthening his academic portfolio and later working outside academia, Gogolin felt a tug back to education. In Fall 1999, with the pursuit on for his sixth academic degree, a Ph.D. from MSU, Gogolin returned to Ferris to teach with his Ph.D. pursuit designed to increase his options as a teacher and mentor for students.

Each year, as Gogolin sees classes of students come and go, he finds himself gratified by the relationships that mature and grow stronger as time passes.

“I have had students from 43 countries and I tell students that there is no greater compliment than if they send me an email or give me a call after they’ve left Ferris just to give me an update of what they’re up to,” he said. “I will get pictures of weddings, pictures of kids … you name it. I get these pictures and messages from all over the world and it’s hard to put into words how much that means. It is amazing to have those kinds of relationships with students.”

Gogolin, who speaks highly of his faculty peers at Ferris, saluted College of Business professor Mike Cooper, the man who hired him and an educator at the university for more than 25 years, as a person he most admires on campus.

In addition to being a professor in the College of Business, Gogolin is a licensed private investigator, a certified information systems security professional, a project management professional, a certified EnCase Examiner and a certified handheld examiner.
 

Distinguished Teacher Award Past Winners (since 2000)

2011 – Greg Gogolin

2010 – Richard Goosen
2009 – Daniel Adsmond
2008 – Khagendra Thapa
2007 – Mary Murnik
2006 – Pasquale Di Raddo
2005 – Robert McCullough
2005 – Fred Heck
2004 – David Pilgrim
2003 – Phillip Middleton
2003 – David Hanna
2003 – David Aiken
2002 – Sheila MacEachron
2001 – J. Randall Groves
2001 – Abdollah Ferdowsi
2000 – Richard J. Pisacreta
2000 – Daniel Noren