The recipient of this year's Rafa-el Santos award is Xochitl Tirado.

The award was inspired by the late Rafael Santos, a 25-year IVC busi-ness professor who died in a traffic accident in 1999.

The award is presented at the close of each academic year by the Academic Senate to honor a faculty member for distinguished contribu-tions to students with the prima-ry criterion being the recognition of teaching excellence. Tirado has been dedicated to the cause of dis-tance education. She is diligently focused on building and maintain-ing the rigor of IVC's DE program.

The high level of quality observed in the typical IVC DE course is thanks to Tirado's leadership and management of our review process. Tirado's efforts in this time of crisis have been heroic. Her work with the Learning Center to provide training and quick action, along with the rapid development of in-house DE training, have helped IVC faculty and students overcome the challenges presented by the current pandemic.

Under Xochitl's leadership, IVC has greatly increased its amount of DE offerings as well as the number of instructors who have become cer-tified. Xochitl has worked actively with the Online Education Initiative (OEI). She has developed and pilot-ed English classes for the program.