2021 - Educating Beyond the Classroom: ECC Professor Susan Timm Granted YWCA Faculty Award

Susan Timm, Ed.D., professor of Digital Technologies at Elgin Community College, was honored at the YWCA Elgin’s 37^th annual Leader Luncheon with the 2021 YWCA Harriet Gifford & Hattie Griffin Award for Education for her unwavering efforts related to diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice. The Leader Luncheon is a signature event of the YWCA Elgin, held annually to honor deserving women for their outstanding accomplishments, as well as raising funds to support the work of the organization. 

Timm was nominated for this award by Cathy Taylor, MBA, Dean of Sustainability, Business and Career Technologies at ECC. Taylor recognized Timm’s leadership as co-chair of TIDE—Teaching, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity—where she leads the charge to encourage ECC Faculty to create culturally responsive classrooms. TIDE works to promote its vision of equitable and inclusive practices in school and other learning environments by advocating for needed training, programs, resources, publications, and services to advance each individual's cultural competence and culturally responsive teaching. To accomplish their mission Timm and TIDE continually present a unified voice on each issue across the college, district, and beyond.

Outside of her work and activism at ECC, Timm works closely with various community organizations such as Gail Borden Library, Elgin Police Department, and Elgin City Peace. In addition to the YWCA Faculty Award, Timm has been granted a Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 – Illinois Career and Technical Education Association, President's Choice Awards given by ECC President Dr. David Sam – 2018 MAGIC's Targets of Hate Series and 2020 TIDE and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence in Teaching Award.

Dr. Timm's dedication and passion is seen through the multitude of leadership roles she has performed, some of which include: current co-chair of ECC MAGIC, current co-chair of ECC TIDE, and current member of Consortium for Illinois Learning Communities Steering Committee. In addition to these leadership roles, she currently assists the Global International Studies Team, collaborated and led the creation of M.E.N. Inc., collaborated and led the creation of "I AM the Dream," and collaborated and led the creation of "Stairway to Success."