communigator

Sorel named Teacher of the Year

For Telecommunication Assistant Professor Tim Sorel, teaching is a lot like video production.

“In both teaching and video production, I will never reach an end to what I am capable of,” said Sorel. “I continue to work on my strengths and work doubly hard on my weaknesses.”

That drive to constantly improve as an educator is what earned Sorel recognition as the College’s 2010-11 Teacher of the Year. He teaches telecommunication students on the production track and has developed six courses in the college including “Advanced Camera and Lighting” and “Motion Graphics using Adobe After Effects CS5.”

“I have had numerous students tell me how much they learned and benefitted from Tim’s teaching and his high level of dedication and expertise,” said Dean John Wright. “The students know that he genuinely cares about them as individuals and about the quality of their educational experience.”

Sorel joined the College in 2007 after 22 years of experience in television and film productions. He was president and director of photography for Studio 601 Inc., a video production company in Gainesville.

“Sorel is very engaging,” said Mike Jenkins, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in the production track in December. “He goes out of his way to make certain any student who wants more experience gets it. He really uses his professional experience to show the ins and outs of a studio environment as well – that really adds to his teaching.”

Sorel attributes his success to some of his colleagues in the college. His mentors, Associate Professor James Babanikos and Professor Churchill Roberts have guided Sorel “through balancing teaching, shared governance and creative tenure work.”

Sorel has won over 40 awards for his work in and outside the classroom. His most recent award is the 2011 Broadcast Education Award of Excellence for Ashley Lynn, a film he co-produced about a brother and sister who grew up with an abusive father. He is currently developing an hour-long documentary about the plight of Cambodian people 30 years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge and the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

—Jessica Rios