Florence-Darlington Technical College names outstanding employees for 2021
Dr. Andre Boyd, Outstanding Administrator of the Year. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Angela Edwards, Outstanding Faculty of the Year. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Debra Lee, Outstanding Staff Member of the Year. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Florence-Darlington Technical College faculty and staff members have spoken and chosen three of their colleagues for 2021 Outstanding Employees of the Year honors.
A college selection committee sifted through employee nominations and selected the top people in three categories.
Outstanding Administrator of the Year is Dr. Andre Boyd, who serves as the Director of the RUSH (Removing Underserved Student Hurdles) program.
Outstanding Faculty of the Year is Angela Edwards. She’s an instructor of history and Humanities Department coordinator.
Help Desk Technician Debra Lee was named Outstanding Staff Member of the Year, and she is a graduate of FDTC.
Boyd grew up in Darlington and education runs in the family. Boyd’s wife, Kandy, is an educator. He is the son of Bill and Patricia Boyd. Both are retired educators with the Darlington County School District.
Boyd is a graduate of Mayo High School and the University of South Carolina and has served as the director of RUSH for five years. He completed his postgraduate work at Cambridge College and serves on the Genesis Healthcare Foundation Board. Boyd and his wife live in Darlington County.
Edwards also calls Darlington County home. She and her family live near Lamar. Edwards is Humanities Department coordinator at FDTC and is an instructor of history, teaching since 2001.
Before that, she was an adjunct instructor for the college. Originally from Florence, Edwards graduated from South Florence High School and earned her Bachelor of Arts from Queens College. She completed her Master’s degrees from Marshall University. Edwards was named National Academic Advising Association Outstanding Faculty Advisor of the Year for 2013.
Mullins native Debra Lee graduated from Mullins High School and is a self-described “proud FDTC graduate,” earning an Associate Degree in Telecommunications Systems Management. She says she loves helping students, faculty and staff get the most from their computers, and she has been working for the college’s Information Technology Department as a Help Desk Technician for over six years. Lee calls Mullins home.
The three Outstanding Employees of the Year at FDTC will compete against the 15 other technical colleges’ top employees at the annual South Carolina Technical Education Association Conference.
The Florence Darlington County Commission for Technical Education also honored the 2020 Employees of the Year and the Faculty Emeritus honoree. FDTC President Dr. Jermaine Ford and Florence Darlington County Commission for Technical Education Chairman Paul Seward honored the four 2021 Employees of the Year at the beginning of the commissioners’ meeting for the New Year.
Recognized were Shelanda Deas, Bob Garand and JoAnn Mack. Deas was Outstanding Staff Member of the Year for 2020. Garand is the director of the Online College and was named 2020’s Outstanding Administrator of the Year. FDTC’s Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year for 2020 was Computer Technology instructor JoAnn Mack. Also honored was 2020 Faculty Emeritus Winfield Brown. He is a retired Human Services instructor and was nominated for the honor by the college’s Faculty Senate. The title is awarded to an outstanding retired faculty member and Brown is as an adjunct instructor for the college.
