Dr. Chris Habben, professor of marriage and family therapy, Kansas City site program director, and Kansas City site specialized accreditation and assessment administrator, received this year’s Faculty of Distinction Award from the Kansas Independent College Association (KICA). Dr. Habben was honored, along with faculty members from the other 18 accredited private colleges in Kansas, at a celebration and award reception Oct. 13.
Dr. Habben received his bachelor’s degree from Hope College in Michigan. He also holds a Master of Science and a Master of Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He has been a professor at Friends University since 2001.
The KICA Faculty of Distinction program celebrates excellence and achievement among faculty members at the accredited private colleges and universities in Kansas. The award recognizes professors who have emphasized the importance of classroom teaching; paid personal attention to students; and expressed a commitment to character, values and learning. The 2016 KICA Faculty of Distinction honorees serve as models to educators everywhere.
“Kansas’ independent colleges … know that our most important job by far is to provide a vibrant, relevant, high-quality education to each … student that enters our doors,” said Matt Lindsey, president of KICA. “These 19 individuals are shining examples of that commitment to the future of our students and the rare value that Kansas’ private, non-profit colleges offer.”
Faculty of Distinction honorees are nominated by each KICA member institution. KICA, founded in 1971, is a non-profit organization that works to provide support and services to the independent colleges of the state.
Friends University, a Christian University of Quaker heritage, equips students to honor God and serve others by integrating their intellectual, spiritual and professional lives.