Hornecker Receives Community College Faculty Award

A Casper College instructor has been named the Community College Faculty Member of the Year for the state of Wyoming. Heath Hornecker was recently named the winner of the prestigious award given by the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees.

Hornecker has worked at Casper College since August 2004 when he was hired as an agriculture instructor for the college. “Heath is an outstanding member of the Casper College faculty, a campus leader, and a true example of dedication to students,” said Walter Nolte, president of Casper College.

As department chair of the agriculture department Hornecker “has been instrumental in helping to acquire and prepare Casper College’s wonderful new ranch campus, providing our students with even more hands-on, real-world education experiences in the care of livestock,” Nolte said. “I believe that most would be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated, highly respected, and innovative faculty leader than Heath,” he added.

“Heath’s dedication to his students, the agriculture department, Casper College, and to the agriculture industry exemplify excellence and make him definitely deserving of this recognition. As an instructor, department chair, and assistant coach for the livestock judging team, Heath gives freely of his time to make sure that the programs he supervises are operating at an extremely high level,” said Grant Wilson, dean for the School of Science at Casper College.

“Winning the award was a tremendous honor,” said Hornecker. “I hold many of my instructors in very high regard from my time as a student at Casper College so even being considered as one of them is humbling. I have a great support structure to work with. The faculty in the agriculture department are great and the administration supports me with my teaching, other campus responsibilities, and community obligations. Above all, the students I get to work with are a blessing. They make it all possible. My wife, Jaime, and my family make many sacrifices. Jaime is a Casper College alum too, and she knows what it takes and is very supportive. It really has been a great atmosphere to excel,” he noted.

In 2014 Hornecker was awarded the Casper College Rosenthal Outstanding Educator Award, which is the college’s top award given to faculty. In 2013 he was named as the Phi Theta Kappa Terrific Learning Coach of the Year. Under Hornecker’s leadership, the Casper College Agriculture program has been recognized as the National Association of Agriculture Educators Outstanding Postsecondary/Adult Agricultural Education Program in both 2007 and 2014.

Hornecker received his associate of science in general agriculture from Casper College, his bachelor of science in agriculture education from Texas Tech, and his master of arts in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wyoming.