Three Columbia College faculty members have received top honors for excellence in teaching. Dr. Dianne Thompson received the 2010 Columbia College Faculty Excellence Award. Dr. John Zubizarreta received the 2010 South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) Excellence in Teaching Award.  Dr. Jason Munsell was selected for the 2010 Undergraduate Students' Choice Award for Teaching Excellence.
 
The Faculty Excellence and SCICU Award winners are selected by a committee of faculty. The Students’ Choice Award is organized by the Student Government Association and the recipient determined entirely by students.
 
Dianne Thompson is Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Work Program at Columbia College. Her writings and presentations at state, national and international conferences have been in the areas of child welfare, social work practice, Individual Psychology, consultation and innovative teaching strategies. Dr. Thompson has served as a consultant to and trainer for several organizations including the S.C. Department of Corrections, the Center for Child and Family Studies and the Rape Crisis Network. She has held leadership positions in a number of organizations including serving as Board Chair for Volunteers of Americas Carolinas, the YWCA and the Greater Columbia Community Relations Council as well as serving as President of the SC Society of Adlerian Psychology. Dr. Thompson has been the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Social Work, USC and the Arlis Epps Social Interest Award from the SC Society of Adlerian Psychology.
 
John Zubizarreta is Professor of English, Director of Honors and Faculty Development, and former Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Columbia College. He has published widely on modern American, British, and comparative literatures; teaching pedagogy; honors education; teaching, learning, and administrative portfolios; academic leadership; and faculty development. Foremost among his disciplinary publications is his co-edited Robert Frost Encyclopedia (2001), a collaboration with Nancy Tuten. A Carnegie Foundation/C.A.S.E. Professor for South Carolina, he has also earned recognition for teaching and scholarly excellence from the American Association for Higher Education, the South Atlantic Association of Departments of English, the National United Methodist Board of Higher Education, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, and other educational organizations. He has led faculty development workshops and delivered keynote addresses worldwide, and he has mentored faculty nationwide and abroad in enhancing and documenting teaching and learning.
 
Jason Munsell is Associate Professor of Communication and Program Coordinator for Communication Studies at Columbia College. He has taught at Columbia College since 2003. The courses he teaches include Introduction to Communication Studies, African American Rhetoric, Persuasion, Rhetoric and Public Address, and the Senior Capstone on Research Methods. His current research interests focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning, institutional histories, and the history of rhetoric and communication pedagogy. His recent work has appeared in such journals as Communication Teacher and Carolinas Communication Annual. He currently serves as an officer for Carolinas Communication Association and also serves on the national Lambda Pi Eta Faculty Advisory Board. He serves as faculty advisor for the Columbia College Communication Club and the Sigma Gamma Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta.