EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — As part of Community College Month, El Paso Community College (EPCC) has named the winners of its top awards for the 2025-2026 school year.
Two earned the President’s Excellence Award this year: Associate Vice President of Workforce and Continuing Education Blayne Primozich, and Director of Purchasing and Contract Management Ruben Gallardo.
Blayne Primozich
Fan Chen
Ruben Gallardo
“I am honored to represent a fantastic team of individuals and their achievements in providing support for our community partners, regional employers, and individuals engaged in life-long learning,” Primozich said.
“The trust and support El Paso Community College has shown me have been key to the success I’ve achieved here,” Gallardo said.
The Minnie Stevens Piper Professor award is a state-wide award and is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a Faculty Achievement awardee. The Minnie Stevens Piper Professor nominee is submitted into the statewide competition to become one of the 10 annual Minnie Stevens Piper Professors for Texas.
Fan Chen, a mathematics professor, was named this year’s Minnie Stevens Piper Award winner for EPCC.
“This encourages me to continue improving, such as building better scaffolding for difficult concepts, seeking more opportunities for students to communicate and defend ideas, and mentoring more intentionally and effectively,” Chen said.
The following group are the winners that will be honored at this year’s banquet.
President’s Excellence Award
· Blayne J. Primozich, Associate Vice President, Workforce and Continuing Education, ASC-B (VP Amaya)
· Ruben C. Gallardo, Director, Purchasing and Contract Management, ASC-A (VP Flores)
EPCC Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award
· Fan Chen, Professor, Mathematics, VV (Interim Dean Gonzalez)
Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Achievement Award
· Irma Carlos de Ramirez, Assistant Professor, Nursing, RG (Dean Guerrero)
· Sarah N. Martinez, Assistant Professor, Biology, MDP (Dean Pacheco)
· Margaret Nelson Rodriguez, Professor, English, VV (Dean Guerra)
Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Achievement Award
· Edgar Morales, Culinary Arts, ASC (Dean Nickerson)
· Myrna Lozano, Criminal Justice, VV (Dean Pagel)
· René E. Castañeda, Music, NW (Dean Tena)
The awardees will be honored at the EPCC Employee Recognition Dinner, which will take place on Friday, May 1 the at El Paso Country Club.
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