News Release

WINONA LAKE — Grace College & Seminary professors Lorinda Kline, Nate Bosch and Pat Park were honored recently for their outstanding contributions to the institution’s culture of service and academic excellence.

Kline, chair of secondary education and director of student teaching for the School of Education, received the Alva J. McClain Award for Excellence in Teaching.

As the chair of secondary education, Kline serves as a secondary adviser for all secondary education majors, which includes 55 students specializing in math, life science, social studies, French, English, Spanish and business. In her role as director of student teaching, Kline not only facilitates placements for more than 40 teacher candidates each year, she also walks closely alongside students, faculty and supervising teachers to ensure the relationships are beneficial for all involved.

“According to author, educator and administrator Ben Johnson, a master teacher is one who creates an atmosphere, an environment and an attitude for learning; one who inspires students to achieve; and one who celebrates new learning,” said Cheryl Bremer, dean of the School of Education at Grace. “Lorinda is all of these things and more. She intentionally builds her classroom culture, forms genuine relationships with her students in and out of the classroom and models the skills and strategies she teaches. Every student who has been taught by Lorinda has been impacted by one of the most masterful teachers I have ever met.”

Nate Bosch, professor of environmental science and director of Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams, received the Homer A. Kent Award for Scholarship. This award is given biennially to a faculty member who exhibits outstanding performance in the area of scholarship.

Bosch has researched aquatic waterways for the last 20 years. Through fundraising efforts and advocacy for Kosciusko County lakes and streams, he has established the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams as the premier center for aquatic research. Due to Bosch’s efforts, every semester there are more than a dozen students at Grace taking water samples, measuring E. coli and identifying algae from any of the 13 lakes that are under continual screenings.

“Many of the scientific publications that have originated from Grace College have benefited from the Lilly Center under the directorship of Nate,” said Joe Frentzel, the Dr. Eugene Inman endowed chair of the Department of Science and Mathematics at Grace. “Because Nate not only lauds research as the mark of a quality institution, but also inspires and facilitates others to engage in scholarly pursuits, he is very well deserving of the Homer A. Kent Award for Scholarship.”

The Excellence in Part-Time Teaching Award was presented to Pat Park for the second time in three years. This award honors part-time faculty who go above and beyond in the classroom and facilitate excellent rapport with students.

Park is a part-time instructor of theology and full-time pastor at Wawasee Heights Baptist Church. Park has taught at Grace College since 2011. He has taught a number of courses including “Hebrew I,” “Exploring the Bible” and “Scripture and Interpretation,” but he is most highly esteemed by students for his discussion-based teaching in the class “Essential Doctrinal Themes.”

“I’m not sure whether Pat is a pastor with a scholar’s mind or a scholar with a pastor’s heart, but either way, he has been a tremendous blessing to our students,” said Tiberius Rata, associate dean of the School of Ministry Studies at Grace College. “Pat’s student course reviews need no further explanation; he is a beloved professor who presents doctrine in a way that is understandable, well-paced and engaging for those who sit in his classes. He fosters an atmosphere where students are curious and excited to delve into the doctrines of their faith. He embodies what Grace College is all about.”