Ruckel honored as PRCC Humanities Teacher of the Year

HATTIESBURG – Dr. Ryan Ruckel has been named Humanities Teacher of the Year at Pearl River Community College.Ruckel teaches history and English at PRCC Forrest County Center where he also serves as advisor to the Beta Tau Gamma chapter of Phi Theta Kappa honor society.The Mississippi Humanities Council annually honors teachers from all regions of the state with the award. Each honoree receives a $500 honorarium and presents a special lecture in his discipline to the community.Ruckel lecture on Mississippi Secret Garden: Italians, the Delta and the American Dream, will be at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 7, in the multipurpose room of Building 5 at the Forrest County Center.The humanities teach me how to love people, and I love teaching the humanities, Ruckel said. The humanities teach me how to guess my way through the ambiguity and strangeness of life, and I love teaching the humanities. More so than the how of things, the humanities help us think about the why of things, which in turn feeds the soul. Did I mention I love teaching the humanities?Being chosen as the Humanities Teacher of the Year honors not only my work and sacrifice but also the work of the many fine teachers who have been my example along the way.Ruckel also will be recognized at the Mississippi Humanities Council annual Public Humanities Achievement Awards ceremony and banquet in February.Dr. Ruckel is an outstanding teacher who goes the extra mile for the students and the college, said Dr. Cecil Burt, PRCC vice president for Forrest County operations. He is very deserving of this recognition.A graduate of Oak Grove High School, Ruckel holds the bachelor degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas; two master degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi and the PhD in American history from Louisiana State University.He has taught at both the high school and college levels and has taught at PRCC as an adjunct instructor since 1996 and a full-time instructor since 2008.Ruckel is president of the Forrest County Center Faculty Association and advisor to the History and Humanities Club and has served on numerous college-wide committees.