Classroom Excellence: Tri-C Professor Mike Boyko Recognized With National Faculty Award

Professor of criminal justice to be honored for dedication to students

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) will present a 2022 Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Award to Mike Boyko, a professor of criminal justice at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®).

The honor recognizes individuals who make a difference in the classroom and go beyond what is required to ensure that students find academic achievement. Boyko is one of 29 recipients from college classrooms across the nation.

Award winners will be recognized on May 1 in New York City as part of AACC’s annual convention.

Boyko came to Tri-C as a first-generation college student in 1976 before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice and a law degree from The University of Akron. He began teaching as an adjunct professor in 1983 and brought his career experiences with him to the classroom.

"The greatest satisfaction I receive from my career is witnessing the success of my students as they achieve advanced degrees, job promotions and awards," Boyko said. "As they reach out to me with these milestones, I realize that the effort to go above and beyond on their behalf was worth it."

Boyko served as assistant dean of business, math and technology at Tri-C’s Western Campus before becoming a full-time faculty member in 2003.

He has also served as a representative, vice president and president of the College’s American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter.

"Professor Boyko has dedicated his considerable talent and expertise to Tri-C students for more than 37 years," Tri-C President Alex Johnson said in his nomination of Boyko. "A Tri-C graduate himself, he epitomizes the heights our graduates can achieve and serves as an example to those he teaches, mentors and encourages."

This is the third straight year a Tri-C faculty member has been recognized. In 2021, Professor Jeffrey Tuma won the Parnell Award posthumously, and Professor Andrew Pegman won it in 2020.

February 15, 2022

By Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu