SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH October 4, 2021 -- Instructure today announced the winners of its 2021 Educator of the Year Awards in connection with this week's InstructureCon 2021 edtech conference. The program recognizes outstanding U.S. educators working to embrace remote learning, prepare students for the workforce, and support student success and achievement in an evolving education landscape.

Lower Columbia College Physiology professor and head women's basketball coach Lucas Myers was one of six educators across the country to be recognized.   Coach Myers is not only a respected, winning basketball coach he is also one of the most respected professors on the LCC campus.

"Educators everywhere take on insurmountable challenges with optimism and patience, and that's never been more true than in the past school year," said Melissa Loble, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Instructure. "Each educator we've selected truly excelled in an increasingly challenging environment and inspired their colleagues and students in the process. Congratulations to all of our 2021 winners!"

The press release from Instructure lauded Myers for his work during the pandemic. "Lucas not only redefined how science should be taught at Lower Columbia College, but helped to shape the future of STEM education at 2 year colleges across the state of Washington. Prior to the pandemic, Lucas had developed General Biology and Human Anatomy/Physiology courses for full online instruction and hybrid instruction. His work on innovative assessment and teaching practices has increased the success rate of the school's pre-nursing Anatomy/Physiology students, who score 15-20% higher on the national Human Anatomy/Physiology Exam than the national average. When the pandemic happened, he was asked to work with Washington State to quickly set up STEM Communities of Practice (CoPs) for faculty across all of the Washington State Community and Technical Colleges. These CoPs had over 500 faculty participating, relying heavily on Canvas for producing, collaborating, and sharing resources to enhance student learning experience."
Lower Columbia College athletic director Kirc Roland congratulates Myers for his work in the academic world and in the athletic arena.  "Lucas is amazing with the job he does coaching the Red Devils and being a leader on campus.  He is smart, innovative and works tirelessly for our students and our student-athletes."

Instructure, Inc. is an educational technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the developer and publisher of Canvas, a Web-based learning management system, and MasteryConnect, an Assessment Management System.