Elizabeth Lucas, an adjunct instructor of Spanish, was presented with the first Disability Services Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award last month.

Sponsored by the Office of Student Services, the new award includes a check for $500 and a plaque that will be on display in the Office of Disability Services.

Lucas was one of 29 teachers nominated for the honor by students registered with disability services office. Students were asked to rank their nominees based on knowledge of subject matter, effectiveness of teaching methods, willingness to assist, openness to accommodations and consideration of students' individual needs.

Lucas joined the faculty in 1995 after having spent 33 years teaching foreign language to high school students in Southampton County, St. Croix and Portsmouth Public Schools. She is a 1959 graduate of the Norfolk Division.

Lucas said she thinks the greatest benefit students gain from learning a foreign language is the knowledge they acquire about their own English language in the process.