Ivy Tech assistant professor, Daniel O’Neill, wins campus instructional award

Ivy Tech Community College’s Bloomington campus has named Daniel O’Neill, assistant professor of anatomy & physiology, the recipient of the 2022 President’s Award for Excellence in Instruction. He was selected among 40 full-time faculty nominees.

“It is such a tremendous honor to have my teaching recognized with this campus President’s award,” O’Neill said. “I’m both humbled and privileged to be part of such an amazing faculty team at Ivy Tech, whose support for students and for each other makes us all better at what we do.”

O’Neill’s student nominations revealed that his methods have positively impacted learning outcomes for college-level anatomy & physiology (A&P) students at Ivy Tech.

In one nomination, a student shared that they experienced personal and academic growth by taking his course. “While this course is hard, I have learned a lot about the subject matter, as well as myself as a student,” as written in the nomination. “Dan O’Neill is an excellent instructor and I am a better student after attending his course.”

Another nomination highlighted his innovative instructional methods. “Professor O’Neill takes learning beyond the textbooks and makes you question the how and why the human body works the way it does,” the student wrote. “He is transforming the way that A&P is taught and learned, and having gone through different styles of teaching on this subject, I can confidently say that I learned more and better with his newly developed methods.”

In addition to his role as assistant professor at the Bloomington campus, he is leading college efforts statewide to update and improve the anatomy and physiology curriculum at Ivy Tech. His leadership and excellence in instruction in this area will impact the education of hundreds of future nurses, healthcare specialists, and physicians to achieve their goals, improve lives, and make significant contributions in the communities they serve, across Indiana and the United States.

Outside of the classroom, O’Neill coached the Science Olympiad Team at his high school alma mater, Bloomington High School North, for seven years, leading the program to six state championships. He brings two decades of experience in strategic planning and economic development consulting related to economy and healthcare needs assessments for several communities in Indiana.

O’Neill began teaching at Ivy Tech Bloomington in 2010 as an adjunct instructor. In 2019, he joined as full-time faculty and became chair of anatomy and physiology in 2020. He has also just been awarded the statewide Ivy Tech 2022 Faculty Advisor of the Year award for his work mentoring pre-medical students.  

He holds an M.S. in Anatomy and Cell Biology and an M.S., Ed. in Learning and Developmental Science from Indiana University. He is nearing completion of his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with minors in Mathematics and Physiology from Indiana University. In 2015, he won the prestigious Lieber Memorial Associate Instructor Award as the best instructor among all graduate students at Indiana University.

The President’s Award is presented annually to one full-time faculty member from each Ivy Tech campus statewide. As recipient of this award, O’Neill becomes a nominee for the statewide Ivy Tech Founder’s Award for Excellence in Instruction, to be presented by the College in June. The Founder’s Award is presented annually to one full-time faculty member statewide who best typifies the teaching and learning mission of the College.

Ivy Tech accepts free applications year-round and offers multiple course start dates for quicker entry and graduation. Funding options are also available, from the state’s Next Level Jobs grant that aligns certification training with high-demand jobs, to federal grants such as the Pell. To get started and ask questions, email bl-info@ivytech.edu or call 812-330-6013.