LAKELAND, Fla. (May 17, 2005) — Paula K. Parsché, chair of the music department at Florida Southern College, received the Ben and Janice Wade Outstanding Teaching Award during the college’s Honors Convocation held April 20. This award, established in 1997, is conferred annually upon the Florida Southern College teacher who has demonstrated outstanding classroom teaching performance, the encouragement of which was a priority of Dr. Wade during his fifteen-year tenure as Florida Southern's chief academic officer (1973-77; 1985-96).

Parsché will receive a $2,000 check as this year’s recipient. The citation presented to her during the ceremony reads in part, “She is a gifted teacher, an outstanding department administrator, and an extremely versatile performing artist. As teacher, she inspires her students in the classroom as well as in their one-on-one lessons. As a performing artist, her projects extend from chamber music to accompanying vocal and instrumental artists including the famed Metropolitan Opera artist Roberta Peters here on our Branscomb stage.”

Parsché has been with Florida Southern for 25 years. She received her bachelor’s degree from FSC and her master’s in music from the University of South Florida.


About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 38 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 24 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors. Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.