BISMARCK, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Rick Ross, VCSU associate professor of career and technical education, was named the North Dakota Association of Career and Technical Educators (NDACTE) Teacher Educator of the Year at the NDACTE annual conference held Aug. 6–8 at the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center in Bismarck.

The Teacher Educator of the Year award recognizes teacher educators who have demonstrated innovation in teacher education, leadership in improving CTE, and commitment to preparing teachers to deliver high-quality CTE programs.

Ross has served Valley City State University for the past 24 years. Through his work as the CTE coordinator, he recognized a need and opportunity to expand the course offerings that had originally been offered as one week, intensive, on-campus workshops. Due to his work, VCSU is now delivering online courses to CTE distance students across the United States.

Ross has also developed degree options that allow transferable coursework in technical specialty areas to count toward the bachelor’s degree. This allows VCSU to accept technical coursework from two-year college partners in the North Dakota University System (NDUS) and across the United States.