NGU News


Washington Named SCICU 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award Recipient

Posted on: April 27, 2023
By Billy Cannada, billy.cannada@ngu.edu

SCICU photo: (L-R) Dr. Nathan Finn, North Greenville University provost; Dr. Darian Washington, North Greenville University 2023 Excellence In Teaching award winner; Lucy Grey McIver, Chair – SCICU Board of Trustees

Tigerville, SC (April 27, 2023) Dr. Darian Washington, professor of music, is North Greenville University’s (NGU) 2022-23 South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) Excellence in Teaching award recipient. The organization honored faculty leaders from each of its 21 member institutions at an Excellence in Teaching Awards Dinner on April 18 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia.

The annual Excellence in Teaching Awards were created to “recognize and celebrate the best of the best.” A faculty member from SCICU’s twenty-one member institutions is nominated for the award.

NGU Provost and Dean of the University Faculty Dr. Nathan A. Finn said that Washington is a “great teacher” who is respected by his faculty colleagues and beloved by his students.

“As a music professor, his instruction takes place in a variety of contexts: classrooms, rehearsals, and performances. The entire university as well as the wider community benefit from the fruit of his instruction many times a year whenever our marching band and various ensembles perform,” said Finn. “Dr. Washington is an exemplary faculty member, and I could not be more excited that he is our 2023 recipient of the SCICU Excellence in Teaching Award.”

2023 marks the 18th year of the SCICU Excellence in Teaching Awards Program. Each year SCICU member colleges and universities use rigorous criteria to select a faculty member to receive the SCICU Excellence in Teaching award. Award recipients receive a framed award certificate and a $3,000 professional development grant from SCICU.

Dr. Web Drake, dean of NGU’s College of Communication and Arts, said it is impossible for him to quantify how much Washington means to the Cline School of Music.

“He is our most active recruiter. He gives of his time to the Marching and Pep Bands. He directs the Concert Band. He conducts private lessons for both our students and those he is recruiting. He is active in his professional guilds and on campus,” said Drake. “Darian is an absolute stalwart of this campus.”

Washington’s musical journey started when he attended a Fine Arts Magnet School and began playing horn his freshman year just so he could go on the band trips. He said what started as a hobby became a passion as he began studying music education in his undergraduate degree from Augusta State University and teaching young horn students. After obtaining his master’s degree in horn performance from the University of Georgia, he began teaching public middle school for two years, and returned to school to pursue his doctorate at the University of Maryland with the goal of teaching in higher education.

“God has given me the gift of mentorship and ability to help each student I encounter to grow their own gifts and talents, and reach their maximum potential,” said Washington.

The university’s website offers information on entering one of the many professions rooted in music at NGU.

About North Greenville University

NGU offers more than 125 areas of study across certificate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and early college opportunities. Online. In-person. At our main campus in Tigerville, SC, the Tim Brashier Campus in Greer, SC, or several educational centers around the U.S. One university, many locations. Every day. Epic. Learn more at www.ngu.edu

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