Senior Lecturer Kevin Trainor has been selected by the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) to receive the 2024 Karen Wold Level the Learning Field Award. This award honors exemplary members of faculty and staff for advocating and/or implementing instructional strategies, technologies, and disability-related accommodations that afford students with disabilities equal access to academic resources and curricula. Trainor will receive the award at the DRES Awards Program on April 19.
"He [Trainor] makes it known that his primary concern in his class is the success of his students. After speaking with him about my letter of accommodation, he said 'unequivocally, if there is anything that I can do to help or support you, please let me know,'" the nominator wrote. "Kevin should be considered for this award because he is proactive in inclusion. He works diligently to aid all abilities in his class. He does not judge and is an amazing representative of the university."
Trainor teaches courses in programming, data science, systems analysis, web development, database design, and project management. His approach in designing and conducting these courses gives students an equal opportunity to succeed. For his courses, he incorporates video lectures, hands-on tutorials, weekly practice assignments, online lab sessions, help desk support, and software tools typically found in the workplace. Students play lecture videos before class and spend classroom time on group work and discussions. His courses culminate in a final project, in which students apply the skills that they have learned to solve a practical problem.
"Many technical courses are NOT designed for easy learning," explained Trainor. "The design that I use makes these topics easier to learn. This benefits all students—some students with DRES accommodations might benefit more than most."
Trainor regularly appears on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent issued by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus each semester. He holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a BA in philosophy from Rutgers University.