Santa Ynez Valley Union High School teacher and EAST facilitator, Ronald 'Chip' Fenenga recently received the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence. Mr. Fenenga was one of nineteen teachers in the nation honored at the 14th annual awards ceremony held on May 26th in Thousand Oaks. The following is from an Amgen Press Release:

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), the world's largest biotechnology company, today announced the 19 science teachers who are this year's recipients of the 14th annual Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence. This award is designed to recognize and honor extraordinary science teachers in K-12 public and private schools in communities where Amgen operates. Those selected are teachers whose exemplary science teaching has had demonstrated results in student learning. The awards will be presented at dinner events in May and June... Amgen established the teacher awards program to demonstrate the company's commitment to advancing science education. Since the program's inception in 1992, Amgen has awarded more than one million dollars to educators who have made exceptional science-teaching contributions and who have had a measurable impact on the lives of their students.

"Amgen is proud to honor these 19 distinguished teachers, who remind us that skilled educators play a critical role in inspiring the next generation of citizens and future scientists. We hope this recognition and grant support for the teachers and their schools will continue to advance innovative approaches to science education," said Jean Lim, Associate Director of Philanthropy at Amgen. [Continued...]

(Left to right) Norm Clevenger, Ronald Fenenga, Kim Merz at the AASTE awards ceremony.
You can read more about Chip Fenenga and the other teachers honored at Amgen's AASTE webpage. To view more images check out our Amgen photo gallery.