Trish Sevene, associate professor of kinesiology, has been honored with a teaching award sponsored by the Community Foundation for Monterey County.

Dr. Sevene received the Allen Griffin Award for excellence in teaching at the post-secondary level. Faculty members from Monterey Peninsula College, the Defense Language Institute and the Naval Postgraduate School were also honored.

Established in 1982, the Griffin Award was created by a bequest from the late Col. Allen Griffin, former publisher of the Monterey Herald and one of the founders and former board president of the Community Foundation. The award honors teachers who have a record of sustained excellence in the classroom and who have made a significant impact in the community.

Dr. Sevene joined CSUMB in 2005. Her primary area of interest is evolutionary biology and health, and she has a “passion for teaching students the value of science-based evidence when making choices,” she said.

In addition to teaching, mentoring and advising students, she directs the university’s anatomy and physiology lab. In the community, she has worked with the Fitness and Sports Training Academy at Salinas High Academy and the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Young Women in Science program. She frequently talks to community groups. She holds a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution and behavior from the University of Louisville. Former Griffin Award winners from CSUMB include Aparna Sreenivasan, Kent Adams, Pat Tinsley McGill, Scott Waltz and Kate Lockwood. The award was given annually until 2011, when the Community Foundation changed to an every-other-year schedule.