Del Mar College recognizes Deacon Palacios with Creighton Award for Teaching Excellence

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Del Mar College President Dr. Mark Escamilla (left), 2014 Creighton award recipient and kinesiology professor Carolyn Mauck, 2015 Creighton award recipient and accounting professor Adelfino “Fino” Palacios and interim provost and vice president of Instruction and Student Services Lenora Keas are all smiles after Palacios accepted the Dr. Aileen Creighton Award for Teaching Excellence during the College’s convocation on Aug. 17.
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There is no greater honor presented by Del Mar College to its faculty than the Dr. Aileen Creighton Award for Teaching Excellence. During this year's fall convocation on Aug. 17, faculty and staff alike recognized Adelfino “Fino” Palacios, Jr. as the 2015 award recipient.

Palacios is a professor of business administration who teaches accounting and is coordinator of Del Mar’s accounting program in the Business Administration Department. He is the 14th recipient of the award, which the college first established in 2002 to honor Dr. Aileen Creighton, Dean Emeritus of Arts and Sciences.

The award represents the late educator’s legacy as a “master teacher” and is the benchmark faculty must emulate to receive the honor. Dr. Creighton was known for her dedication to students and higher education, along with the inspiration she provided to other educators during her 41-year career at Del Mar.

“I’m truly humbled by this award, and I see so many other dedicated faculty here today,” Palacios said after accepting the award. “Being part of the Del Mar College family is an honor.”

Palacios also recalled how he first became aware of Del Mar when he was a young boy and set his mind to attending the college when he grew up and teaching there one day.

Palacios graduated from W.B. Ray High School and then earned his associate's degree from Del Mar, a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, along with a certificate to practice as a certified public accountant.

He has taught at Del Mar for more than 34 years, including innumerable accounting courses ranging from financial and managerial accounting to income tax and special topics. And, Palacios also taught bowling for 20 years as part of students’ kinesiology requirements.

While not everyone appreciates working with numbers, Palacios said in his nomination packet that his philosophy is that “every student can learn accounting, and accounting relates to all of us in some manner.”

“My goal in the classroom is to make it a comfortable environment for the students,” he said of his teaching practices. “My feeling is that if the students are comfortable, then they’ll be more open to learning.”

Colleagues and current and former students supported Palacios’ nomination for the Creighton Award. Former student Niko Sissamis, owner of Ol’ Steakhouse Company and Niko’s Steakhouse, said that Palacios “was my inspiration to not only graduate from college, but, one day, own my own business…I know he not only inspired me but countless others to accomplish their goals and dreams.”

Department chair Rebecca Chavez wrote in her support letter, “I am amazed by Mr. Palacios’ passion for teaching even after 30 years on the job,” noting that the educator always reaches out to students when he senses their struggles with the accounting materials and spends time conducting one-on-one tutoring sessions even in the departmental conference room.

“His retention rate is one of the highest in the department,” she said.

Palacios’ popularity, recognition and dedication to education is evident with his receiving several awards related to his teaching, including the College’s 1999 Teacher of the Year Award, the Texas Society of CPA’s Outstanding Accounting Educator Award, the League of United Latin American Citizens’ Council Award for Devotion and Contribution to Education, the Communities in Schools Award for Outstanding Dedicated Services to Students, the Del Mar College Former Students’ Association Wall of Honor Award for Outstanding Former Del Mar College Student and the Corpus Christi CPA Chapter Award for Community Service.

Other professional milestones include establishing in 2001 of the Volunteers in Tax Assistance program at Del Mar with accounting students providing free income tax services for low-income residents. From 1994-2003, he served as director of a U.S. Department of Transportation grant and program supporting students’ career pursuits in the transportation and trade industries.

A man dedicated to family and faith, Palacios has been a deacon at the Corpus Christi Cathedral in the Diocese of Corpus Christi for 11 years. He and his wife, Dr. Rebecca A. Palacios, have five children, 10 grandchildren with another grandchild on the way as he proudly shared with his peers during convocation.