The Board of Trustees of Minnesota State recognized two Saint Paul College faculty as recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Educators Award: Sara Johannes from the Culinary Department and Francois Nguyen from the Math Department. Faculty members receiving this prestigious award are known for providing “consistently superior professional achievement of our college and university teaching and service.” These outstanding instructors will be formally honored at an April 19th luncheon.

Sara Johannes became a Full-Time Unlimited Faculty member in the Spring of 2022. She graduated from Saint Paul College culinary school, then served as executive chef for Wolfgang Puck’s Five Sixty restaurant in Dallas and WP23 at the Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles before returning to Minnesota to teach at Saint Paul College. The Culinary Department is known for World Class Instruction with numerous awards.

Dr. Francois Nguyen has been at Saint Paul College since 1982 and serves as a full-time mathematics instructor. His educational background includes a BA from St. Thomas College, a master’s degree from the University of La Verne, and a doctorate from Saint Mary’s University. He is a very popular instructor who has earned the respect of the college community and has been instrumental in developing successful mathematics curricula for the college.