PARK HILLS – Mineral Area College is proud to announce that History and Political Science Instructor Rodney Wilson has been named a recipient of the 2026 American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Award. This national honor recognizes exceptional community college teachers who make a difference in the classroom, demonstrate passion, and go above and beyond.
MAC President Dr. Joe Gilgour and Rodney Wilson.
“Rodney’s integrity, scholarship, and lifelong commitment to equity make him an extraordinary educator and an ideal recipient of this national recognition,” said MAC President Dr. Joe Gilgour. “He represents the very best of what a community college educator can be—an innovative teacher, compassionate mentor, and courageous advocate for inclusion.”
Wilson has recently led the charge for documenting the college’s history for students, staff, and the community. He co-founded the MAC Museum for College and Community History and produced an extensive multi-part series of presentations entitled “Mineral Area College: History, Land and Cemeteries.” As MAC’s resident archivist and historian, he remains dedicated to preserving the college’s story for future generations.
Wilson’s impact extends far beyond MAC’s campus. In 1994, while teaching at Mehlville High School, he became the first openly gay teacher in Missouri, publicly coming out to his students at great personal and professional risk. That same year, he founded National LGBTQ+ History Month, an initiative now celebrated in two dozen locations around the world, including Canada, Cuba, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and the UK. His bravery and leadership helped transform classrooms across America into spaces of authenticity and understanding.
This commitment to inclusion is mirrored in his classroom work, where Wilson uses evidence-based practices to engage students while inspiring them to think critically about history, identity, and civic life. His students consistently describe his teaching as both transformative and deeply personal.
After graduating from MAC and then Southeast Missouri State University, Wilson began his career in education in 1990 as a high school social studies teacher, a role he held for seven years. He then earned two additional graduate degrees, in history and religion, and, while living in Massachusetts from 1997 to 2011, he taught English to Spanish-speaking students, managed an Adult Education Program, and served as a teacher in a correctional facility. Since his return to Missouri fifteen years ago, he has been employed at MAC, where he also serves as coordinator of the History and Political Science Department.
“The award’s namesake, Dale Parnell, was a great educator,” Wilson said. “I’m deeply honored to receive this meaningful recognition given in his memory.”
The award is named in honor of Dale Parnell, a transformative leader in the development of the modern community college system. Parnell, who passed away in 2017, was a former CEO of the AACC and an education advisor to President George H.W. Bush. The AACC created this award to continue his legacy of honoring those dedicated to the mission and success of two-year colleges.