Cape Fear Community College geology instructor Phil Garwood – known around campus as “Dr. Rocks” – recently received the 2011 Marilyn Goodman Anderson Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The award is given annually to one teacher at CFCC for outstanding performance in the classroom. Students and faculty chose him above 80 other CFCC instructors who were nominated.

According to David Hardin, CFCC’s public information officer, Garwood’s enthusiasm for teaching geology means his classes are full each semester.

Located on the fourth floor of the McLeod Building on Front Street, Garwood’s classroom stands out among the other college lecture rooms and computer labs in the building. Much of the classroom is filled with hundreds of artifacts, including fossils, rocks and petrified wood.

His course is more than teaching students to identify types and characteristics of rocks and fossils. Garwood encourages his students to think critically and solve problems.

One of Garwood’s favorite projects is to have students bring in a rock they find in the area and figure out what type it is and how old it is. Recently, his students were surprised to learn that one of the “rocks” brought into class turned out to be an egg from a duck-billed dinosaur.

“CFCC  is a wonderful place to teach,” Garwood said in a news release. “The faculty are the best of the best. Our administration supports us at all levels and the staff are the hardest working people that I have met.”

When he started teaching two decades ago, there were only eight students in his class. Today, CFCC’s geology department has grown to become the largest of all N.C. community colleges, Garwood said.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Garwood said he has always loved teaching, which he considers the “most important avocation in any society.”

“Teachers spend more time with young people than their parents. Therefore, we had better be strong, sincere and caring in our tasks,” Garwood said.

Onslow Oncology joins NHRMC Physician Group

Dr. Adesola Awomolo of Onslow Oncology has joined the New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Physician Group. Awomolo is board-certified in hematology, the treatment of malignant and benign blood disorders, and oncology, the treatment of cancer.

Originally from Nigeria, Awomolo completed her residency in internal medicine at Harlem Hospital in New York, according to a news release from the medical center. She moved to southeastern North Carolina, where she started her own practice in 2001.

Onslow Oncology is at 221 Memorial Drive in Jacksonville.

Wilmington Health on Oak Island adds physician’s assistant

Physician’s Assistant Heather Ann Bowers has joined Wilmington Health on Oak Island.

Bowers will work with Dr. Peter Almirall at the practice at 8715 E. Oak Island Drive.

As a physician’s assistant in family medicine, Bowers will collaborate with Almirall to promote wellness care. She also diagnoses and treats non-surgical illnesses and disorders for patients of all ages.

Bowers received her bachelor’s degree in pre-professional health from Clemson University and a second bachelor’s in physician assisting from the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.

Local doctor named outstanding surgeon

Dr. Austin Yeargan of North Carolina Shoulder and Elbow Surgery was recently named an “Outstanding Shoulder Surgeon and Specialist” by “Becker’s Orthopedic, Spine & Pain Management Review.”

Surgeons and specialists are chosen for the Becker list based on their leadership and medical contributions to their field.