The purpose of this case study was to explore with twelve community college professors what they perceived is needed to meet the varied and unique needs of their students. This research attempts to develop a fuller understanding of how professors gain teaching proficiency. The participant sample consisted of 12 faculty members who are recipients of the SUNY (State University of New York) Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence. Three data collection methods were employed: individual interviews, document analysis, and classroom observations. The research questions in this study were: (1) What are the faculty perceptions of adult students as distinguished from Traditional Students? (2) What do community college faculty members perceive are the competencies and practices needed to engage students in the learning process? (3) How do faculty members learn to develop the competencies needed to meet students' learning needs? (4) What factors support or hinder faculty in their ongoing faculty development? The four major findings were: 1. All participants perceived adult students as distinct and different compared to their traditional students in a number of ways. 2. The majority of participants stated that it is important to understand and meet the unique and varied needs of students through creating a classroom environment that is conducive to learning, using different instructional methods and being prepared and organized. 3. While some participants reported having had formal learning experiences, all participants learned to develop the competencies need to meet the needs of students primarily through informal means. 4. The majority of participants found support in developing teaching competency through informal dialogue with their peers, while at the same time a majority reported that a lack of time and resources were hindrances to ongoing development of teaching competency. The main recommendations set forth in this study include: new faculty should seek out peers and senior faculty. Senior faculty members should initiate and foster informal learning opportunities among themselves and their colleagues. Community colleges should direct resources to informal learning approaches to faculty development. Community college leaders should make attempts to remove the time and schedule barriers that preclude faculty from participating in faculty development activities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]