The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) recently named Dr. M. Thomas Perkins of the Western Community College Area (WCCA) Board of Governors as the recipient of the 2014 M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award.
The ACCT Association Awards were announced during the ACCT Awards Gala on Friday, October 25, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in Illinois.
The ACCT Board of Directors annually honors an individual who has made a significant contribution as a lay trustee toward promoting the community college concept. The Association Award is named after M. Dale Ensign, one of ACCT's pioneers and the founding chair of the association, who served as a trustee at Northwest Community College in Powell, Wyoming. M. Dale Ensign, the third president of the association, served as ACCT President while the move from the National Schools Boards Association was undertaken in 1972. He has lived a lifetime in the service of others. The ACCT Board of Directors thought it only fitting to honor him by naming the trustee award after him.
"The ACCT Association Awards are among the most prestigious awards any community college, its trustees, presidents, faculty, or staff member can receive," said ACCT Chair and Lansing Community College (Mich.) Trustee Robin Smith. "Additionally, ACCT annually recognizes an outstanding community college initiative whose purpose is to achieve equity in the college's education programs and service, reflecting the association's commitment to equity and diversity in higher education."