Imagine America Foundation Announces 2011 Gail Benjamin Fellowship Recipients
Washington, D.C. (July 14, 2011) – Tirelessly working to help students attaint their educational goals, Gail Benjamin was a determined advocate for career education whose actions warranted special recognition. In 2006, the Imagine America Foundation established The Gail Benjamin Fellowship to offer grants to send career college employees to the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) Leadership Institute. This year, the Fellowship has announced two recipients of the 2011 grant: Angele Blackshear-Brown, of Brown Mackie College – Northern Kentucky in Fort Mitchell, Ken. and Susan Green, of Anthem College in Maryland Heights, Mo.
Gail Benjamin strongly believed in the obligation of each generation to assist the following generation in fulfilling their educational and career goals. Both The Fellowship and the Imagine America Foundation have realized the need for women and minorities to pursue senior and executive positions in the career education field. Named in her honor, The Fellowship is now helping Benjamin's legacy live on through the efforts of today's emerging career college leaders.
The Gail Benjamin Fellowship is sponsored by The Gail L. and Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation (GLAEB). The nominees must be female or minority, have a minimum of three years of work at their current college, demonstrate financial need, demonstrate high potential and commitment in the career education field and demonstrate volunteer service involvement through their career college or community.
Nominations for the grants are made by the presidents of career colleges. The accomplishments made by this year's recipients are typical of honorees from years past:
Angele Blackshear-Brown has been employed by Brown Mackie College and has served as Technology Chair for three years. She has volunteered her time to a list of community and professional organizations, including her work in chartering the only post-secondary chapter of Business Professionals of America in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Her work in these areas led Christine Knouff, President of Brown Mackie College – Northern Kentucky to nominate her for The Fellowship.
“Angele believes that in a world like we live in today, someone must be committed to educational prosperity,” Knouff said. Through the Gail Benjamin Fellowship-Leadership Academy, Angele’s lifelong dream to continue to empower more Americans through education in the private sector will become true.”
Susan Green joined Anthem College nearly seven years ago and has worked as a student advocate as Student Services Manager. Every day, Green helps champion the cause of students, helping them attain their education and achieve their career goals. She’s volunteered her time to an extensive list of charitable organizations and related events, including Angel Food Ministries, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and Relay for Life. Green has also shown her dedication to learning and growing as a leader by completing nine leadership development workshops, attending six in-services and six professional organization conferences in the last year alone.
“By attending such a prominent leadership conference, Susan’s ‘pay it forward’ attitude will not stop with the conference,” said. Heidi Wind, President of Anthem College. “Our campus will benefit from her experiences and what she learned. I know without a doubt she would share with us.”
Blackshear-Brown and Green will join other career college directors from around the country at APSCU's Leadership Institute in July. Leaders of the industry speak in a series of presentation and discussions focused on how to efficiently run a career college. Through this annual event, The Fellowship hopes that attendees will receive the knowledge and skills they need to succeed as postsecondary leaders.
Contact: Robert L. Martin, President, Imagine America Foundation
Phone: (202) 336-6758
E-mail: bobm@imagine-america.org
About the Imagine America Foundation
The Imagine America Foundation (IAF), established in 1982, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing scholarships for education, research and training support for the career college sector. Since its inception, the Foundation has provided over $50 million in scholarship and award support for graduating high school seniors, adult learners and U.S. military personnel attending career colleges nationwide through its award-winning Imagine America® programs. The Foundation also publishes vital research publications for the higher education sector, honors achievement in career education and offers faculty development training. For more information about the Imagine America Foundation’s programs, please visit www.imagine-america.org.
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