The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) will recognize Athens Technical College President Andrea Daniel with the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction during PTK Catalyst 2022, the Society’s annual convention in Denver, Colorado, April 7-9.

To be eligible for this award, college presidents and CEOs must have served in their role for at least five years. Recipients are nominated by students on their campus and are only eligible to receive the award once over the course of their career. These 13 recipients were selected from among 617 college presidents eligible to receive this award.

The award recognizes college presidents who have shown support of student success initiatives leading to stronger pathways to completion, transfer, and employment. They have taken an active interest in supporting high-achieving students and developing student leaders on campus. “These college presidents have made it a priority to keep students engaged throughout the pandemic,” says Phi Theta Kappa President and CEO Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner. “Their nomination is evidence of the gratitude their PTK students feel for supporting them and students like them—even during the most difficult times.”

The Shirley B. Gordon Award is Phi Theta Kappa’s most prestigious award for community college presidents and is named in honor of the late Dr. Shirley B. Gordon, Phi Theta Kappa’s longest-serving Board of Directors Chair and a founder and long-time president of Highline Community College in Washington.

Daniel is an honorary PTK member and recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Administrator award who continues to support Phi Theta Kappa in many ways, according to Chapter Advisor Hayden Benson.

“President Daniel dedicates her career to expanding a skilled workforce. To celebrate her commitment to workforce development, she recognized the 2021 New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar Frances Stephens,” said Benson, a Reading and English Instructor at the college. “Her constant support of this scholarship, along with her dedication to workforce empowerment, marks her commitment to student success. She is also a consummate servant-leader for Phi Theta Kappa, as demonstrated in her support of our Spring 2021 educational panel on race and social justice and the chapter's other major events. We are so glad that Dr. Daniel received this award and that she is being recognized for her great achievements, as she is very deserving of this prestigious award.”

Athens Technical College has also been named a REACH Chapter this year, which celebrates and rewards Phi Theta Kappa chapters excelling in membership development.