Five College Presidents to Receive Bennett Lifetime Achievement Awards

March 6, 2023
default

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) will recognize five retiring college presidents and chancellors with the Michael Bennett Lifetime Achievement Award during PTK Catalyst 2023, the Society’s annual convention in Columbus, Ohio, April 20-22.

These awards are given to retiring 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. Recipients are nominated by the students on their campus.

“These college leaders have made student success a priority throughout their career,” says Phi Theta Kappa President and CEO Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner. “This award is special because it comes directly from the students, and it is evidence of the gratitude they feel for the support for them and students like them, both inside and outside the classroom.”

The award is named in honor of the late Dr. Michael Bennett, longtime president of St. Petersburg College in Florida. The 2023 recipients are:

Dr. Kevin Boys
Southern State Community College
Ohio 
Jennie Vaughan
Ivy Tech Community College
Indiana
Michael Elbe
John Wood Community College
Illinois
Dr. Thomas Ramage
Parkland College
Illinois
Dr. Linda Lujan
Lamar Community College
Colorado
 

About Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 3.8 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 countries, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation’s colleges. Learn more at ptk.org.

Related Articles

Community College Workforce Students Named World Impact Scholars

Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the international honor society for high-achieving community college students, recently named 180 community college workforce students as World Impact Scholars, an honor recognizing them for pursuing degrees and certificates in programs that support economic opportunity and workforce needs in communities across World Cup host regions. Supported by a donation from Coca-Cola…

Ahyan Malik

Phi Theta Kappa Announces 2026 Founder’s Medal Award Recipient

Ahyan Malik, a student at Berkeley City College in California, has been named Phi Theta Kappa’s 2026 Founder’s Medal Award recipient. Malik received a $1,000 scholarship and the Founder’s Medal Medallion in recognition of writing the essay that most powerfully conveys the value of a community college education. Selected from more than 1,200 submissions, Malik’s…

Phi Theta Kappa Welcomes Dr. DeRionne Pollard to Board of Directors

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) today announced the appointment of Dr. DeRionne Pollard, President and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), to its Board of Directors.  Dr. Pollard brings decades of leadership across both community colleges and four-year institutions, along with a deep commitment to expanding opportunity for students. She was selected in 2025…