Dr. Cedric Howard and Dr. Bette Simmons, NASPA Foundation board chair.
Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services Cedric Howard received the Pillar of the Profession Award from NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education at its annual conference in March in Los Angeles.
Each year, the NASPA Foundation recognizes a series of distinguished individuals who have served as leaders, teachers, and scholars in student affairs and higher education. Each individual is nominated and supported for designation as a Pillar by colleagues, students, friends, or others who find them deserving of this honor. If selected as a Pillar, the nominator and selected foundation board member will raise $3,500 in the name of the individual being nominated to further research and scholarship in student affairs.
NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession. Their work provides high-quality professional development, advocacy and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries and eight U.S. territories. The NASPA Foundation supports student affairs professionals by conferring and financially supporting scholarships, Innovation Grants, research grants, and recognition awards.
The NASPA Foundation’s Pillar of the Profession Award honors members of the profession who:
- Are individuals of sustained professional distinction in the higher education field, as defined by donors and supporters
- Have served in leadership roles in NASPA, either regionally or nationally
- Are being recognized or remembered by colleagues, friends, students, or student organizations for extraordinary service
- Significant lifetime contributions to the higher education field
Dr. Howard assumed his duties at Fredonia on Aug. 1, 2016. In his role, Dr. Howard has made fundamental changes to the enrollment and admissions procedures and workflow. His expertise, leadership and management style has contributed greatly in Fredonia enrolling the largest first-year class in campus history, a more than 30 percent increase since his arrival. In previous positions, Dr. Howard served as Vice Chancellor of Student and Enrollment Service at the University of Washington – Tacoma; Director of Student Affairs at the University of South Florida – St. Petersburg; Dean of Student Affairs and Chief Student Affairs Officer at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee; and Director of the Diversity Center and Student Programs at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
An engaged NASPA member throughout his 23-year career, Dr. Howard has been a model for taking the global perspectives on the higher education landscape he gains through the association and applied his knowledge for the betterment of the campuses he has served, always with student success as the driving motivator.
For more information about NASPA Foundation and Pillar of Professional Award, please contact Lucy Fort at LFort@naspa.org or call (202) 719-1171.
