Submit your nomination for the 2014 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards! 

Each year, NEBHE presents Regional Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the ...]]> Despite a late-winter snowstorm, hundreds of New Englanders braved the snow to attend NEBHE's 11th New England Higher Education Excellence Awards celebration on Friday, March 8, at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel.

Each year, NEBHE presents Regional Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement of educational opportunity, and State Merit Awards to honor the innovative work of organizations, institutions or individuals in each New England state.

NEBHE awarded its Special Award for Lifetime Achievement to University of Rhode Island oceanography professor Robert D. Ballard. In addition to being a National Geographic Society Explorer-In-Residence and a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, Ballard is the president of the Ocean Exploration Center at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn. Attendees were glued to a video of Ballard's underwater adventures, and a slideshow that brought his work back to the down-to-earth goal of spreading educational excellence—as he put it, paraphrasing Captain Kirk, “To Go where no one has gone before on Planet Earth."

Best known for his 1985 discovery of the Titanic, Ballard also succeeded in tracking down numerous other significant shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismark, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown (sunk in the World War II Battle of Midway), and John F. Kennedy’s PT-109.

Though these expeditions captured the public imagination, Ballard believes his most important discoveries were of hydrothermal vents and “black smokers” in the Galapagos Rift and East Pacific Rise in 1977 and 1979 along with their exotic life forms living off Earth’s energy through a process now called chemosynthesis.

And the ones still to come ... by which he means, preparing future adventurers and scientists. Ballard spent 30 years at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he helped develop technology to create “tele-presence” for his JASON Learning foundation, which allows schoolchildren from afar to accompany him undersea. In 2001, he returned to URI, his alma mater, to join the Graduate School of Oceanography as a tenured professor.

NEBHE's 2013 Governor Walter R. Peterson Award for Leadership went to Thomas D. Ritter, former Connecticut House Speaker (D-Hartford) and University of Connecticut trustee. Because of his commitment to improving higher education and spirit of bipartisanship, Ritter worked with then-newly elected Republican Gov. John Rowland to make 1995 a key year for the University of Connecticut. Working together, they passed the landmark UConn 2000 program which provided $1 billion in funds to rebuild the school's campuses. The legislation also provided a one-on-one match up to $50 million in donations to increase UConn's endowment. In 2002, he worked to pass "Century 21," which provided UConn with another $1 billion in funding, beginning in 2005,

NEBHE’s Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement went to the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Scholarship Program. The foundation distributes more than $5 million annually to nearly 2,000 New Hampshire students. Because of the increasing debt load among New Hampshire students—the highest in the nation—the foundation has increased the average size of its scholarships to $3,500, while increasing the number of students served each year. In addition to scholarships, the foundation has granted more than $3.8 million to community colleges and state universities to launch programs that foster economic and community development, and made numerous grants to increase access to education for the neediest students. In 2013, the foundation plans to bring greater awareness to the urgent need for workforce readiness in science, technology engineering and math (STEM).

NEBHE awarded its 2013 Eleanor McMahon Award for Lifetime Achievement to two recipients.

Ray M. Di Pasquale began serving as president of the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) in July 2006. In January 2010, he assumed a dual role when he was named commissioner of higher education for the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, which became the Rhode Island Board of Education in January 2013. Since Di Pasquale arrived at CCRI, the college has enjoyed near-record enrollments and graduated its largest-ever class in May 2012. CCRI is the largest community college in New England, serving nearly 18,000 students, and its noncredit arm trains more than 30,000 Rhode Islanders annually, making it an important player in the state's workforce development efforts.

The second McMahon award went to Donald R. Vickers, president and CEO of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. Vickers was appointed president and CEO of VSAC in 1990 and oversaw growth that turned it into a comprehensive agency serving thousands of Vermonters annually and employing hundreds of people. Among his accomplishments, Vickers advanced outreach programs and career development resources for students of all ages, creating the award-winning Start Where You Are college access program and supporting mentoring initiatives. He helped high school students and parents plan for postsecondary education through the College Pathways program, Paying for College workshops and assistance with financial aid forms.

NEBHE's 2013 David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship also had two winners.

Louise S. Berry was appointed to the Board of Trustees for Community Colleges in 1991 and became its chair in 2004. She represented the board on numerous presidential search committees as both chair and co-chair to select leaders for the 12-college Connecticut Community College System. At the same time, she served on the board of the University of Connecticut. A former state senator, Berry is currently the superintendent of schools in Brooklyn, Conn. She has been an advocate for early childhood education throughout her career and, in 2006, the Early Childhood Center at the Brooklyn School was named in her honor. She and her late husband  Richard were instrumental in the founding of Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson, Conn.

James J. Karam is the former chair of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees and president and founder of First Bristol Corp., a 35-year-old regional real estate development and management company focused on developing retail shopping centers, office buildings and hotels throughout Southern New England. He also is co-owner of WSAR and WHTB radio stations, serving the Massachusetts Southcoast region. During his 10 years as a trustee and four as chair, the UMass system experienced strong student population growth and more than $2 billion in capital improvements, as well as the founding of the state's public law school at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Karam's alma mater.

NEBHE presented two special Regional Awards to specifically recognize business collaboration with New England higher education institutions to address New England workforce needs and provide students with enhanced education, training or research opportunities.

The Employee Scholar Program (ESP) at United Technologies Corp. (UTC) was awarded NEBHE's 2013 Connecticut State Merit Award as well as a special Regional Award for Business Contribution to Higher Education. UTC's commitment to learning is embodied in the ESP, which has enabled employees to earn more than 34,000 college degrees. ESP is the premier corporate-sponsored employee education program. It pays for tuition, books and fees for employees enrolled in accredited programs. In addition to prepayment of expenses, employees also receive paid time off each week to study. Unlike more typical tuition-reimbursement programs, ESP places no restrictions on the course of study an employee may pursue, and there is no requirement that coursework pertain to an employee's current job. UTC  has invested more than $1 billion in ESP since the program was established in 1996.

NEBHE presented its other Regional Award for Business Contribution to Higher Education—as well as the 2013 Maine State Merit Award— to Unum, a leader in disability insurance. In Maine, Unum executives were instrumental in establishing both the Maine Compact for Higher Education and the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education. Among the compact's innovative programs are the College Transition Initiative, which works with adult education programs to encourage people to complete their GEDs and transition directly into college courses, and the Employer Initiative, which encourages companies to provide incentives to their employees to further their education. The compact also helped establish the Harold Alfond College Challenge, which gives a $500 scholarship to any baby born in Maine. Unum also supports programs for underserved and minority students. Other Maine beneficiaries of Unum's support of higher education include the University of Maine (student retention program and Maine NEW Leadership institute for undergraduate women from across Maine), the Maine Community College System (Accelerate ME program), the University of New England Dental School, and the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute.

NEBHE presented its 2013 Massachusetts State Merit Award to the Massachusetts Community Colleges Experiential Education Committee. With support from the Massachusetts Community Colleges Executive Office, professionals in cooperative education, internship and career service programs at the 15 Massachusetts community colleges worked together in 2011 and 2012 to develop formal guidelines for experiential education, with a focus on cooperative education and internship programs. The handbook they published, called MCC Experiential Education: Internships and Cooperative Education, A Handbook for Practitioners and Administrators, outlines best practices, success factors, federal regulations and legal implications critical for practitioners and program administrators to understand in designing, implementing, supervising and assessing internships and co-ops on each of the Commonwealth's community college campuses.

The 2013 New Hampshire State Merit Award went to Northeast Delta Dental, which administers dental benefits of more than 730,000 people in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Its group customers include individuals and families with no access to employer-sponsored dental insurance. Northeast Delta Dental has many long-term relationships with education institutions and programs. In the past year, its giving included supporting Bow High School, the Community Colleges of NH Foundation, the Concord Community Music School, Early Learning NH, the Manchester Community Music School, the Manchester School System (City Year), New England League of Middle Schools, the New Hampshire Institute of Art, New Hampshire State Scholars, NHTI, Concord's Community College, Plymouth State University, and Southern New Hampshire Services (B.R.I.N.G. I.T.!!! program). In keeping with its oral health mission, its largest investment in higher education was a $2.3 million gift to the University of New England in Maine, which will open its College of Dental Medicine, the first in northern New England, in fall 2013.

NEBHE's 2013 Rhode Island State Merit Award recognized the Rhode Island Foundation and its CEO Neil D. Steinberg. The foundation granted a record-breaking $30 million to more than 1,300 community organizations in 2012. In education, the foundation has supported: efforts focused on middle school and high school retention programs that motivate kids to learn, reach graduation and seek further education opportunities; investments in charter schools and specialty schools where best practices can be learned and shared with larger schools and districts; and programs addressing professional development and peer support for education leaders

The Vermont State Merit Award went to the External Degree Program (EDP) of Johnson State College, Vermont's largest bachelor's degree-completion program. The EDP helps students finish their degrees close to home and in ways that are convenient, affordable and designed to fit with their busy lives. Open to students with 60 or more college credits, the program offers a variety of learning options, making it ideal for those who need to juggle work and family responsibilities with their studies. Because of its flexibility and statewide reach, it's a popular option for veterans. Students can earn credits online or in their own community through a combination of weekend and evening courses taught at various locations in Vermont, including Burlington, Montpelier, St. Albans and Rutland.

Each year, NEBHE presents ...]]> University of Rhode Island oceanography professor Robert Ballard, known for the discovery of the wreck of the RMS Titanic, will be among luminaries recognized by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) in March 2013 at the regional organization's 11th annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards.

Each year, NEBHE presents Regional Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement of educational opportunity, and State Merit Awards to honor the innovative work of organizations, institutions or individuals in each New England state.

The 2013 awardees are:

Special Lifetime Achievement Award

• Robert D. Ballard, Professor of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, and Director, Institute for Archaeological Oceanography

Regional Awards:

• Thomas D. Ritter, Former Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, and Trustee, University of Connecticut (The Governor Walter R. Peterson Award for Leadership)
• Ray M. Di Pasquale, Commissioner, Rhode Island Board of Governors of Higher Education and President, Community College of Rhode Island; and Donald R. Vickers, President and CEO, Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (The Eleanor M. McMahon Award for Lifetime Achievement)
• New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Scholarship Program (The Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement)
• Louise S. Berry, Former Chair, Board of Trustees, Connecticut Community College System; and James Karam, Former Chair, Board of Trustees, University of Massachusetts (The David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship)

State Merit Awards:

• Employee Scholar Program, United Technologies Corp. (Connecticut State Merit Award and Regional Award for Business Contribution to Higher Education)
• Unum (Maine State Merit Award and Regional Award for Business Contribution to Higher Education)
• Massachusetts Community Colleges Experiential Education Committee (Massachusetts State Merit Award)
• Northeast Delta Dental (New Hampshire State Merit Award)
• Neil Steinberg and The Rhode Island Foundation (Rhode Island State Merit Award)
• Johnson State College External Degree Program (Vermont State Merit Award)

NEBHE will present the awards at its New England Higher Education Excellence Awards dinner on Friday, March 8, 2013, at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel in Boston.

Four Regional Awards

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) will hold its eleventh annual New England Higher ...]]> Check back soon for photos and materials featured at our awards dinner!

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) will hold its eleventh annual New England Higher Education Excellence Award at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel on March 8, 2013.

Four regional awards will be presented to individuals and organizations from higher education, government and business sectors that exemplify excellence in higher education in one or more of the following areas: leadership, innovation, diversity, partnerships and collaborations or educational opportunity.

In addition, there will be six state merit awards—one in each of the New England states—presented to an individual, program, organization, institution or business for exemplifying, through their work, excellence in promoting college readiness and success for the students of New England.

Registration has now closed to buy individual seats.

Sponsored by:

The 2013 Higher Education Excellence winners are:

Special Lifetime Achievement Award:

Robert D. Ballard, Professor, Center for Ocean Exploration, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
and President, Ocean Exploration Trust

Regional Excellence Awards:

Thomas D. Ritter, Former Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, and Trustee, University of Connecticut
The Governor Walter R. Peterson Award for Leadership

Ray M. Di Pasquale, Commissioner, Rhode Island Board of Governors of Higher Education and President, Community College of Rhode Island
and
Donald R. Vickers, President and CEO, Vermont Student Assistance Corporation
The Eleanor M. McMahon Award for Lifetime Achievement

New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Scholarship Program
The Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement

Louise S. Berry, Former Chair, Board of Trustees, Connecticut Community College System
and
James Karam, Former Chair, Board of Trustees, University of Massachusetts
The David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship

State Merit Awards:

Employee Scholar Program, United Technologies
Connecticut State Merit Award and Regional Award for Business Contribution to Higher Education

Unum
Maine State Merit Award and Regional Award for Business Contribution to Higher Education

Massachusetts Community Colleges Experiential Education Committee
Massachusetts State Merit Award

Northeast Delta Dental
New Hampshire State Merit Award

Neil Steinberg and The Rhode Island Foundation
Rhode Island State Merit Award

Johnson State College External Degree Program
Vermont State Merit Award

Congratulations to all the winners! NEBHE will present the awards at its New England Higher Education Excellence Awards dinner on Friday, March 8, 2013, at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel in Boston.

To view Excellence Awards winners from previous years, please click here.

2012 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards

Friday, March 2, 2012

The Boston Long Wharf Marriott Hotel

Boston, Massachusetts

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is pleased to announce its tenth anniversary of the New England Higher Education Excellence Awards. Presentations of the awards will be made at our annual Excellence Awards dinner on Friday, ...]]>

2012 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards

Friday, March 2, 2012

The Boston Long Wharf Marriott Hotel

Boston, Massachusetts

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is pleased to announce its tenth anniversary of the New England Higher Education Excellence Awards. Presentations of the awards will be made at our annual Excellence Awards dinner on Friday, March 2, 2012 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel in Boston, Massachusetts.

Register today for a seat at the awards dinner! Choose Single attendee from the list of registrant types. For information or general questions about the event, contact Creative Community Connections at 800-264-1499, or nebhe [at] c3gather [dot] com.

Sponsored by:

Friday, March 2, 2012

4:00 PM: Registration
5:00 PM: Reception
6:30 PM: Dinner and awards ceremony

Four regional awards will be presented to individuals and organizations from higher education, government and business sectors that exemplify excellence in higher education in one or more of the following areas: leadership, innovation, diversity, partnerships/collaborations or educational opportunity.

In addition, there will be six state merit awards—one in each of the New England states—presented to an individual, program, organization, institution or business for exemplifying, through their work, excellence in promoting college readiness and success for the students of New England.

NEBHE is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards:

SPECIAL RECOGNITION:

Global Education Leadership Award in Support of New England - China Partnerships: Capt. Wei Jiafu, Chairman, Cosco Group

REGIONAL EXCELLENCE AWARD RECIPIENTS

The Governor Walter R. Peterson Award for Leadership: The Hon. Deval Patrick, Governor, Massachusetts
and The Hon. Donald L. Carcieri, Former Governor, Rhode Island

The Eleanor M. McMahon Award for Lifetime Achievement: Richard A. Gustafson, Former Chancellor, Community College System of New Hampshire

The Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement: Bunker Hill Community College Learning Communities

The David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship: Cornelius Hogan, Chair, Board of Trustees, Vermont College of Fine Arts

STATE MERIT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Connecticut State Merit Award: Connecticut College of Technology (Connecticut Community College System) and Karen Wosczyna-Birch, Director

Maine State Merit Award: Early College for ME, Maine Community College System

Massachusetts State Merit Award: Donald J. Smyth, Trustee, Bristol Community College

New Hampshire State Merit Award: Paul J. LeBlanc, President, Southern New Hampshire University

Rhode Island State Merit Award: Ronald K. Machtley, President, Bryant University

Vermont State Merit Award: Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), University of Vermont

If you are interested in sponsoring a table or other sponsorship opportunities, please contact Marla Phippen at 617-357-9620 ext. 119, or mphippen [at] nebhe [dot] org.

For general questions about the event, contact Creative Community Connections at 800-264-1499, or nebhe [at] c3gather.com.

The New England Board of Higher Education held its 9th annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards Dinner on Friday, March 11, at the Long Wharf Marriott in Boston. But the conversation continued beyond the dinner, thanks to a variety of social media.

To track our social media coverage, check out the links below:

NEBHE will hold its 9th annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards Dinner on Friday, March 11,  at 6:30 p.m., at the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel in Boston.

Join NEBHE and hundreds of New England's business, education, government and nonprofit leaders to celebrate the best in New England higher education!

Awardees will include:

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) will hold its ninth annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards on Friday, March 11, at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.

Each year, NEBHE presents Regional Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement ...]]>

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) will hold its ninth annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards on Friday, March 11, at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.

Each year, NEBHE presents Regional Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement of educational opportunity, and State Merit Awards to honor the innovative work of organizations, institutions or individuals in each New England state.

Please click the links below for more information on the individual awards and their recipients.

• The Hon. Patrick J. Leahy, U.S. Senator, Vermont (The Governor Walter R. Peterson Award for Leadership)
• Terrence MacTaggart, Former Chancellor, University of Maine System (The Eleanor M. McMahon Award for Lifetime Achievement)
• Eastern Connecticut State University & Quinebaug Valley Community College
  Dual Enrollment Program (The Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement)
• Kimon Zachos, Trustee, Southern New Hampshire University (The David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship)

• The Hon. Denise Merrill, Connecticut Secretary of State and former member of the Connecticut House of Representatives (Connecticut State Merit Award)
• The Bernard Osher Foundation (Maine State Merit Award)
• The Hon. Steven C. Panagiotakos, former member of the Massachusetts Senate (Massachusetts State Merit Award)
• NHHEAF’s Center for College Planning (New Hampshire State Merit Award)
• Dennis Littky & Big Picture Learning (Rhode Island State Merit Award)
• Vermont Dual Enrollment Program (Vermont State Merit Award)

For registration information, click here.

Friday, March 11, 2011 The Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel Boston, Mass.

The New England Board of Higher Education's (NEBHE) ninth annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards will take place on Friday, March 11, 2011 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.

Registration is now closed. For information or general questions about the event, ...]]>

Friday, March 11, 2011
The Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel
Boston, Mass.

The New England Board of Higher Education's (NEBHE) ninth annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards will take place on Friday, March 11, 2011 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.

Registration is now closed. For information or general questions about the event, contact Creative Community Connections at 800-264-1499, or nebhe [at] c3gather.com.

Our sponsors and partners include:

Friday, March 11, 2011

4:00 PM: Registration
5:00 PM: Reception
6:30 PM: Dinner and awards ceremony

Four regional awards will be presented to individuals and organizations from higher education, government and business sectors that exemplify excellence in higher education in one or more of the following areas: leadership, innovation, diversity, partnerships/collaborations or educational opportunity.

In addition, there will be six state merit awards—one in each of the New England states—presented to an individual, program, organization, institution or business for exemplifying, through their work, excellence in promoting college readiness and success for the students of New England.

NEBHE is pleased to announce the winners of the 2011 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards...

If you are interested in sponsoring a table, please contact Phyllis Maguire at 617-357-9620 x128, or pmaguire [at] nebhe.org.

To purchase an individual seat for the event, please click here.

Sponsorship opportunities are available! We welcome your participation as a 2011 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards sponsor. Download our sponsorship brochure in PDF format here. For additional information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Phyllis Maguire at 617-357-9620 x128, or pmaguire [at] nebhe.org.

For general questions about the event, contact Creative Community Connections at 800-264-1499, or nebhe [at] c3gather.com.