PennACE Members Recognized for Service & Contributions
Each year we invite you, the PennACE membership, to nominate outstanding members for our annual awards; the Keystone Award and the Donna Dentler Award. During our May 21st membership meeting over Zoom, we recognized this years recipients, Nathan Nitczyniski and Diana Brush.
The Keystone Award is awarded to members in their first three years of membership who have been actively involved in the organization. This year the award was presented to Nathan Nitczyniski of Mercyhurst University.
Nathan joined PennACE in 2018 and is currently serving as a Professional Development chair on the Executive Board. Nathan has presented at our annual conference, led roundtable events and served on the conference committee. Nathan’s nominator stated “Nathan is a positive, pleasant individual with a read deal of energy and an evident intention to contribute to the advancement and success of PennACE and his colleagues in the field of higher education. As a new member he is already involved on the executive board and is eager to contribute to the work we do. I most certainly see him as someone that will be a continuing member, advocate, and leader for PennACE”
The Donna Dentler Service Award is a lifetime award, presented to a member who has provided outstanding service to our organization. This year’s award was presented to Diana Brush of Clarion University.
Diana has been a member of PennACE for over seven years and is currently serving as the Member at Large, Student of the Year chair. Diana has served in a number of roles on the Executive Board, committees, and has presented at the conference numerous times. Diana’s nominator stated “Diana is consistently involved and willing to step up where and as needed. She’s highly organized and efficient. As such, has contributed to PennACE through her expertise with Robert’s Rules of Order, constitution and bylaws rewrites, and strategic planning. Additionally, she’s provided ideas for ensuring the most efficient operation of the organization, including reviewing our approach to memberships to maximize our membership enrollment. Most notably, Diana worked diligently to streamline the Student of the Year Awards process and even stepped up to fill the position right after she’d decided to not run for another term because the individual that was filling the position needed to resign. She’s a team player and professional that cares about higher education, her colleagues, and the success and relevance of PennACE. She’s never seeking the spotlight, but instead is working behind the scenes to ensure the smooth operation of committees, the conference, and the overall organization.”
Congratulations to Nathan and Diana.