WVU Parkersburg president receives national Phi Theta Kappa award of distinction.

CONTACT:  Marie Foster Gnage, president of WVU Parkersburg, 304-424-8200. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg is a 2008 recipient of the Phi Theta Kappa's prestigious Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction.

Marie Foster Gnage was selected for the award based on her outstanding support of PTK, the national honorary for community colleges.  WVU Parkersburg's PTK chapter is one of the college's most active organizations.

Twenty-three college presidents received the award at PTK's international convention in Philadelphia April 3-5. The award is named after Dr. Shirley B. Gordon who serves as vice chair of the PTK Board of Directors. She is the president emeritus of Highline Community College in Washington.

The Gordon award recipients are chosen for providing extensive support and a variety of resources for their colleges' Phi Theta Kappa chapters, including faculty advisor release time, a line-item budget for the chapter, financial support for chapters to participate in regional and international events and scholarships for PTK members.

PTK International Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, MS, is the largest honor society in American higher education with 1,250 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. More than two million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 100,000 students inducted annually.

cd04/15/08