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MCC President to Receive Shirley B. Gordon Award

2/14/22

Naomi DeWinter, MCC President Muscatine Community College (MCC) President, Dr. Naomi DeWinter will receive the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction from the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society during PTK Catalyst 2022, the Society’s annual convention in Denver, Colorado, April 7-9.

The Shirley B. Gordon Award is presented to college presidents who have shown strong support of student success on their campus by recognizing academic achievement, leadership and service among high achieving students at their colleges. Recipients are nominated by students on their campus and are only eligible to receive the award once over the course of their career.

DeWinter was selected among 617 college presidents and CEOs, nationwide.

“I’m delighted and honored by this recognition from PTK, particularly because the nomination comes from our students―that’s the best aspect of it,” stated DeWinter. “A few years ago, I was awarded an honorary membership to PTK and thought that was great. This just tops that!”

DeWinter regularly meets with PTK leadership and students to coordinate service projects and introduce them to community needs. When she’s not helping in that capacity, she can be seen on campus attending PTK events, like invocations, helping to shine light on their work.

To DeWinter, PTK offers students a way to be connected to an international organization and begin to think beyond Muscatine and Iowa.

“Their service projects give them hands-on volunteer work and the leadership positions give them experience that they can use well after they graduate from here,” said DeWinter.

In addition to her title as President, DeWinter also serves as the district’s Vice Chancellor for Student Development. In this role, she works with key players to provide student support services to students. Most notably, she has helped disburse millions in ‘Cares’ funds to students, pivoted to offer remote services during the pandemic and increased mental health support services to students.

The Shirley B. Gordon Award is PTK’s most prestigious award for community college presidents and is named in honor of the late Dr. Shirley B. Gordon, Phi Theta Kappa’s longest serving Board of Directors Chair and a founder and long-time president of Highline Community College in Washington. In addition to DeWinter, the 2022 recipients are:

Dr. Seth Carter Colby Community College, Kansas	Dr. Sunita (Sunny) Cooke MiraCosta College, California
Dr. Andrea Daniel Athens Technical College, Georgia	Dr. Naomi DeWinter Muscatine Community College, Iowa
Dr. Para Jones Stark State College, Ohio	Dr. Brenda Kays Kilgore College, Texas
Dr. Belinda S. Miles Westchester Community College, New York	Dr. Juston Pate Elizabethtown Community & Technical College, Kentucky
Dr. Raymond Staats Craven Community College, North Carolina	Dr. Devin Stephenson Northwest Florida State College, Florida
Dr. Valmadge Towner Coahoma Community College, Mississippi	Dr. Kevin Trutna Feather River College, California
Dr. Jeanie Webb Rose State College, Oklahoma

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.

Questions? Call toll-free 1-888-336-3907, email eiccinfo@eicc.edu or contact the college nearest you and ask to speak to an advisor.

Clinton Community College, 563-244-7000
Muscatine Community College, 563-288-6000
Scott Community College, 563-441-4000

t is the policy of Eastern Iowa Community College District not to discriminate in its programs, activities, or employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, religion, and actual or potential family, parental or marital status, as required by the Iowa Code §§216.6 and 216.9, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d and 2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational Amendments, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.).

If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy, please contact EICC’s Equal Employment Opportunity Officer/Equity Coordinator, Eastern Iowa Community College District, 101 West Third Street, Davenport, Iowa 52801, 563-336-5222, equity@eicc.edu or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Education, John C. Kluczynski Federal Building, 230 S. Dearborn Street, 37th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604-7204, Telephone: (312) 730-1560 Facsimile: (312) 730- 1576, TDD (800) 877-8339 Email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.