AAUA Recognizes ACS Athens
Friday, July 17, 2009 at 1:11PM The American Association of University Administrators Awards ACS Athens for its Program of Innovative School–University Partnerships
The ACS Athens Institute for Critical and Creative Thinking has been awarded the prestigious Nikolai N. Khaladjan International Award by the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA). ACS Athens is recognized for its pioneering programs promoting innovative teaching and learning through the creation of authentic collaborations with premier colleges and universities. The AAUA recognized this year’s ACS Athens Summer Leadership Institute as a model of educational best practices.
At his congratulatory letter to ACS Athens, Dr. Dan L. King, AAUA’s Executive Director says: “I am pleased to inform you that your institution has been selected as one of this year's recipients of the AAUA Khaladjan International Award. As you know. this competitive award recognizes outstanding educational achievements/programs of an international nature. It will be formally presented this coming November at the annual assembly of the AAUA in Arlington, Virginia (metropolitan Washington, DC). Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!” ACS Athens President, Dr. Stefanos Gialamas expressed his excitement that “a higher education organization such as AAUA awards for the first time a K-12 institution, for its innovative programs that bridge secondary with higher education, benefitting, most of all, the students themselves.”
The program is offered in collaboration with the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. The Khaladjan Award is bestowed to higher educational institutions that foster international understanding, promote innovative teaching methods, widen access to education, extend the use of teaching resources, by widely using and developing learning technology, and accelerating or deepening student learning.
ACS Athens is the first ever JK-12 school to be so recognized by the AAUA in its nearly forty-year history. Past recipients of the Nikolai N. Khaladjan International Award include: University of Kansas, Regensburg University (Denmark), University of South Carolina, University of London, Western Illinois University, California State University, Ohio State University.
Thirteen selected students participated in the 2009 Summer Leadership Institute from June 25 – July 10, 2009. Drawing on the talents and skills of ACS Athens and University of Richmond faculty, the Institute provided students with a wide variety of pragmatic, hands-on and academic learning experiences in which they explored the concept of leadership and its relationship to democracy, ethics and service to one’s community -- as they discovered and cultivated the leadership potential within themselves.
The Leadership Institute began with three days of team-building activities and a series of workshops in Athens. The second week of the program took participants to the campus of the University of Richmond for a week-long college learning (and living) experience, focusing on study of the foundations of leadership, the Jeffersonian ideal of democracy and leadership in the field of science and environmental affairs. Following their academic experience, participants observed leadership in action and up-close, as they travelled to Washington, DC, to meet and learn from leaders in politics, business, law, government service, the military, medicine, journalism and public interest lobbying, some them being graduates of ACS Athens. Students assessed their experiences as they reflected upon their observations on leadership in action through a holistic, harmonious and meaningful approach.
American Association of University Administrators (AAUA) was founded in 1970 in Buffalo, New York. The Association is chartered as a non-profit, educational organization in compliance with the laws of the State of New York. AAUA was established as - and remains - a professional organization. Membership in AAUA is open to career administrators in any accredited college, university, or other post-secondary organization. The AAUA membership includes presidents, deans, directors, department chairpersons, and individuals working in a variety of other administrative positions. Approximately 500 college and university administrators in the United States and several foreign countries currently hold membership in AAUA.
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