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Professor nationally recognized for economic inequality initiative

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L-R: Last year's award winner, Gregg Kaufman, Instructor and ADP Campus Coordinator at Georgia College, Dr. Patrick Dolenc, and Barbara Burch, namesake of the award.
L-R: Last year's award winner, Gregg Kaufman, Instructor and ADP Campus Coordinator at Georgia College, Dr. Patrick Dolenc, and Barbara Burch, namesake of the award.

Keene State College Economics Professor, Dr. Patrick Dolenc, Recognized with National Award for Program on Economic Inequality

Dr. Dolenc Selected for the Impact of His Work On Campus and Nationally

Keene State College Economics professor, Dr. Patrick Dolenc, was recognized by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) with a national award for his involvement in the American Democracy Project (ADP) at both the campus and national level. Dr. Dolenc played an essential role in establishing the new Economic Inequality Initiative, led by teams from Keene State College and Mount Wachusett Community College (Mass.) A total of 31 campuses across the country are incorporating the program into their classrooms and co-curricular activities. Dr. Dolenc was also recognized for his successful integration of civic learning and democratic engagement into his own courses, and broader work, at Keene State College. He received the Barbara Burch Award for Faculty Leadership in Civic Engagement.

“It is my honor to be selected for this year’s Burch Award. The issue of economic inequality is a critical and underlying theme in national and local conversations; both in our neighborhoods and on the national stage, leading up the next presidential election cycle,” said Dolenc. “Engaging undergraduate students in this topic through both words and actions enriches their college experience, and provides future graduates with new perspectives through which they will understand and impact our world.”

In an effort to recognize, support and encourage faculty leadership in the civic engagement movement, the American Democracy Project established in 2014 the national Barbara Burch Award for Faculty Leadership in Civic Engagement. The award was named in Barbara Burch’s honor to recognize her long-standing support of AASCU’s American Democracy Project and faculty development and practice focused on civic learning and democratic engagement.

“Patrick’s work advancing civic learning and democratic engagement in and out of the classroom at Keene State College and beyond, set him apart in a field of strong nominations. His campus and national efforts to educate students about the effects of growing economic inequality on the health of our democracy are to be commended,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, national manager of the American Democracy Project. “It was an honor to recognize Patrick with ADP’s second annual Barbara Burch Award for Faculty Leadership in Civic Engagement.”

The Burch Award is presented annually to a tenured or contingent faculty member with more than five years of teaching experience on an AASCU campus who has demonstrated leadership in advancing the civic learning and engagement of undergraduates. The Award recipients receive a commemorative to acknowledge the national recognition and a check for $500.

A news release from AASCU on the awards can be found online.

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