FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DATE: April 22, 2015
FURTHER INFORMATION: PAULA GREEN (626) 914-8873
Citrus College Superintendent/President Receives National Award
Citrus College Superintendent/President Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D. was recently recognized by the national Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. The society, whose mission is to recognize and encourage the academic achievement of two-year college students, honored Dr. Perri with the Shirley B. Gordon Award for Distinction.
Dr. Perri was one of the select community college presidents and CEOs, and the only college leader from California, to receive the award which was presented on April 17th in San Antonio, Texas. Every year, presidents and CEOs from the nation’s 1,137 community colleges are nominated to receive the award, which was established in memory of Dr. Shirley B. Gordon, Phi Theta Kappa’s longest-serving board of directors’ chair.
“I am truly honored to receive this distinguished award,” Dr. Perri said. “The fact that the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction is presented by a student organization is especially meaningful to me, and I am very grateful to Citrus College’s Beta Nu Eta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa for their nomination.”
The Beta Nu Eta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa has been an active student voice in support of President Barack Obama’s national challenge to produce 10 million community college and four-year college graduates by 2020. In 2012, the chapter conducted research on college completion at Citrus College, and the collaborative efforts between them, Dr. Perri, and the campus community became a catalyst for the institution’s innovative College of Completion initiative. The Beta Nu Eta chapter was recently recognized by Phi Theta Kappa when it advanced to the Four-Star Chapter ranking, the highest level it has ever received.
Dr. Perri became Citrus College’s seventh superintendent/president in 2008. Under her leadership, Citrus College is continually being recognized nationally for educational excellence. Among many accolades, it has been named as a Top 100 community college associate degree producer and the 5th fastest growing college in the nation with enrollments greater than 10,000 students by Community College Week magazine, a Top 25 community college in the United States for total associate degrees granted to Hispanic students by Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, a Military Friendly School by G. I. Jobs magazine, and one of the nation’s top 10 public two-year colleges based on alumni earning potential. In addition, the institution has broken its own record for the number of degrees awarded for the past three years.
“The Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction is very special, and I am so proud of Dr. Perri for receiving it,” said Mrs. Joanne Montgomery, president of the Citrus Community College District Board of Trustees. “She exemplifies the true essence of the award and under Dr. Perri’s leadership, Citrus College students continually achieve new successes.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DATE: April 22, 2015
FURTHER INFORMATION: PAULA GREEN (626) 914-8873
