For immediate release
The awards program recognizes higher education institutions’ innovations that positively impact important local, regional, national or global challenges
BETHLEHEM, PA, May 18, 2020: Today, Moravian College announced it was named to the Phi Kappa Phi Honorable Mention list for the 2020 Excellence in Innovation Award which, according to the Phi Kappa Phi website is “given once per biennium, recognizes one institution of higher learning for achievement in finding powerful answers to important local, regional, national or global challenges.”
Moravian College was selected for this prestigious designation for its achievements through the college’s InFocus college-wide initiative. Begun ten years ago, InFocus at Moravian College is dedicated to helping faculty, students and the wider community come together to develop research, learning, advocacy and action, linking Moravian’s educational mission with urgent questions and social problems facing all human beings and the planet. InFocus addresses one “challenge area” each academic year. In 2020-21 InFocus will address Sustainability, and in the past has worked on Health and Healthcare; War, Peacebuilding and the Just Society, and Poverty and Inequality.
“Moravian College was one of three semi-finalists to be given an honorable mention together with the University of Houston-Downtown, and the University of Memphis, ” said Kelly Denton-Borhaug, executive director, InFocus Centers of Investigation at Moravian College. “We are honored that Phi Kappa Phi has recognized the innovative excellence that has been achieved by InFocus.”
Three institutions chosen as finalists for the Phi Kappa Phi 2020 Excellence in Innovation Award are Nazareth College, Texas State University, and Widener University. The 2020 recipient will be announced Tuesday, May 26, and will receive $100,000 in tangible recognition of its best practice in response to the changes and challenges facing higher education in the 21st century.
“The projects presented by the semifinalists in the Phi Kappa Phi Excellence in Innovation Award posed a challenge to the jury, as each represents a fine example of the innovation for which higher education is known. We are so pleased to recognize all six of these fine institutions and celebrate their excellence,” said Society Executive Director Dr. Mary Todd.
The Phi Kappa Phi Excellence in Innovation award is part of the Society’s robust awards program, which gives nearly $1 million each year to outstanding members and students on chapter campuses through study abroad grants, dissertation fellowships, funding for post-baccalaureate development, member and chapter awards, and grants for local, national and international literacy initiatives. The Excellence in Innovation Award, first awarded in 2016 to Tulane University, is the Society’s only award for institutions.
For more information about the award, visit www.phikappaphi.org/innovation.
Media contacts:
Phi Kappa Phi National Office
Alyssa Perez
Communications Director
aperez@phikappaphi.org
(800) 804-9880, ext. 218
Moravian College
Michael Corr
Director of Marketing and Communications
corrm@moravian.edu
610.861.1365
About Moravian College
Moravian College is the nation's sixth-oldest college, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees that blend liberal arts with professional programs. For more than 275 years, the Moravian College degree has been preparing students for reflective lives, fulfilling careers, and transformative leadership in a world of change. Moravian College is a member of The New American Colleges and Universities (NAC&U), a national consortium of selective, small to mid-size independent colleges and universities dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal education, professional studies, and civic engagement. Visit moravian.edu to learn more about how the Moravian College focus on education for all prepares its students for life-long success.
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