Delaware County Community College president Named Pacesetter of the Year

Delaware County Community College President L. Joy Gates Black was named Pacesetter of the Year by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 1 last week.

The announcement was made during an in-person and virtual ceremony at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, New Jersey, site of the district’s annual conference.

The Pacesetter of the Year Award recognizes a community college president or CEO who has demonstrated special leadership and support in college communications and marketing. It is awarded annually in each of the council’s seven districts.

“Through marketing and communications that speak to students of all cultures and backgrounds, we tell the story of the College; that story is that you are welcome here. We want you to be a part of the College family,” said Gates Black in her virtual acceptance speech. “If ever there was a time in the history of higher education to be a pacesetter, it is now. The pandemic has shown us that we must change. We must be forward-focused, and we must find new ways to engage and communicate with our students.”

The college’s Marketing and Communications office also won one gold and four silver Medallion Awards for the 2021 inaugural issue of its Ignite magazine; the printed 2020 President’s Office holiday card; the animated 2020 holiday e-card; the college’s “Stay Local. Stay on Track. Stay Safe” summer 2020 mailer; and the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion digital marketing campaign for career training for nontraditional by gender occupations.

Dan Kanak, the college’s executive director of marketing and communications, said, “The recognition by NCMPR not only for our president, but for the work our team has done over the past year is greatly appreciated. We had to pivot like everyone else due to the pandemic and to know that we are still producing award-winning work amid so many challenges is a feather in the cap of my incredible team and the college community we support.”

The council represents marketing and public relations professionals at community and technical colleges. An affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges, NCMPR has more than 1,500 members from nearly 550 colleges across the United States and Canada.