Champlain President David F. Finney Honored for Program Leaders

New England Board of Higher Education announces awards

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Champlain College President David F. Finney

BURLINGTON, VT (02/09/2010)(readMedia)-- The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) announced today that David F. Finney, president of Champlain College, Vermont State Rep. Martha P. Heath and the Quantum Leap program at Bennington College will be honored at NEBHE's 2010 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards.

The awards will be presented March 5 at The New England Higher Education Excellence Awards dinner at Boston's Longwharf Marriott Hotel.

Each year, NEBHE presents Regional Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement of educational opportunity. The organization also presents State Merit Awards to honor the innovative work of organizations, institutions or individuals in each New England state.

David F. Finney, president of Champlain College will receive the Robert J. McKenna Award for program achievement named for the former Rhode Island state senator and Newport mayor. Under Finney's leadership, Champlain College has committed to keeping the Vermont economy robust, establishing the Bring Your Own Business (BYOBiz) program to attract entrepreneurs in 2006 as well creating the New Americans Scholarship program to reach Vermont refugee students and the Vermont First Scholarship program to serve first-generation college-goers.

Rep. Martha P. Heath, chair of the Vermont House Appropriations committee, and former University of Vermont trustee will receive the David C. Knapp award for trusteeship, named for the former University of Massachusetts president. As chair of the Vermont House Appropriations Committee, Heath has advocated for the value of higher education and consistently supported efforts to increase educational awareness and aspirations beyond high school.

The Quantum Leap program at Bennington College, led by directors Daniel Michaelson and Susan Sgorbati, will receive the Vermont State Merit Award. The Quantum Leap program helps children who seem least likely to succeed-who often come from chaotic home lives, extreme poverty and traumatic histories-to return to school and discover a love for learning.

NEBHE President and CEO, Michael K. Thomas commented, "President Finney and Rep. Heath are truly distinguished leaders, their work on behalf of Vermont's students, its economy and the region is exemplary. The Quantum Leap program's innovative approach to turning around the future of young Vermonters has become a respected model for schools across the state, and the nation. NEBHE is proud to honor these winners."

Others award recipients at the March 5 2010 dinner will be:

• The Governor Walter R. Peterson Award for Leadership - U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney, (D-MA)

• The Eleanor M. McMahon Award for Lifetime Achievement - James Wright, President Emeritus, Dartmouth College, NH

• The Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement - College of the Atlantic, Maine

• The David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship - Robert K. Sheridan, former Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, University of Massachusetts.

Additional information about NEBHE's New England Higher Education Excellence Awards is available online at http://www.nebhe.org/excellence2010

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Champlain College

A private, residential college founded in 1878, Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, has a long tradition of educating professionals for leadership roles by providing a high-quality, career-oriented education. Champlain's distinctive educational approach embodies the notion that true learning only occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain was named a "Top-Up-and-Coming School" by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2010. To learn more about Champlain College, www.champlain.edu.

New England Board of Higher Education

NEBHE is a nonprofit, congressionally authorized agency whose mission is to promote greater educational opportunities and services for the residents of New England. NEBHE programs are principally focused on the relationship between New England higher education and regional economic development.