11/02/11 ks

DENVER -- Region IV West of NASPA, the international professional organization for student affairs administrators in higher education, presented its Presidential Excellence Award today to Dr. Edward H. Hammond, president of Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan.

The Presidential Excellence Award is a special recognition given to a college or university president who has, over a sustained period of time, advanced the quality of student life on campus by supporting student affairs staff and programs. Awardees have shown evidence of direct involvement in enhancing the quality of student life on campus, active attempts to involve students and student life in governing the institution, and demonstrable contributions to the profession that have an impact beyond an individual campus. The regional award coincides with The President's Award at the national level. President Hammond now becomes a nominee for the national award.

Region IV West serves a vast area that includes Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Wyoming in the United States and the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada.

The presentation took place at an awards luncheon during the NASPA IV-W regional conference in Denver.

"It is an honor and a privilege to be recognized by one's peers," President Hammond said. "But, this award really recognizes the hundreds of highly qualified student affairs professionals I have had the privilege of working with over the 45 years that I have been blessed to work with and for students."

Dr. Tisa Mason, who is FHSU's vice president of student affairs and a member of NASPA, said the award was well deserved. "Before taking the helm at Fort Hays State in 1987, President Hammond served in student affairs administrative roles at several universities," she said. "I have observed in his presidency that students have remained his magnetic north."

In one of several nomination letters, Dr. Dorothy Knoll, dean of students at the University of Kansas Medical Center and a former student affairs administrator at FHSU, commended various activities by President Hammond, including his financial support for a symposium for women aspiring to be student affairs officers, his work with the student affairs staff to keep tuition at FHSU affordable for students and his leadership in making FHSU a leading provider of higher education in China. "Dr. Hammond has indeed advanced the quality of life for students at Fort Hays State University," she wrote. "As an alumnus of the university, I sincerely thank him."

About NASPA

Founded in 1919, NASPA comprises more than 12,000 members in all 50 states, 29 countries and 8 U.S. Territories. As the leading association for the advancement, health and sustainability of the student affairs profession, NASPA serves a full range of professionals who provide programs, experiences and services that cultivate student learning and success in concert with the mission of member colleges and universities. Through high-quality professional development, strong policy advocacy and substantive research to inform practice, NASPA meets the diverse needs and invests in realizing the potential of all its members under the guiding principles of integrity, innovation, inclusion and inquiry.