By Staff
BENTON TOWNSHIP - Steve Silcox, chairman of the Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees, has been awarded the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Central Region Trustee Leadership Award. He will accept the honor during ACCT's annual Leadership Conference award banquet to be held in Seattle, Washington, on Sept. 9.
Silcox was nominated by the LMC Board of Trustees for this award that annually recognizes a community college trustee who has made significant contributions toward promoting the community college concept.
"The motivation for nominating Silcox for this award is his inspired leadership as a Board member for 15 years," stated LMC Board Treasurer Paul Bergan. "We have positioned Lake Michigan College as the role model for our educational counterparts and in so doing, provide exemplary academic programs and occupational training to our students and business partners."
Silcox has devoted more than 35 years to the success of Lake Michigan College as a student, alumnus, and Board member. He was elected to the LMC Board of Trustees in 1990, and served four years as treasurer, one year as vice-chair, and eight years as chair – a chair tenure longer than any of his predecessors.
His College-related achievements include helping to found the LMC Alumni Association and acting as its president, secretary, and treasurer. He has served on the LMC Foundation Board, the Mendel Center Campaign Committee, the Bertrand Crossing and M-TEC Advising Committees, and the Regional Skills Alliance Advisory Committee. He also served as co-chair of the College's 50th anniversary celebration in 1996 and has volunteered with the LMC Winner's Circle Auction to help raise funds for student scholarships.
"Steve has been an outstanding trustee and board chairman. He is so deserving of this award," stated LMC President Dr. Richard J. Pappas. "It recognizes the leadership he has provided to Lake Michigan College and his advocacy of community colleges at the state and national level."
In 2002, Silcox served as chair of the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA) and received the MCCA Distinguished Service Award for his decades-long commitment to community colleges. He currently serves on the ACCT Public Policy Committee, his sixth appointment to an ACCT Committee.
"I am very proud to receive this award knowing full well that it is reflective of the outstanding work and dedication of my fellow Board members, President Pappas, and our management team, staff and faculty at Lake Michigan College," stated Silcox. "Service to Lake Michigan College has been a privilege because of the total commitment of everyone to providing the very best education for our students."
A 1973 graduate of LMC, Silcox has provided leadership support of key College initiatives that have positioned LMC as a premier institution. Among those initiatives are the $1.75 million Title III grant awarded in 1999 that allowed for 100 percent of LMC classrooms to be multimedia equipped and for training of faculty to incorporate the technology into everyday classroom activities; the emerging technologies initiative currently underway that will train the workforce of the future and help drive economic growth and job creation in the region; and the first-of-its-kind collaboration in the state with Western Michigan University to bring a WMU facility to a community college campus.
Other key actions that have been fostered and supported by the Board under Silcox's leadership are the formation of the College's Institute for Diversity and Leadership, construction of the M-TEC facility and Bertrand Crossing and South Haven Campuses, expansion of the College's district with the addition of the South Haven School District, and renovation of the Napier Avenue Campus that led to the creation of the Richard J. Pappas Student Services Center, a one-stop center for student-related services.