For immediate release — Nov. 9, 2010
(DALLAS) — A Dallas County Community College District administrator has spent her life helping others learn and achieve their goals. Those efforts, started many years ago, have brought recognition to Pam Quinn, who recently was honored as a role model for current high school students as they seek to build future careers.
Quinn, provost for DCCCD’s LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications, was honored for her forward thinking as she took a look back during a trip to her alma mater to receive the Riverside Brookfield High School Alumni Medal of Achievement Award during ceremonies in suburban Chicago in late October. The purpose of the award is twofold: to recognize alumni who exhibit a high set of standards and achievements; and to enlighten current students about career options and to help motivate them to set high goals for themselves in either the public or private sector.
Quinn is the first community college educator to receive the award. “I am honored to receive this award and to visit my high school to share stories and encouragement with students. I want to continue to help people achieve their educational goals,” she said.
Quinn was recognized with two other alumni during the ceremony — one who dedicated her life to running a volunteer program that benefits military personnel overseas; and the other who now works in upper-level management and programming for USA Networks in Los Angeles.
Quinn, known nationally as a leader in the field of distance learning, has served as CEO of DCCCD’s LeCroy Center since 1985. Courses developed under her leadership have served millions of students worldwide and also have provided U.S. Navy sailors and submariners with an opportunity to earn college credit while they are at sea.
Quinn’s career in public television and higher education has focused on providing adult students with a chance to earn college degrees through distance learning. She co-founded the Virtual College of Texas; the Dallas TeleCollege online campus; and the professional development network STARLINK. In addition to chairing and serving on a number of state and national boards of directors, she was appointed by former Gov. George W. Bush to the Texas Online Authority Board and was elected as a member of the board of directors for the American Association of Community Colleges.
In addition to her work in higher education, Quinn taught students in junior high, high school and college, and she previously was a PBS television station executive and newspaper reporter. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce. The former RBHS student was a member of the Student Council, Girls Athletic Association and cheerleading squad; she also was named homecoming queen and served as a class officer.
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Press contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819; ahatch@dcccd.edu