(SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – March 22, 2018) Joe King, director of Institutional Effectiveness was selected for the Empire State College Foundation Excellence in Professional Service Award at All College 2018 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

“I am very pleased that Joe King has been selected for this prestigious award, said Vice President for Advancement Walter Williams. “Having up-to-the-minute statistics and data about our college is crucial for its operation. King has helped provide this service with proactive action and courtesy and grace. Congratulations to King for the crucial role he plays in the college’s success.”

“This award is not about me,” King said. “It’s really about the great work that we do collectively within the office of Decision Support. Most of the work that we do is collaborative in nature, and we have a number of staff certainly deserving of the same recognition.”

In Decision Support, King assists in the college’s strategic planning processes, tracking student learning and other institutional outcomes, managing business analytics, the development of the college’s data warehouse and assisting with the college’s institutional research function.

Eileen McDonnell, his supervisor, wrote, “Joe is committed to bringing value to the institution and its students through the provision of meaningful information. He is generous with his time, is consistently responsive and willing to be of assistance to others. Further, he sets a positive example, and is proactive about expanding his skills, and sharing his knowledge so others may benefit.”

 A particular interest of King’s is college diversity, and he has engaged in research with associate professor David Fullard, the founder of the Black Male Initiative, sharing knowledge through a poster session and workshop with Mitch Nesler, Officer in Charge, and  Fullard. “Mr. King explained his research methods clearly to a diverse audience of SUNY faculty, administrators and diversity professionals,” wrote Elliott Dawes, chief diversity officer for institutional equity and inclusion.

Another colleague, Seana Logsdon, wrote, King “is not someone who simply ‘runs the numbers.’ Instead, he is conscientious in developing communication tools so that others can learn from the findings and use the data to inform their work … He shares data in ways that allows various college constituencies to reimagine or improve future planning.” 

About the Excellence Award in Professional Service Award

The criteria for selection for the Foundation Award for Excellence in Professional Service speaks to superbly fulfilling the responsibilities of the position, demonstrating initiative and strong leadership skills and providing excellence in decision making as well as problem solving. This year’s recipients exemplify excellence in their service and commitment to the college.

 About SUNY Empire State College

Empire State College, the nontraditional, open college of the SUNY system, educates nearly 18,000 students worldwide at eight international sites, more than 30 locations in the state of New York, online, as well as face to face and through a blend of both, at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree levels.

The average age of an undergraduate student at the college is 35, and graduate students’ average age is 40.

Most Empire State College students are working adults. Many are raising families and meeting civic commitments in the communities where they live, while studying part time.

In addition to awarding credit for prior college-level learning, the college pairs each undergraduate student with a faculty mentor who supports that student throughout his or her college career.

Working with their mentors, students design an individual degree program and engage in guided independent study and course work onsite, online or through a combination of both, which provides the flexibility for students to choose where, when and how to learn.

The college’s 78,000 alumni are active in their communities as entrepreneurs, politicians, business professionals, artists, nonprofit agency employees, teachers, veterans and active military, union members and more.

The college was first established in 1971 by the SUNY Board of Trustees with the encouragement of the late Ernest L. Boyer, chancellor of the SUNY system from 1970 to 1977.

Boyer also served as United States commissioner of education during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, and then as president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

More information about the college is available at www.esc.edu.