Moore-Davis and Fickas Win Paragon President Awards
Feleccia Moore-Davis, Ph.D., president at STLCC-Meramec, and Julie Fickas, Ed.D., president at STLCC-Forest Park, each earned the Paragon President Award from Phi Theta Kappa. They are among 20 national winners.
The honor society will recognize the college presidents during PTK Catalyst 2022, the society’s annual convention April 7-9 in Denver, Colo.
“These college presidents have students-first leadership styles and have made it a priority to keep students engaged throughout the pandemic,” says Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, PTK president and CEO.
The award is designated for new college presidents and campus CEOs who have served three years or less at their institutions. Both Moore-Davis and Fickas started their careers with STLCC in 2019.
“Their nomination is evidence of the gratitude their PTK students feel for supporting them and students like them—even during the most difficult times,” Tincher-Ladner said.
“I was pleasantly surprised and sincerely honored when I learned about winning the award,” said Moore-Davis. “I am honored because it was our PTK students who nominated me. Our students of Phi Theta Kappa are exceptional, and the chapter does so much great work for the betterment of our campus community.”
Alyssa Gaddis, president of Meramec’s Xi Lambda chapter, said chapter members were ecstatic upon hearing that Moore-Davis had earned the award.
“Rebuilding our chapter after COVID has proven difficult, but Dr. Moore-Davis’ assistance has made our chapter come back better than ever,” Gaddis said.
Meramec PTK sponsor Jerry Myers, DMA, said that it was the chapter officers who decided to nominate Moore-Davis for the award.
Forest Park’s Xi Epsilon chapter has a new advisor in Sandra Arumugam-Osburn, Ed.D. She replaces Sandra Knight, who retired last spring after serving as the chapter advisor for 20-plus years. Arumugam-Osburn noted that Knight thought the Forest Park campus president should be recognized for her strong support and commitment to the chapter.
“I have served in the advisor role for a little over six months,” Arumugam-Osburn said. “Dr. Fickas has played a pivotal role in ensuring my transition into the role was seamless. At one of our first meetings, she emphasized her commitment to me and the students. True to her words, she had met with the officer team, allowed us to present during service week, and participated in our induction ceremony.”
A key consideration of the award is that the honoree be student-centered and focused on student achievement. Addi Nunnelly, Xi Epsilon chapter president, said that Fickas meets that criteria because of both her commitment to students and her follow-though.
“The fact that Dr. Fickas makes the time to meet with and allocate resources for our chapter truly shows her dedication to student success,” Nunnelly said.
Student success, Fickas said, is the reason she wakes up and want to come to work each day.
“Through PTK, I have the opportunity to support student success through the projects that we work on for the campus to support students as well as through the mentoring I can provide to the specific students working on the project,” Fickas said.