TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Allen Varner, director of Continuing Education at Indiana State University, received the 2006 Meritorious Service Award from the Association for Continuing Higher Education during the organization's national meeting recently in Los Angeles.
The ACHE award recognizes individuals for their outstanding leadership and service to continuing higher education at their own institutions and to ACHE over a period of years.
Varner has served ISU for more than 24 years in the areas of conferences and non-credit programs, workforce development, lifelong learning, continuing education, University Speakers Series and Convocation Series.
He credits the instructors he had at The Ohio State University for instilling a passion for continuing education.
"After I returned from the Air Force, I went to Ohio State on the G.I. Bill. I had several instructors who challenged me and taught me what teaching and learning was all about," he said.
"I went into adult and continuing education because I wanted to create learning environments for others so they could be challenged and understand what learning was all about," Varner added.
He has served ACHE at both the national and regional levels - as chair of Region 6, serving as vice president, president-elect, president and immediate past president of the Association. Varner is credited with creating and providing the initial leadership of the ACHE institution-community engagement network.
ACHE has members in 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as well as Canada, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico and United Arab Emirates. There are 1,535 individual members representing more than 450 institutions and organizations.
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Contact and Writer: Paula Meyer, ISU Communications & Marketing, (812) 237-3783, pmeyer4@isugw.indstate.edu