The Annuit Coeptis award for emerging professionals has been presented to Indiana State University\'s Brian McGowan, assistant professor and program coordinator of the student affairs and higher education program, and Lindsay Peck, area coordinator of residential life.
\"I\'ve known and heard about this award for years, and I was so surprised to receive the phone call that I\'d won,\" McGowan said. \"I didn\'t know I was being nominated, so when I got the phone call in December I was thrilled, but I wasn\'t allowed to say anything at that time.\"
\"I have a very good mentor in Gavin Henning, the incoming president of the ACPA, and we were talking in December when he said he nominated me,\" Peck said. \"A month later, I got call from Mike Coomes, an esteemed researcher and faculty in the field, who called to tell me I\'d won. I was so excited and shocked.\"
The College Student Educators International (ACPA) recognizes five professionals annually with the Annuit Coeptis Award - Emerging Professionals for contributions to scholarship, teaching, service and the profession.
The award - a private reception and dinner - took place March 7 in Tampa, Fla., which allowed past and present award winners to meet and talk about traditions and the importance of being a member of this group.
\"This is not a typical award, as young professionals are recognized as being able to do good things in the field in the future,\" said Peck, who has been in higher education full-time for five years, three years of which have been at Indiana State where she overseas Rhoads Hall and the Residence Hall Association. \"Everything I do (at Indiana State) is to help the students feel more at home here, which will hopefully make them feel more connected and, therefore, more successful at school.\"
Past Indiana State recipients of the Annuit Coeptis Award-Senior Professional include the Bayh College\'s Denise Collins, associate dean and professor in the department of educational leadership, and Mary Howard-Hamilton, professor of educational leadership.
McGowan, who is in his second year at Indiana State, was nominated by Howard-Hamilton and a colleague at Indiana University, where he earned his PhD in 2013.
\"I\'m grateful to have been granted the opportunity to join a group of colleagues who have devoted their careers to shaping and moving the student affairs field forward,\" McGowan said. \"Through this experience, I got to meet folks from across the country and had the opportunity to be mentored and was encouraged to reflect on my long-term professional goals. We learned about some of the early pioneers of our field and their successes and contributions that have opened doors for other people. This has encouraged me to continue to be a good colleague and do good work at Indiana State, which has been a great place for me to begin my faculty career.\"
Writer: Betsy Simon, media relations assistant director, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-7972 or betsy.simon@indstate.edu
Photo: http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/Other/Headshot-Proofs/EH-Portraits/Brian-McGowan/i-q5vRSRB/0/S/August%2015%2C%202013Brian%20McGowan%208600-S.jpg- Brian McGowan
Photo: http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/Other/Headshot-Proofs/IP-Portraits-folder-2/Lindsay-Peck/i-6Dv7RtL/0/S/January%2020%2C%202015%20LIndsay%20Peck%205896-S.jpg - Lindsay Peck