The Warren County Community College Trustees have a great reputation of getting involved in various College functions and efforts. This has been particularly true when it comes to Alpha Upsilon Rho, WCCC’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. The Trustees have been extremely supportive of this organization from its inception at the college, both attending chapter-related activities on campus, and having the chapter present at Board of Trustees meetings throughout the year.

In October, the Warren County Community College Board of Trustees was recognized nationally at the Association of Community College Trustees Leadership Congress in San Francisco. The WCCC Trustees were the recipients of the Phi Theta Kappa 2019 Board of Trustees Excellence Award. This award recognizes distinguished community college Boards of Trustees for their leadership and outstanding commitment to student success. WCCC was one of only four Boards selected to receive this prestigious award.

“As you know the role of community college trustees is a critically important one that impacts local and national policy and funding, and also the everyday lives of the nation’s community colleges as places of teaching and learning,” said Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, National President & CEO, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

Accepting the award in San Francisco were Trustee Chair, Dr. Phil Linfante, Peter Schmidt, Treasurer, and Betti Singh, Secretary. Dr. Will Austin, President of WCCC, was also on hand for the presentation.

“All the credit goes to the students in PTK,” said Dr. Linfante. “We are there to support their efforts. We recognize that they are our College’s elite students. They are the future leaders of our community.”

With the Trustees’ support PTK at WCCC has been able to become a true force on Campus and in the local community.

“The Trustees have been so supportive of our organization,” noted Jean Vasko, PTK Advisor at WCCC. “With their help PTK has been able to grow as an important organization not just at WCCC, but throughout New Jersey, and nationally! We thank them and we also thank the WCCC Foundation, which has been valuable to our efforts as well.”

This year’s WCCC PTK officers are Andrea Massimo, President, Noelle Miller, VP of Leadership, Jesse Hall, VP of Service, Jakob Coughlin, VP of Fellowship, and Alexandra Rousenville, VP of Scholarship. Miller was nationally recognized as a 2019 Coca-Cola Leader of Promise Scholar. Much of the Excellence Award was based on last year’s organizational input, which was led by then PTK President, Allan Martinez, Arleen Molina VP of Leadership, and PTK Alumna and past chapter President Dorothy Helmken.

Phi Theta Kappa International is the honor society for two-year colleges and boasts members from throughout the country and abroad. Among the criteria for induction,  students must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. As a member of PTK, students are eligible to apply for Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholarships offered by more than 600 four-year colleges and universities located throughout the United States. 

Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society promotes the values of Fellowship, Leadership, Service and Scholarship.

Photo, standing with award, left to right, Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, National President & CEO, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. and WCCC Trustees Betti Singh, Peter Schmidt, and Dr. Phil Linfante, and WCCC President Dr. Will Austin.