UNH professor receives award at the New Hampshire Educational Opportunity Association’s
Student Leadership Day
 
By Denise Hart, Media Relations

The New Hampshire Educational Opportunity Association (NHEOA) recently awarded Ross Gittell, James R. Carter Professor of Management at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics, the “Champion of Educational Opportunity” award at the organization’s fourth annual Student Leadership Day.

NHEOA President Marsha Johns presented the award, saying Gittell’s work as an economist and business theorist “challenges the educational system to prepare young people for the emerging intellectual requirements and demands of the ‘new economy.’” She praised Gittell for showing the policy makers in New Hampshire “that the unmet educational needs of our children not only affect the quality of their lives, but undermine opportunities to generate and fuel a powerful economic engine in our midst.”

The Student Leadership Day welcomed over 40 New Hampshire students and 15 program staff. Middle school, high school and college students from 14 N.H. communities (Belmont, Dover, Durham, Farmington, Keene, Littleton, Manchester, Marlborough, Milton, Pelham, Rochester, Somersworth, Walpole, and Westmoreland) came together to explore the concept of leadership and how they as individuals can have a voice and make a difference. The event included workshops and speakers related to leadership, a visit with Governor John Lynch who spoke with the students about his priorities for education within the state, a tour of the State House which included a visit to the House of Representatives in session, as well as an opportunity for students to meet with legislators from their districts.

Participating state legislators included representatives W. Packy Campbell, Dana Hilliard, James Pilliod, Kathleen Souza, Frank Tupper and Charles Weed.

The NHEOA fosters and promotes educational opportunity within New Hampshire. Its members include staff working in educational opportunity programs, also known as TRIO programs, which serve students from middle school through college from around the state. UNH is home to four TRIO programs, all funded by the U.S. Department of Education: Educational Talent Search, the McNair Graduate Opportunity Program, Student Support Services and Upward Bound. For more information about NHEOA, visit its web site at: http://www.nheoa.org.