Clark State Community College Board of Trustees member Andy Bell, was named the recipient of the Maureen C. Grady Award for Special Achievement by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges.

“Andy Bell serves as an outstanding example of how a board member can make an impact upon his/her community college,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “The Board, Foundation, staff, faculty and students are profoundly grateful to him.”

First presented to its namesake in 1994, the Maureen C. Grady Award for Special Achievement recognizes the extraordinary leadership and contributions of those trustees who receive this award. Serving as an example for all trustees to emulate, Grady dedicated much of her life to furthering the mission of community colleges in Ohio and throughout the nation.

A former trustee of Clark State Community College for fifteen years, Grady also served on the Foundation Board from 2001-2007. She was the first Chairperson for the OACC from 1993 to 1994. Trustees who have been selected as recipients of this award embody the qualities and characteristics Grady demonstrated during her years of service.

Bell’s involvement with Clark State began with the Foundation Board in 2000. He served for the maximum nine years, including two terms as Chair. During this time, he also served as Chair of two capital campaigns. Because of his extraordinary service on the Foundation Board, he was appointed by the Governor to the Clark State Board of Trustees in 2006, and served multiple terms as both Chair and Vice Chair. He is the only person to have served as Chair of both the College Board and the Foundation Board. He has also attended many state Trustee conferences through the Ohio Association of Community Colleges.

“Clark State is one of my favorite outside activities,” Bell said in a past statement. “I believe in the mission of Clark State and what we do for our students. It’s exciting times for community colleges because they are really coming into their own with partnerships with high schools and four-year colleges. The value of community colleges is at an all-time high.”

While serving on the Clark State Foundation Board, Andy was instrumental in developing the Champion City Scholars program to identify and prepare 40 low-income 8th-graders each year to become the first in their families to go to college. Andy himself served as a mentor to a group of Scholars to encourage and support them every step of the way.

Andy has developed important partnerships with other educational organizations. As a member of the Board of the Global Impact STEM Academy, he helped to create a partnership that encourages its students to attend Clark State. While on the Board of Directors of Wittenberg University, he helped support a unique Bachelor of Nursing program with academic classes at the university, and technical classes and clinicals through Clark State.

Andy served as Chair of the College’s major gifts campaign, which raised $12 million on a $7 million goal, resulting in the construction of the Sara T. Landess Technology and Learning Center. Shortly after that campaign was completed, the College received a $1 million matching grant from the Kresge Foundation to construct an arts and conference center. The gift had to be matched with new money, all or nothing. Andy and his campaign team secured an additional $4 million, and the Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center was constructed adjacent to the College’s performing arts center.

In recognition of their years of generous gifts and time, the Board of Trustees named the Andy and Cathy Bell Student Success Center. Earlier this year, his outstanding support and service to Clark State for nearly two decades earned him the Champion of Clark State Community College Award, only the second time it has ever been presented.