For immediate release — Oct. 23, 2009
(DALLAS) — Students. Diversity. Access. Affordability. These priorities have steered Kitty Boyle, longtime member of the Dallas County Community College District’s board of trustees, as she has served and guided the state’s largest undergraduate institution for 13 years. Her vision, leadership, legislative efforts and dedication to students — from diversity issues to her steadfast insistence that DCCCD always keep its tuition affordable — prompted the Association of Community College Trustees to honor her in October with the 2009 ACCT M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award.
Boyle, who received both this year’s Western Regional Trustee Leadership Award and national honors, was recognized during ACCT’s annual leadership congress in San Francisco earlier this month. ACCT is a nonprofit educational organization of governing boards that represents more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern more than 1,200 community, technical and junior colleges in the United States, serving 11 million students across the country.
“To receive such a prestigious award pleases me,” said Boyle. “This recognition is a reflection of the consistent efforts of so many in DCCCD who contribute to the great successes of our colleges in the lives of so many, and the overall welfare of our community.”
Each year, ACCT recognizes one exemplary trustee, chief executive, faculty member, professional board staff member and board/CEO team, all of whom have improved equity at their institutions.
Jerry Prater, chair of the DCCCD board of trustees, said in his nomination on behalf of the entire group: “Trustee Boyle epitomizes public service ... . She is the strongest voice on our board when the subject turns to tuition. Time after time, she has argued that tuition should be the last place to turn to balance the budget.”
He added, “She lives and breathes stewardship ... and Trustee Boyle exerts leadership by showing up and closing deals. These qualities, combined with her perennial devotion to access, affordability and responsible stewardship of public resources, set her apart.”
Dr. Wright Lassiter, DCCCD chancellor, added his congratulations. “Trustee Boyle puts students first. She supports diversity and access, and her actions on the board reflect that fact. We celebrate this honor from ACCT with Trustee Boyle. She once again has elevated our district’s reputation at the national level, in addition to all of the hard work she has put forth locally and across Texas to promote the needs and best interests of community colleges and our students.”
Boyle, who has been elected to three six-year terms on the DCCCD board of trustees by District 5 voters in the Irving/Las Colinas area, served as chair of the board from 2000 to 2004. Among her many other accomplishments, Trustee Boyle:
- Supported DCCCD trustees’ efforts to promote diversity across the district, including incorporating their goals for equity into DCCCD’s policies (a move that brought distinction to those efforts when the board received ACCT’s national 2008 Charles Kennedy Equity Award);
- Led the effort to establish the Texas Legislative Community College Caucus;
- Developed and helped create another advocacy organization, the Community College Association of Texas Trustees, which seeks to unite and mobilize trustees to support important legislation for community colleges;
- Worked, through CCATT, with the Texas Association of Community Colleges to ensure that both organizations speak with one voice;
- Supported DCCCD’s efforts to include student representatives at ACCT’s National Legislative Summit each year (a move which other states have since copied);
- Served as ACCT chair in 2006-2007 and helped create the National Community College Caucus during that time;
- Served on many ACCT committees and as regional chair from 2001 to 2007;
- Encouraged DCCCD administrators and trustees to become more involved with ACCT at the national level.
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With Boyle’s assistance, the Texas Legislative Community College Caucus and the Community College Association of Texas Trustees played key roles during the last two legislative sessions in restoring employee health insurance funds for the state’s 50 community colleges/systems.
Boyle is involved in numerous civic and community organizations in Irving. She is an administrator for the law firm of Boyle & Lowry, LLP, and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She has received the Irving Independent School District’s Golden Apple Award, the Irving “YWCA Where the ‘W’ Makes the Difference” Women in Government Award, the American Cancer Society (Irving Chapter) Community Service Award and the Soroptimist International Distinguished Women Award.
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Press contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819; ahatch@dcccd.edu
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