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Dr. Patrice Gouveia Marks of Belle Mead, a Dean at Raritan Valley Community College, has been honored with the 2017 Giving Back Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. The Giving Back Award honors college and university administrators and deans who go above and beyond their everyday leadership duties and “give back” to their campuses and communities.

Dr. Marks, who serves as Dean of Academic Affairs, Accreditation Liaison Officer and Compliance Officer at RVCC, is the only award recipient from a New Jersey college or university this year. She will be featured, along with 38 other award recipients, in the April “Leadership Support and Giving Back” issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.  

Giving Back Award recipients were nominated by their colleagues and selected by INSIGHT Into Diversity based on their outstanding demonstration of social responsibility; involvement with students, faculty, staff and the community; and commitment to serving underrepresented populations. Each honoree is recognized for his or her passion, dedication and support for diversity and inclusion.

“The Giving Back Award is being awarded to leaders of institutions of higher education who exemplify what it truly means to ‘give back’ to others,” says Holly Mendelson, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “These administrators are role models, and we honor their efforts to promote diversity and inclusion on their campuses and in their communities.”

Dr. Marks has served for over 25 years in various capacities in higher education including adjunct, full-time faculty, program coordinator, chair, campus director and dean at community colleges, private and public four-year colleges and universities.

Since joining RVCC in July 2012, Dr. Marks formed and continues to chair the College’s Committee to Internationalize and Diversify the Curriculum. Under her leadership, the committee has hosted a lecture series that has included presentations and/or displays on Native Americans, the LGBT community, Hispanic heritage and cultural celebrations.

Dr. Marks also mentors underrepresented faculty and staff, encouraging them to seek leadership roles on campus. In her commitment to recruiting underrepresented faculty, she volunteers to serve on search committees for new faculty. Dr. Marks been a vocal advocate for a diverse workforce. She has advocated for having more Spanish-speaking employees on campus, and also created information signs in Spanish to be posted throughout the College.   

Dr. Marks’ previous positions include serving as Director for the College of New Rochelle’s Manhattan campus and as Dean of the Language Arts Division and the Learning Resource Center at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California.

As an educator, Dr. Marks has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at some of the nation’s most respected teaching and research institutions, including Stanford University, George Washington University and Howard University. Dr. Marks also is an executive board member of the United Way of Hunterdon County, serving on the Latino Coalition Committee.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine is the oldest and largest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education today and is known for its annual INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, the only award that recognizes colleges and universities for outstanding diversity and inclusion efforts across their campuses. For more information about the 2017 Giving Back Award and INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, visit www.insightintodiversity.com

Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development and personal enrichment courses. The College also has a performing arts center and planetarium.

RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses, and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 24, 2017

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

PR #110