Leadership programs at Fort Hays State University have joined a rare group with the announcement that the Association of Leadership Educators has given the university’s Center for Civic Leadership its 2011 award for Outstanding Leadership Programs.

FHSU’s Department of Leadership Studies won the award in 2000. The award was announced at the July 10-13 national conference in Denver. "Only one other university has won two Outstanding Leadership Program awards, and that was Texas A&M," said Dr. Curt Brungardt, center director and Omer G. Voss Distinguished Professor of Leadership.

"We’re extremely honored to receive this award. It’s always nice when our hard work is recognized by others around the country. I think it also helps reaffirm that what we do and how we do it in advancing the field of leadership development."

This award is designed to recognize outstanding leadership programs in education. A "clear impact on leadership education must be shown," says the organization’s website.

"Past recipients of the award have included (but are not limited to) leadership majors, minors, certificate programs, organizations, leadership workshops/programs, youth development programs and adult leadership development programs."

"I think it also speaks a lot for FHSU that two different entities have now won the award, which tells us and also those beyond our campus that FHSU takes leadership education seriously and we have had a lot of success in this field," said Brungardt.

FHSU’s Center for Civic Leadership is a nationally recognized institute for citizen leadership development. Its many programs provide high-quality educational programs and initiatives designed to enhance civic leadership capabilities. The website is www.fhsu.edu/ccl/.

The outstanding program is selected by a committee from among the list of nominees.

"They said our comprehensive, co-curricular leadership program and the number of students served for the size of our university was impressive," said Brungardt. "They also cited the strength of what they called our ‘learning objectives,’ meaning the theoretical foundation of the program."

The Association of Leadership Educators Inc., now 20 years old, has adopted as its mission strengthening and sustaining the "expertise of professional leadership educators." Its vision is to be the "premier professional organization for leadership educators."

The Outstanding Leadership Programs Award was developed in 1995. Past winners also include the University of Florida, Purdue, Oklahoma State University, North Carolina State and Middle Tennessee State.