Beth Dixon Receives UNH Staff Excellence Award

May 09, 2011

DURHAM, N.H. – University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability (IOD) staff member Beth Dixon was honored on Friday, May 6, 2011 with the Presidential Award of Excellence, an award given annually to five staff members who have demonstrated excellence through outstanding performance in their positions and a record of dedication to, and a concern for, the University community.

Throughout the past 20 plus years of Beth’s tenure at the IOD, she has been responsible for growing a cornerstone program of the organization, the NH Leadership Series. As a result of Beth’s leadership and organizational talents, almost 800 individuals with disabilities, their families, and graduate students have been trained in evidence-based practices to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities, their families, and their communities.

As the parent of four children, including a son who experiences significant disabilities, Beth was a participant in the IOD’s first NH Leadership Series in 1988. Since then, Beth has grown the Series from three two-day sessions to a seven-month experience eligible for nine college credits. Series graduates have gone on to become state legislators, school and community board members, filmmakers, agency heads, and many other leaders and incubators of positive change in policy and practice related to supporting individuals with disabilities and their families. While coordinating the Leadership Series, Beth has embedded herself within the UNH community. She is a well-respected guest lecturer in many classes within the education and health and human services departments and she supports undergraduate and graduate students to learn more about the value of including individuals with disabilities.

“Beth Dixon’s involvement in UNH disability-focused courses represents a wonderful example of how UNH can and should be engaged with NH citizens in fulfilling the university’s mission and making a positive impact on the lives of people in our state,” said Cheryl Jorgensen, former IOD staff and University faculty member in education.

The NH Leadership Series is held from September through April, and provides parents with state-of-the-art information and strategies to effectively impact local and state organizations on issues related to individuals with disabilities. For more information on the NH Leadership Series, visit www.nhleadership.org.

Photograph available to download: http://www.iod.unh.edu/images/StaffExcellence_050611.jpg
Caption: Beth Dixon receives the Presidential Award of Excellence from UNH President Mark Huddleston
Credit: Mike Ross, UNH Photographic Services

The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Its mission is to promote full access, equal opportunities, and participation for all persons by strengthening communities and advancing policy and systems change, promising practices, education, and research.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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