2009 Palmer Davies Leadership Award Recipient

UCFS selects Dr. Grace Sawyer Jones, President of Three Rivers Community College as the recipient of the 2009 Palmer Davies Leadership Award.

UCFS (United Community & Family Services) will recognize Dr. Grace Sawyer Jones as the 4th Annual Palmer Davies Leadership Award Recipient at their Annual Meeting, October 8th at 5:00 pm to be held at the Holiday Inn in Norwich.

More than 100 years ago, Mrs. Fannie Palmer and Mrs. Emily Davies walked across the Norwichtown Green one afternoon and discussed the development of an association that would relieve all forms of suffering. Their idea was the foundation for what is today, United Community & Family Services. Three years ago, UCFS created an award to recognize individuals in the community who have fostered an environment of community spirit and understanding that reflects the mission and organization's values, much in the same way that Palmer and Davies first envisioned their idea more than a century ago.

Dr. Jones entered higher education’s community college environment in the late 70’s as a faculty member of Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In the nearly ten years at Berkshire she served as faculty and Coordinator of the recreational leadership program, Coordinator of student activities and the college union, and later as Director of Personnel Services.

In 1990, Dr. Jones was named Vice President for Multicultural Affairs at the State University of New York, College of Oneonta. She was also a tenured professor while at the College of Oneonta. Prior to coming to Three Rivers, Dr. Jones was the president of the College of Eastern Utah (CEU), Price, Utah, since 1996. Dr. Jones' education degrees are from Ohio, Illinois, and Kansas. She earned her Ph.D. in Organization Behavior from the Union Institute (Cincinnati, Ohio), her master's degree in Community Recreation with Group Work Method from George Williams College (Downers Grove, Illinois), and her bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Washburn University (Topeka, Kansas).

Since joining Three Rivers in 2001, she has worked to renovate and construct a consolidated college facility based on learning college concepts. Dr. Jones is an active participant in the local community including her involvement in the Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Spirit of Broadway Theater, Eastern CT Workforce Investment Board, Southeastern Connecticut Higher Education Consortium and Director/Trustee of the Backus Corporation/The William W. Backus Hospital.

We proudly honor Dr. Jones with the 4th Annual Palmer Davies Leadership Award for being an exceptional community leader who educates our future leaders, our workforces and for some of us our children. Her visionary educational leadership has led to numerous new programs and opportunities for residents of eastern Connecticut to pursue their educational and professional dreams.

The UCFS Annual Meeting Program Book will provide an opportunity for well-wishers to submit messages and advertising. For information on this book, as well as an opportunity to attend the annual meeting, please contact Pamela Allen Kinder at 822.4146 or pkinder@ucfs.org. You may also download a copy of the program book's guidelines and advertising specifications from the link below.

pdf Annual Meeting Program Book Guide