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Pat Shine Wins VWHE Award

Lyndon State College’s Patricia Shine Honored with Statewide Award by Vermont Women in Higher Education

Pat Shine Wins VWHE Award

Patricia Shine Honored with Statewide Award by Vermont Women in Higher Education

November 12, 2015

Vermont Women in Higher Education (VWHE) recently announced that Lyndon State College Professor Patricia Shine is the 2015 recipient of the Sister Elizabeth Candon Distinguished Service Award.

Shine, professor of Human Services, is a talented teacher noted for her honest and helpful feedback. She is committed to helping students succeed in the classroom and in their careers.

At Lyndon State, Shine has spearheaded many initiatives related to social justice, including an ad campaign against sexual assault and sexual harassment and the Year of Social Justice, an initiative that brings to campus programming related to sexism, racism, and other social issues. Under this program, Lyndon President Joe Bertolino has designated the 2015-2016 school year the Year of Compassion. In the local community, Shine served for three years on the board of directors for Umbrella, an organization working to fight sexual violence and to help women lead “safe and determined” lives.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive the Sister Elizabeth Candon Distinguished Service Award from the Vermont Women in Higher Education,” said Shine. “As former Governor Madeleine Kunin wrote of Sister Elizabeth, ‘. . .she gave herself the freedom to say what she believed to be true . . . she did not wait for her journey to heaven to translate the word of God into action here on earth . . .’ When appointed the Vermont Secretary of the Agency of Human Services, Sister Elizabeth ‘. . . seized the opportunity to serve the neediest of Vermont’s citizens.’ I am privileged to be recognized as someone who has, in at least some small way, helped to continue the legacy of Sister Elizabeth’s work.

“Lyndon State College extends its congratulations to Professor Pat Shine for this distinguished statewide honor. As the chair of Lyndon State College’s FAIR Committee, Pat has dedicated her personal and professional life to advocating on issues of social justice, equity, and compassion,” said LSC President Joe Bertolino. “Pat’s commitment to social justice extends beyond the classroom and the campus to the Northeast Kingdom and the State of Vermont. She continues to serve as a leader and role model, committed to this mission with her students, her coworkers, and throughout her volunteer life.”

The Sister Elizabeth Candon Distinguished Service Award is presented to a woman who has shown evidence of promoting and working toward the advancement of women in higher education and involvement at the national, regional, state, and local levels in related activities. Sister Elizabeth Candon was President of Trinity College from 1966-1976. She was the first woman and nun to head a major state agency in Montpelier when Richard Snelling asked her to be Secretary of the Agency of Human Services, a position she held from 1977-1983.

The award will be presented at VWHE’s annual fall dinner held on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at the Kirk Alumni Center at Middlebury College. Marguerite Dibble, CEO of Game Theory and a 2012 graduate of Champlain College, will give the keynote address.

Two other Vermont women will be honored for their significant contributions to higher education in Vermont: University of Vermont Assistant Professor Lizzy Pope and Tiffany Keune, director of workforce education at Community College of Vermont.

All are welcome to attend. VWHE is a statewide organization dedicated to serving women in higher education at all professional levels. For more information and to register for the dinner, visit the VWHE website: http://www.vwhe.org.