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The Albion School Board bestowed its "Friend of Education" Award on Genesee Community College President Stuart Steiner earlier this month.

The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to education and the well-being of Albion School District students.

Albion School Superintendent Ada Grabowski, PhD., cited the partnerships that Steiner established with the school district and other community groups as the reason the nine-member school board gave him the award. Steiner has demonstrated exemplary support of Genesee Community College's Albion Campus Center, Genesee Promise Plus program and the College's new career coaching initiative.

The Genesee Promise Plus program gives area high school seniors the opportunity to attend up to two summer college courses through a scholarship at Genesee after graduation. Albion students were among the heaviest users of this scholarship program when the program was instituted last year.

Under the career coaching initiative, the College will locate a career coach at the high school at least two days a week. The career coach will help students navigate the increasingly complicated financial aid application process, provide information about college opportunities, and help students identify career options. This program is designed after a highly successful cooperative model implemented between community colleges and high schools in Virginia.

Steiner, PhD., was one of the first college presidents in the northeastern United States to spearhead the establishment of campus centers - free-standing college facilities that offer college courses and a variety of student services to college students living in a local community. Genesee has six campus centers, located throughout its four-county service area, in Albion, Arcade, Dansville, Medina, Warsaw, and Lakeville (soon to be relocated to Lima).

"The success of anything an educator does is measured by its impact on the lives of individual students," Steiner said. "I am very proud of the work that I, and the faculty and staff of Genesee Community College, have done with students in the Albion School District."