Board of Trustees Awards

Celebrating Systemwide Excellence & Service Faculty Leadership

The Minnesota State Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence recognize and honor exceptional commitment to student learning, retention, and success across our system's colleges and universities.

2026 Service Faculty of the Year

Historic Milestone

Jean Clarke

Director of Learning Communities | Minnesota State University, Mankato

Honored at the annual Board of Trustees Awards ceremony on April 22, 2026.

We are immensely proud to celebrate this momentous achievement! Jean's dedication to students and her innovative approaches have truly transformed student success on our campus. By constantly monitoring emerging trends, evaluating potential program enhancements, and responding by creating new learning communities as needed, Jean exemplifies the absolute highest standard of professional service and student-centered leadership.

About the BOT Awards

Established in 2015, the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Service acknowledges and rewards exceptional commitment among university service faculty.

Key Areas Recognized

Advising and counseling students
Student recruitment, retention, and placement
Residential life programming and student leadership facilitation
Broader contributions to campus community activities and shared governance

Nomination guidelines are typically published annually on March 1 with submissions due by November 1. Eligible faculty can review rubrics and submit materials via ASA Connect.

Mankato Campus Honorees

Minnesota State University, Mankato has a proud tradition of exceptional educators and service faculty recognized at the system level.

Previous Outstanding Service Faculty Awardees

2025: Craig Sanderson & Andrew Hanegmon
2024: Brian Jones
2023: Amy Staloch
2022: Sara Granberg-Rademacker
2020: Jodi Egeland
2019: Liz Whitcomb
2017: Kelly Meier
2016: Shirley Piepho
2015: Linda Meidl

To explore previous systemwide recipients across all Minnesota State institutions, visit the official MinnState Past Recipients Directory.