Armstrong State University President Linda M. Bleicken was presented with the Beach Institute Education Award at the 19th Annual King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation Annual Awards Gala, held at Savannah State University on September 17.
 
The annual event recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of education, historic preservation, fine arts and public service in the Coastal Empire. Other 2016 honorees included Savannah State University President Cheryl D. Dozier, civic service volunteer Ronald Elcock, Footprints of Savannah owner Vaughnette Goode-Walker, retired drama professor Robert L. Stevenson and former mayor, the Honorable Floyd Adams, Jr. (posthumously).
 
Bleicken became Armstrong’s seventh president in 2009.  She serves on the board of directors for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, where she is also a member of the legislative team that advocates for national education policy initiatives, such as student financial aid and funding for higher education. She also serves on the board of directors of the Millennium Leadership Institute, headquartered in Washington, D.C. Bleicken recently completed terms as president of the Ossabaw Island Foundation, chair of the board of directors of the Peach Belt Conference and board membership on the Presidents Council of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Locally, she serves on the board of Union Mission and is a member of the Savannah Rotary Club.
 
Armstrong has twice been named a top-performing school in the nation for underrepresented minority students and a leader in African-American student educational gains by The Educational Trust, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that shapes and influences national and state policy.