The NMC announced the recipients of the 2011 NMC Center of Excellence Award at this year's Summer Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the NMC and recognizes demonstrated excellence and outstanding achievement in the application of technology to learning or creative expression.

“The NMC Center of Excellence Awards celebrate the innovation and creativity that is part of the fabric of every member institution,” said NMC CEO Larry Johnson. “The NMC organizations recognized this year represent the best of our field, and each has had a tremendous history of accomplishment.”

Symbolized by a specially struck medallion suspended in a translucent obelisk, the NMC Center of Excellence Award has been designed purposefully to make it distinct from other award or recognition programs. Colleges do not compete for the award, nor is it granted within predefined categories.  The selection process is based on the MacArthur Awards, and like that program, the nominators and others involved in the selection process remain anonymous as a core principle of the program.  They are chosen from organizations both within and outside the NMC, and represent a considerable diversity of knowledge.

The 2011 NMC Center of Excellence Award recipients are:

Apple Education
Recognized for their significant contributions to the practice of teaching, to innovative pedagogy, and to making a real difference in the lives of students.

Full Sail University
Recognized for their extraordinary commitment to excellence in all aspects of new media production, creation, and pedagogy, and for the professional accomplishments of their graduates.

University of Southern California, Institute for Multimedia Literacy
Recognized for their leadership in new media, for their groundbreaking research, scholarly tools and publications, and for their commitment to the integration of new media across the curriculum.

“The selection committee had a tremendous task and did their job well,” Johnson stated at the NMC Center of Excellence Awards ceremony at the 2011 NMC Summer Conference when the awards were presented. “The 2011 recipients are all acknowledged leaders in the application of technology by any standard. The institutions recognized with the NMC Center of Excellence Award are a group that includes schools large and small, the well-endowed and the not-so-well-endowed; they represent the best of the NMC. Together and individually they exemplify the state of the art. Today’s recipients are worthy additions to that list.”

 

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