Nevada State University proudly announces that President Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard has been named a 2024 National TRIO Achiever Award recipient by the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE). This prestigious award recognizes outstanding TRIO alumni who have excelled in their chosen professions and made significant contributions to their communities. Dr. Pollard will be celebrated at the 2024 Educational Opportunity Awards Dinner during the COE Annual Conference in New York City on Tuesday, September 10.
The National TRIO Achiever Award honors individuals who participated in Federal TRIO Programs, such as Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math-Science, Talent Search, Student Support Services, the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, Veterans Upward Bound, and Educational Opportunity Centers. These programs are dedicated to promoting educational access and success for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Dr. Pollard, an alumna of the TRIO Student Support Services program at Iowa State University, holds a B.A. and M.A. in English from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in higher education from Loyola University Chicago. She made history on August 16, 2021, by becoming the first permanent Black woman president of Nevada State University and any institution within the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE).
Expressing her gratitude, Dr. Pollard said, “I am a graduate of the Chicago Public Schools system; former food stamps and public assistance recipient; a wife to a glorious woman I have loved for 30 years; a parent to a teenage boy who is our best thing; a first-generation college completer; and an advocate and warrior for access to equitable, life-transforming education for all who seek to improve their lives and the communities in which we live and serve. This recognition from COE is truly an honor and a testament to the transformative power of the TRIO programs.”
Kimberly Jones, President of the Council for Opportunity in Education, praised Dr. Pollard’s achievements stating: “Dr. DeRionne Pollard embodies the spirit and impact of the TRIO programs. Her dedication to educational equity, community service, and leadership is a powerful example of what TRIO alumni can achieve. We are proud to honor her as a 2024 National TRIO Achiever.”
Under Dr. Pollard’s leadership, Nevada State University has advanced its mission as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Institution (AANAPI). The university is dedicated to providing exceptional teaching and student support to expand and diversify an educated workforce thereby promoting social justice and economic mobility.
Dr. Pollard has had a distinguished career in higher education having previously served as president of Montgomery College and Las Positas College. She has been actively involved in various organizations including the American Association of Community Colleges’ 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges Ascend Postsecondary Leadership Circle for Parents Center for First-generation Student Success Advisory Board for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
Her numerous accolades include being named one of Washington’s 100 Most Powerful Women by Washingtonian Magazine receiving a 2017 Academic Leadership Award from Carnegie Corporation of New York Visionary Award from Washington Area Women’s Foundation.
Past recipients of National TRIO Achiever Award include renowned figures such as actress producer Viola Davis U.S Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford retired NASA astronaut José Hernández.
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