Awards and Recognitions
At HCC, we are very fortunate to have a faculty, staff and student body who share a vision for making this institution the very best. Sometimes their unwavering commitment to excellence leads to special awards or recognitions from external groups or higher education organizations. We are grateful to each those groups and organizations for recognizing excellence at HCC, and we are proud of the college community for their achievements.
Following is a list of recent honors:
2021 President Kathleen Hetherington, Carolyn Desjardins CEO of the Year Award, American Association of Women in Community Colleges
2021 Board Chair Feli Solá-Carter, Top 100 Women, The Daily Record
2021 Finalist, Award of Excellence, Outstanding College/Corporate Partnership Award, Apprenticeship Program with AT&T, American Association of Community Colleges
2021 HCC Campus Recognized as Coolest Spaces, The Daily Record
2021 President Kathleen Hetherington, Distinguished Alumni Award, Leadership Howard County
2020 President Kathleen Hetherington, Most Admired CEO, The Daily Record
2020 Great Colleges to Work For, ModernThink (12th consecutive year)
2020 People Loving and Nurturing Trees (PLANT) Gold Award, MD Department of Natural Resources
2020 Bellwether Award, Community College Futures Assembly
2019 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, The United States Department of Commerce
2019 Gold Telly Award, Communicator Award, Summit Creative Award, Gold Hermes Creative Award, awarded to Dragon Digital Media.
2019 Great Colleges to Work For, ModernThink (11th consecutive year)
2019 Best Two-Year Colleges for Adult Learners, Washington Monthly (fourth consecutive year)
2019 Track and Field Decathlon Winner: Grant Bunyard, NJCAA Division III
2019 Outstanding CEO/Board Relationship National Award of Excellence, The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
2019 Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship for student Daniela Cervantes, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
2018 Charles Kennedy Equity Award, The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)
2018 Best Practice recognition in Leadership (Category 1), Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program
2018 New Century Workforce Pathway Scholar for Greg Howard, a student at Howard Community College, The Coca-Cola Foundation and Phi Theta Kappa
2018 Best Two-Year Colleges for Adult Learners, Washington Monthly (third consecutive year)
2018 ACCT Northeast Region Equity Award, The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)
2018 Great Colleges to Work For, The Chronicle of Higher Education (10th consecutive year)
2018 LEED Gold Certification for Science, Engineering, and Technology Building, U.S. Green Building Council
2018 Influential Marylander Award for Dr. Kate Hetherington, president of Howard Community College, The Daily Record
2018 "On Track" Marks of Distinction for reducing carbon footprint, Climate Leadership Network
2018 Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Designation for Professor Luda Bard, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
2017 Best Practice recognition in Customers (Category 3) and Operations (Category 6), Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program
2017 Best Two-Year Colleges for Adult Learners, Washington Monthly (second consecutive year)
2017 Great Colleges to Work For, The Chronicle of Higher Education (ninth consecutive year)
2017 Terry O'Banion Shared Journey Exemplary Practice Award, Gold Recipient: Virtual Advising, National Counsel on Student Development
2017 Innovation of the Year Award, The League for Innovation in the Community College
2017 Digital Community Colleges National Survey, Third Place Winner, Center for Digital Education (eighth consecutive year in top 10)
2017 Silver Paragon Award: Postcard Series, National Council for Marketing and Public Relations
2017 National President's for Entrepreneurship Pledge Award Finalist, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship
2017 Legacy in the Arts Howie Award, Howard County Arts Council
2017 LERN International Award for Best Brochure, The Learning Resources Network (LERN)
2016 Best Colleges for Adult Learners, Washington Monthly
2016 Maryland's Top 100 Women: Lynn Coleman, The Daily Record
2016 Most Admired CEOs: Kathleen Hetherington, The Daily Record
2016 Safety Planning and Leadership Award of Excellence, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
2016 Digital Community Colleges National Survey Winner, Center for Digital Education
2016 Northeast Region Trustee Leadership Award: Kevin Doyle, Association of Community College Trustees
2016 Northeast Region Professional Board Staff Member Award: Linda Emmerich, Association of Community College Trustees
2016 Silver Accolades Award: Website, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education
2015 Military Friendly School, Victory Media Inc. (also in 2013 and 2014)
2015 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, Corporation for National and Community Service
2016 Silver Paragon Award: Brochure, National Council for Marketing and Public Relations
2014 Chief Executive Officer Award: Kathleen Hetherington, Association of Community College Trustees
2014 Northeast Region Chief Executive Officer Award: Kate Hetherington, Association of Community College Trustees
2014 National Emerging Leadership Award, American Association of Community Colleges
2014 Digital Community Colleges National Survey Winner, Center for Digital Education (also in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007)
2014 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Gold, The United States Green Building Council, Health Sciences Building
2014 Silver Paragon Award, National Council for Marketing and Public Relations, Social Media Campaign
2014 Circle of Excellence Award: Kathleen Hetherington, Daily Record
2014 At-Risk Delinquency Resolution Contest, first place in category, Financial Aid Services
2014 National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) Gold Medallion Award, Continuing Education and Workforce Development, SEM campaign targeting international students
2014 Bronze Telly, HCC-TV, "In Focus: Howard Community College,""In the Spotlight," "Table 2 Table," "Dragons Lair Update," and "I am My Own Wife"
2014 Silver Summit Creative Award, HCC-TV,"Table 2 Table"
2014 Bronze Summit Creative Award, HCC-TV,"Horowitz Center"
2014 Communicator Award of Distinction, HCC-TV,"In the Spotlight," "Reel Talk," "Table 2 Table," "Dragons Lair Update," "SHRM"
2014 Communicator Award of Distinction and Accolade Award of Merit for Editing, HCC-TV,"Horowitz Center"
2014 Accolade Award of Merit and a Communicator Award of Distinction, HCC-TV,"In Focus: Howard Community College"
2014 Judges' Choice Award, Best Taste Award, and People's Choice Award, The Arc of Howard County Chocolate Ball,Hospitality and Culinary Management Program (People's Choice also in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009)