Salem Community College Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Maura Cavanagh Dick received the New Jersey Council of County Colleges’ Spirit Award last month. She was joined by Salem Community College President Dr. Michael R. Gorman and Dr. Sheetal Ranjan, NJCCC Chair. In introducing Cavanagh Dick at the awards dinner in Atlantic City, President Gorman cited examples of how she has been instrumental with several notable initiatives that have helped make the campus more welcoming, friendly and supportive.
Salem Community College Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Maura Cavanagh Dick has received the Spirit Award from the New Jersey Council of County Colleges. Presented at the Council’s New Jersey Community College Awards Banquet in Atlantic City last month, the Spirit Award — based on colleague nominations — recognizes significant college contributions.
A Collingswood resident, Cavanagh Dick has been instrumental in several notable initiatives that have helped make the campus more welcoming, friendly and supportive.
As chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, she organized events, distributed mini grants, and tirelessly advocated for students, faculty and staff from underserved populations. She served as the architect of SCC’s Caring Campus Initiative, which provides training and resources to better welcome, support and retain new and returning students through intentional faculty/staff-to-student interactions, early semester welcome tables, a call campaign for new students and a campus nametag program. Cavanagh Dick also co-chairs the College’s Hunger & Basic Needs Task Force, which coordinates the campus food, and provides transit passes and hygiene essentials to students. Through Cavanagh Dick’s leadership in collaboration with area farmers, the Task Force successfully launched a pop-up farm stand this summer, which provides fresh produce and food to students, with more scheduled this summer and fall.
As Associate Dean, she has mentored countless faculty and worked diligently to improve and expand academic support services for students. In her former role as Associate Professor of Biology, she guided thousands of students through Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition and Pharmacology for Health Services. She received the College’s Academic Excellence Award in 2009 and 2016.
Her nominator wrote, “For over 17 years, Maura Cavanagh Dick has embodied the spirit of Salem Community College: a caring campus that is invested in the wellbeing of its students, faculty and staff.
“Maura is the person you go to when you have a problem, or need advice. She makes time for everyone, and always has a smile or a hand to hold, when you need one,” the nominator continued.