Dr. Evon Walters Receives 2024 Man of Excellence Award

Dr. Evon W. Walters, CCAC Vice President for Strategic Initiatives & Community Engagement, has been named as a 2024 Man of Excellence by the New Pittsburgh Courier. The award, established to celebrate African American men who encourage others through their leadership, achievements and service, also honors those who inspire others to strive for excellence.

Dr. Walters will be recognized at the newspaper's 2024 Men of Excellence Honoree Ceremony, which will be held Friday, Sept. 13, at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Hotel.

In his eight years at CCAC, Dr. Walters' efforts have provided hundreds of underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students with a path to success through accessible, affordable higher education. Specifically, his efforts have secured grants for a number of projects, including:

• The CCAC Pittsburgh Promise Extension into Scholar Initiative, which assists underperforming graduating seniors in the Pittsburgh Public School system
• The Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers Program for middle school African American and female students, a partnership with Verizon and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship
• The Neighborhood Allies/Verizon Forward Homewood-Brushton Adult Learning Center to promote STEAM programs while removing barriers to technology access in the Homewood community
• The Access to Pathways initiative with CCAC faculty and the Neighborhood Learning Alliance, a five-year dual enrollment program boasting an 88% success rate with the over 450 high school students earning more than 1,500 college credits
• The Nursing Capacity Pipeline initiative, a partnership between Allegheny General Hospital and CCAC's Nursing program to expand and diversify the nursing pipeline
• The Diversifying STEM program, a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Shared Prosperity targeting middle, high school and adult students

In addition, Dr. Walters has presented and published multiple national articles highlighting the central role of community colleges on issues associated with workforce development, enrollment management, and student access and success for historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations.