Sixteen years after the creation of a national honor named after IUPUI trailblazer William M. Plater, another IUPUI leader has won the prestigious award.

Kathy Johnson, IUPUI executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer, is the 2022 recipient of the William M. Plater Award for Leadership in Civic Engagement. The award recognizes exemplary leadership of an American Association of State Colleges and Universities chief academic officer in advancing the civic learning of undergraduates through programming. 

Johnson’s outstanding achievements include championing the creation of the Profiles of Learning for Undergraduate Success, the Institute for Engaged Learning and the Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support.

“All of these resources help to support our efforts at IUPUI to engage students deeply in their learning through activities in classrooms and in the co-curriculum that helps them to build skills that will serve them well in the workplace and as citizens,” said Johnson. 

The Plater Award for Leadership in Civic Engagement was created in the same spirit as the William M. Plater Civic Engagement Medallion that is awarded to IUPUI students. Both celebrate and honor the contributions and influence of Bill Plater, who served as IUPUI’s chief academic officer from 1987 through 2006.

Johnson is the first IUPUI recipient of the leadership award since Plater received the inaugural prize in 2006, an achievement she calls incredibly humbling.

“Dr. Bill Plater served in my role when I was first hired at IUPUI, and he has been such an incredible role model and mentor to me,” Johnson said. “Knowing that he was the inspiration for this award is truly an honor, and hopefully a sign that I’ve been at least somewhat successful in helping to preserve and protect IUPUI’s strengths in civic engagement.”

The Plater Award for Leadership in Civic Engagement was presented by the American Democracy Project, an initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, during the 2022 Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Meeting in Minneapolis on June 22.