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2015 AWARD WINNERS22Emerging Leader AwardRodney ParksIf the dedication, service andleadership that Rodney Parkshas already shown in his yearsas an AACRAO member is anyindication, Rodney is sure tomake an impact not only onAACRAO but at the nationallevel as well. Already, the list ofoffices and committee positionsthat Rodney has held is vast. He served on the ParchmentAdvisory Board for Electronic Transcript Exchange in2013, Chaired SACRAO’s 2010 Professional DevelopmentProgram Committee, served on the SACRAO ExecutiveCommittee, was a Program Committee Member for theNational Conference on Students in Transition in 2012,has been a part of AACRAO Student Access and EquityCommittee for the past several years, and has participatedin a variety of other committees and activities over theyears. Rodney is active in SACRAO, GACRAO, andAACRAO, presenting and publishing with all threeorganizations. At AACRAO’s Annual Meeting in Denverlast year, Rodney presented three sessions and is presentinganother three this year in Baltimore. Since 2006, Rodneyhas presented about a dozen sessions with AACRAO aloneand has a comparable presentation history for SACRAO.Many of these presentations focus on serving and bringinginto light unique populations of students navigatinghigher education such as online students, transgenderstudents, and vegetarian/vegan students. Rodney is theEditor for the SACRAO Newsletter and a frequent authorin both the SACRAO Journal as well as AACRAO’sCollege & University. A decorated veteran himself,Rodney contributed three chapters to AACRAOs recentpublication Helping Veterans Succeed: A Handbook forHigher Education Administrators, incorporating experiencefrom his eight years as a U.S. Navy medic. Rodney is alsoworking towards bridging the gap between academic andco-curricular transcripts. His efforts in innovation, studentengagement, and service are proof that Rodney is one towatch in the coming years.Centennial Award for ExcellenceBob BontragerBob Bontrager served as theSenior Director of AACRAOConsulting and SEMInitiatives for six years. Bob wasinstrumental in establishing andbuilding AACRAO Consultingwhich has successfully served over300 colleges and universities inthe U.S. and abroad, due largelyto Dr. Bontrager’s leadership and guidance.Bob had over 30 years of experience in higher education withparticular expertise in strategic enrollment management,institutional planning, recruitment, marketing, financialaid, institutional budget strategies, and transfer programs. Inhis most recent institutional role at Oregon State University,Bob’s leadership resulted in a 40% increase in enrollmentand 14 consecutive years of record enrollment, includingincreases in the academic and diversity profile of the studentbody. He previously served as Vice President for EnrollmentManagement at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia,where his work also resulted in record enrollments.Dr. Bontrager contributed to the ongoing evolution ofthe SEM profession in the U.S. and abroad as a frequentconference speaker, workshop presenter, consultant, andcontributor to the SEM literature. He edited three AACRAObooks: Strategic Enrollment Management: TransformingHigher Education (2012), Applying SEM at the CommunityCollege (2009), and SEM and Institutional Success: IntegratingEnrollment, Finance and Student Access (2008). His work hasextended to a number of international locations includingAustralia, Canada, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Mexico,Mongolia, New Zealand, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, the UnitedArab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.Bob was always known for his creative, broad-basedapproaches to common enrollment challenges, resulting inthe development of a number of innovative programs. Theseinclude the Degree Partnership Program, which promotesstudent access and baccalaureate degree completion throughjoint admission and concurrent enrollment at universitiesand community colleges. Bob also pioneered the use of noncognitivevariables in admission and scholarship decisions toimprove student access, equity, and retention.Bob passed away on October 17, 2014; his life and legacyof service are a model to us all. Bob impacted the livesof countless thousands of students, administrators, andfaculty. Goshen College, his alma mater, has established theBontrager Memorial Scholarship Fund in honor of Bob.Bob was devoted to service within and outside the highereducation field and was a mentor to many and a tirelessadvocate for student success. For all of us that knew andworked with Bob, we will remember him for his intelligenceand integrity and a life filled with service to humanity.