Pittsburgh, PA - Printing Industries of America announced that Penny Ann Dolin, Associate Professor of Practice, Arizona State University and William Dirzulaitis, Trustee, Graphic Communication Scholarship Foundation will receive the 2016 Education Award of Excellence. This award is given annually to one academic representative and one industry representative in recognition for leadership that has directly resulted in a distinguished education service, program, project, or other accomplishment in graphic communications.
 
This year’s academic recipient of the Education Award of Excellence is Penny Ann Dolin, Associate Professor of Practice and past Program Chair in the Graphic Information Technology (GIT) program and Director of the Technical Imaging Lab on the Polytechnic campus at Arizona State University (ASU). Ms. Dolin is recognized for her dedication to improving the GIT program and her valuable, real-world approach to teaching commercial photography and digital imaging at ASU.  Dolin is also a recognized Adobe Educational Leader—a status conferred by Adobe—which allows her to bring valuable resources to her work with students at ASU. 
 
Current Graphic Information Technology student Chris Halkovic shares, “By awarding Professor Dolin this achievement of excellence, you’re honoring an outstanding academic educator who has provided and continues to provide an extreme wealth of knowledge and hands-on thinking that enables students like myself to thrive in this wonderful graphic communication field.”
 
William Dirzulaitis is honored with this year’s Education Award of Excellence industry award for his exceptional effort as a founding Trustee of the Graphic Communication Scholarship Foundation (GCSF). Mr. Dirzulaitis is recognized for his enthusiasm and his dedication to providing deserving students from the New York City metro area with the funds necessary to complete their education in graphic arts studies.
 
Dirzulaitis helped to create the GCSF by recognizing the opportunity to unite several individual scholarship programs into one large granting body. To date, the GCSF has awarded almost $700,000 to 161 students from the New York City vicinity who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate graphic communications programs throughout the country.
 
The entire GASC Board of Trustees subscribed their names to a letter of recommendation accompanying Dirzulaitis’s nomination. It reads: “As his fellow volunteers, we have seen first-hand how great a personal contribution he has made to the advancement of education and careers in our industry. Thanks to the strong base that Bill has helped to build for it, we are confident that the Foundation will be able to carry on its work in support of scholarships for many more years to come.”
 
For more information on Printing Industries of America’s Awards Programs or to nominate someone, visit www.printing.org/printingindustryawards.