Berenecea J. Eanes, Cal State Fullerton’s vice president for student affairs, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Performance as a Dean/Vice President.
Eanes received the national recognition from NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and will be honored at the organization’s 2019 annual conference in March in Los Angeles.
“I expressed this at the NASPA Western Regional Conference and I underscore it now. While the Scott Goodnight Award is given to one person, it’s so much bigger than one person,” Eanes said.
“I am beyond grateful for colleagues, mentors and community leaders that I have learned from and worked alongside during my career. Together, we have supported and invested in many young minds. I am thankful for the opportunity to work in a profession that I am so passionate about.”
Last year, Eanes was recipient of the same award for NASPA Region VI. She is involved in the student affairs profession through NASPA, including holding the position as NASPA Region VI director for two years. She also is the 2018 recipient of California State University’s Wang Family Excellence Award for Outstanding Staff Performance.
Eanes, who joined Cal State Fullerton in 2012, oversees the division that supports the academic, personal and professional development of students. She provides leadership to more than 400 employees and works closely with her leadership team across the areas of student engagement, student retention, student transitions, Associated Students Inc., Title IX and intercollegiate athletics to support the personal, social and academic education of students.
The award is named for NASPA’s founding chair of the board of directors (1919-20) and former dean of men at the University of Wisconsin. Each year, the award is presented to a dean or senior student affairs officer who has demonstrated sustained professional achievement in student affairs work, innovative response in meeting students’ varied and emerging needs, effectiveness in developing staff, and leadership in community and college or university affairs.
Award recipients also must have earned stature among, and support of, students, faculty and fellow administrators on campus, and made significant contributions to the field through publications or involvement in professional associations.
Eanes holds a doctorate in social work from Clark Atlanta University, a Master of Social Work from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in public health from Dillard University in New Orleans.