{"id":11964,"date":"2025-09-19T15:30:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/?p=11964"},"modified":"2025-09-19T15:30:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:30:44","slug":"president-kennedy-receives-inaugural-beacon-award-from-the-sjsd-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/19\/president-kennedy-receives-inaugural-beacon-award-from-the-sjsd-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"President Kennedy receives inaugural Beacon Award from the SJSD Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"kristie

Kristie Arthur, St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce; Julie Cobb, St. Joseph School District Foundation; Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, Missouri Western State University. Photo courtesy SJSD Foundation<\/p><\/div>\n

Sept. 19, 2025–Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, president of Missouri Western State University, was presented the inaugural Beacon Award for Outstanding Community Partner from the St. Joseph School District Foundation<\/a> at the foundation\u2019s annual Fall Community Breakfast Sept. 19 at MoWest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Beacon Award honors a community partner who \u201clights the way\u201d for students and educators. The foundation commended Dr. Kennedy\u2019s leadership in providing a clearer, more attainable path to college for local students.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Kennedy is a hands-on partner who turns ideas into doors opening for kids,\u201d said Julie Cobb, executive director of the SJSD Foundation. \u201cBecause of her leadership at Missouri Western, more SJSD students can see\u2013and step onto\u2013a clear path from our classrooms to college and careers right here in St. Joseph.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m humbled by this honor, which reflects the hard work and dedication that everyone at MoWest brings to the task of making a college education accessible for everyone,\u201d Dr. Kennedy said. \u201cWe truly value our partnership with the St. Joseph School District and I look forward to working with them more and more closely for years to come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

MoWest and the St. Joseph School District recently announced a partnership to offer direct admission to MoWest for graduates of SJSD<\/a>, the first partnership of its kind in the state. The foundation also cited MoWest\u2019s expansion of dual-credit and early-college opportunities, creating on-campus experiences that connect high school learning to college momentum, and aligning workforce pathways with regional employers.<\/p>\n

This is the first year for the SJSD Foundation Community Awards, which are designed to spotlight the people and partners who turn support into student success, and to inspire even more community engagement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to Dr. Kennedy\u2019s Beacon Award, the foundation presented its inaugural Trailblazer Award to Kristie Arthur, director of workforce development for the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. The Trailblazer Award celebrates an SJSD alum whose leadership and impact open new doors for others. Arthur is a graduate of Central High School.<\/span><\/p>\n

Missouri Western State University is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. MoWest is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit <\/span><\/i>missouriwestern.edu<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sept. 19, 2025–Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, president of Missouri Western State University, was presented the inaugural Beacon Award for Outstanding Community Partner from the St. Joseph School District Foundation at the foundation\u2019s annual Fall Community Breakfast Sept. 19 at MoWest.\u00a0 The Beacon Award honors a community partner who \u201clights the way\u201d for students and educators. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48,50,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11964"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11964"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11969,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11964\/revisions\/11969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}