Newsmakers FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 27, 2006 Contact: Robin Micket (860) 548-7894 Danchak Receives Rensselaer Alumni Association Director's Award Rebecca Danchak receives the RAA Director's Award from Jeff Schanz, Director, Alumni Relations, and Bob Forman, President, RAA. HARTFORD, CONN – Rebecca M. Danchak (Class of 1978), of Durham, Acting Associate Dean for Student Services, Rensselaer at Hartford, was recognized with the Rensselaer Alumni Association (RAA) Director's Award at the Alumni Awards Dinner held June 9 at the Troy campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The award is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to the success of the RAA and to the Office of Alumni Relations during the past year. Danchak also serves as Assistant Secretary, Corporate Officers, Board of Trustees, Rensselaer Hartford Graduate Center, Inc. The citation for her award read: “We have long known Rebecca Danchak as a pillar of our community. In 2001, she became the first Hartford staff member to be honored with the prestigious Pillar of Rensselaer Award for her exemplary work as Director of Admissions at the Hartford campus. Indeed, in so many ways Rebecca IS Rensselaer in Hartford, an employee and alumna who knows everyone and has worn every hat. She has worked at Hartford for more than 32 years—28 of them as an alumna—and her loyalty to both campuses as well as her deep understanding of the university as a whole is apparent in everything she does. For serving the Hartford Chapter in countless ways, for her Annual Fund support, for making her alma mater her life's work, we salute Rebecca Danchak and present her the Director's Award.” Danchak started her career at Rensselaer at Hartford (then RPI of Connecticut, The Hartford Graduate Center) in 1974. She holds several degrees including an A.A. from the Hartford College for Women; a B.A. in Modern Languages from Union College, summa cum laude, where she was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa; an M.S. in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and an M.A. in Counseling from Saint Joseph College. Danchak has been very active in public service activities as a member of the Hartford Proud and Beautiful Board of Directors and served as the first President of the Odyssey Community School Board of Trustees. # # # BACK to News and Events