Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is an award presented to graduating seniors, alumni, and community members of selected colleges and universities in the Southern United States for excellence of character and service to humanity.  At Elon, two graduating seniors and one faculty or staff member are recognized annually for their honesty, morality, ethics, integrity, responsibility, determination, courage, and compassion.

Presented by Jon Dooley, Vice President for Student Life and Associate Professor of Education

Transcript of Commendations

Jon Dooley, Vice President for Student Life and Associate Professor of Education

Each year the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is presented to two students and one faculty or staff member. Sponsored by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation, these awards recognize college students across the country who put service of others before self-interest. We celebrate individuals here at Elon who demonstrate the highest standards of character, integrity, and leadership in service to others and the community.

Our faculty/staff recipient this year is also a 1985 alum of Elon and has been a tremendous force for good at the university and in the community. After graduating from Elon, Sandra Reid spent nearly two decades working in juvenile justice in Alamance County, Guilford County, and the Piedmont area. After completing her master’s in counseling she joined Elon’s faculty as an adjunct instructor, and became a full-time lecturer in Human Service Studies in 2006.

Over the years she has held a number of important leadership roles in boards and commissions, chairing the juvenile justice planning committee of the Governor’s Crime Commission, serving as board member, vice chair, and later chair of the Alamance County Community Services Agency, serving as a member of the Governor’s Youth Accountability Task Force, and chairing the board of directors for Positive Attitude Youth Center. She is currently serving as a member of the Alamance County Community Coalition of Remembrance, working with the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, to memorialize the lynchings that occurred in Alamance County at the EJI national museum and monument. In all of her community leadership, Sandra Reid has been a reliable and inspiring presence in these organizations, just as she has been for her students here at Elon.

Speaking of Professor Reid’s leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, one of her colleagues noted, “she has an approach to difficult conversations that allows divergent views to be expressed and heard, while moving the dialogue forward.”

In 2018, Elon students selected her as the recipient of the Wilhelmina Boyd Community Service Award, presented at the Phillip-Perry Black Excellence Awards Celebration.

In short, Sandra Reid is a teacher, scholar, and mentor who exemplifies engaged learning and commitment to the community. I am so honored to be able to recognize her with this well-deserved Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for her steady leadership at the university and in the community. Congratulations Professor Reid!