Florida College Access Network’s Associate Director of Research & Policy Troy Miller was honored by the National College Access Network (NCAN) with the 2015 Dr. David B. Swedlow Memorial College Access Practitioner Award of Excellence at the National College Access Network 20th Anniversary Conference last week in Orlando, FL.
The award is named in honor of Dr. David B. Swedlow, who dedicated his life’s work to helping students gain access to college. This nationally recognized award honors college access professionals who demonstrate “dedication, hard work and innovation” through their work.
“I am honored to receive this recognition from the National College Access Network and its members,” said Troy Miller. “NCAN is a strong and trusted advocate for college access and success at the national level, in large part due to its focus on using research and data to shine a light on opportunities to improve student outcomes. We aspire to do the same in Florida so this recognition from NCAN is especially meaningful.”
With this award, Miller was recognized for his commitment to strengthening and empowering communities in Florida to move the needle on college access and success through use of research and data tools and resources. While at Florida CAN, Miller has created policy briefs that have inspired calls for action and reform throughout the state, and his interactive FAFSA completion and degree attainment data dashboards have enabled schools and organizations to monitor their progress and improve the student success outcomes in their communities.
In addition to receiving the award, Miller presented at the NCAN conference on using data. Miller’s session was called, “Building a Better Flashlight: Using Interactive Data Visualizations to Tell Stories, Measure Impact and Drive Change” and highlighted ways K-12, higher education institutions and non-profit organizations can use data to help community partners improve student outcomes.