Distinguished Faculty Service Award 

For more than 40 years, Katherine McClelland has embodied the spirit and practice of shared governance at Franklin & Marshall College. A tireless member of dozens of committees, task forces, and working groups, Professor McClelland has spearheaded numerous initiatives to improve campus life with a focus on student welfare and learning. In 1991, she was honored by the Christian R. and Mary E. Lindback Foundation for outstanding teaching. Today, the College recognizes her extraordinary record of service.

With a longstanding research interest in race relations on college campuses, Professor McClelland has lent her scholarly expertise and organizational talent to facilitating community. A founding member and chair of the Africana Studies program, Professor McClelland served many years on the Presidential Task Force on Diversity and Inclusiveness, played an instrumental role in designing the College’s Day of Dialogue programs, and co-founded and convened the Race Matters Discussion Forum, a vital platform for campus conversations from 2001 to 2006.

Professor McClelland has also been a devoted member of the Department of Sociology, spending a total of 11 years at its helm. The esteem in which her fellow faculty members hold her is evident in her election to major governance committees, including the Educational Policy Committee, the Professional Standards Committee, and Faculty Council, which she chaired twice. Colleagues regard as particularly valuable Professor McClelland’s service on the Professional Standards Committee and the Academic Affairs Advisory Task Force as they navigated the College's profound challenges during the first years of COVID-19. 

It is not simply the number of service opportunities that Professor McClelland has taken up, but the quality of her contributions that stands out. Widely recognized as both principled and practical, Professor McClelland does not leave onerous duties to others, but volunteers, fills gaps, proposes solutions, and follows through – all without drawing attention to her efforts and accomplishments. Conscientious, consultative, and unfailingly cheerful, Professor McClelland is a model committee member and chair. If her energy is seemingly limitless, so too are her compassion, thoughtfulness, and understanding.  

For all of these reasons and more, Katherine McClelland is a highly deserving recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Faculty Service Award.

Katherine McClelland, Professor of Sociology, Distinguished Faculty Service Award

Colleagues regard as particularly valuable Professor McClelland’s service on the Professional Standards Committee and the Academic Affairs Advisory Task Force as they navigated the College's profound challenges during the first years of COVID-19.

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