Dr. John Trathen, director of student activities and the Kehr College Union at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, is the 1999 recipient of the Suzanne S. Brown Distinguished Service Award.
The award was created to recognize an outstanding student affairs professional from the State System of Higher Education. It is presented annually by the Council of Chief Student Affairs Offices to an individual who has demonstrated innovative or creative actions that have benefited his or her institution and the State System or who has provided “noteworthy, distinguished service to his or her institution or to the System.”
Trathen has been at Bloomsburg for more than 30 years, including as a student. His first job there was as comptroller of community activities. He later was appointed assistant director of student activities before assuming his current duties. He twice has served as acting vice president for student life.
Trathen’s responsibilities at Bloomsburg also have included the operations and management of the Kehr Union, the University Store, student health center and student activities. He also advises the Community Government Association and was selected by the senior class to serve as its adviser for more than 10 years.
While maintaining a busy work schedule, Trathen also has been very involved in civic and community activities. He serves on the boards of directors of the Protestant Campus Ministry, the Bloomsburg Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Bloomsburg University Alumni Association. This year, he served as chairperson of Bloomsburg University’s United Way/SECA campaign, which set a record in the number of participants and dollars contributed.
A plaque recognizing the Suzanne S. Brown Distinguished Serve Award winners hangs permanently in the Dixon University Center. Brown was a long-time System official working in the area of Academic and Student Affairs.
The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, offering more than 215 undergraduate and more than 100 graduate degree programs. Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.
The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh.