Kenneth T. Vehrkens Receives Elia G. Stratis CASTLE Award
Award Honors Accomplishments of FDU Alumnus
Teaneck, NJ (October 10, 2006)—In celebration of his accomplishments and activities as an outstanding alumnus of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Kenneth T. Vehrkens, a resident of Waldwick and Dean of FDU’s Anthony J. Petrocelli College of Continuing Studies, has been selected as the 2006 recipient of the highest award the Alumni Association presents, the Elia G. Stratis CASTLE Award.
The Alumni Association honored Vehrkens for his years of outstanding service and loyalty to the University during ceremonies on Saturday, October 7, 2006. To receive this award, an individual must have made significant contributions to the University or have served with distinction in University organizations.
The awards ceremony was held on Saturday, October 7, 2006, in conjunction with the University’s Annual Family/Homecoming Weekend. Warren Oates, Alumni Association Board of Governors, presented the award. He said, “The acronym CASTLE represents Commitment, Allegiance, Support, Teamwork, Leadership and Enthusiasm. The Alumni Association Board of Governors is proud to present The Elia G. Stratis CASTLE Award to Ken Vehrkens. I congratulate Ken and thank you for bringing such distinction to the University.”
Vehrkens has been an Academic Dean at FDU for more than 28 years. In this role, he is chief administrative officer of one of the four colleges of FDU, with an enrollment of over 4,600 credit-bearing students and 5,000 non-credit students. He is responsible for all credit and non-credit programs within the college, which is located on FDU’s Metropolitan campus in Teaneck, N.J.
In addition to being the Dean of Petrocelli College, Vehrkens is also the Associate Vice-President for Lifelong Learning Programs of the University, which has an enrollment of more than 2,500 students ranging in age from 10 to 86. He is responsible for the Community Service Outreach Program, Educational Programs for Senior Citizens and the Gifted & Talented Programs for Elementary, Middle School and High School students.
Vehrkens has served as the Educational Consultant for the National Football League for more than 15 years. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Minority Athletes Networking and the Academic Decathlon of New Jersey.
Vehrkens has served as a retention consultant at 25 major Universities and has made featured presentations at the National Conference on Student Retention for the past 20 years. He has authored more than 60 research articles and has presented over 50 research papers at national conferences.
On three separate occasions, Vehrkens has been named FDU’s Dean of the Year and twice received the honor of University Educational Opportunity Fund Administrator of the Year. In 1989, he was the winner of the Retention Excellence Award at the National Conference on Student Retention, and in 1991, he was selected as the recipient of the FDU Pinnacle Award.