Dr. Harry Harden Jr. Student Academic Excellence Awards

Dr. Harry Harden Jr. Awards Ceremony livestream video with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretationnew window

The late Dr. Harry Harden Jr. was a dedicated educator, compassionate counselor, committed philanthropist, and passionate public servant. Dr. Harden joined Montgomery College in 1986 as an instructor at the Rockville Campus Student Development Office. He earned an assistant professor position in 1987. After earning a PhD from American University, Dr. Harden became the dean of student development at the Germantown Campus in 1993. The College awarded him an associate professor position in 1994.

He established the Black and African-American Student Academic Awards Program at the College in 1989 to recognize and inspire high-achieving students of Black and African-American descent. As a catalyst for student success, his legacy continues to inspire and motivate students to achieve, and thus the awards ceremony to acknowledge academic excellence of students of all ethnicities at Montgomery College, one of the most diverse community colleges in the nation with students from nearly 170 countries, is named in his honor.

Student Academic Excellence Award Criteria

The criteria for receiving the Student Academic Excellence award is as follows: Students who have achieved academic excellence with a 3.5 GPA for two consecutive semesters with 24 credits. 

Please note that in order to be considered for the Medallion Award (a separate award), a student must be nominated.

Medallion Award Criteria

One student from each of the College’s three campuses will be chosen for the prestigious Medallion award based on the following criteria. Students must have:

• earned a cumulative 3.5 or higher grade point average;
• demonstrated outstanding leadership on campus or in our external community, (can include virtual campus and community space);
• excelled in service to the College or our external community (can include virtual campus and community space); and
• been approved for graduation for May 2024 with an associate’s degree.