Olivia Collins, Kansas State University assistant professor emeritus of leadership studies, has been selected to receive the 2014 Wildcat Pride Award, which recognizes K-State faculty or staff who have been instrumental in advancing the mission of the K-State Alumni Association through the support of its programs.

Collins will receive the award during the Alumni Association’s fall board of directors meeting
Oct. 3. The award honors a current or emeritus K-State faculty or staff member for his or her advocacy of alumni relations, with a special emphasis on support and participation in alumni programs that engage members of the Wildcat family.

“Olivia Collins has worked diligently for many years to establish a strong collaboration between students and the Alumni Association,” said Amy Button Renz, president and CEO of the Alumni Association. “Her passion for and thorough understanding of the nonprofit sector has benefited Alumni Association programs by enhancing our visibility on a broader scale than the Association could achieve on its own. She truly is a loyal advocate for the Alumni Association, and our staff is honored to acknowledge this very special member of the K-State family with the 2014 Wildcat Pride Award.”

Collins earned her doctorate in human ecology from K-State in 1990. She has served as a member of the K-State faculty since 1988 and, in 2003, as an instructor with the Mary Lynn and Warren Staley School of Leadership Studies, helped establish the nonprofit leadership minor. Collins also served as director of the American Humanics program from 2006 to 2014.

Collins earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas in 1969 and a master’s in human development and the family from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1984. She has been recognized with many leadership and service awards, including the Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award in 2010 and the 2014 Susan M. Scott Community Leadership Award, in recognition of her lifelong mission to inspire others to carry out their call to action, both from the Staley School of Leadership Studies.