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K-State Today

December 16, 2015

Yelich Biniecki receives national early career award

Submitted by Patrice Scott

Susan Yelich Biniecki

A tenure-track professor in the College of Education recently received a national award for her academic contributions to the field of adult and continuing education.

Susan Yelich Biniecki, assistant professor in educational leadership department, was presented with the Early Career Award from the Commission of Professors of Adult Education of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education in November at its annual conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The award honors an individual in the early stage of their academic career who has made significant contributions in scholarship and service to the field of adult education as well as demonstrated excellence in research and publication. Yelich Biniecki's research focuses on adult learning and knowledge construction in international education contexts.

David C. Thompson, professor and chair of the educational leadership department, believes Yelich Biniecki has been an exceptional addition to his department.

"Dr. Yelich Biniecki represents the best of the present and the great promise of the future," Thompson said. "We have an outstanding faculty of adult education, and we are so proud that Dr. Yelich Biniecki chose Kansas State University for her academic home. She has a wonderful future in the university and beyond; we could not be more fortunate to have her here."

Simone C.O. Conceição, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and Jeff Zacharakis, a professor at Kansas State University, supported Yelich Biniecki's nomination for the early career award.

"I believe Dr. Yelich Biniecki's contributions to the field of adult education have been of the highest quality with publications in top journals using a variety of methodologies," Conceição said. "Her work in teaching, scholarship, and service shows impact and promise in visible ways at the institutional, national, and international levels."

Zacharakis agrees.

"Susan has an ambitious research agenda and is developing a strong presence as a scholar in adult education circles."

Yelich Biniecki expressed her gratitude to those who have supported her.

"I am honored to receive this recognition from my esteemed colleagues and am grateful for the support I have received from my department and faculty," Yelich Biniecki said. "I look forward to continuing to contribute to Kansas State University and the adult and continuing education field."

Yelich Biniecki earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and anthropology at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin. She earned a master's degree in administrative leadership and supervision in education and a doctorate in urban education with an emphasis in adult and continuing education at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.