Two College Employees Honored with DAWN Awards

Delaware Tech employees Cornelia Johnson and Christine Wilborne were recognized by the Delaware ACE Women's Network (DAWN) during DAWN’s Oct. 26, 2023, awards ceremony. Johnson, college vice president and Terry Campus director, received the 2023 DAWN Leadership Award and Wilborne, an academic counselor on the College’s Stanton Campus, was named a DAWN Rising Star Award honoree.

The DAWN awards are presented annually to women in higher education in Delaware. The Leadership Award is presented on the basis of leadership activities and significant contributions to any aspect of higher education. Rising Stars celebrate those whose potential to achieve more is evident and demonstrate promise of future leadership.

Johnson, who joined Delaware Tech in 2002, has served as vice president and campus director for the Terry Campus in Dover since July 2018. She previously served as the dean of student affairs at the Stanton and George Campuses and was director of communication and planning, assistant dean of student affairs, and registrar.

She came to the College following a successful tenure at Delaware State University where she served in leadership roles as director of student support and professional development and director of records and registration. She began her career in higher education while pursuing her bachelor’s degree as a first-generation, traditional student as a peer academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Delaware. There she discovered her passion for helping all students meet their educational goals.

Johnson has a Master of Business Administration from Delaware State University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Delaware. In 2016, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wilberforce University for her career’s work in higher education.

Wilborne, who started at Delaware Tech in 2010, has been working in higher education for 20 years. In that time, she has served in diverse student support roles such as financial aid specialist, admissions counselor, Title IX investigator, and Black Male Initiative program coordinator.

Wilborne holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Delaware and a Bachelor of Arts in History/Social Studies Education from Queens College, City University of New York.

As a chapter of the national ACE Network Organization, DAWN upholds the mission of advancing women’s leadership by identifying women leaders, developing women's leadership abilities, encouraging the use of those abilities, advancing women’s careers, linking women to other women and mentors, and supporting women in mid- and executive-level positions throughout their careers.

PHOTOS:
TOP PHOTO: (From left) DAWN Executive Committee member and Delaware Tech Academic Counselor Lisa Terranova, DAWN Executive Committee member and Delaware Tech Academic Counselor Victoria Chang, Delaware Tech Vice President & Terry Campus Director and 2023 DAWN Leadership Award honoree Cornelia Johnson, and DAWN Executive Committee member and Delaware Tech Director of Communication & Planning Debra Troxler.

BOTTOM PHOTO: (From left) DAWN Executive Committee member and Delaware Tech Academic Counselor Victoria Chang, Delaware Tech Academic Counselor and 2023 DAWN Rising Star Award honoree Christine Wilborne, DAWN Executive Committee member and Delaware Tech Director of Communication & Planning Debra Troxler, and DAWN Executive Committee member and Delaware Tech Academic Counselor Lisa Terranova.