Glendale Community College President Dr. Teresa Leyba Ruiz was honored at the 12th Annual Arizona Higher Education Awards Breakfast with the Edith Sayre Auslander Award for Outstanding Support of Hispanic Issues.

This award is given to a person in the community who has demonstrated significant and outstanding accomplishments in the support of issues that impact all socially and economically deprived communities. The Arizona Higher Education Awards Breakfast is presented by The Pete C. Garcia Foundation.

Dr. Ruiz has served students, faculty, staff and the community as an educator for more than 30 years. She is the eighth president of GCC, and previously served as Vice President of Student Affairs, Associate Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs, and Interim Dean of Instruction at GCC.

“I am a tireless advocate for student success and I believe in the power of education to uplift a community,” she stated in a news release. “Community colleges are a critical part of the pathway to upward mobility and I firmly believe that all students can learn and achieve great things with the right support and hard work.”

The Higher Education Awards Breakfast is an annual event whereby six individuals are recognized for their personal and professional commitment to advocating for the advancement of quality higher education opportunities for minority youth. The awards are sponsored by APS; Arizona Diamondbacks; Atlantic Development & Investments, Inc.; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona; Celtic Property Management, LLC; and Desert Diamond Casino & Entertainment West Valley.

Pete C. Garcia, founded The Foundation in 2008 with the purpose of providing services to underserved communities throughout Arizona and served as its president until 2017.  An integral part of the agenda was to advocate and advance higher education opportunities for minority youth who aspired a college/university education / degree, but were frequently denied entrance because of their social and economic status.