SWARTHMORE, PA, October 18, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Maurice Gray Eldridge with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Eldridge celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
An academic administrator with more than five decades of experience in education, Mr. Eldridge has been serving as the vice president of college and community relations as well as the executive assistant to the president at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania since 1998. Originally hired as an associate director in 1989 and working his way to where he is today, Mr. Eldridge also served as principal/director at Duke Ellington School of Arts in Washington, DC, for 10 years, education specialist for Massachusetts Department of Education in Pittsfield, assistant headmaster at Windsor Mountain School in Lenox, MA, and in the classroom as a teacher of English, history, and creative writing.
Mr. Eldridge is well-known for having co-founded The Chester Charter School of the Arts (CCSA). Located in Chester, PA, its new building includes modern classrooms, a gymnasium, two dance studios, a playing field, cafeteria, and two art studios. Teaching approximately 540 students from kindergarten and up in six arts/specials, including dance, drama, music, physical education, visual arts, and mathematics laboratory, the school's mission is to empower students to realize their best selves and employ their intellectual and creative power to succeed personally as well as enrich their community. Founded in 2012 as the result of a charter school application sponsored by The Chester Fund for Education and the Arts, a charitable non-profit organization that was then chaired by Mr. Eldridge, who currently serves as co-vice president and secretary of the CCSA Board.
Mr. Eldridge is also active as a member of the Chester Children's Chorus board of directors, where he was honored for his influential role in supporting the growth and success of the organization in 2009. Responsible for helping the chorus grow, the chorus has gone from seven elementary school boys to more than 100 boys and girls from ages eight to 18 since its founding, all of whom participate in an enriching extracurricular program of music performance at Swarthmore College's Lang Music Building. Mr. Eldridge is also a former president of the International Network of Schools of Arts, a former board of directors for the Greater Philadelphia chapter of the National Society of Fundraising Executives, a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and longtime independent arts consultant for 30 years.
Throughout his career, Mr. Eldridge has received numerous awards and recognitions, including a Whitney M. Young Junior Memorial Award by the Washington D.C. Urban League in 1982, a Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education in 2007, and the prestigious Jeffrey Lawrence Award in 2009 during the national conference of the Arts Schools Network in Washington, D.C., which acknowledged him for lifetime devotion and commitment to excellence in arts education and training. The Arts Schools Network is a coalition of specialized arts schools and institutions whose greater mission is to support leaders of arts schools and preserve standards of academic excellence. Furthermore, in 2011, the Maurice G. Eldridge Faculty Fellowship was established by Eugene M. Lang to honor the service of Mr. Eldridge to Swarthmore College and its commitment to academic excellence linked to socially responsible civic engagement.
A certified teacher and counselor in the state of Massachusetts and a certified principal in Washington, DC, Mr. Eldridge completed his undergraduate work at Swarthmore College in 1961, and a Master of Arts in Education at the University of Massachusetts in 1976. He has been cited in Who's Who in America as well as Who's Who in the East.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Maurice Gray Eldridge has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
About Marquis Who's Who :
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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