2 retired educators honored by group
The Orlando Economic Partnership honored two longtime Orlando education leaders Thursday night.
Retired Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Barbara Jenkins and retired Valencia College President Sandy Shugart received James B. Greene Awards during the partnership’s annual dinner at Steinmetz Hall in downtown Orlando.
The award was first presented in 1990 and recognizes people whose work “contributed substantially to the economic prosperity of the region,” a news release said.
The event was rescheduled last year because of Hurricane Ian.
Jenkins retired at the end of last year after a decade as superintendent. She was deputy superintendent in 2012 before the school board unanimously chose Jenkins to become the first woman to hold the top job in Orange County schools.
Jenkins, a Winter Park
High School graduate, has bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Central Florida and was previously a teacher and principal in the district.
“Being raised by a single mother definitely taught me how to be a leader, how to succeed regardless of challenges, and how to be grateful and pay it forward,” Jenkins said in the release.
“I am grateful for always being surrounded by family, friends, and an amazing team that helped me lead the amazing department at OCPS.”
Shugart retired in 2021 after two decades as president of Valencia College. He took the helm at Valencia in 2000 after working as an administrator for community colleges in Texas and North Carolina.
Valencia’s current president, Kathleen Plinske, received the award on Shugart’s behalf.
The Orlando Economic Partnership has supported 165 business projects in the past six years, which are expected to create 25,000 new jobs and $3.4 billion in capital investment, the release said.
“This shows that when we partner, we become more competitive and together bolster the region,” said Tim Giuliani, president and chief executive officer of the OEP.