College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Trustee Margaret Dunkle of Port Republic has been appointed to serve on the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Public Policy and Advocacy Committee for 2018.
“The College of Southern Maryland is honored by Margaret Dunkle’s appointment to this influential committee,” said CSM President Dr. Maureen Murphy. “The appointment positions Margaret and CSM to have an impact at the national level.”
The ACCT Public Policy and Advocacy Committee is charged with reviewing public policy issues and recommending positions to the ACCT Board of Directors and, where appropriate, to the ACCT Executive Committee. Founded in 1972, the ACCT is the nonprofit educational organization of governing boards, with a membership that includes 6,000 individual trustees representing 1,200 community, technical and junior colleges in the United States and beyond.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan appointed Dunkle to serve as a CSM trustee in 2016. While serving in that position, Dunkle draws upon a rich background in advocacy and education.
Dunkle received the 2016 William Donald Schaefer Helping People Award in Calvert County for her leadership and lifelong advocacy efforts for equal opportunity and women’s rights. Most recently, Dunkle chaired the blue ribbon Harriet Elizabeth Brown Commemoration Task Force that identified ways to honor the legacy of this Calvert County civil rights pioneer. She also played a central role in implementing Title IX, the 1972 landmark legislation prohibiting sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funding that is most commonly associated with equity in college athletics. She is also a recipient of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Dale Richmond Award for outstanding contributions in the field of child development.
Previously Dunkle chaired the Calvert County Commission for Women. She is a board member for the Calvert County Community Foundation and the League of Women Voters of Calvert County. She was a 2012 inductee to the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame and a 2014 inductee into the Philanthropy Hall of Fame of the Community Foundation of Southern Maryland. Her papers are archived at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University.
Prior to her retirement, Dunkle was lead research scientist with George Washington University’s Department of Health Policy, and director of the Early Identification and Intervention Collaborative for Los Angeles County.
She has authored more than 100 publications on subjects ranging from early identification and intervention of children with disabilities and developmental delays, to vaccine safety, accountability for results, cross-sector reforms, linking policy to research, collaboration, intergovernmental partnerships, equal opportunity and civil rights, Title IX, federal budget policy, education and health.
Dunkle has testified nine times before the U.S. Congress on issues including: youth development; Congressional reorganization; federal, state and local assistance programs; student financial assistance and barriers to self-sufficiency for low-income women; insurance discrimination; equal opportunity in science and technology; educational equity; and career and vocational education.
She is a graduate of Calvert High School. Prior to earning a bachelor of arts degree from Syracuse University she attended Hood College.
The ACCT supports community college governing boards in their efforts to govern and develop policies that focus on meeting community needs. For information about ACCT, visit https://www.acct.org/.
CSM’s Board of Trustees is the governing body providing leadership and oversight of the college’s mission and policies. Members are appointed by the governor for five-year terms. For information about CSM’s leadership, visit http://www.scmd.edu/about/leadership/.