SACSA Creates Service Award in Honor of AASU Administrator Joe Buck

Savannah, GA—November 24, 2003— The Southern Association for College Student Affairs (SACSA) has instituted the Joe Buck Service Award to recognize the long-term membership and service of Dr. Joseph A. Buck III, vice president for Student Affairs at Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU). SACSA will present the service award annually to a dependable and dedicated member who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the association. The inaugural award will be presented at the SACSA 2004 Awards Luncheon in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Buck is SACSA’s inaugural executive director, a position for which he has volunteered since 2001. Prior to this role, he served SACSA with distinction since 1973. Buck has served as an administrator at AASU for 35 years. He is a former member of the board of trustees of Leadership Georgia, past president of Leadership Savannah; and a former trustee of the Georgia Public Education Foundation. He has served as president of Rotary Club of Savannah East and as a former chair of the board of directors of the United Way of the Coastal Empire.

Buck has received numerous awards recognizing his professional accomplishments, including the Leadership Georgia Outstanding Alumnus Award; Leadership Savannah's Sam Adler/Hansell Hilyer Founders' Outstanding Citizen Award; and Rotarian of the Year for the Savannah District. In 1996, Buck was selected as a Community Hero, Olympic Torchbearer. Buck earned an Ed.D. in university administration from the University of Georgia, an M.S. in higher education from Florida State University, and a B.A. in sociology from Auburn University.