Dave Bentlin, who works in the president's office at Illinois State University (ISU), was named the 2017 David A. Strand Diversity Achievement Award winner during the Founders Day Convocation recently.
Bentlin earned his bachelor’s degrees in mass communication journalism and history and social sciences education at ISU. He has won the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) John Hammell Award and was nominated for the City of Bloomington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Award.
Bentlin is an advocate for the LGBTQ community at ISU and in the Bloomington-Normal area. He is a member of the steering committee of the Campus Climate Task Force and has been involved with the ACLU and other human rights organizations.
Bentlin mentors and advises students and helped set up the LGBT/Queer Studies Services Institute at ISU as a "judgment-free zone" for all. He also helped create the LGBTQIA Support Fund to help students who lose financial support from their families.
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