West campus news Releases Archive

Hon Kachina Council recognizes ASU professor for developing volunteers

Aug. 17, 2005

Phil Mizzi, an associate professor at Arizona State University, is one of nine honorees to receive this year’s prestigious Hon Kachina Volunteer Award. Mizzi, who teaches statistical analysis and managerial decision making in the School of Global Management and Leadership at ASU’s West campus, was nominated for the honor by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix. Mizzi will be honored for his role as an exemplar and for leading students and colleagues into volunteer service on Sept. 24 at an awards dinner.

“Professor Mizzi is responsible for more young people volunteering than any other individual in the 55-year history of the Society in Phoenix,” said Stephen Zabilski, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Diocese of Phoenix. “We’re talking about an estimated 2,000 students plus hundreds of their family and friends,” Zabilski said.

Since 1994, as part of his Business Responsibility Program, Mizzi and his class volunteered monthly at St. Vincent de Paul. Whether it was serving a hot meal, mopping a floor, slicing vegetables or unloading a truck from a warehouse dock, Mizzi and his students pitched in and assumed responsibility to help others in the community.

“He helped develop a community service component to learning for the School of Global Management and Leadership and regularly speaks to MBA students and colleagues about the importance of volunteering to improve the community,” said St. Vincent de Paul’s Zabilski.

“In volunteering, our goal is simple,” Mizzi explained. “We try to make the situation in our community better. We do not try to make the world perfect, just a little bit better.”

“Dr. Mizzi has been an extremely dedicated volunteer with the St Vincent de Paul Society for over a decade. He has contributed to student and faculty awareness the importance of community service and volunteerism. We sincerely applaud his tireless efforts,” said Leanne Atwater, dean of the School of Global Management and Leadership.

“Looking back, the students, staff and faculty have had a large, positive impact on those with whom we partnered. It is my sincere hope that each participant learns that through sustained efforts, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, we can all help create a change for the better in our world,” Mizzi said.

St. Vincent de Paul is just one of the groups that receive help from Mizzi and his students. In 1997, he developed Partners for Progress, made up of business, community and government leaders who partner to focus on social responsibility, welfare reform and juvenile justice. Mizzi was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award and continues to mentor MBA and global business students who volunteer with Adopt-A-Street, American Cancer Society, Arizona Transplant House, Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary, Habitat for Humanity, Mesa Community Action Network, Mothers Against Gangs, and other organizations.

Mizzi will be honored at an awards dinner on Sept. 24. Information about the event is available at (480) 905-1578 or online at www.honkachina.org.

The Hon Kachina Council, originally known as The Luke’s Men, initiated the Hon Kachina Volunteer Awards in 1977. Since then, more than 300 persons have received this award, which is given annually to recognize the achievements of outstanding Arizona volunteers.

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