Belmont Associate Professor of Social Entrepreneurship Dr. Bernard Turner was recently awarded the 2023 President’s Award by the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI) at GrantSummit — the annual conference for the Grant Professionals Association (GPA).
Founded in 1998, GPA is the largest professional association dedicated to grant professionals and represents the interests of thousands of grant professionals in the U.S., Canada and across the world. GPCI is an affiliate nonprofit organization started by GPA that provides credentials for grant professionals.
“Being awarded the 2023 Presidential Award means my colleagues in the grant professionals field recognize my contributions,” Turner said. “There is no better recommendation than your colleagues recognizing you. It’s a humbling experience.”
The President’s Award recognizes the awardee’s contribution to the GPCI, its Board and the grant-writing profession. Turner has been a member of GPA since 2001 and was a member of one of the first cohorts to receive the Grant Professionals Certified designation in 2007.
"In his role as Treasurer of the GPA board, Turner played a vital role in ensuring stability and future growth of both the GPA and GPCI organizations,” GPCI noted in the GrantSummit Recap. “He was instrumental in getting the necessary resources for GPCI to obtain NCCA accreditation in 2019. Nobody has done more to advocate and bring more people of color into the grants professions than Dr. Turner, making him the prime candidate for the 2023 President's Award.”
Turner was also commended for his impact as an educator who mentors numerous students to gain experiences in the areas GPCI values in its core principles which include accountability, cultural sensitivity and life-long learning, to name a few.
“It is important that grant professionals like me provide an opportunity for more people of color to realize and experience this profession,” Turner said. “It is my way of paying it forward. This is the primary reason why a colleague and I established the Dr. Bev Browning and Dr. Bernard Turner African American Male Professional Scholarship through the Grant Professionals Foundation.”
Turner has previously served as the President and Vice President of GPA and as a GPCI Board member. In addition to his role as Associate Professor of Social Entrepreneurship in the Jack C. Massey College of Business, he also serves as the program director for the Center for Social Entrepreneurship.
His exceptional leadership and distinguished commitment to his field of expertise as a professional and educator represent the high-caliber faculty that Belmont students learn from each semester.