2025 Distinguished Alumni: Dawn R. Ramsey, Daniel Barney Stirland

Salt Lake Community College’s prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award honors SLCC graduates and former students for professional excellence and exemplary service to their communities in their chosen professional or academic fields. It’s the highest award the college bestows upon alumni. Traditionally, one female alumna and one male alumnus are selected as honorees each year.

DAWN R. RAMSEY

AS, General Studies 2017

Mayor, City of South Jordan

Dawn Ramsey experienced Salt Lake Community College at two very different points in her life. The first time, she was just a few years out of high school, and later, after raising six children, she returned to the College as a nontraditional student. “I chose to take a break from my education that unexpectedly lasted 20 years,” says Ramsey. “I cannot imagine there ever was a nontraditional student as excited as I was to be back in school.”

As she began attending SLCC for a second time, Ramsey recalls the dedication of an academic advisor who combed through her transcripts to create a learning roadmap for her. “His time and effort were an immense gift — it allowed me to re-engage with my education and determine a path forward.”

She also recalls an SLCC anatomy and physiology professor who encouraged and supported her. “She recognized things I could do that I might not have been fully aware of at the time,” says Ramsey. “She was helping me see who I could become.”

Just a few months after graduating from the College in 2017, Ramsey was elected as South Jordan’s first female mayor. “That SLCC degree instilled confidence in me that made me feel like I belonged on that ballot,” she says. Soon after, Ramsey completed a bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University in Family Science with emphasis in Political Science and Civic Engagement Leadership. She is currently serving in her second term as mayor of South Jordan City.

DANIEL BARNEY STIRLAND, M.ED.

General Studies

Principal, Kearns High School

Danny Stirland has been a part of the Kearns High School community for 25 years, first as a student, then as a basketball coach, then as a history teacher, and now as the school’s principal. He has also worked for the Granite District as a School Leadership Director, where he supervised high school and junior high school principals.

“I’m just lucky and blessed to be here; there’s something special about being where you grew up,” says Stirland. After high school, Stirland attended Salt Lake Community College to complete his general education requirements.

While at the College, Stirland cherished the small class sizes and teacher attention. “The small, intimate nature of the community college really worked for me,” says Stirland, who credits two SLCC professors for turning him on to history. “They had their views but also taught from a balanced approach, pulling in different perspectives. I appreciated this; it helped inform me as I started making my own decisions in life.”

After completing his studies at SLCC, Stirland attended the University of Utah, where he earned a bachelor’s in Health with a minor in History, as well as a teaching degree. He later returned to the University to pursue a master’s degree in Educational Leadership.

Stirland was voted secondary principal of the year in 2014 by his Granite School District peers and received the Granite Education Foundation’s Excel Award in 2017. Even with all his public accolades, Stirland considers a shift in the culture at Kearns High School his greatest professional achievement. “We are a very diverse school in every aspect, where there is a lot of mutual respect, acceptance, and inclusion. This results in a positive learning environment that makes us all want to be here.”