Paul Mitchell Schools Receive 2024 CECU Community Impact Award

Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU), a national organization serving the for-profit higher education sector, recently announced the winners of its 2024 Career Education Review Awards, and the Paul Mitchell School network was honored to receive the first-ever Community Impact Award. 

CECU created the Annual Career Education Review Awards to celebrate career education excellence nationwide. With over 90 nominations received, this year’s CER Editorial Board faced a challenging selection process.

Recognizing Paul Mitchell Schools for our commitment to community service and philanthropy, fostering positive change, and strengthening communities, CECU wrote:

“Through its network of more than 100 independently owned and operated institutions, the Paul Mitchell Schools are a beacon of community service and philanthropy. For over two decades, the network of schools has been a leader in engaging with local and national communities, demonstrating how an educational institution can make a difference.”

Winn Claybaugh, Dean and Cofounder of Paul Mitchell Schools, said, “In more than 25 years of serving cosmetology, barbering, and esthetics students, our Paul Mitchell Schools have been widely acknowledged within the professional beauty and barbering industries. Being recognized this way by CECU – an organization that serves the entire realm of for-profit colleges and universities – is quite an honor. We are grateful to be named among the distinguished group of 2024 CER Award recipients.”

View the full article about the 2024 CER Awards here.

Our Philanthropic Commitment

Over the years, the Paul Mitchell Schools network has made a major impact in countless lives, raising over $25 million for charitable causes and serving local communities with personal, hands-on participation to benefit causes selected by Future Professionals and team members.

Here’s a brief reminder of what Paul Mitchell Schools have accomplished through their efforts:

• Nearly $2.5 million to help cancer-related charities such as Fran Drescher’s Cancer Schmancer, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, City of Hope, Bright Pink, Eyes on Cancer, and the American Cancer Society
• Over $1.4 million to support memory loss caregivers and families through Leeza Gibbons’ Leeza’s Care Connection
• Over $885,000 in support of animal health and rescue through Morris Animal Foundation, American Humane Association, and Best Friends Animal Society.
• $350,000 to Habitat for Humanity
• $165,000 in support of organizations that empower the Black community, including $135,000 to United Negro College Fund (UNCF); $15,000 to 501(c)(3), which provides safe water to communities in crisis; and$15,000 to Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, founded by Taraji P. Henson to improve access to mental health services for Black communities.
• Over $1.1 million to help the Gary Sinise Foundation support our nation’s defenders, veterans, first responders, and their families
• $753,000 to the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast) and other organizations helping trafficking victims in Cambodia, India, and Honduras
• $1.7 million to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, over $1.1 million to No Limits for Deaf Children and Families, and $1.36 million to Food 4 Africa, providing more than 30 million meals for orphaned children
• $682,000 to help Thirst Project provide safe, clean water for hundreds of thousands of people for the rest of their lives
• Most recently, $38,000 to support survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, through the PBA Disaster Relief Fund
• Plus over $1 million directly to local charities selected by individual schools in their own communities

Learn more about our philanthropic commitment at www.paulmitchell.edu/giving-back 

ABOUT CECU AND CER

Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national organization serving postsecondary career education schools, staff, and most importantly, our students. We are a voluntary membership organization that serves as the national voice for the for-profit higher education sector. Today, CECU has more than 1,100 campuses and affiliate members throughout North America.

Career Education Review, the voice of career education, is the career college resource that provides higher education leaders, management, owners, and organizations with the in-depth information required to operate a successful educational enterprise. With more than 95 years in circulation, CER is a trusted ally in the admission, retention, placement, and the education of millions of prospective students every year. We serve as the daily pulse of the career education community – bringing a snapshot of the news, trends, research, and upcoming events.