Stevens Institute of Technology is this year’s recipient of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Jostens Institution of the Year Award.

The ECAC also named Chuck Mitrano, commissioner of the Empire 8, and Charlyn Robert, director of athletics at Nichols, as its 2008 Jostens Administrators of the Year.

It’s the first time that Stevens, an Empire 8 member, has received the institutional award, and the first time a member of that league has earned the honor since the award was established in 1995.

The institutional award is given annually to the ECAC member that best exemplifies the highest standards of collegiate academic and athletics performance, while the administrators’ awards annually recognize a man and a woman for outstanding or meritorious service to the 321-member ECAC, the nation’s only multidivisional conference.

Stevens offers 25 varsity sports for its 2,000-plus undergraduate students, and four of those teams won ECAC titles during the past year. Nine teams competed in NCAA championships, with the Ducks’ women’s volleyball team advancing to the Division III quarterfinals.

“The Jostens award is a reflection not only of what our athletics program accomplished over the previous year, but of the commitment from our administration and hard work of our student-athletes and staff over the last several years as the department has undergone such a rapid period of growth,” said Russell Rogers, the school’s athletics director.

Mitrano is only the third commissioner to receive the administrators’ award, which has been presented since 1991, while Robert claimed the honor in her 10th year at Nichols.

In addition to their conference and institutional roles, both have been active in NCAA committees. Mitrano is a member of the Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct and also chairs a Division III Commissioners’ Association initiative to promote sportsmanship. Robert is a former chair of the Division III Field Hockey Committee and currently serves on the Division III Women’s Lacrosse Committee.

The awards will be presented September 28 during the ECAC Convention Honors Dinner in Albany, New York.