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.
Daniel Barney Stirland, M.Ed.
General Studies
Principal, Kearns High School
Danny Stirland has been a part of the Kearns High School’s 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 Daniel. After high school, Daniel attended SLCC his general education requirements.
While at the College, Daniel cherished the small class sizes and the teacher attention. “The small, intimate nature of the community college really worked for me,” says Daniel, 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 his time at SLCC, Daniel 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 earn a master’s degree in Educational Leadership.
Danny was voted secondary principal of the year in 2014 by his Granite District peers and received the Granite Education Foundation Excel Award as a principal in 2017. Even with all his public accolades, Danny considers a shift in the culture at Kearns High School as 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.”
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