A new award that will recognize champions of the concept of diversity in the Georgetown area has been named in honor of the late Eulalie “Leila” Fenhagen. The award, created by Coastal Carolina University and the Georgetown County Family YMCA, was presented to Fenhagen’s parents, the Rev. and Mrs. James Fenhagen, Thursday, Feb. 9, at CCU’s Waccamaw Higher Education Center in Litchfield.

Leila Fenhagen led a distinguished career as a psychiatric social worker. From 1990 to 2000, she was director of clinical social work at Boys Town in New York City. In 2000 she moved to Georgetown and served as director of the T.C. Drayton Family Learning Center in Charleston, which later became the South Carolina Center for Family Programs.

Fenhagen was active in civic affairs. She served on the committee that brought the Freedom Schooner “Amistad” to Georgetown in 2001, and she was South Carolina chairperson of the Washington National Cathedral Association. Fenhagen was a member of the Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church in Pawleys Island.

Born in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1951, Fenhagen was raised in Washington, D.C., where her father was rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church and warden of the Washington National Cathedral’s College of Preachers. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Connecticut.

Fenhagen died in Georgetown on Nov. 7, 2005.

The Leila Fenhagen Diversity Champion Award will be presented annually to individuals or businesses in the Georgetown area. “This award will honor those who encourage dialogue and understanding in our community, who exemplify that spirit of passionate community engagement that we associate with Leila Fenhagen,” said Ronald R. Ingle, president of Coastal Carolina University.