U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will receive the Inaugural Annette Strauss Texas Leadership Award on Feb. 22.

The Annette Strauss Texas Leadership Award reflects the standards of civil service established by the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation. The group chose to honor Hutchison for her civic contributions, according to the Institute.

“She was a person who knew Mayor Strauss and worked with her in Dallas. And when we started the institution 10 years ago, even though they were of opposite political affiliations, she was gracious enough to endorse us,” said College of Communications Dean Roderick Hart, who chairs the Annette Strauss Institute.

The award ceremony coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the nonpartisan organization.

“This an attempt to dramatize the importance of civic engagement,” Hart said.

The proceeds of the ceremony will go to the organization’s education fund, which promotes scholastic outreach to secondary and collegiate learning.

The selection process for the award is entirely nonpartisan, Hart said.

The fourth-term senator will receive the award upon the premise of her civic commitment to the public and her demonstration of leadership within her community. Hutchison announced in January that she will not seek another term in 2012.