United Negro College Fund Annual Awards Dinner Honors Individuals and Organizations for Their Commitment to Education

The College Fund (UNCF)
Thursday, 14 March 2002

First Lady Praises UNCF, Calls Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "the 20th Century's Greatest Advocate of the American Dream, and True Meaning of the Declaration of Independence"

First Lady Laura Bush joined the United Negro College Fund as it celebrated the 58th Annual Awards Dinner on March 8th, at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers and bestowed individuals and corporations, who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to education, with the Frederick D. Patterson, President's, and Distinguished Alumni Awards.

"The President and I support UNCF and the historically black college and university community, and we applaud your efforts to ensure that more students have a chance to continue their education and contribute to this great nation," said First Lady, Laura Bush.

While speaking about graduates of UNCF schools who have made great contributions to our nation, the First Lady spoke passionately about a Morehouse College graduate, Dr. Martin Luther King. "His incredible education allowed him to become the 20th Century's Greatest Advocate of the American Dream and the true meaning of the Declaration of Independence."

This year, UNCF presented its highest honor, the Frederick D. Patterson Award to Robert Johnson, Founder and CEO, BET Holdings, Inc. and Douglas Daft, Chairman and CEO, Coca-Cola Company. The President's Award was given to the employees of JPMorganChase and Procter & Gamble for the generous support that resulted from workplace initiatives. The Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Udell Darville, an Oakwood College graduate and retired nurse.

"It is an honor for UNCF to award these individuals and organizations for their support of UNCF and commitment to creating educational opportunities for deserving young men and women," said William H. Gray, III, president and CEO of UNCF. "Through generous support from individuals and organizations like the ones recognized this evening, UNCF is able to administer more than 450 programs and continue its mission of helping students obtain a college education."

UNCF also recognized the recipients of the Liberty and Keck scholarships that UNCF launched in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Liberty Scholarship is for students who lost a parent or guardian in the terrorist attacks and the Keck scholarship provides financial support to students, who attend private historically black colleges and universities, affected by the economic impact of the 9/11tragedy. The students recognized at the dinner included:

- Tiffany and Yolanda Smith, whose father was a firefighter that died in the World Trade Center, received full four-year Liberty scholarships to attend Johnson C. Smith University.

- Vernessa Richard, whose father was a firefighter that died in the World Trade Center, received a one-year Liberty scholarship for her senior year at Johnson C. Smith University.

- Chaz Clark, whose father was catering an event on the top floor of the World Trade Center, received a full four-year Liberty scholarship to attend Morehouse College.

- Kimberly Usher, whose mother lost her job with United Airlines following the event, received $12,500 to cover her tuition for the rest of this school year.

UNCF also recognized the supporters of its Technology Enhancement Capital Campaign, which is aimed at strengthening the technological infrastructures of the UNCF member colleges and universities. This year's TECC Builders awardees included Citigroup, Dell Computer Corporation, General Electric Fund, JPMorganChase, and Procter & Gamble Fund.

The dinner raised over $1,000,000 dollars for The United Negro College Fund, which administers more than 450 scholarship and fellowship programs for students and faculty attending UNCF schools, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and majority institutions.

The United Negro College Fund is the nation's oldest African American higher education assistance organization. UNCF enhances the quality of education by raising operating funds for its 39-member colleges and universities and providing financial assistance to deserving students attending UNCF and other American colleges and universities. Since its founding in 1944, UNCF has raised nearly 1.8 billion to promote higher education and has helped more than 300,000 students earn undergraduate and graduate degrees.

For more information, or to contact The College Fund (UNCF), see their website at: www.uncf.org