Spring Break
Students garner honors at 12th annual Black Scholar Awards
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: News
04/08/09 - The University of Rhode Island Black Scholar Awards Program Committee presented numerous awards in front of a crowd of more than 100 last night in the Kirk Center for Advanced Technology.
The 12th Annual Black Scholar Awards presented a range of acknowledgments, including excellence in general academics and community service.
"This is one of the evenings of the year that I always look forward to, because it gives us the opportunity to celebrate success," Harold Bibb, associate dean of the URI Graduate School, said.
Students were also inducted into the 2009 Onyx Senior Honor Society, as well as honored with special citations from the legislature. Awards from the Black Scholar Awards Committee included the Sojourner Truth Award for Scholarly Persistence and Dedication, the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Outstanding Leadership and Contribution to the University Community and the Jackie Robinson and Althea Gibson Scholar-Athlete Award.
Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts was the keynote speaker of the event and gave both her admiration and advice to the recipients.
"You have shown you will be successful in whatever you choose to do," she said. "Opportunity comes at unexpected moments, and when you find it, seize it and don't let it go."
Roberts also said that even in the current economic climate, there are many chances for success, and no one should get bogged down in the field they have chosen. She said she started in medicine and biology, and found her calling to be an elected officer when she was nearly 40 years old.
Christopher Hunter, an associate professor of engineering at URI, said it was a high honor to both introduce and celebrate the achievements of the recipients to the audience.
"The specific awards will be a testament to scholarly achievement, as well service, to the black community and URI," he said. "The president of our United States has sent out a clear message: that America wants the best that we have to give, to take on the challenges before us. Let us pray that the young people we present this evening serve as a vessel of change."
The 12th Annual Black Scholar Awards presented a range of acknowledgments, including excellence in general academics and community service.
"This is one of the evenings of the year that I always look forward to, because it gives us the opportunity to celebrate success," Harold Bibb, associate dean of the URI Graduate School, said.
Students were also inducted into the 2009 Onyx Senior Honor Society, as well as honored with special citations from the legislature. Awards from the Black Scholar Awards Committee included the Sojourner Truth Award for Scholarly Persistence and Dedication, the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Outstanding Leadership and Contribution to the University Community and the Jackie Robinson and Althea Gibson Scholar-Athlete Award.
Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts was the keynote speaker of the event and gave both her admiration and advice to the recipients.
"You have shown you will be successful in whatever you choose to do," she said. "Opportunity comes at unexpected moments, and when you find it, seize it and don't let it go."
Roberts also said that even in the current economic climate, there are many chances for success, and no one should get bogged down in the field they have chosen. She said she started in medicine and biology, and found her calling to be an elected officer when she was nearly 40 years old.
Christopher Hunter, an associate professor of engineering at URI, said it was a high honor to both introduce and celebrate the achievements of the recipients to the audience.
"The specific awards will be a testament to scholarly achievement, as well service, to the black community and URI," he said. "The president of our United States has sent out a clear message: that America wants the best that we have to give, to take on the challenges before us. Let us pray that the young people we present this evening serve as a vessel of change."
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