Purdue News

April 17, 1998 Black caucus to honor student achievement, service WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue Black Caucus of Faculty and Staff will conduct its 23rd annual Academic and Service Awards Program at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 25, in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. The keynote speaker will be Mamon Powers, president of Powers and Sons Construction Co. in Gary and a member of the Purdue Board of Trustees. The business, founded in 1967 by his father, is listed as one of the top 100 black-owned companies in the United States by Black Enterprise magazine. The Powers Family Foundation in February donated $110,000 toward the construction of the new Black Cultural Center. Each year, the Black Caucus of Faculty and Staff recognizes more than 100 African-American undergraduate students for their academic achievements. Students with noteworthy service and leadership talents also will be honored. The program is supported through contributions. The Purdue Black Alumni Association provides a small monetary award to students with the highest grade point average in each class. The Black Caucus also presents the Clara E. Bell Award to the senior majoring in nursing or health sciences with the highest grade point average. Bell, professor emerita and former director of continuing education in nursing, died in 1996. She had been active in the Purdue Black Caucus and co-chaired the National Congress of the Association of Black Nursing Faculty in Higher Education in 1992 and 1993. CONTACT: Johnny E. Brown, professor of mathematics, (765) 494-1967; e-mail, jeb@math.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page