MEDIA ADVISORY: CU to Award Scholarships and W.Va. Encyclopedias to Outstanding High School Juniors, Wednesday, May 9

Athens, W.Va. – Concord University will be recognizing outstanding juniors from area high schools by honoring them with the Concord University Book Award Scholarship of $500. This scholarship is for students who enroll at Concord University. In addition to the scholarship, the students will receive a copy of the West Virginia Encyclopedia, recently published by the West Virginia Humanities Council and edited by Ken Sullivan, who will be speaking at the event. Students will be invited to attend a luncheon to be held in the Student Center Ballroom, Wednesday, May 9. Mr. Sullivan will speak from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Main Theater of the Alexander Fine Arts Center. Lunch will be from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and the books will be presented as awards to students beginning at 1:30 p.m.

According to the book’s editors, The West Virginia Encyclopedia contains biographies of notable West Virginians, major events that occurred in the Mountain State, and histories of all 55 counties. Many entries deal with nature and science, flora and fauna, natural resources and natural wonders . . . from Spruce Knob to Dolly Sods. Sullivan has been executive director of the West Virginia Humanities Council since 1997. Before that, he was the editor of Goldenseal Magazine at the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

Students are selected on the basis of academic merit, extra-curricular involvement, noteworthy achievement on any college entrance examination (if taken), class rank, and “well-roundedness.”

The Book Award Scholarship was begun in 2001 and is now a tradition at the institution. Books are chosen to encourage students to think critically and broaden their ability to understand many points of view. Books that were awarded in previous years, along with scholarships, included the following: 2006, Matthew Fox, One River, Many Wells; 2005, Jim Wallis, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It; 2004, James Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me; 2003, Charles Kimball, When Religion Becomes Evil; 2002, Richard Paul, Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life; and 2001, Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, 20th anniversary edition.

The media are invited to attend this event, and the favor of a reply is requested: Please contact Ms. Angela Rose, 1-304-384-6244 or arose@concord.edu.

-CU-