FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas announces four outstanding recipients of the Silas Hunt Legacy Award, which recognizes African Americans for their significant contributions to the community, state and nation. Throughout the 2009-10 academic year, the recipients will visit with students and the community on the University of Arkansas campus. The year of celebration will conclude at a black-tie event in April — the second of its kind. The four recipients are: The Silas Hunt Legacy Award was created by the university in 2005 and first awarded in 2006. This year’s recipients were nominated by the public and selected by a volunteer selection committee of University of Arkansas alumni, friends, faculty, students and staff. “In 2006, the university recognized 10 exceptional individuals for their influence and commitment to bettering the world around them,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “This year, we are pleased to add four impeccably worthy names to the list of Silas Hunt Legacy Award honorees. Silas Hunt was a trailblazer, and the individuals we honor this year are no different. They have each brought something unique to the University of Arkansas, and they have changed and inspired many lives. Better still, they continue to do so.” On Feb. 2, 1948, Silas Hunt became the first black student in modern times to attend a major Southern public university when he was admitted without litigation into the University of Arkansas School of Law. Hunt, who grew up in Texarkana, Ark., was a veteran of World War II and earned his undergraduate degree at Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Hunt died of tuberculosis in the spring of 1949 before finishing his law degree. About the honorees:
Johnetta Cross Brazzell of McDonough, Ga., served as the vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Arkansas from 1999 until 2009 when she retired. During her tenure, the African American freshman retention rate increased as did the graduation rate for African American students. She also was instrumental in the creation of the Silas Hunt Scholars mentoring program. Her leadership resulted in a more diverse staff in the Division of Student Affairs, and she made achieving diversity throughout the programs of the division a high priority. Brazzell served on the Northwest Arkansas Diversity Council, the Northwest Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee and the Walton Arts Center Board of Directors. She has been recognized byPower Play Magazine, based out of Little Rock, as one the 25 most influential African Americans in Arkansas.
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Contact:
Danielle Strickland, manager of advancement communications
Office of university relations
479-575-7346, strick@uark.edu