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CIC PRESIDENTS PRESENT
TOP 2002 ANNUAL AWARDS

WASHINGTON, D. C. - The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) today announced the three winners in 2002 of its top annual awards.

Patricia Willis, president of BellSouth Foundation, was selected to receive CIC's Allen P. Splete Award for Outstanding Service, while The Bush Foundation of St. Paul, MN, and philanthropists John T. and Constance Lane Vucurevich have earned CIC's Award for Philanthropy. The awards were presented at CIC's Awards Banquet during the annual Presidents Institute, held in Fort Myers, FL, on Sunday, January 6.

The Allen P. Splete Award for Outstanding Service is given to an individual, publication, or organization for significant contributions to independent higher education. The award recognizes national leadership, through ideas and commitment, on behalf of private colleges and universities. The award was named in honor of the retired president of CIC, who served from 1985 to 2000.

Willis is president of BellSouth Foundation, an endowed trust of BellSouth Corporation devoted to improving education in the communities served by BellSouth. She serves as senior director of community affairs for BellSouth Corporation, and is responsible for corporate strategy and implementation for programs in education and women's issues.

"Pat Willis could be the prototype for this award," said CIC President Richard Ekman. "She has worked tirelessly with and for CIC, and has aggressively supported our members, advocated on their behalf, and rendered extraordinary volunteer service both to education and to the independent sector since 1989, her first year on CIC's Board of Directors."

Willis earned her designation after years of contributing service to many volunteer nonprofit causes. She served for ten years until 1999 on CIC's Board of Directors, has been Vice Chairman of Independent Sector, was appointed by Georgia's governor to chair the state's Council for School Performance from 1993 to 2000, and served on the Measuring Success Task Force of the National Goals Panel in 2000, among other activities. She also is a member of the board of trustees of her alma mater, Marietta College (OH).

The Award for Philanthropy, presented to John T. Vucurevich and his wife, Constance, celebrates individuals who contribute volunteer service or financial support to independent colleges and universities. It honors those individuals who, by their example, provide a beacon for others to follow.

The Vucureviches are philanthropists from Rapid City, South Dakota. They have actively supported four private colleges in their region, as well as several public universities and a variety of youth and religious organizations, social service and health care agencies, and other charities. John spent his career in banking and real estate, with holdings that once included 40 banks and 1,000 rental properties. He also served as a South Dakota State Representative and South Dakota Senator. Now 90, he has sold many of his holdings, but still goes to his office every day. Constance was born in Virginia and is a member of the family that founded Lane Furniture Company. She serves on the board of trustees of the University of Sioux Falls.

"Some in the state believe the Vucurevichs are South Dakota's most philanthropic couple," said CIC President Ekman. "In a state that doesn't attract its fair share of attention from national foundations in the East, these two state residents are a great example of citizens who stepped forward when their help was required. They have been responsible for several of the most significant contributions to private higher education in the region."

The Vucureviches instituted a business school at University of Sioux Falls, supported an assessment center in Mount Marty College's new Learning Resource Center, and established scholarships at these two institutions, as well as at Dakota Wesleyan University.

The other winner of the Award for Philanthropy, which celebrates a foundation or corporation that has demonstrated leadership and vision in improving higher education, is the Bush Foundation. The second largest private foundation in Minnesota, the Bush Foundation was established by Archibald and Edyth Bush in 1953. Its founder was a 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) executive who established the foundation primarily with 3M stock. It has distributed $500 million over the years, including grants to 12 of 13 CIC member colleges in Minnesota, and North and South Dakota.

"We have enormous esteem for this exceptional Foundation," Ekman notes. "The Bush Foundation has provided through the past quarter century stimulating grants to numerous CIC member institutions. Their contributions also have made it possible for institutions in the upper Midwest and historically black colleges across the nation to accomplish much-needed capital improvements, faculty development, curricular reforms, and strategic enhancements."

The Bush Foundation has been a national leader in its support of faculty development and capital programs for the private colleges in its region, faculty development programs for accredited tribal colleges throughout the country, and, with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, faculty development, capital programs, and administrative leadership programs for private historically black colleges and universities.

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