The Office of AHANA Student Programs (OASP) has announced the establishment of a new award named in honor of former OASP director Dr. Donald Brown. "We wanted to make sure that we honored the contributions that Dr. Brown made to this community," said Dr. Inés Maturana Sendoya, OASP director.
Brown was a prime mover in developing Boston College's OASP to its current stature in the school community, serving as its director for 27 years. When he began his work with the organization, it was called the "Office of Minority Student Programs." Through Brown's efforts, the name was changed to "OASP."
Brown was also the driving force behind a number of University-wide programs and initiatives, including the Options Through Education (OTE) Transitional Summer Program. OTE is a pre-college program that provides highly motivated AHANA students with an opportunity to ease their transition into the college environment. The program stresses consistent academic improvement and achievement throughout the students' undergraduate years.
In other areas of campus involvement, Brown laid the groundwork for the Martin Luther King, Jr., Committee in 1979 and 1980. In these years, before Martin Luther King, Jr., Day had become a national holiday, Brown organized a prayer service to commemorate the day and remember King's work for justice. Today, the program's Web site states its goals in this way: "The Committee continues to work toward that goal by sponsoring programs intended to help the Boston College community eradicate racism of all kinds through working toward understanding, appreciating and celebrating its cultural diversity." The Committee annually awards a scholarship to a BC senior who embodies King's leadership and spirit.
The Dr. Donald Brown Award continues the former director's legacy in fostering the commitment to the community, leadership, and service that Brown cultivated during his time at BC.
The award will be given yearly to a BC senior who has, as specified by material released by OASP, "made extraordinary contributions to the BC community in ways that have benefited AHANA students in the areas of leadership, service, and academic development." The award will be officially given both at a heritage event appropriate to the recipient's ethnic background and at the Commencement award ceremony.
OASP is currently accepting nominations for the award. Any student, faculty member, or staff member is welcome to nominate an undergraduate student. All nominations should be directed to Dr. Inés Maturana Sendoya, OASP director. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 21 and the award recipient will be announced in late January. Nomination forms are available on the OASP Web site.
2008 Woodie Awards
