The managing director of the Wall Street financial giant Morgan Stanley Dean Witter can thank A Better Chance Inc. for helping him become the man he is today.
But next week, that organization will thank him.
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William M. Lewis Jr. will be honored for his work and support of the group with its highest honor, the Benjamin E. Mays Award. The award is presented to an individual whose principles of personal commitment, integrity, and achievement reflect those of the late Mr. Mays, who was a scholar, orator, writer, and civil rights figure.
A Better Chance identifies, recruits, and places minority students who are academically gifted into some of the nation’s most educationally demanding private and public schools.
Mr. Lewis applied to the program at the age of 13. He was selected to attend Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., where he excelled.
His experience as a program scholar and as the chairman of the organization’s board “provided me with the confidence to challenge myself and achieve levels of excellence I thought were beyond my reach,” he said in a statement.
The Boston-based organization has placed nearly 10,000 students in some of the nation’s top college-preparatory schools since it was founded in 1963.
Mr. Lewis is scheduled to receive his award June 17 in New York City.
Helen Mountjoy has become the first woman to head the Kentucky state school board. She was elected chairwoman June 2, replacing Joseph Kelly, who was let go when Gov. Paul E. Patton, a Democrat, made board appointments in April. Ms. Mountjoy has been on the board since 1991, when it was reconstituted under the terms of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act. ... A retired military man has been tapped to head the Duval County, Fla., schools. The school board there selected retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. John Fryer to lead the 125,000-student district earlier this month. The 57-year-old was chosen over Larry Vaughn, a former superintendent of the Wichita, Kan., schools. School officials hope to have Mr. Fryer take over the position by Aug. 1.
During his 25-year stint in the Air Force, Mr. Fryer headed up several military-education facilities. He will replace Larry Zenke, who resigned last year.
--ADRIENNE D. COLES acoles@epe.org
