[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
[May 11, 1993]
[Pages 626-628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Appointment for Members of the Commission on Presidential Scholars
May 11, 1993

    The President today appointed 32 members of the White House 
Commission on Presidential Scholars. Among them is New Jersey Governor 
Jim Florio, who will serve as Chair of the Commission.
    The Commission on Presidential Scholars is responsible for selecting 
141 graduating high school seniors from around the country to become 
Presidential Scholars, the Nation's highest honor for high school 
students. The scholars are chosen on the basis of their accomplishments 
in many areas, such as academic and artistic success, leadership, and 
involvement in their schools and communities.
    ``The Presidential Scholars Program is an important vehicle for 
recognizing the efforts and accomplishments of our country's young 
people,'' said the President. ``I am glad that Governor Florio and the 
rest of this distinguished group of Americans have agreed to serve on 
this Commission, and I look forward to welcoming the students they 
choose to the White House.''
    In addition to Governor Florio, the members

[[Page 627]]

of the Commission are:
    Margaret R. Blackshere, Illinois, assistant to the president of the 
        Illinois Federation of Teachers; former elementary school 
        teacher; holds a master's in urban education from Southern 
        Illinois University
    Francis J. Bonner, Jr., Pennsylvania, chair of the department of 
        physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mt. Sinai and Graduate 
        Hospitals, Philadelphia, and Sacred Heart Hospital, Norristown
    Thomas E. Britton, New Hampshire, chair of the Monadnock Region 
        District School Board; marketing representative for the 
        Millipore Corp. and North American Pharmaceutical Field 
        Marketing
    Rev. S.C. Cureton, South Carolina, pastor of the Reedy River Baptist 
        Church; member of the president's executive board of the 
        National Baptist Convention, U.S.A.
    John Davidson, New Mexico, member of the New Mexico Commission on 
        Higher Education; shareholder and director in the law firm of 
        Erwin and Davidson
    Joseph D. DiVincenzo, New York, commissioner of the Niagara Frontier 
        Transportation Authority; president of DiVincenzo & Associates 
        Insurance Agency; adjunct professor at the Rochester Institute 
        of Technology
    Jim R. Fotter, Wyoming, president of the Wyoming Education 
        Association; member of the Education Commission of the States; 
        delegate at the 1992 Democratic National Convention
    Susan F. Friebert, Wisconsin, former teacher and currently a high 
        school team leader for guidance counselors and community 
        volunteers to develop and implement programs to direct student 
        academic planning and achievement
    Susan E. Gaertner, Minnesota, director of the human services 
        division of the Ramsey County, MN, attorney's office, where she 
        directs legal services for child support enforcement, paternity 
        actions, and civil commitments for the second largest 
        jurisdiction in the State
    Felicia Gervais, Florida, president of Leonard L. Farber, Inc., a 
        shopping center development firm; also serves on numerous 
        nonprofit boards, including Outreach Broward (a program for 
        troubled adolescents) and Center One (the Nation's first AIDS 
        center)
    Freman Hendrix, Michigan, assistant Wayne County executive for 
        legislative affairs; member of many civic groups, including the 
        Northwest Detroit Community Leaders Council
    Patricia Jean Henry, Oklahoma, president of the National PTA; member 
        of the boards of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce and the 
        Academy for State Goals; co-founder of Pathway House, a 
        rehabilitation program for drug-addicted children
    Barbara Holt, Maine, director of Franklin Pierce College in 
        Portsmouth, NH; served as the chair and director of Victory '92 
        in Maine
    Gloria Jackson, Florida, retired public school administrator in Ft. 
        Lauderdale; alternate delegate to the Democratic National 
        Convention
    Nathaniel Hawthorne LaCour, Louisiana, president of the United 
        Teachers of New Orleans; vice president of the American 
        Federation of Teachers; national board member of the A. Philip 
        Randolph Institute; member of the National Board for 
        Professional Teaching Standards
    Dhyan Lal, California, principal of Carson High School in Los 
        Angeles; focus of a PBS documentary exploring how a principal 
        communicates with a culturally diverse student population to 
        create a positive learning environment in post-riot Los Angeles
    Ronnie Fern Liebowitz, New Jersey, partner in the Newark law firm of 
        Hellring, Lindman, Goldstein & Siegal; former general counsel to 
        Rutgers University
    Bill Marshall, Ohio, law professor; served as the Maine State 
        director for the Clinton campaign
    Penny Miller, Kentucky, assistant professor of political science at 
        the University of Kentucky; chair of the Kentucky Commission on 
        Women
    Sandy Miller, Nevada, First Lady of the State of Nevada; former 
        teacher and advocate for children with learning disabilities
    Marilyn Monahan, New Hampshire, secretary-treasurer of the National 
        Education Association
    Dan Morales, Texas, attorney general of Texas; first Hispanic 
        elected to a statewide constitutional office in the State of 
        Texas
    Daniel Morris, Colorado, former teacher and

[[Page 628]]

        president of the Colorado Education Association; former Peace 
        Corps volunteer
    Carla Nuxoll, Washington, President of the Washington Education 
        Association; chair of the board of PULSE
    James Shimoura, Michigan, former special assistant attorney general 
        for the State of Michigan; shareholder in the law firm of Kemp, 
        Klein, Umphrey, and Edelman
    Eddie L. Smith, Jr., Mississippi, former high school teacher; Mayor 
        of Holly Springs, MS
    Dawn Steel, California, president of Columbia Pictures from 1987 to 
        1990, the first woman to head a major motion picture studio
    Niara Sudarkasa, Pennsylvania, president of Lincoln University in 
        Chester County, PA; previously the associate vice president for 
        academic affairs at the University of Michigan, where she was 
        the first African-American woman to receive tenure
    Nancy Verderber, Missouri, administrative liaison for disability-
        related issues for the St. Louis County School Districts; member 
        of the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Greater St. 
        Louis
    Margaret M. Whillock, Arkansas, executive vice president of the 
        Baptist Medical Systems Foundation in Little Rock; director of 
        development at the University of Arkansas
    Tracey Bailey, Florida, National Teacher of the Year