[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 19 (Monday, May 17, 1993)]
[Pages 822-824]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Appointments to 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 ac- 

[[Page 823]]

complishments 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 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 and 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; and 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; and 
      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. She also serves on numerous non-
      profit 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; and 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

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      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 State director of 
      Maine 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 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 and a 
      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.