EUGENE–More than one-quarter of the college and university student leaders receiving scholarships to attend the 13th annual National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE), set June 1—5 in Santa Fe, N.M., will be from the University of Oregon.

Eight Ducks–a record proportion of the 30 Walt Disney World-NCORE Student Scholarships awarded annually–will take part in a student leadership development program held in conjunction with NCORE that features workshops, community outreach work and national network meetings.

The eight UO students awarded grants to attend this year’s event are Hong Tran, a senior sociology and political science major, 17998 N.W. Cambray Lane, Beaverton; Alberto Albuquerque, a master’s degree student in international studies, 2140 W. 15th Court, and Jason Mak, a senior general science and ethnic studies major, 1597 Hackamore Way, both of Eugene; Jay Breslow, a senior psychology and Spanish major, 35566 S.W. Bald Peak Rd., Hillsboro; Oscar Arana, a freshman electronic media journalism pre-major, 10588 S.E. Cherry Blossom Dr., Apt. 40, and Yih-Huei Dawn Liu, a senior general science and psychology major, 1839 N. Terry St., both of Portland; Tana Atchley, a senior electronic media journalism major, P.O. Box 309, Sprague River; and Spencer Hamlin, a senior political science major, 9411 N.E. 14th St., Bellevue, Wash.

Joining them will be three more UO students–Katie Howard, a sophomore sociology major, 16708 N.W. Norwalk Dr., Beaverton; Mario Sifuentez, a senior political science and history major,
90 Commons Dr., Apt. 167, Eugene; and Nilda Brooklyn, a sophomore fine and applied arts major, 2516 17th Ave., Seattle, Wash.

This is the first time since the student leadership program began seven years ago that one school has received such a large share of the student scholarships, according to Cristine Cullinan, UO employee training and development administrator who will lead the 16-hour Institute for Diversity at NCORE. The 30 scholarships awarded nationwide are based on each applicant’s dedication and work in the areas of social justice, respect and inclusion in his or her campus community.

Dave Hubin, the UO executive assistant president, will join Tran, Mak, Breslow, Hamlin and Sifuentez to present a session during NCORE 2000 detailing the work of the 1999 UO Summer Diversity Internship Program. Entitled, "Opportunity for Change: Diversity Initiatives," the session is one of approximately 100 accepted by this year’s conference planning committee.

Cullinan says all of the 11 UO students attending NCORE 2000 have worked closely together since last spring, playing key roles in addressing campus diversity issues, so it was important to them that all be able to attend the conference.

"They pooled the eight scholarships they were awarded and raised other funds from the Student Senate and other groups across campus during the past two months so that they could pay the $395 conference registration fee for all 11 students as well as the group’s travel costs," she explained. Cullinan said Gwen Tistadt Jansen, UO Bias Response Team coordinator, has played a major role in helping the students organize their efforts.

Billed as "the leading and most comprehensive forum on issues of race and ethnicity in higher education," NCORE attracts approximately 1,200 college and university administrators and faculty members each year from most of the 50 states and several other countries.

In addition, a limited number of students–generally strong campus leaders who have helped to create a more inclusive educational environment–are invited to attend.

Additional information about NCORE 2000 is available on the web at http://www.occe.ou.edu/NCORE.

—30—

#H-2220/Hometowns,OMA/jmd