Nine members of The University of Texas at Dallas  family received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for outstanding public service in 2006 during the USA Film Festival, held last week in Dallas.

The awards were presented by actor Stephen Baldwin, who serves on the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation with UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof.  The Council, created in 2003 by President George W. Bush, recognizes the important contributions Americans of all ages are making within their communities through service and civic engagement.  To date, more than 20,000 organizations are part of the council’s network and together they honor America’s volunteers with the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

UT System has partnered with the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation to bring the President’s Volunteer Service Awards program to UT Dallas and to other UT System institutions.  All UT Dallas students, faculty and staff have been encouraged to track service hours in the community by visiting http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/s/ut/.

During the past year, the nine UT Dallas students and staff receiving the award contributed more than 2,600 hours of service to the Dallas community, or an average of nearly 300 hours per individual.  The recipients of the President’s highest volunteer honor included UT Dallas staff member Cornelia McCowan of Dallas and Dean of Libraries Dr. Larry Sall, a native of Portland, OR, along with students Scott Hooker (Plano, TX), Noor Khoja (Karachi, Pakistan), Grace Lee (Plano, TX), Megan Malone (Garland, TX), Megan Newman (El Paso, TX), Ramin Toofan (Dallas) and Jim Whitaker (Maryville, MO).

Together, the awardees have raised money for playground equipment at a local daycare center, served as Girl Scout leaders, served on nonprofit boards, volunteered as camp counselors and with local hospitals, provided assistance to the elderly, tutored elementary and high school students, and volunteered with churches, campus clubs, fraternities, sororities, student government and service groups.

The awards were presented by Baldwin prior to the screening of his new movie Midnight Clear.  Midnight Clear was one of the many films featured during the festival April 20-22 at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas.

To learn more about the UT Dallas Service and Civic Participation initiative, visit the university’s Office of Public Affairs at http://www.utdallas.edu/publicaffairs/ or call 972-883-2106.

About UT Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 14,500 students.  The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores.  The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs.  For additional information about UT Dallas, please visit the university’s website at www.utdallas.edu.


Contact Steve McGregor, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2293, smcgreg@utdallas.edu