Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Colleges recognize 2 prominent alumni
Have you heard?
JoAnne Poindexter
'Have you heard?'
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Two college alumni in the Roanoke area recently were recognized by their alma maters.
Dr. Chuck Harris of Rocky Mount has received Macalester College's 2009 Catharine Lealtad Service to Society Award.
The award honors Macalester alumni of color who use their college education to distinguish themselves in service to community.
The award was established in memory of Lealtad, Class of 1915 and the first black graduate of Macalester. She was a physician, a major in the military and a medical missionary.
Harris graduated from Macalester in 1975 with a major in biology.
Harris had joined the Marines and was going to withdraw from Macalester. But his football coach, refusing to let Harris derail his medical career, connected Hudson with a recruiter who changed Harris' orders so he could finish college, earn his medical degree at Howard University and serve for eight years as an Army doctor.
Harris rose to the rank of major and received commendations for his service in West Germany and at the Pentagon.
Harris left the military in 1988 to become a medical missionary in Haiti. After nearly four years of governmental instability, a coup forced Harris, his wife, Karen, and their three children to leave on an emergency flight. Since then Harris has volunteered with at-risk youth in Iowa.
Harris also served on the Macalester Alumni Board for six years.
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Salem School Board member and retired Roanoke educator William "Bill" Sinkler has received a Presidential Citation during the May commencement exercises at Morris College in South Carolina. Seven years ago, the college bestowed its National Alumni Association's Professional Alumnus Award on Sinkler for his professional and lifetime achievement.
Sinkler, a South Carolina native, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry at Morris in 1960. He was honored as "an ardent alumnus" who "strongly believes in quality education as an opportunity and responsibility to build better communities and lives."
Sinkler's involvements, according to the citation, are "indicative of his commitment to public service, community and civic affairs."
Sinkler was the first black named to the Salem School Board and has served since 1993, when he also was principal of Roanoke's Lincoln Terrace Elementary School.
During his nearly 40-year education career, he has taught in South Carolina, Lynchburg and Roanoke, where he also served as assistant principal at Addison Middle, the former Jefferson High and Ruffner Middle schools, and as a hall principal at Patrick Henry High School. He retired in 1999 as principal of Lincoln Terrace.
Sinkler also has been recognized by a joint resolution of the Virginia General Assembly.
