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KOJO NNAMDI TO MC THE BANNEKER LEGACY AWARDS

NPR Journalist and Washington, DC icon Kojo Nnamdi will serve as Master of Ceremonies at the Benjamin Banneker Legacy Awards Gala on November 7^th.  This elegant and exciting evening event at the JW Marriott Hotel features Bill Cosby as Keynote Speaker, and honors those who are creating the next generation of Black mathematicians, scientists and engineers.   The September 15^th award nominations deadline is fast approaching, so if you know of an individual or organization making an outstanding contribution to increasing the number of African Americans involved in math and science, The Benjamin Banneker Institute for Science and Technology, sponsor of this Award, invites you to visit their web site at www.thebannekerinstitute.org  and nominate them for the Banneker Legacy Award.  Previous winners of this prestigious award include Dr. Ben Carson for the Carson Scholars, and Dr. Roosevelt Johnson of the Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Program (AGEP) program of the National Science Foundation.  Travel expenses to Washington, DC for award finalists will be paid by the Banneker Institute.

The work of the Benjamin Banneker Institute for Science and Technology is a part of America’s push for national competitiveness.  This Congressionally mandated program has declared 2007 the beginning of the Decade of Blacks in Science, a collaborative campaign designed to cure the low participation of African Americans in technical professions and fields of study.  The annual awards ceremony is part of this campaign and this year introduces a youth award that includes a $1000 scholarship to be used for higher education.  To make nominations, register to attend the Awards Gala, and find out more about the awards ceremony and the Banneker Institute, visit www.thebannerkerinstitute.org .