FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (6/04)
Contact: Lynn Stewart or Kelsey Bellamy Johnson, Centenary News Service, 318-869-5120

See related editorial in The (Shreveport) Times Aug. 23, 2004

Centenary Earns "School of Year," Two Other National Awards for Residence Life Programs, Students

SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary students and programs swept the nation this year, combining to capture three major residence life awards — including the paramount “School of the Year” award — at the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH) national conference.

Assistant Dean of Student Life Mark Miller and nine student delegates visited Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Mo., in late May to represent Centenary at the conference. Over 400 NACURH affiliate schools competed for 11 prestigious awards. Setting a college record, Centenary collected three of these awards: "School of the Year," "Distinguished Service Award" and "Building Block National Residence Hall Honorary Chapter of the Year."

In years past, few private schools have won the "School of the Year" award, which is the paramount achievement at the national level. The award, which usually goes to large state schools, is a first for Centenary. It recognizes the overall level of commitment to student development and education displayed by the chosen school's residence hall organization.

The "Distinguished Service Award" celebrates a student's leadership and contributions to residence life at the local, state, regional and national levels. Centenary student Amy Sullivan of Jonesboro, La., who graduated in May, is this year's award recipient. She obtained the highest annual honor for students living in residence halls.

Recognizing the chapter that has shown the most impact on campus and improvement in residence life over the past year, the "Building Block National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) Chapter of the Year" award is a highly coveted one among colleges and universities nationwide. According to Miller, Centenary definitely earned this award. "In less than three years Centenary went from not having an NRHH chapter to having the most outstanding chapter in our region and the most award-winning chapter in the nation."

This marks the third year in a row that Centenary has won national awards related to residence life programs. In 2003, Miller won the Hallenbeck Service Award, and in 2002 Centenary took home the Building Residence Hall Association of the Year Award. Centenary also won more "Of The Month (OTM)" awards than any other school for 2003-04, receiving a total of nine OTMs this year alone.

- 30 -