A longtime adviser to government officials and Fortune 500 businesses has made a $1.1 million gift to the University of South Carolinas School of Law to provide students with scholarships, fellowships and leadership development.

Jim Konduros, a 1954 law alumnus, credits the law school for helping him develop the strategic thinking and counseling skills that guided him through a career that included working with U.S. Sen. Olin Johnston and Gov. Bob McNair, advising major companies and serving as counsel to a hospital system CEO and leading several nonprofit organizations.

Made possible through the Konduros Fishermen Fund, the School of Law scholarships will provide financial support to incoming law students who have worked as a government employee or served in the U.S. armed services. Similarly, the summer fellowships will provide support to students working in public service through governmental or non-profit agencies.

The Moore School of Business is tops in the nation, and many of Carolinas science and engineering programs have achieved great acclaim, Konduros said. The stars are now aligning for the law school with a first-rate building soon to be under construction and the university presidents dedicated support. Im hopeful this gift will be part of the catalyst to put the last critical part in place: the alumni of the law school pledging their support. It is their time to contribute to the celebration.

Konduros, a native of Anderson, retires this year from what he calls his passion career, where he has spent the past 25 years overseeing millions in grants to the less fortunate as the chairman and CEO of several nonprofit organizations.

His journey in public service began in the early 1960s as aide to Sen. Johnston and advocate in the war on poverty, which he continued as a key member of Gov. McNairs staff. He brought together the S.C. Highway Commission and Appalachia Commission to construct the 72-mile Cherokee Trail (S.C. Hwy. 11) through the states foothills. He also helped create the Appalachian Community Service Network, an educational cable channel that later became The Learning Channel.

After Gov. McNairs term ended in 1971, Konduros joined a new law firm created by McNair, developing and supervising a governmental affairs practice. During his 20-year tenure with the McNair Law Firm he advised Westinghouse in its successful bid to assume operations at the Savannah River Site and helped Palmetto Health CEO Charles Beaman navigate the merger of Baptist Medical Center and Richland Memorial Hospital.

More:
Konduros makes $1.1 million Gift to USC School of Law University of South Carolina

Otago Girls' High School has established a permanent house system aimed at building on the school's camaraderie and competitive spirit.

Principal Linda Miller said other than for a few months in 1979, this was the first time the school had introduced a house system.

The school is 143 years old.

After consultation with pupils, staff and alumni, it was decided the houses would be named after ex-pupils - Allan (orange), Benjamin (blue), Cruickshank (red) and Williams (green).

Allan House is named after Flora Allan, dux of Otago Girls' High School in 1879 and principal of the school from 1912-21.

She attended the school from 1876 to 1879.

Benjamin House is named after Ethel Benjamin, New Zealand's first woman law graduate (1897) and the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in court.

She started at Otago Girls' in 1883 when she was 8 years old and was a pupil at the school until 1892.

Cruickshank House was named after Dr Margaret Cruickshank, New Zealand's first woman to be registered as a doctor.

She was a pupil at the school from 1888 to 1891 and dux in her final year.

See the original post here:
OGHS introduces house system

Nearly 10 years after a rebuild reshaped Orlando's historically black Jones High, the school remains half-empty.

This past academic year, 763 students attended Jones, fewer than a third of the average enrollment at Orange County's other 18 traditional high schools. Jones was designed to hold 1,578 students.

School leaders hope that zoning changes, improvements to the school's medical-magnet program and a trend of increasing academic achievement will draw students to the now B-rated school, which also has an International Baccalaureate program.

"We've got to find a way to increase the population of the school," said Ron Rogers, a Jones alum and president of 100 Black Men, a group that mentors current Jones students. Jones, which has produced many distinguished alumni during more than a century, is still turning out "great shining stars," he said.

In the 2000s, a string of D and F grades hurt the school's population, despite the building's $47.5 million complete reconstruction. Top students transferred out, and too few returned.

The school zone now includes 1,300 public-high-school students, according to pupil-assignment director Sandy Simpson. But of those, about 550 students attend Orange charter schools or alternative programs. About 100 more attend other traditional high schools.

Though the school earned its second B grade in 2013, 40 percent of the most recent Jones freshman class had GPAs less than 2.0. Only 23 percent of the school's 10th-graders passed the state reading exam in 2014.

The school plans to encourage more students to attend tutoring year-round, participate in mentoring and character-education programs and will offer alternative classes and special-intervention groups, Principal Valeria Maxwell said in an email. She declined to be interviewed in person.

Jones is also introducing "unified attire" of school shirts and solid-colored or camouflage pants this fall.

With a history dating back to 1895, Jones was for most of its history the only high-school option for black students in Orlando, and it still has a powerful reputation in the black community. It is 92 percent black today.

Read more from the original source:
Orlando's Jones High struggles to fill its halls

CORNWALL-

Cornwall council has enticed a South Glengarry resident to eventually open a medical practice here.

Brent Patterson of South Glengarry was lured by a five-year, $150,000 medical scholarship after he was chosen by a special health professionals committee.

Council approved Patterson's selection at Monday's council meeting.

"Bringing physicians to the City is important to the well-being of all of our citizens, said Mayor Bob Kilger in a media release.

The goal of our medical recruitment program is to ensure that the community will be well served by medical professionals.

"The scholarship also helps encourage our young bright students to reach for their dreams."

A Char-Lan District High School alumni, Patterson hails from South Glengarry and recently graduated on the Dean's List from McGill University with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in anatomy and cell biology.

He will be pursuing family medicine studies at University of Toronto and, after certification by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, will set up a full-time family practice in Cornwall.

Here is the original post:
Cornwall attracts budding physician

Published: Saturday, 7/12/2014 - Updated: 58 seconds ago

BY MARK ZABORNEY BLADE STAFF WRITER

DEFIANCE Dr. Robert R. Southworth, whose desire to help others and interest in learning came together in his practice of medicine, died Tuesday in the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio. He was 86.

He had an apparent heart attack while a visitor at the medical center, said his son Stephen.

Dr. Southworth was in his 70s when he semi retired from his primary care practice of more than 40 years at Defiance Clinic.

He was the first employee on the first day in 1962, said Chad Peter, chief executive of what is now Mercy Defiance Clinic. He was one of our rocks in our group.

We all grew old with him, said Mr. Peter, whom Dr. Southworth hired in 1976 for a clinic administrative job. He was definitely loved by his patients. He was a very solid individual and physician, which helped our group go from 12 doctors to ultimately 35 over that number of years.

In semi-retirement, he worked in state prisons. He volunteered for the Mildred Bayer Clinic for the Homeless in Toledo and for a group at the county senior center offering respite to elderly caregivers.

He felt indebted to those less fortunate, his son said, but he would shun taking credit for doing things on their behalf. Hed much rather do things anonymously.

He was born Aug. 17, 1927, to Ella and Charles Southworth, in Beverly, Mass., and grew up in Danvers, Mass., where he went to high school. He was a stateside Navy veteran of World War II. As a child, he often went with his mother on her calls as a visiting nurse and made up his mind to become a doctor.

Go here to see the original:
Defiance doctor loved by patients

Home | Back

July 11th, 2014 5:00 pm by Jeff Bobo

ROGERSVILLE After weeks of planning, with organizers doing everything the Board of Education asked them to do, this year's Hawkins County alumni football game was nearly derailed Thursday night by a board member who expressed concerns about players getting hurt or killed.

The third annual game, which pits former Cherokee High School players versus Volunteer High School alumni, serves as a fundraiser for both schools.

Thursday evening the BOE voted 4-3 in favor of this year's game which will be played at Cherokee on Sept. 20.

The schools will split the gate receipts with Alumni Football USA, which organizes the game and provides uniforms and equipment for $100 per player. There will be no pre-game ticket sales this year, and all concession sales will go to the school.

All players will have signed a waiver releasing the school system and Alumni football USA from any liability, and BOE chairman Randy Collier strongly urged organizers to make sure all players have heath insurance.

There were a couple of injuries last year in which players unsuccessfully sought assistance for medical bills from the school system.

As the board was preparing to take its vote, board member Bob Larkins interjected some concerns about the game, and whether it is something the BOE should be involved in.

"I know a lot of work has been done on this in the past several weeks and months, but my particular concern is, the mission of the school board has little or nothing to do with alumni football," Larkins said. "We're here to educate and graduate, to focus on academics, and not be fundraisers. I think this has tremendous potential for something to go afoul."

Continued here:
Alumni football game OK'd despite BOE member concerns about player injury, death

Paper Snubbed a Good Parade

To the Editor:

The Lebanon High School Alumni Day parade is a long-time tradition for us folks who live in Lebanon. Its a big deal! Its a fun time for classmates working on the floats as a team and a joy to behold for people watching the parade.

The floats this year were excellent. The theme Beatles songs. Very creative.

Ive been watching the alumni parade since I was a kid as well as marching in the band. And I am no spring chicken now.

Whats up with the Valley News ? It used to do a half-page to full page showing at least the first, second and third-place winners. One couldnt wait to get the paper and see who won.

This year the Valley News showed one small picture of the third-place float in back of City Hall.

Why cant our local paper cover our once-a-year parade of floats? Why the snub?

Linda Facto

Lebanon

View original post here:
Forum, July 11: You Snubbed a Good Parade; Math Rules Dont Add Up; Vanity and Immorality; The Co-op Debate

For Donovan Rose, affection toward his alma mater and a fresh start overcame the sour taste of a disappointing ending.

Rose, whose firing last fall ended a 23-year coaching run in Hampton Universitys football program, agreed to return to the school as an athletic fundraiser.

Rose will fill the newly created position of Assistant Athletic Director for Development. He will report to new Pirates athletic director Eugene Marshall Jr., who has said he wants to make raising money and community outreach priorities.

When people are asked to give, they want to give to people theyre familiar with, Rose said. Theyre going to give to people they know and to a good cause. Hampton University is a good cause.

Though Rose is known primarily as a football coach, he is plenty familiar with raising money. When he returned to Hampton in the early 1990s following a professional football career, he not only was an assistant coach, he was director of the schools Job Education and Training (JET) program for 17 years.

The JET program provided opportunity for at-risk youths in Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth. He sought individual and business sponsorships and assistance. He believes the experiences he had and the relationships he formed will dovetail into his new position.

He said that he had opportunities to coach elsewhere, but he and his family have deep roots in the area. He is a Norfolk native and he and his wife, Sylvia, are Hampton alumni. She is a professor of finance in HUs business school. Their son, Donovan, is scheduled to begin his freshman year at HU in the fall. Their daughter, Deja, attended Georgetown and is now at Tulanes medical school.

I thought about it, he said, but in the end, I didnt want to be anywhere else.

Rose said he has met with new football coach Connell Maynor. He didnt sound the least bit resentful about working with those who relieved him.

Ive got nothing but love for Hampton, he said. Its my school. I want them to do well. Id like to think I left the program in good position, in terms of grades and APR (Academic Progress Rating) numbers and some young talent. Now, Im in a position to help the program and the athletic department in other areas.

Read the rest here:
Former HU coach Rose takes athletic fundraising job at school

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) After years of clashes with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the group that oversees the University of Texas System, the president of its flagship Austin campus reached a resignation deal Wednesday that will keep him on the job until June 2015.

University of Texas President Bill Powers' exit agreement comes after system Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa met with Powers last week and urged him to resign effective in October or risk being fired. Powers offered to quit next June, a deal that Cigarroa accepted after Powers' allies on campus and in the state Capitol rallied behind him.

Powers had pleaded to stay on the job to finish a $3 billion fundraising campaign, aid the startup of the university's new medical school and help guide the university through state budget negotiations in the 2015 legislative session.

Powers said he met with Cigarroa and board Chairman Paul Foster to reach the deal, which was announced by the University of Texas System at the same time a school provost told a faculty meeting.

"I'm delighted with this. This is a plan that makes sense to me," Powers said.

Powers has led the 50,000-student Austin campus since 2006. He fought with governor-appointed regents over tuition and graduation rates and other higher-education policies, and had survived previous attempts to fire him.

Powers has been a popular figure among students, faculty and state lawmakers, who rallied to his defense this week with warnings that firing him would harm the university's reputation. Powers is chairman of the Association of American Universities, a consortium of top private and public research institutions. One alumni group had planned a pro-Powers rally outside the Board of Regents meeting Thursday, where his employment is still on the agenda.

On Monday, Cigarroa had described his relationship with Powers as "fractured" and cited a lack of trust between Powers and the regents. In accepting the deal that keeps Powers on the job another year, Cigarroa called him "an admired leader who, as I've said before, has advanced the University in many ways."

Powers has had several high-profile clashes with Perry and the regents over higher-education policies. One regent, Wallace Hall, is facing possible impeachment and removal from office over his relentless pursuit of university records and questions over Powers' leadership.

Cigarroa recently called for an external investigation into Hall's questions about whether Powers and some state lawmakers exerted undue influence over school admissions. The House panel investigating Hall had told the regents not to question potential witnesses including Powers during their investigation.

See the rest here:
University of Texas president resigning next year

More than 1,200 alumni of Jesuit universities and high schools have sent aletter this week to fellow alumni in the US House of Representativescalling on them to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Thegroup of 43 House members, which includes Speaker of the HouseRepresentative John Boehner (Xavier University 77) have attended one ormore of the 28 universities and 60 high schools sponsored by the Society ofJesus in the United States.

Citing the 'Jesuit spirit of generous service to people in need and apersevering commitment to the common good', alumni, led by the IgnatianSolidarity Network, are calling for reform that includes: a process forearned citizenship for the undocumented, respect for the rights of workers,preservation and protection family unity and human dignity, and therestoration of fairness and accountability to the US immigration system.

The 1,200 signatories include Dr Eugene Cornacchia, PhD, president ofSt Peter's University (Fordham University 85); Rev Steve Privett, SJ,outgoing president of University of San Francisco (Loyola High School ofLos Angeles 60, Gonzaga University 66, Jesuit School of Theology 72); RevDavid Hollenbach, SJ, Director, Center for Human Rights andInternational Justice, (St Joseph's University 64); Dr Kristin Heyer,PhD, ethicist and theologian, and author of "Kinship Across Borders: AChristian Ethic of Immigration"; (Boston College 03); and Rev JamesMartin, SJ, author and speaker (Weston Jesuit School of Theology 98).

Despite the growing humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied migrant childrenand the continued presence of 11 million people without documentation inthe US, President Obama and Congressional leaders like SpeakerBoehner havedeclared immigration reform dead. The fact that our countrys leadershave declared immigration a dead issue for the imminent future increasesthe need for people of faith to speak out for immigration reform. We haveto let them know we are not going away. "The current humanitarian crisis ofunaccompanied children is just one more signal to the US House of Representatives that our nation needs to act on immigration reform,said ChristopherKerr, executive director of the Ignatian Solidarity Network.

On why Jesuit school alumni would call on congressional members to act,Kerr, a signatory of the letter, said, Jesuit education has challengedeach of us to be people of solidarity who take responsibility for the mostvulnerable in our world. Jesuit and lay teachers implore students to bemen and women for others, responding to the greatest needs that exist insociety. Our country needs immigration reform. We hope that SpeakerBoehner and other Jesuit school alumni in the US House will respond tothis call and act in the spirit of our Jesuit educational heritage.

Over the past several years, Jesuit institutional leaders have been vocalsupporters of comprehensive immigration reform. In May 2013, the nine USJesuit Provincials wrote a letter http://www.jesuit.org/blog/index.php/2013/05/largest-order-of-priests-and-brothers-in-catholic-church-calls-for-comprehensive-immigration-reform/insupport of comprehensive immigration reform, which was endorsed by over 200Jesuit institutions and communities.

Before the end of 2013, Fr KevinWildeshttp://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2013/07/immigration_reform_would_help.htmlpresident of Loyola University of New Orleans, and Dr Eugene Cornacchiapresident of the Saint Peters University, released editorials publiclyvoicing their support of humane immigration reform efforts.

On AshWednesday of this year, five Jesuit university presidents participated in anational immigration reform fast http://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2014/03/04/jesuit-university-presidents-join-in-ash-wednesday-fast-for-immigration-reform/.

Later that month, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, a Jesuit highschool in Indiana, hosted a panel discussioNwith representatives from thestates agriculture and business sectors, religious leaders, and students.

Read more from the original source:
Jesuit school alumni urge fellow alumni in US government to act on immigration reform