UNCF – United Negro College Fund Fort Lauderdale to host Scholarship Awards Gala presenting the UNCF John W. Ruffin, Jr. Scholarship

UNCF – United Negro College Fund Fort Lauderdale to host Scholarship Awards Gala presenting the UNCF John W. Ruffin, Jr. Scholarship

By Edith Pearson

     UNCF-United Negro College Fund Fort Lauderdale has established the John W. Ruffin, Jr. Endowed Scholarship to benefit students attending Florida Memorial University and Nova Southeastern University’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship.

    The first of these scholarships will be presented at a Scholar-ship Awards Gala on Friday, April 19, 2013, 6:30 p.m. – Awards Presentation [Marks Gallery] 7:30 pm. – Cocktail Reception [Peck Terrace]  at Museum of Art I Fort Lauder-dale , One East Las Olas Blvd. at Andrews Avenue Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

    Sponsorships are available for $2,500. Individual tickets $150.

    To sponsor or purchase individual tickets, contact Edith Pearson, UNCF Regional Development Director, at (954) 527-3315 or email her atEdith.Pearson@uncf.org.

    Event co-chairs are UNCF President and CEO Dr. Michael Lomax and Dr. Mary O’Banner, Acting President of Florida Memorial University. Members of the UNCF South Florida Leadership Council and sponsors:  AutoNation, Baptist Health South Florida, D. Stephenson Construction, Miami Dolphins, Thompson’s Hospitality and others will attend the Gala event to celebrate these students. Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie is special guest speaker. Rodney Baltimore, host of HOT105 Tom Joyner Morning Show, will emcee. Entertainment will be provided by Jon Saxx, Florida Memorial University Ensemble, and the nationally recognized DCA Jazz Ensemble.

    The John W. Ruffin, Jr. scholarships benefit students attending these two important South Florida universities, graduate or undergraduate, international students from Africa, the Caribbean or under-represented minorities who are enrolled full-time in good academic standing with unmet financial need; the scholarship are renewable for recipients who maintain eligibility.

    John W. Ruffin, Jr. is a founding trustee of Nova South-eastern University’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship and serves as vice chairman of the Florida Memorial University Board of Trustees.   Ruffin has served as a volunteer fundraiser for UNCF in South Florida for more than 25 years and understands the value of the UNCF mission to enhance the quality of and access to higher education by providing financial assistance to deserving students, raising operating funds for member colleges and universities and advocating for minority higher education across the United States.