FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas Silas Hunt Legacy Award honorees will speak during a public forum to be held at noon, Friday, April 28, , in the Helen Walton Reading Room in Mullins Library. The honorees will speak briefly about how their education affected their lives and how their subsequent successes unfolded.

The Silas Hunt Legacy Awards honorees are 10 African Americans who will be recognized for their contributions to the University of Arkansas, the State of Arkansas, the nation and the world at an event to be held that evening.

Forum attendees will hear from the honorees and then have an opportunity to mingle with participants and view an exhibition of their college-day memorabilia. Light refreshments will be served. The honorees will be available for brief media interviews after the forum.

• Mr. Gerald Alley (B.S.B.A. ’73) of Arlington, Texas

• Dr. Margaret Clark (M.A. ’68, Ed.D. ’78) of Fayetteville, Ark.

• Mr. Randall Ferguson (B.S.B.A. ’74) of Lee’s Summit, Mo.

• The Honorable George W. Haley (LL.B. ’52) of Silver Spring, Md.

• Mr. E. Lynn Harris (B.A. ’77) of Houston

• Dr. Edith Irby Jones ( B.S.M. ’52, M.D. ’52) of Houston

• Dr. Bobby W. Jones (B.S. ’84) of Richmond Hill, Ga.

• Ms. Janis Kearney (B.A. ’77) of Chicago

• Dr. Gordon Morgan (M.A. ’56) of Fayetteville

• The Honorable Rodney Slater (J.D. ’80) of Washington, D.C.

The recipients were nominated by the public and selected by a volunteer selection committee comprising UA alumni, friends, faculty, students and staff.

“We are looking forward to hearing how the experiences at the University of Arkansas prepared these individuals for their life’s journey,” said Johnetta Cross Brazzell, vice chancellor for student affairs who will moderate the forum. “A student’s out-of-class experience is an important complement to their in-class experience. It may be difficult for today’s student to see how what is happening now may shape the person they will become, so this is an exciting opportunity to gain a bit of perspective from a group of highly successful alumni.”

On Feb. 2, 1948, Silas Hunt became the first black student in modern times to attend a major Southern public university when he was admitted without litigation into the University of Arkansas School of Law. Hunt, who grew up in Texarkana, Ark., was a veteran of World War II and earned his undergraduate degree at Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Hunt died of tuberculosis in the spring of 1949 before finishing his law degree.

To read more about the honorees, visit http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/8229.htm.