April 29, 1998 Contact: Charlotte Crystal (804) 924-6858 U.VA. ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF AWARDS FOR SERVICE TO HUMANITY The University of Virginia will bestow three Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards at the upcoming Valediction Exercises on May 16. The awards, which recognize excellence of character and service to humanity, this year will be presented to a long-time university administrator and professor of environmental sciences and to two graduating fourth-year students. Ernest H. Ern, Senior Vice President and University Professor, has touched thousands of lives in his 36 years at the University as a professor of environmental sciences. Arriving at the University in 1962, Ern also has filled many administrative roles since then, including a 20-year stint as Vice President of Student Affairs that covered the challenging times of desegregation and coeducation. A. Reagan Harris, of Beaumont, Texas, an Echols Scholar and Lawn resident, has kept busy with outside activities while completing a dual major in economics and religious studies. Among the most important of Harris' many honors and activities are her roles as president of the Inter-Sorority Council, program director for the Madison House Big Sibling Program, and two years serving as a resident assistant. She also has won recognition from the Raven Society, the Secret Seven Society and Phi Beta Kappa. Harris will attend Harvard Law School in the fall. Ray D. McKenzie, of Richmond, voted "most likely to succeed" in high school, attended the University on a full football scholarship, playing center and guard for four years. McKenzie's experience teaching Sunday school to elementary school pupils at the Highway of Faith Church, in Arvonia, where his father is pastor, opened his eyes to his calling to work with young children. McKenzie will teach fifth grade at the Gandy Elementary School in Hanover County in the fall. The Algernon Sydney Sullivan awards were established by the New York Southern Society in 1925 to honor its first president. The awards are presented annually at U.Va. and at about a dozen other universities in the United States to two undergraduate degree candidates, a man and a woman, and a member of the university community. Recipients receive medallions, certificates and books on Algernon Sydney Sullivan. ### Television reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550. U.Va. news online: http://www.virginia.edu/topnews