DATE: Monday, May 1, 2006
CONTACT: Ronnie Hess, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, (608) 262-5590, rlhess@wisc.edu
UW-MADISON’S SCHLEICHER RECEIVES PRESIDENT’S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD
Madison, WI – Antonia Folarin Schleicher, UW-Madison professor of African Languages and Literature, has been awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award. The Award was presented Friday, April 28, during 2006 National Volunteer Week, at the annual Conference of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, in Madison. Gail McGinn, U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Plans, presented the award.
The award is issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation on behalf of the President of the United States as a way to recognize the best in the American spirit, and to encourage all Americans to contribute to their communities and to the nation through volunteer service.
In making the award, McGinn praised Schleicher for her dedication to the field of less commonly taught languages in the United States. Schleicher is executive director of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages and director of the National African Language Resource Center, both of them based at UW-Madison. McGinn said Schleicher’s efforts were so outstanding that she was being presented with “the Gold Level Presidential Volunteer Service Award,” an award that recognizes volunteers who have contributed over 500 hours annually. McGinn commended Schleicher not only for her work on behalf of the Council but also for a range of community activities on behalf of less commonly taught languages, including visits to area PK-12 schools.
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