The St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala, introduced 30 years ago primarily to recognize excellent African-American educators in the region, has evolved into the region’s premier scholarship event for minority students.
“This current year has an astonishing total for scholarships and community grants of more than $750,000,” Donald M. Suggs, publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American and president of the St. Louis American Foundation, said at the 2017 Salute held at America’s Center on Saturday, September 23. “This funding is a direct investment in our community and its future.”
Since 1994, when the scholarship component was added to the educator recognition event, the foundation, together with its education partners, has fostered over $5 million in scholarships and community grants, Suggs said.
And that arc clearly remains on the upward swing.
Michael Middleton, the 2017 Lifetime Achiever in Education, came out of retirement a second time this spring to serve briefly as interim president at Lincoln University in Jefferson City. In his brief remarks, Middleton said he was donating his $2,500 Salute educator grant to start a new St. Louis American Foundation scholarship at Lincoln, named in Suggs’ honor, as previous foundation scholarships at other universities have been.
Middleton – the first black law professor at the University of Missouri School of Law and a trailblazing administrator at Mizzou – previously returned from retirement in November 2015 to serve as interim president of the University of Missouri System when Mizzou was roiled by the aftermath of a black-led student protest movement.
Black-led protests cast a shadow on the 2017 Salute, as they also did in 2014 in the midst of the Ferguson unrest. The 2017 Stellar Performer in Education awardee, Kelvin Adams, superintendent of Saint Louis Public Schools, acknowledged that the gala was being held during 9 days of ongoing police accountability protests following the verdict in the Jason Stockley murder trial.
Adams said the St. Louis region faces the same kind of urgent challenge that he faced nine years ago when he took over leadership of a dysfunctional, unaccredited school district (that achieved full accreditation and much more functional operations under his direction).
“I needed to show real humility and simply had to sacrifice,” Adams said in his brief remarks. “My challenge was what it would take to solve the problems of social inequity, violence and – yes – racism, by any means necessary.”
Adams also donated his $1,500 Salute education grant to scholarships in his district via the SLPS Foundation.
Another forthcoming Suggs Scholarship was announced at the 2017 Salute. Maryville University, a relative newcomer to the program – it awarded its first foundation scholarship three years, 15 years after the University of Missouri-Columbia co-founded the scholarship program – announced that next year it will move up from one to two scholarships for full tuition, room and board.
Suggs also referenced the current turbulent times in his brief remarks thanking foundation partners and donors.
“Our mission as a foundation is based on the wisdom of our esteemed leader, Malcolm X, who taught us that ‘education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today,’” Suggs said.
“These are very difficult times in St. Louis that challenge us to move together to seek justice and social and economic equity. Our reaction to these challenges can provide for a new direction toward a better future for everyone.”
Platinum level sponsors for the 2017 Salute: ANHEUSER-BUSCH, MONSANTO, THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA, WELLS FARGO ADVISORS, WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY, THE STEWARD FAMILY FOUNDATION.
Gold sponsors: BJC HEALTHCARE, BARNES-JEWISH HOSPITAL, ST. LOUIS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, THE BODLEY GROUP, CENTENE CORPORATION , PNC BANK, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY.
Silver-level sponsors: MCCORMACK BARON SALAZAR, URBAN STRATEGIES. Bronze-level sponsors: AT HOME CARE, MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY, S.A.K. CONSTRUCTION.
