Oct. 29, 2012
For Immediate Release
The 14th annual campus and community Dialogue on Race celebration was held Oct. 17 at Campbellsville University. In the photo are the two leadership award winners, Dr. Mary Wilgus, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and coordinator of Dialogue on Race at Campbellsville University, in front; and the Rev. David Cozart, program director for the Fayette County Fatherhood Initiative at the Lexington Leadership Foundation, in back. With them are Dr. Frank Cheatham, senior vice president for academic affairs, left; and John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president. (Campbellsville University Photo by Linda Waggener)
By Linda Waggener, marketing and media relations coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Dr. Mary Wilgus and the Rev. David Cozart received the coveted 2012 leadership awards at Campbellsville University’s 14th annual campus and community Dialogue on Race Celebration Oct. 17.
The African-American Community Leadership Award was presented to Cozart in recognition of his work as Fayette County Fatherhood Initiative program director, Lexington Leadership Foundation. The Rev. John E. Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president, said this award is presented to one who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the African-American community and who has worked to help improve race relations and to move the entire community and state forward.
The Lexington Leadership Foundation seeks to restore, equip and deploy fathers, families, congregations and the community at-large. Cozart has served as the administrator of development at the Urban League of Lexington/Fayette County since 2007. He is one of the founding members of the Urban League Young Professionals, which was founded in 2002 and is a nationally certified Community Organizer in the Neighborhood Revitalization Training Institute, where he has been an active member since 2000.
The Racial Recognition Award was presented to Wilgus, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and coordinator of Dialogue on Race at Campbellsville University, who was called by Chowning, “the mother of development of Campbellsville University’s Dialogue on Race program.”
He said the Racial Reconciliation Award is given to those who have a record of servant leadership in bringing people together across lines of race and ethnicity and who have worked as bridge builders in the community. Wilgus worked directly with Chowning to initiate the program which she has led and grown over the past 14 years and from which she is retiring as leader.
In her comments, Wilgus said that she was deeply proud that this is the largest of all the years of expansion with 10 different groups meeting in classes around Campbellsville University’s campus this semester, participating in discussions of race and ways to improve relations among different people. She said the very acts of participating in intentional discussions around race, ethnicity, nationality and gender helps in the work of bringing about better relations.
Cozart said, “At Campbellsville University, the students, faculty and staff are in an atmosphere where they are being set up for success while honoring God. Don’t take that for granted.”
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with over 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate programs, 17 master’s degrees and five postgraduate areas. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.