Nominations Open for Sullivan Awards to Honor Humanitarians

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 25, 2015) — Nominations for the 2015 Sullivan Awards, the University of Kentucky's prestigious honor for inspirational humanitarian achievements by students and community members, are open with a deadline of late March.

Three winners, an outstanding senior woman, an outstanding senior man and a distinguished community member, will be formally announced Monday, April 13, at the University Honors and Recognition Awards Program in the Student Center's Grand Ballroom.

To start the nomination process, email Buck Ryan, chairman of the faculty selection committee, at buck.ryan@uky.edu. Letters may be sent to Buck Ryan, 134 Grehan Building, School of Journalism and Telecommunications, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0042

"The Sullivan Awards are a highlight of my academic year," said Ryan, director of the Citizen Kentucky Project of UK's Scripps Howard First Amendment Center. "We have so many amazing students who are out to change the world and so many friends dedicated to making our community a better place. Selecting winners is a difficult task for our faculty committee."

The non-student winner must have a connection with UK as an employee, alumnus or friend.

The criteria for selection, which puts a premium on character, integrity and humanitarian service, are written in the spirit of Algernon Sydney Sullivan, a Southerner who became a prominent lawyer, businessman and philanthropist in New York in the late 19th century.

Officially known as the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards, they were established by the New York Southern Society in 1925 and aspire to honor recipients with "high qualities which ennoble and beautify living and bind man in mutual love and helpfulness."

The University of Kentucky has been recognizing Sullivan Award winners since 1927. UK is one of several Southern universities that present Sullivan Awards, sponsored by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation, to recognize "those citizens and students who exhibit Sullivan's ideals of heart, mind, and conduct as evince a spirit of love for and helpfulness to other men and women."

Nominations are open until 5 p.m. Friday, March 20, 2015.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Geegan, (859) 257-5365; sarah.geegan@uky.edu