Al White Named Walter O. Mason Award Winner

Press Release Date: 10-10-2006

Al White was recently presented with the Council for Opportunity for Education’s Walter O. Mason Award at the COE Silver Anniversary Conference. Each year the Council honors TRIO professionals who have contributed significantly to the cause of equal educational opportunity in postsecondary education.

“We are honored to recognize Al for his contribution to educational opportunity,” Said Dr. Arnold L. Mitchem, President of the Council for Opportunity in Education. “For more than thirty years Al has been a leader in the TRIO community in Oklahoma and nationwide.”

Mr. White is a former COE Board Member. He has been very politically active in Oklahoma and has been the leader in promoting TRIO to Oklahoma’s educational and political establishment. He took the lead in the drive to capture the TRIO resolution from both Houses of the Oklahoma legislature this year.

The Council for Opportunity in Education is a nonprofit organization, established in 1981, dedicated to furthering the expansion of educational opportunities throughout the United States. Through its numerous membership services, the Council works in conjunction with colleges, universities, and agencies that host TRIO Programs to specifically help low-income Americans enter college and graduate.

The Walter O. Mason Award was established by NCEOA in 1988 to honor outstanding professionals in educational opportunity programs who exemplify the life and ideals of Walter O. Mason, Jr. Mr. Mason first worked with TRIO Programs as a Senior Program Officer with the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in Dallas. At the time of his death, he was Special Assistant to the President at the University of Oklahoma. Through his leadership, TRIO professionals successfully established regional associations throughout our nation. Mr. Mason’s vision guided the formation of the national TRIO movement.

Al White is the director of the Educational Talent Search program at Southeastern Oklahoma State University which serves 800 students in Bryan, Choctaw, Marshall and McCurtain Counties each year assisting students with academic support, career exploration, financial aid assistance and personal counseling with the ultimate goal of helping students prepare for and enter a program of post-secondary study following high school graduation. The SOSU Talent Search program has been successful in meeting the educational needs of students in our area since 1978 with a 74% college-going rate. The program has recently been refunded for an additional four years.