University Trustees Announce New President

Allen L. Sessoms has been chosen to lead the University of the District of Columbia, the schools' board of trustees has announced. The appointment came after an 11-month national search.

Sessoms comes to the District from Delaware State University, where he has been president since 2003. Before that, he was president of Queens College in New York. In Delaware, he was credited with increasing sponsor programs from $8 million to an estimated $40 million, increasing enrollment by 20 percent over three years and helping the College of Business receive accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. He also established the university's first doctoral programs, in interdisciplinary applied mathematics and mathematical physics and in educational leadership.

Sessoms has a bachelor's degree from Union College, a master's from the University of Washington and a doctorate from Yale University, all in physics. He will take the helm at the University of the District of Columbia on Monday and will formally meet students, faculty and administration Sept. 9.

For more information, go to http://www.udc.edu/udc_president.

National Group Honors School Choice Advocate

Virginia Walden Ford, a D.C. parent and activist, has received the John T. Walton Champions for School Choice Award. Presented by the national nonprofit organization Alliance for School Choice, the award is the organization's highest honor.

Ford, a single mother, said she took up the issue of school choice after her son got a private scholarship to escape a failing D.C. school. Since then, she has worked to mobilize thousands of D.C. parents in support of school choice, leading to Congress's passage of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

"Virginia's work in organizing parents in the District has been nothing short of amazing," said Charles R. Ilokanson Jr., president of the Alliance for School Choice. "She has been a beacon for parents who want their children to receive a better education. As a result of her efforts, more than 1,900 children are attending excellent private schools throughout the D.C. opportunity scholarship program."

Ford is president of the D.C. Black Alliance for Educational Options and executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice. She has written a book, "Voices, Choices, and Second Chances," and recently launched a Web site, http://www.voicesofschoolchoice.org, which highlights scholarship recipients.

The Alliance for School Choice is the nation's largest organization promoting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs. The John T. Walton Champions for School Choice award is named after the foundation's founder, a Vietnam War veteran and pioneer of the school choice movement. For more information, go to http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org.

-- Compiled by JILLIAN S. SOWAH