WHO: U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson visits St. Louis one day after accompanying President Bush on a tour of the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast.
WHAT: Jackson, an alumnus of Washington University in St. Louis and former administrator of St. Louis public service agencies, will address Washington University students on the importance of volunteerism as the nation responds to Hurricane Katrina. His comments will be delivered at a campus celebration for about 1,000 WUSTL students who spent most of Saturday doing volunteer improvement work at St. Louis public schools.
WHERE: Outdoor student gathering west of Wohl Center, “South 40” residential campus of Washington University. Enter the South 40 at Wydown Boulevard and Shepley Drive (near intersection of Wydown and Big Bend boulevards). Once in the South 40, turn left at first drive. Take drive past Eliot Hall and park along north side of sidewalk.
WHEN: 6 to about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3
WHY: To brief students on hurricane devastation and encourage their support in the relief effort.
ABOUT ALPHONSO JACKSON: A former director of Public Safety for the City of St. Louis, Jackson also served as executive director for the St. Louis Housing Authority, a director of consultant services for the certified public accounting firm of Laventhol and Horwath-St. Louis, and special assistant to the chancellor and assistant professor at the University of Missouri. Secretary Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in education administration from Truman State University. An expert on public housing and urban issues, Jackson has been asked to serve on a number of national and state commissions, most notably the General Services Commission of the State of Texas, where he served as Chairman; the National Commission on America’s Urban Families, and the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing. Secretary Jackson has also lent his expertise to numerous nonprofit and corporate boards. He received his law degree from Washington University School of Law
ABOUT WUSTL’S “SERVICE FIRST” STUDENT VOLUNTEERISM INITIATIVE: Secretary Jackson will be addressing an audience that will include students from among a group of about 1,000 Washington University students, mainly newly arrived freshmen, who volunteered their time today from 1-4 p.m. to paint, landscape, clean and beautify 11 St. Louis public schools to make the new school year more enjoyable for students and their teachers. It’s all part of the seventh annual Service First, an initiative that introduces first-year University students to community service in the St. Louis area.
ABOUT “STUDENTS OF THE SOUTH” HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORT: Also in attendance will be Caroline Landry, a WUSTL senior from Lafayette, La., who is spearheading a hurricane relief “canning” (cash/change collection) effort to benefit the American Red Cross. Called Project S.O.S. (Students of the South), Landry’s initiative has already collected more than a $1,000 in one day toward the effort.