The 20th annual Curtis Wilson Scholarship Fund Dinner, honoring the legacy of the late Cleveland State University educator, will be held Saturday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center, 2000 Prospect Ave.

Dinner tickets are $45 and can be purchased by calling 216-687-2048 or 216-687-9373. The deadline for ticket purchases is Friday, April 18, 2008.

Named in honor of the late Curtis Wilson, who was the director of Cleveland State’s Black Studies Program and an assistant professor of history, the annual fund-raiser provides scholarships to two African American high school seniors who plan to attend Cleveland State.

The event also commemorates the late Wanda M. Coleman, a former staff member in Cleveland State’s offices of Alumni Affairs and Minority Affairs and Community Relations, through the presentation of two Wanda M. Coleman Continuing Student Awards to current students for their community service.

In addition, the Frank C. Adams Cultural Award will be presented to a Cleveland State student who has demonstrated cultural and creative ability in the performing arts. The award commemorates the late Frank Adams, former coordinator of the University’s African American Cultural Center.

More than $85,000 has been awarded to deserving Cleveland-area students through the Curtis Wilson, Wanda Coleman and Frank Adams scholarship funds.

The annual scholarship dinner will include a tribute to African American achievement with the presentation of Kente graduation stoles to Cleveland State’s Black graduates in the Class of 2008. In addition, the Distinguished Black Faculty and Staff Awards will recognize individuals for outstanding service to the University.

The Curtis Wilson event is sponsored by Cleveland State’s Black Alumni Organization, Black Faculty and Staff Organization and Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

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