Daily Pioneer News

Der Vang, Carol Sue Butts and Tha Yeng Kong

PLATTEVILLE - Two University of Wisconsin-Platteville students are among four within the UW System to receive an achievement award that honors Erroll B. Davis, a former member of the UWP Board of Regents and a former chief executive of Alliant Energy. The award, which is being given this year for the first time, recognizes the outstanding scholarship and community-service efforts of students from traditionally underrepresented minority groups. The students, who are pursuing a degree in business or engineering, receive $4,000 awards upon graduation.

The UWP students are Tha Yeng Kong and Der Vang. Kong is a senior business administration major who anticipates graduating in May. He has achieved academic honors, is on the Dean's List and active in the campus's Hmong Club and Asian Students in Action (ASIA) Club. Vang graduated in December 2006 with a degree in electrical engineering. He was active in several campus organizations and was the president of the Hmong Club for two years. In 2006, he received the Multicultural Student of the Year Award and Multicultural Leadership Award.

"These students are outstanding scholars who have made their campuses better places to live and learn," said UW System President Kevin P. Reilly. "By contributing their time and energy to helping others, these students have played a unique role in shaping a learning environment where students from all backgrounds can succeed and thrive."

The awards honor Erroll B. Davis, a former chief executive of Alliant Energy, who was the first black leader of a "Business Week 1000" company. Davis served as a member of the Board of Regents from 1987 to 1994, and is now chancellor of the University of Georgia System.

"These awards are a fitting tribute to Mr. Davis' commitment to advancing opportunities for academic excellence, community service, and leadership for students of color in Wisconsin," Reilly said. "The UW is fortunate to be a part of this award program to honor his dedication to higher education."

The students were honored at a ceremony on Friday, Feb. 9, at The Pyle Center, in Madison. Several members of the UWP faculty and staff, including provost Carol Sue Butts, attended the ceremony.

"We are very proud of the two UWP students who received the Alliant Energy/Erroll B. Davis Award. Tha Yeng Kong and Der Vang not only distinguished themselves academically in their respective majors but they were also leaders on campus. They are excellent student role models representing UW-Platteville," said Butts.

The Alliant Energy Foundation established a $400,000 endowment to fund the awards in 2006. The endowment fund honors Davis' distinguished resume of public service. He and his wife, Elaine, founded a family foundation that provides college scholarships to underprivileged youth. Davis also sits on the U.S. Olympic Committee Board, and he was a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago.

Davis is a 1993 winner of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Chicago.

Contact: Pusaporn Tabrizi, advisor, Multicultural Educational Resource Center, (608) 342-1506, tabrizip@uwplatt.edu Prepared by by: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194,martense@uwplatt.edu