Zacharias Honored For
Contributions To Gifted Education

March 30, 2004

Bowling Green, Ky. - Dr. Donald Zacharias, former president of Western Kentucky University, was recognized recently by The Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University for his contributions to gifted children in Kentucky and beyond.

Dr. Julia Roberts, director of The Center, honored Dr. Zacharias in the John Grisham Room at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss., where he is president emeritus.

He joins Dr. Susan Leib and Dr. J.T. Sandefur who were honored this year with crystal Challenge Awards in the Rotunda in Frankfort, Ky. They joined previous Challenge Award winners Dr. Larry Laird, Doris Mills and Speaker of the House Jody Richards.

Dr. Zacharias, WKU president from 1979 to 1985, was instrumental in establishing The Center. "Julia Roberts and I worked together in establishing The Center for Gifted Studies," he said. "At her initiative we visited TIP at Duke University and decided we could do something similar at Western. I supported her effort, but she did the work."

For more information, contact Tracy Inman at (270) 745-6323. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

Photo caption: From left, Tommie Zacharias, Dr. Donald Zacharias, Dr. Julia Roberts and Dr. Dick Roberts.

-WKU-