State agency will pay tribute to Chicago education activist
who steered 60,000 African-American students to college
CHICAGO, IL - The late Silas Purnell - the onetime Tuskegee Airman who helped 60,000 African-American students from Chicago to attend college - will be honored by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) during the 79th Annual Bud Billiken Back-to-School Parade on Saturday, August 8, 2008.
"Illinois lost a giant five years ago. Silas Purnell's legacy is a better life for the thousands of Chicago high school students who attended college due to Purnell's unrelenting encouragement and tenacious fundraising," said ISAC Executive Director Andrew Davis.
Purnell, a product of Wendell Phillips High and Roosevelt University, was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. He gave up a successful marketing career at Coca-Cola to establish a college placement program at the Ada S. McKinley Community Center in the CHA Dearborn Homes. With help from the federal "Talent Search Program", Purnell personally mentored future judges, legislators, entrepreneurs and journalists. Between 1967 and his retirement in 2000, Purnell helped raise funds for more than 60,000 disadvantaged Chicago high school students to attend 200 colleges across the nation.
Purnell died in November, 2003. A section of State Street by 29th Street (near the Bud Billiken Parade route) is named "Honorary Silas Purnell Drive".
Several scholarship programs honor Purnell, and a unique State of Illinois grant program administered by ISAC is named for him. The Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Grant has helped thousands of college freshmen receive a one-time $500 grant ($250 per semester) to help with college expenses.
Purnell saw the need to supplement scholarships and grants issued to low-income students with extra funds for books, housing and other college expenses. He was legendary for approaching business owners, church leaders and public officials with specific requests for help: "I've got a kid here who needs $150 for textbooks," was a common solicitation. It has been said that with his booming voice and forceful personality, he was rarely turned down.
It is especially fitting, Davis said, that the Illinois Incentive for Access Grant is named for Purnell.
"Many scholarships and grants cover tuition and mandatory fees, but some students still need a hand with living expenses," Davis said. "The freshman year is tough enough without having to worry about the cost of books. The Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access Grant has been a terrific success in helping ease that transition into college life."
In 2006-07, ISAC issued $8.3 million in IIA Grants to 21,335 students. Since the initiative's inception in 1997, ISAC has awarded $89.2 million in IIA Grants to 231,613 Illinois students.
The number of IIA Grants available each year is limited based on funding levels approved by the Illinois General Assembly. Only students classified as freshmen from low-income families by their college with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $0 may be eligible.
In addition to marching in the Billiken Parade under banners promoting its College Zone Outreach Centers, ISAC will operate an information booth after the parade in Washington Park where families can learn more about available scholarships and grants, as well as how to plan for college financially and academically.
To help high school students and their families navigate the world of college financial aid, ISAC - in conjunction with the Illinois Community College Board - operates 52 College Zone Outreach Centers across Illinois. College Zone Outreach Centers are located at most community colleges and Chicago's Thompson Center (100 W. Randolph, 3rd floor). Chicago-area College Zone Centers are located at Harold Washington, Malcolm X, Morton, Olive Harvey, Daley (both campuses), Moraine Valley, South Suburban, Truman and Triton Colleges.
Davis urged high school students and their families to visit (www.collegezone.com) for more information about the many college financial assistance programs available. The innovative site also offers career counseling services, a planning timeline, virtual campus tours and online applications.
The Bud Billiken Parade is among the nation's largest parades. Each year, 75,000 marchers participate in the Billiken Parade, more than a million people line the Parade route and 25 million viewers nationwide watch it on TV.
Created in 1957, ISAC is the state's central provider of college aid. The agency oversees the successful Monetary Award Program (MAP), as well as the Illinois Veteran Grant program and service-related programs to encourage more students to pursue careers in teaching or nursing. Last year, ISAC issued 185,000 grants and scholarships totaling $448 million. Its 529 prepaid tuition program - College Illinois! - has allowed 27,000 Illinois families to prepay more than $1 billion in tuition and fees.
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