Elizabeth Kepniss (973) 497-4187 kepnisel@rcan.org

For Release :  April 3, 2001

Major League Baseball Advisor Honored at 17th Annual Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children Dinner

The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children will honor Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. at its 17th Annual Scholarship Dinner at 6:00p.m., Thursday, April 26, 2001 at Mayfair Farms, West Orange. The honoree, the Senior Advisor to Major League Baseball, will receive the Vitae Discimus Award for his ongoing contributions to education.

Sponsored by an anonymous donor, all profits from the dinner will fund scholarships for needy children in the four counties- Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union- in the Archdiocese of Newark to attend Catholic and other private schools. Over the years, the fund has provided almost 27,000 scholarships to children in Catholic and other private schools at a cost of $11.8 million.

"This is a wonderful dinner because it gives our annual donors the opportunity to see the children they are helping. It also gives them a first hand look at what our organization is all about," said Kevin Moriarty, Executive Director of the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children. "Because the dinner is being sponsored, every cent it raises will go toward paying some poor childÕs tuition."

The Scholarship Fund depends on contributions for its scholarship funds. Sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, the fund does not limit its recipients to members of the Catholic faith. More than half of the scholarship recipients are not Catholic.

Committee chair James A. Skidmore, Jr., President and CEO of the Science Management Corporation, is organizing the dinner. Donations can be made to the dinner in the amounts of $250, $500 or $1,000. For more information, call the Scholarship Fund for Inner City Children at (973) 497-4279.

Editor's Note: See attached bio of award recipient.

Leonard S. Coleman, Jr.
Mr. Coleman was appointed as Senior Advisor to Major League Baseball in November of 1999. Mr. Coleman previously served as the President of the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs from 1994 to 1999. He joined Major League Baseball in 1992 as Executive Director- Market Development. Before joining baseball, Mr. Coleman was a municipal finance banker with national responsibilities for Kidder, Peabody & Company. Before joining Kidder, Mr. Coleman served in the New Jersey Cabinet as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs from 1986-88, where he headed a S250 million annual program. Before becoming DCA Commissioner, Mr. Coleman served a four-year term as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Energy. While in State government, Mr. Coleman was the Chairman of the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. He was the Vice Chairman of the State Commission on Ethical Standards and a Member of the Economic Development Authority, Urban Enterprise Zone Authority, Urban Development Authority State Planning Commission and New Jersey Public Television Commission.

From 1980- 1982, Mr. Coleman served as President of the Greater Newark Urban Coalition, an organization of business, community groups and local government, which acts as an advocate and mediator on relevant urban issues. From 1976- 1980, Mr. Coleman worked in Africa in mission service for the President of the Episcopal Church of the United States, providing management consultant services in health cane, education and church community development in seventeen African countries.

Mr. Coleman received an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton University in 1971. He also earned a Masters in Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Masters in Education and Social Policy degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Mr. Coleman serves on the Board of Directors of the Omnicom Group, Heinz Corporation, Cendant Corporation, Owens Corning, New Jersey Resources, and Radio Unica. Mr. Coleman is the Chairman of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. He also serves as a Director of a number of other organizations, including The Metropolitan Opera, The Schumann Fund, The Children's Defense Fund, the National Urban League, The Roberto Clemente Foundation, and Seton Hall University. He is a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Presiding Bishop's Fund For World Relief and the former United Stales Chairman of the Bishop Tutu Scholarship Fund.

 

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