Dennis Bland '87 "Making Success Possible for Thousands of Young People"

March 25, 2007

March 25, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - "Imagine this: Indianapolis some day leading the nation in the number of black students going to college and returning value to the community," writes Dennis Ryerson in today's Indianapolis Star. "It's an ambitious and attainable goal. It's Dennis Bland's goal and he's determined to make it happen. He needs and deserves all the help the community can give him." Bland is president of the Center for Leadership Development (CLD) and a 1987 graduate of DePauw University.

Ryerson was in attendance March 19 at CLD's annual scholarship dinner, which DePauw co-sponsors. "One after one, minority students stood alongside Indiana college and university leaders to accept scholarships of $20,000, $40,000, $100,000 and more," he writes. "The audience gasped at the dollar amounts and cheered the nearly $1 million in scholarship money that was awarded."

The columnist adds, "For 30 years the Center for Leadership Development has helped minority high school students develop personal and leadership skills so they are better able to succeed in college and careers. The record is impressive. Nearly 7,000 students have completed the center's core program, the 'Self-Discovery/Career Exploration Project,' a 13-week long after-school course. Three thousand students have completed other center programs that begin at the middle-school level. More than 70 percent of center graduates attend some institution of higher learning, and more than 50 percent of those students graduate." 

The Star's editor continues, "The students benefit, their families benefit, their schools benefit and the community benefits. A growing group of colleges and universities recognizes that," Ryerson states, noting that DePauw is among the colleges that partner with CLD to provide scholarships. "Just since 2005, 35 scholarships have been awarded, totaling $2,060,524," he notes.

The piece concludes, "If you young people from all sectors of our community don't succeed, Indianapolis won't succeed. Dennis Bland, a soft-spoken, modest, thoroughly religious man, and the Center for Leadership Development he heads are making success possible for thousands of young people who otherwise might not have had the chance. It's a story that's got to be told again and again."

Access the column by clicking here.

Read more about Dennis Bland in this previous story.

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