Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Elects New Board of Directors
Kennedy Space Center, FL – The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is proud to announce its 2011 – 2012 Board of Directors and Board of Trustees who were selected at its recent annual Board of Directors meeting. Members of each board will serve a one-year term, working together to further the Foundation’s mission of aiding the United States in retaining its world leadership in science and technology by providing scholarships to exceptional college students.
New officers are as follows: Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke has been elected Chairman and will lead the Board of Directors for the coming year. An active participant in ASF events and fundraising, Duke supported ASF as a board member for six years prior to this new appointment. He is taking the place of Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, who served as Chairman for six consecutive years and will remain on the Board of Directors. Longtime board member and Space Shuttle veteran Dan Brandenstein was voted in as Vice Chairman. He’s replacing Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Gibson, who remains on the Board of Directors. Gray/Robinson Attorney at Law Partner Michael Neukamm retains his position as Treasurer/ Secretary; Executive Director Linn LeBlanc continues to lead the Foundation as Executive Director, marking her tenth year with ASF
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Serving alongside these Board of Directors are ASF founders and Mercury 7 astronauts Scott Carpenter and John Glenn; fellow astronauts Robert Crippen, Walt Cunningham, Owen Garriott, Fred Gregory, Richard Gordon, Rick Hauck, Jeff Hoffman, James Lovell (Chairman Emeritus), Edgar Mitchell and William Pogue; Astronaut Scholar alumni Larry Bradley and Lisa Schott.
The 2010-2011 Board of Trustees will once again be chaired by Laura Shepard-Churchley, daughter of ASF Founder and Mercury/Apollo astronaut Alan Shepard. Supporting Shepard-Churchley are ASF founder Henri Landwirth; astronauts Gene Cernan and Thomas Stafford; Mercury 7 astronaut widows Suzi Cooper and Jo Schirra; private cosmonaut Richard Garriott; celebrities LeVar Burton, Bill Dana and Tom Hanks; businessman James Long and retired college dean Harvey Miller.
ASF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the six surviving members of America’s Mercury 7 astronauts. Each year, ASF disburses twenty-six $10,000 scholarships to college students who exhibit motivation, imagination and remarkable performance in science, technology, engineering and math. Today, more than 80 astronauts from the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle and Space Station programs have joined in this educational endeavor, disbursing over $3 million in scholarships to date. For more information, call 321-455-7013 or log on to www.AstronautScholarship.org.
