Date: Oct 25, 2010

Celebration of Suburban Diversity Banquet Honors Six

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY -  The second annual Celebration of Suburban Diversity Banquet will honor six Long Islanders for promoting multicultural understanding on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010 at 5 p.m. at Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, N.Y.

The banquet, sponsored by the National Center for Suburban Studies® at Hofstra University, raises money for diversity-related research and scholarships. It will feature performances from a variety of multicultural groups, and a keynote address by Michael Dowling, president and chief executive officer of North Shore-LIJ Health System, which is Hofstra's partner in a new medical school.

"The response to the banquet really cements the importance Long Island leaders place on understanding diversity and drives home the message that the economic survival of the suburbs hinges on our ability to live, work and play together," said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the NCSS.

Last year's banquet helped the NCSS to underwrite tens of thousands of dollars worth of internships and grants to community groups, faculty and students.

The honorees at this year's banquet represent a wide-range of organizations:

• Athelene Collins, Senior Associate Director, Hofstraa Cultural Center
• Honorable Jon Cooper, Suffolk County legislator
• Elaine Gross, President, ERASE Racism
• Dr. Evelyn Blose Holman, Superintendent, Bay Shore public schools
• Nereida Perez, Office of Inclusion and Diversity, National Grid
• Tai Wang, Asian-American Cultural Circle of Unity

The National Center for Suburban Studies® at Hofstra University is a non-partisan research institution dedicated to promoting objective, academically rigorous study of suburbia's problems and promise. Rooted in the laboratory of Long Island's diverse and aging suburbs, the National Center studies a broad range of local and national issues. The suburbs have emerged as the nexus of dynamic demographic, social, economic and environmental change. The tasks of identifying, analyzing and solving the problems of suburbia.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 150 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services;  and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. The University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students' interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations.  The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.

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