DUSC president nominated for Jefferson award

John Cordrey (right) gives a Building Responsibility Coalition outreach packet to UD junior Dan Miller at the beginning of the fall semester.

11:34 a.m., Feb. 24, 2005--John Cordrey, president of the Delaware Undergraduate Student Congress (DUSC), was one of five Newark residents to be honored by being nominated for a Jefferson Award for Public Service on Feb. 14 at the City Council Chambers in Newark.

Recognized by Newark Mayor Vance Funk III for his public service efforts during the fall semester, Cordrey received a framed certificate and lapel pin, as well as a hearty round of thanks and congratulations from members of the Newark City Council for his work in UD’s good neighbor campaign, UDo Live Here, and a holiday canned food drive for the needy.

“I was quite honored,” Cordrey, a junior from Georgetown double-majoring in political science and economics, said. “The city of Newark hasn’t presented the awards for a few years, so it was especially nice to see the University get recognized for its efforts to strengthen community bonds.”

A member of DUSC since his freshman year, Cordrey was the only UD student to receive the honor. His work in spearheading the holiday food drive--a campaign that collected 3,517 pounds of nonperishable food items for the Food Bank of Delaware this past holiday season--as well as his work throughout the fall with the good neighbor campaign--a collaborative effort with UD’s Building Responsibility Coalition to strengthen bonds between students and residents of Newark--made him a candidate for the award.

“There have been many students over the years who have gotten actively involved with the Newark community, but no one in the University’s history has worked harder than John to strengthen town-gown bonds,” Funk said.

“John is bright, involved and very civic-minded, and he excels at bringing the University and Newark community together,” he said. “He also has worked very hard to ensure that the University is represented at every City Council meeting.”

Cordrey was nominated for the award by Marilyn Prime, director of UD’s Student Centers, who was one of the five members on this year’s Jefferson Award Committee.

“John is an outstanding student leader on campus, and he’s clearly done a nice job involving University students with the Newark community,” Prime said.

Continuing his community activism this semester, Cordrey is rallying support for the upcoming community clean-up day--an all-out clean-up effort of downtown Newark, set for Saturday, April 23. He also is in the early stages of securing University representation for Newark Community Day in September.

DUSC is the umbrella organization and community liaison for all other registered student organizations at UD.

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Duane Perry

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