The Berea College Alumni Association has been awarded a 2001 Seal of Excellence by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for this year's Homecoming theme and activities, "A New Day." The award, which recognizes model alumni relations programs among all member institutions, will be presented to Alumni Association director Jackie Collier Ballinger at the CASE International Assembly held in San Francisco in July.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, CASE is the professional organization for advancement professionals in alumni relations, communications, and development. Its membership includes more than 3,000 colleges, universities, and independent elementary and secondary schools in the United States, Canada, Mexico and 42 other countries and more than 23,000 individuals.

"A New Day" celebrated the 50 years of interracial education at Berea since the repeal of Kentucky's Day Law, a state law enacted in 1904, which forbid
educating African American and white students together.