WASHINGTON, D.C. - Former U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.), father of the Pell Grant student aid program, has been selected to receive the 1999 NAICU Award for Advocacy of Independent Higher Education from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. The award will be presented to him today at the association's annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

The NAICU Advocacy Award was established six years ago to recognize individuals outside academe who have championed the cause of independent (private) nonprofit higher education.  Whether in government, business, or philanthropy, the winner of this award has provided leadership, established resources, or enacted policy at the state or national level to significantly benefit independent institutions and their students.

"Generations of grateful Americans will always associate Senator Pell with his work in creating the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant Program, later renamed in Pell's honor," said NAICU President David L. Warren. "His simple premise that no American with the drive and ability should be denied a higher education solely because of a lack of financial resources has been the cornerstone of American higher education policy for a generation.  Senator Pell's great conviction and foresight have forever changed American higher education and society."

Largely because of Pell's leadership, the federal student aid programs above all, the Pell Grant Program have remained viable, despite changes in political and philosophical leadership in Congress and the White House. Today, more than 3.6 million students receive Pell Grants.

During his tenure from 1961 to 1997, Pell established one of the Senate's most extensive legislative legacies. He authored the federal programs for gifted and talented students and for dropout students. Pell was also responsible for the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.