One hundred students received scholarships from the Superintendents’ Commission for the Study of Demographics and Diversity in March during the Ron Edmonds Scholarship Award and Board Recognition Gala at the Tinley Park Convention Center.
In February, the Superintendents’ Commission, a group of 37 superintendents from Cook County and the collar counties, and the United Negro College Fund joined forces for the third year to raise more than $400,000 in scholarship funds for local students. The total included 11 full-ride scholarships to Tougaloo College, a historically Black college in Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Donzell Lee, the president of Tougaloo attended the Superintendents’ Commission Scholarship Dinner in March to present the Tougaloo scholarships to local students. Tonya Francisco, co-anchor of WGN-TV’s Daytime Chicago, was the mistress of ceremony for the evening.
Dr. Donzell Lee, president of Tougaloo College, congratulates Southland College Prep senior Janessa Ravazee, one of 11 students awarded a 2025 Superintendents’ Commission Scholarship, a full-ride scholarship to Tougaloo. (Photo Credit: Ven Sherrod).
Dr. Donzell Lee, president of Tougaloo College, and Dr. Blondean Y. Davis, Southland CEO and chair of Tougaloo’s Board of Trustees, celebrate with students awarded full-ride scholarships to the HBCU located in Jackson, Mississippi (Photo Credit: Ven Sherrod).
Dr. Donzell Lee, president of Tougaloo College, and WGN’s Tonya Francisco (Photo Credit: Ven Sherrod).

Dr. Donzell Lee congratulates Southland senior David Shaw, a 2025 Superintendents’ Commission Scholar (Photo Credit: Ven Sherrod).