Rasnak Award recognizes fraternity for establishment of accessibility scholarship

LAWRENCE — The Academic Achievement and Access Center at the University of Kansas awarded the Mary Ann Rasnak Access Champion Award to the Alpha Nu chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity on Sept. 19. The fraternity is the first organization to receive the award, previously given to individuals, for making significant contributions to classroom and campus accessibility.

The award was given to recognize the fraternity's establishment of the Tom Babb Student Accessibility Scholarship, honoring member Tom Babb, who became paralyzed after an accident in late 2015. The scholarship was partially funded by the TomStrong 5K Run, Walk and Roll event April 24. Total scholarship donations reached $47,189.

Established in 2011, the award was named for the center’s former director, Mary Ann Rasnak, for her 16 years of dedicated leadership in promoting access and academic support at KU. Rasnak, along with the current director of the Academic Achievement and Access Center, Andrew Shoemaker, presented the award to the fraternity during their monthly chapter meeting.

The center will be selecting the first recipient of the Tom Babb Student Accessibility Scholarship during the current academic year. Contributions to the scholarship can be made through KU Endowment.