Organizers of North Carolina Central University’s Centennial are seeking nominations from the community for an honor that will be bestowed on five people connected to the university.

NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms will confer the Shepard Medallion on five individuals later this year as part of the school’s 100th birthday celebration. The university, then called the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua, officially opened its doors on July 5, 1910, at its current location on Fayetteville Street.

“People have always made this university what it is, beginning with the founder, Dr. James E. Shepard,” said Nelms. “So we think that people ought to be at the center of our centennial commemoration, and that those who have given the most of themselves ought to be recognized in a significant way during our celebration.”

The medallion will be given to five alumni, former faculty, staff and administrators, trustees or others connected to NCCU. The criteria are exemplary service or accomplishments in one or more of the following areas:

· The recipient’s profession, discipline or field of study;

· The recipient’s commitment and leadership in advancing the mission of NCCU;

· The recipient’s local, state or global service to humankind, consistent with the university’s motto of “Truth and Service.”

Those eligible for the award must be living. Former employees must have been separated from the university for at least a year on May 1. The deadline for nominations is 5 p.m. on Feb. 26. A campus committee will review nominations and send its choices to Nelms, who will make the final selections.

A nomination form is available at www.nccufoundation.org/centennial/heritage.html. Residents also can mail or hand-deliver nominations to the Office of Public Relations, William Jones Building, Suite #118, North Carolina Central University, 1801 Fayetteville St., Durham, NC 27707. They must include their own name, address and phone number and a letter of nomination and biographical sketch of the person they are nominating. They also must submit one-page letters of reference about the individual from two other people. The letters should give specific examples of why the nominee should receive the award. The nominee’s curriculum vita should be sent, too.