October 19, 1998 Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens (615) 322-2706 annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu

Cal Turner Jr. to receive Distinguished Alumnus Award

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Cal Turner Jr. will be honored by the Vanderbilt University Alumni Association as its 1998 Distinguished Alumnus during a dinner Oct. 23 at Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel.

Turner, who graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Vanderbilt in 1962, is chairman and CEO of Dollar General Corporation.

Turner serves on a number of boards, both corporate and philanthropic, including the Vanderbilt Board of Trust. His community efforts have included the promotion of education and literacy, as exemplified in Dollar General's partnership with the YWCA in a job-training program in the Sam Levy Homes.

Turner's commitment to education is also demonstrated in his partnerships with Vanderbilt. He established the Cal Turner Program in Moral Leadership for the Professions and the Cal Turner Distinguished University Professor; a scholarship-internship program in the Divinity School; and, most recently, the new Cal Turner Chancellor's Chair in Wesley Studies and Theology at the Divinity School.

He and Dollar General have earned countless accolades, including the Presidential Award for Private Sector Initiatives and the Saturday Evening Post's prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award for an active grass-roots approach to literacy programs.

Editor's note: The reception begins at 6 p.m. with presentation to get underway at 6:45 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:15 p.m.

-VU-

Vanderbilt University is a private research university of approximately 5,900 undergraduates and 4,300 graduate and professional students. Founded in 1873, the University comprises 10 schools, a public policy institute, a distinguished medical center and The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center. Vanderbilt offers undergraduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education and human development, engineering and music, and a full range of graduate and professional degrees.

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