LAKELAND, Fla. (May 21, 2007) – Dr. Malcolm M. Manners, chair of the horticultural science department at Florida Southern College, has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award. This award is issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation on behalf of the President of the United States to recognize the best in American spirit and encourage all Americans to contribute through volunteer service.

Manners spent over four weeks in Bangladesh during 2006 as part of Winrock International’s Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer Program, providing horticultural consulting and training. He has volunteered in the past in many other developing countries, including Egypt, Armenia, Turkmenistan, India, Mozambique, and Nigeria.

Winrock is a non-profit organization that works with people around the world to increase economic opportunity, sustain natural resources, and protect the environment. The program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and currently operates in 25 countries.

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 39 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 13:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 26 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor’s institutions and by the Princeton Review as a “Best Southeastern College.” Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.