| SAN ANTONIO, TX (May 4, 2009) – San Antonio philanthropists Tino and Amelia “Millie” Duran will receive honorary Associate of Arts degrees from San Antonio College at the May 9 commencement ceremony at Municipal Auditorium. The Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees approved the honorary degrees during regular board meetings in the fall. “Millie and I have great memories of San Antonio College, because it got us started in journalism,” Tino Duran said. Today, Tino Duran is publisher of La Prensa, the city’s first Spanish-language newspaper. He attended San Antonio College from 1959 to 1961, wrote for The Ranger student newspaper and sold ads for the yearbook. In 1996, he was named SAC’s Outstanding Former Student. A native of San Antonio, Tino Duran graduated from Sidney Lanier High School and served in the Air Force in the 1950s. He studied psychology and journalism at SAC and later earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration from St. Mary’s University.
San Antonio native Millie Duran graduated from Fox Tech High School and also attended SAC, before beginning her career working with children. “Millie wanted to be a social worker because she loves kids,” Tino Duran said, adding that his wife was a juvenile officer for 10 years. “Every kid she had that got into trouble she wanted to bring home.” Every time Millie Duran saw people reading English newspapers she wondered what it would be like if San Antonio’s Hispanic community had its own publication. The newspaper was where her father and uncles worked in the 1920s through the ‘50s. After a 30-year absence, Millie Duran was instrumental with her husband in bringing La Prensa back to San Antonio in 1989. In 1995 Millie Duran established La Prensa Foundation to provide students opportunities to pursue higher education dreams. Since its inception, the foundation has raised more than $1.7 million. Tino Duran is president of Duran Duran industries. He has won numerous awards for community involvement and business success, including the 2006 Community Service Award from the San Antonio North Chamber of Commerce, the 2005 Henry B. Gonzalez Public Service and Integrity Award from the Public Administration Department of San Antonio College, the 2002 Media Award from the San Antonio Police Officers Association, the 2002 Henry Guerra Journalism Award, and was named Godfather of Hispanic Media from the Association of Media Agencies. Among her honors, Millie Duran received the Yellow Rose of Texas award from Gov. George W. Bush in 1998, a Hometown Hero award in 1999, the 2004 Business Journal’s Women’s Leadership Award, and the 2004 LULAC Recognition Award, and The Durans are the parents of five children and have been foster parents to 45 children throughout their nearly 55 years of marriage.
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