After receiving honors at a regional conference Saturday, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will elect new officers tonight.

The University chapter of the organization won the Northeast Region NAACP Director Programatic Award, said President Elizabeth Walker.

Presented at the 44th Annual NAACP Leadership Training Conference held this weekend in Philadelphia, the award is given to college chapters for effectively implementing programs that advance NAACP's goals, Walker said.

Events such as last August's march on Old Main and recent programs on the diversity course requirement are what brought the chapter recognition, she said. The August march was held in protest of last summer's U.S. Supreme Court decisions which limited civil rights.

Walker also ran a workshop at the conference titled "Crisis on College Campuses: Fight the Power." The workshop offered advice on dealing with problems such as racism and minority recruitment and retention, Walker said.

Although a new president will be elected tonight, Walker said she plans to stay involved with NAACP as a student adviser. She will graduate in December.

The new administration should continue focusing on bettering conditions for minorities at the University and educating the rest of the community, said the chapter's Vice President Lenard Shotwell who graduates this August.

Joe Mincer, currently the chapter's press and publicity chairperson, is running unopposed for president. Running for vice-president are Gary Kelsey, director of minority recruitment and retention, and Vanessa Wright, chairperson of the Community Action Committee.

New officers will be inducted at the banquet, to be held April 8 at the Days Inn, 240 S. Pugh Street.

Walker said the conference was a satisfying end to her tenure as president.

"I feel really good about it. We accomplished a lot," she said.

Increasing chapter membership was one of this year's main accomplishments, she said. In about one year, the chapter's membership has grown from 50 to more than 280 members, an improvement Walker attributed to the work of membership chairperson Andre Powell.

"Words can't even describe the job Andre did on membership," she said.

Vice President Lenard Shotwell said better programs, done in cooperation with other student organizations also made this year successful. Getting film maker Spike Lee to speak at the organization's Third Annual Achievement Awards Banquet is another of the year's highlights, he added.