Creighton University honors black astronaut

Jet, July 5, 2004

Creighton University President the Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J., salutes the dedication of a 7-foot bronze bust of Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson, the late astronaut and Creighton alumnus killed in the Columbia space shuttle accident on Feb. 1, 2003. With him are Anderson's wife, Sandra Hawkins Anderson, and the Anderson children.

Michael Anderson (inset) was the payload commander aboard the Columbia which broke apart during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere killing him and six other astronauts. A plaza on the Creighton campus also has been named for Anderson, who earned a master's of science degree in physics from the Omaha, NE, school in 1990.