Dr. Elmira Mangum, president of the historic Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), will be in Detroit from Friday, July 31 – Sunday, August 2, 2015 for the school’s National Alumni Association – Midwest Region Bi-Annual Conference. Under the theme: “Rattler Pride Moving Forward”, several hundred FAMU alums from the Midwest sector of the country will convene at Greektown Casino & Hotel in downtown Detroit.
FAMU graduates from such major Midwest cities as Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Minneapolis/St. Paul are expected to attend the event, as well as alums from smaller locales in various Midwest states. Joining President Mangum will be Tommy Mitchell, Sr., president of FAMU’s National Alumni Association and Dr. William Hudson, Jr., FAMU’s vice president of student affairs.
“This conference is an opportunity for the FAMU community to gather, network and fellowship,” said Mangum. “It is also an opportunity for us to provide information to our National Alumni Association members in the Midwest to update them on the great things that are going on at the university. We also want to share with them how they can help us advance our mission and goals at FAMU.”
Since taking office as FAMU’s 11th president and its first permanent woman president in April, 2014, Mangum has been on a mission to advance FAMU. High among her priorities was to establish global partnerships. “Since my tenure started, I’ve worked to make sure that FAMU has a place in the global market,” said Mangum, who earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy from the University at Buffalo. “We have now established partnerships in the Caribbean, China, India, Haiti, Brazil, Kenya and countries on the west coast of Africa.”
Mangum is proud of FAMU’s Undergraduate Student Success Center, which she established to support student recruitment, retention, and progression that lead to successfully earning a college degree. She has also established new scholarship programs that help students meet financial requirements in order to see their dreams of earning a FAMU degree come true. read more
