UMES’ LMRCSC is one of two NOAA Cooperative Science Centers at historically Black colleges and universities that train and graduate students in coastal and marine ecosystems and in living marine resources science and management—core science fields for the federal agency. Its mission is to educate and provide research opportunities related to NOAA Fisheries and NOAA’s healthy oceans research and management, while the Cooperative Science Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems at Florida A&M University focuses on resilient coastal communities and economies.
“These grants will strengthen the federal workforce by promoting and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility,” said Dr. Rick Spinrad, NOAA administrator. “This funding will directly benefit students at minority serving institutions who we hope will join the future NOAA workforce and who will contribute to U.S. global economic competitiveness.”
“We are excited about this new center award and are deeply grateful to NOAA for its continued confidence in this endeavor,” said Dr. Heidi M. Anderson, UMES President. “This investment will be invaluable in enabling the University of Maryland Eastern Shore together with its partner institutions to build on its excellent record of training and graduating a diverse future STEM workforce, particularly in marine and fisheries science.”
“LMRCSC alumni are pursuing successful careers and making significant scientific contributions in academia, state and federal agencies, including NOAA,” Chigbu said. “Additionally, more than 57% of those that received bachelor’s degrees from the center have enrolled in graduate schools.”
The LMRCSC, led by UMES, is a consortium of seven partner educational institutions that also includes Delaware State University, Hampton University, Oregon State University, Savannah State University, University of Miami and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Scientists and students collaborate on research and educational projects related to NOAA’s mission. In the past five years, the LMRCSC has trained 60 graduate students and 64 undergraduates, and graduated 18 undergraduates and 24 graduate students, while another 48 students are currently pursuing degrees, said Dr. Paulinus Chigbu, director (pictured above).
“The MEES graduate school community at UMES was very welcoming,” Rosales said. “We took similar classes, worked together on projects and attended field trips, all of which we most likely would not have had access to if we weren’t in the program. Additionally, the NOAA Experiential Research Training and Opportunities internship exposed me to working and conducting research at a NOAA facility that influenced my future career plans.”
Virginia State University is honoring literary icon James Arthur Baldwin with an inaugural event this upcoming November! Get the full story from the official VSU release below.
The Office of Academic Affairs, College of Humanities & Social Sciences, and the Honors Program at Virginia State University – a storied HBCU – will host the Inaugural James Arthur Baldwin International Symposium (JABIS), November 5 – 6, 2021, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. “The Essential James Baldwin: The 21st Century and Beyond, At Home & Abroad” is the theme of the web-based research and artistic forum that will showcase scholars and artists from North America, Europe, Africa, and the British North Atlantic archipelago of Bermuda. Several surviving artists of the Black Arts Movement (BAM) will be highlighted discussants. Registration is required.
The program will be anchored by a cadre of iconic intellectuals and creatives who are a Who’s Who of the African American literati, beginning with a special appearance by Nikki Giovanni, legendary BAM poet, author, and Virginia Tech University Distinguished Professor. Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, Professor & Chair, of Temple University’s Department of Africology and African American Studies, & Father of Afrocentricity, will deliver the Keynote Address, “James Baldwin, For Love of Country: An Afrocentric Reckoning.” Day One’s Opening Plenary address, “A Kawaida Rereading and Reflection on James Baldwin: Rethinking Racism, Reaffirmation, Resistance, and America,” will be presented by Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa Creator & Professor and Chair, Department of Africana Studies, Cal State Long Beach. Dr. Haki L. Madhubuti (BAM poet Don L. Lee), Founder and Publisher Emeritus of Third World Press & Chicago State University Emeritus Professor, will present Day Two’s Plenary message, “Poetry and Plain Talk: Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, BAM, Independent Black Institutions & Me.”
The Furious Flower Poetry Center (FFPC), led by Dr. Joanne Gabbin – James Madison University Professor of English & Founding Executive Director of its celebrated FFPC – will present a very special panel, “‘The Whirlwind Has One Voice’ – The Poetry of James Baldwin.” Preeminent Emmett Till Scholar & Conceptualizer of the Theory of Africana Womanism, Dr. Clenora Hudson-Weems, Ida Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor of African American Studies, University of Iowa (2021-2022) & Professor of English, University of Missouri-Columbia, will spearhead the panel, “James Baldwin: Bold, Authentic, Iconic, & Multi-Generational Artivist for Social Justice.”
Dr. Pamela D. Reed, Associate Professor of Africana Literature and Convenor of the JABIS, interviews Val Gray Ward, Baldwin Contemporary, BAM Dramatist & Founder of Chicago’s famed Kuumba Theatre, in “Between Two Daughters of the American South: A Conversation with ‘The Voice of The Black Writer,’” to be introduced and contextualized by Dr. Daryl Cumber Dance, Folklorist, Author, and Professor Emerita, University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University.
There will also be a special screening of the California Newsreel documentary, James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket. As well, VSU’s Dr. Billy Taylor Jazz Studies Program Ensemble and its world-renowned Gospel Chorale will perform.
Additionally, a range of scholarly papers explore the following topics: 1) The Richard Wright Influence :: Baldwin’s Realism; 2) Teaching Activist Baldwin :: Forefather of the Black Lives Matter Movement; 4) Baldwin :: Son of Harlem & Citizen of the World; 5) James Arthur Baldwin :: Same-Gender-Loving Black Man; 6) From Disillusioned Boy Preacher to Race Man :: Baldwin & Christianity; & 7) The Genre-Defying Poetry, Plays, & Prose of James Baldwin.
Few American authors have written and spoken as unreservedly, presciently – and prophetically, even – about race in America, as did the incomparable James Arthur Baldwin. The celebrated, yet controversial, artivist – born in Harlem in 1924 – routinely held up a mirror to American society, and never bowed, despite untold dangers, until the time of his 1987 passing, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, at age 63.
“Baldwin’s body of work stands out in the literary canon as one of the most sublime, prolific, and imposing of the 20th Century. Not bound by genre, he wore numerous literary hats: novelist, essayist, poet, and playwright. To this day, his works and words are closely examined to pinpoint recurring themes and motifs that, even now, more than three decades since his passing, continue to resonate with – and inspire – generations of thinkers to study and build upon his ideas,” Reed noted. “As such,” she continued, “his oeuvre has become a mainstay in the canons of both American and World Literatures.”
The late BAM Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka, in his funerary tribute at Baldwin’s Harlem Homegoing, called him “God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth,” declaring that, “if we are ever truly to be self-determining,” Black people must celebrate Ancestor Jimmy Baldwin. “And, celebrate him, we shall,” affirmed Reed.
Travel changes lives, and for two students hailing from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, it has truly enriched their education. Get the full story from the official Lincoln University release by Dafina Diabate, Ed.D. below.
Standing: Dr. Gervais Gnaka Lagoke, assistant professor of history; Chamir James ‘22; seated: Romika-Grace Volcy ‘23; Dr. Dafina Diabate, director of international programs
Despite the restrictions imposed by the global pandemic, two Lincoln University students and one professor participated in the inaugural Lions in Ghana program, under the auspices of Lincoln’s Office of International Programs, during June and July 2021. Students Romika-Grace Volcy, a mass communications major and black studies minor from Valley Streams, New York, and Chamir James, a pan-Africana studies major and anthropology and black studies minor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, served as the university’s first Lions in Ghana Fellows, while Dr. Gervais Gnaka Lagoke served as the program’s Scholar-in-Residence. Lions in Ghana provides the opportunity for Lincoln students to engage in a summer action research fellowship through a virtual platform, in partnership with universities in Pennsylvania and northern Ghana. Using funds from the IDEAS grant from the US Department of State enabled Lincoln to avoid risks of COVID exposure and instead to continue to provide global engagement experiences for students.
Over the course of eight summer weeks, Lions in Ghana Fellows joined students from Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and the University of Development Studies in Ghana to participate in Layim Tehi Tuma (LTT), which means “Thinking Together” in Dagbani language. Lincoln joins LTT, now in its 9th year, expanding the collaboration between a diverse set of institutions – a historic women’s college, the first degree-granting historically Black college and university (HBCU), Ghana’s fifth public university, and a liberal arts college with Quaker origins. In the 2021 format, participants from the US colleges connected from their homes on zoom, while the Ghanaian counterparts participated through zoom while on-site in northern Ghana, as their country did not impose travel restrictions internally.
During LTT students sustained vibrant interactions with counterparts across the Atlantic, immersing themselves in study, intercultural exchange, internships with community-based organizations, Dagbani language training, centered in Black diasporic liberation and study.
Romika-Grace Volcy focused her internship on the Simli radio station and served on LTT’s communications committee. “This program not only gave me an opportunity to have an intercultural experience, but it helped me form bonds with people from different backgrounds and beliefs on imperative topics involving black culture,” said Volcy. Meanwhile, Chamir James interned with Titagya Early Childhood Education Schools and served on LTT’s research committee. “My participation in LTT has been an eye-opening, life-changing experience,” said James. “Even though this year’s program was virtual, it served the same purpose as it would if held in person. That purpose is to serve as a platform for cross-cultural networking and fellowship. My personal experience in this program was overall fun and humbling, yet still motivational.”
Transcending limitations of a virtual platform, Dr. Gnaka’s lectures on Pan-Africanism and Ubuntu exposed the 2021 cohort to concepts that built on the program’s focus of Black studies. “I was very pleased and privileged to be part of the program despite COVID 19 challenges,” said Dr. Gnaka. “The program’s success went beyond my imagination and also helped me broaden my horizons in my research interests.”
Initiated by conversations between Lincoln’s Dr. Dafina Diabate, director of international programs, and Bryn Mawr’s Dr. Alice Lesnick, director of the LTT program and associate dean for global engagement, the ensuing conversations expanded to include Dr. Chanelle Wilson (Bryn Mawr) and Dr. Gnaka (Lincoln) over the next 16 months, culminating in this new partnership. “I am thrilled that despite the challenges of the current moment, Lions in Ghana was born, the partnership was established, and the students have flourished,” said Dr. Diabate.
Funding from the IDEAS grant awarded to Lincoln University to increase and diversify study abroad was initially slated for travel during summer 2021. However, as the risks from COVID prevailed, the Department of State approved the pivot to virtual formatted programs such as Lions in Ghana. Contributions from Bryn Mawr and Haverford rounded out the full cost of the program. In future summers, Lincoln seeks to continue participation in LTT, allowing Lions in Ghana to incorporate travel to Ghana as a core part of the program.
“LTT has so many beautiful souls and I hope to continue the bonds I have formed for a lifetime!” affirms, Volcy.
Southern University has moved forward in its journey to find a new president-chancellor with the organization of a new search committee! Get the full story from WBRZ Staff below.
The Southern University Board of Supervisors on Wednesday announced the search committee for the position of president-chancellor of the Southern University System and Southern University and A&M College.
The search committee will screen applicants and select finalists for the position to be considered by the SU Board of Supervisors. The members of the committee are:
Co-Chairs:
-Tim Barfield, president of CSRS Inc.
-Alfred Harrell, CEO of the Southern University System Foundation
-Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans
-Sandra Brown, dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health at Southern University and A&M College
-Nzhada Harris, president of the Student Bar Association at Southern University Law Center
-Lee Jackson, chairman and CEO of Jackson Offshore Operations LLC
-Irving Matthews, president of The Matthews Automotive Group
-Cynthia Ramirez, professor and president of the faculty senate at Southern University at New Orleans
-LaQuitta Thomas, national president of the Southern University Alumni Federation
-Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Ochsner Health
-Tiffany Varner, director of nursing at Southern University at Shreveport
Ex – Officio Members:
-Domoine D. Rutledge, chairman of the Southern University Board of Supervisors
-Ed Shorty, vice chairman of the Southern University Board of Supervisors
“I’m pleased to have a very diverse group of well-respected stakeholders to assist the Board in selecting a new leader for the Southern University System,” Rutledge said. “This task, in my opinion, dwarfs all others allotted to our charge as a Board, and I wanted new faces, new thoughts, and new ideas such that we can write a new and compelling narrative going forward.”
Texas Southern University football players will have shiny new headgear ahead of their game this Saturday thanks to a proud alumnus. It won’t just be the starting lineup – but rather the entire roster who will all receive a new helmet! Learn how the generosity of Michael Strahan is affecting players in the story from Nick Bromberg at Yahoo Sports below.
Credit: Noam Galai/WireImage
Texas Southern will wear new helmets for its homecoming game vs. North American University on Saturday.
The school said Thursday that Pro Football Hall of Famer and current TV personality Michael Strahan had donated new helmets for everyone on the roster.
“The Department of the Athletics and the Tiger football program is elated to receive this donation from Michael Strahan,” Texas Southern athletic director Kevin Granger said in a statement. “From one TSU alum to another, I want to thank him personally for his generosity and support of our football program.”
Strahan, who is an analyst for Fox’s NFL coverage and is a host on “Good Morning America,” was a second-round pick in the 1993 NFL draft by the New York Giants. That selection came after he had 19 sacks in his senior season at the FCS school. He didn’t spare any expense with his donation either. TSU said that the helmets are all Riddell Speedflex, the “company’s top-of-the-line helmet and the top performing helmet based on NFL and NFLPA annual safety tests.”
“I want to send a huge shout out and thank you to Michael Strahan for taking care of his alma mater with the donation of the new helmets,” Texas Southern coach Clarence McKinney said.
Texas Southern is 0-3 so far this season but two of those games have come against FBS opponents. Texas Southern played Baylor in Week 2 and Rice in Week 3. As an FCS team, those FBS games help fund the school’s athletic department through the game checks TSU receives for playing in them.
The mental health of Delaware State University students will be supported thanks to a unique program just announced by the university. Learn more about it in the release by Mike Rocheleau at Delaware Business Times below.
Credit: Delaware State University
Delaware State University announced they will be partnering with the RADical Hope Foundation and Bank of America to offer a first-of-its-kind RADical Health wellness program for students designed to help them meet the physical, mental, and emotional challenges of college life. Bank of America is funding the four-week program that leads students through guided experiences on staying well/staying resilient, empowering yourself, connecting with others; and engaging with your world.
RADical Hope was founded by Pam and Phil Martin following the 2017 suicide of their son, Chris Martin, during his junior year at Gonzaga University. The Foundation is committed to addressing America’s youth mental health crisis by building resilience in young lives. This four-week pilot program is being offered at Delaware State University, Drew University, Fairfield University, New York University, Pace University, University of Miami, and Wesleyan University, and RADical Hope intends to expand the offering nationwide in the near future.
“Students arrive on campus needing mental, physical and emotional health skills,” said RADical Hope CEOLiz Feld in a statement. “RADical Health gets right to the heart of it by empowering them with tools and resources to build resilience so they’re equipped to cope before they reach a crisis. We engage with schools that have a demonstrated commitment to the overall wellness of their student community. Our early partners are leading the way.”
President Tony Allen (Credit: Delaware State University)
“A critical element in our ability to help students transform their life trajectories is thinking outside the classroom,” said University President Tony Allen in a statement to press. “That’s why we offer professional advising, tutoring, health services, and financial literacy training. This alliance with RADical Hope takes us to a new level in being able to directly address critical wellness issues when students come to campus. That’s a huge step forward in improving retention and giving students the tools they need to focus on their academic experience. And, as usual, it’s hardly surprising to find Bank of America again stepping up in support.”
“RADical Hope is doing critical work to expand mental health resources at Delaware State University and the other pilot campuses across the nation,” said Chip Rossi, President of Bank of America Delaware. “This support will give Delaware State University students access to programs and tools that can help improve their mental, physical and emotional wellness as they strive for academic, personal and career success.”
Dr. Robert C. Mason, Chairperson of the Department of Public and Allied Health noted, “Close to 20% of incoming freshmen across the nation enter college struggling with some form of mental health issue; depression, anxiety, ADHD, and others. That’s a major obstacle to their success, because we know that nearly two-thirds of those who leave college do so in part because of those issues, and we need the tools to deal with that challenge head on.”
The RADical Hope Foundation expects the nationwide expansion of the program to reach one million college students over the next few years. “We are excited to be with them at the very beginning,” Mason added.
Alcorn State University will conduct a national search for its next athletic director after Derek Horne resigned.
Credit: Derek Horne(WLBT)
Horne’s resignation, announced late Thursday, was effective immediately. The university did not provide a reason for his departure.
Horne has led the school’s athletics department since August 2014.
Horne’s departure came about two weeks after it was revealed the university did not have a certified athletic trainer on staff, which forced the football team to cancel two practices ahead of a road game at South Alabama, the Vicksburg Post reported. He announced last week that the university had hired Roderick Alexander Young as its head trainer, the newspaper said.
“I step away with a great sense of pride in what we were able to accomplish for our student-athletes, coaches, and staff during my time here,” Horne said in a statement. “I want to express my gratitude to the loyal alumni and supporters, and our friends in the Lorman community for their unwavering passion for helping our athletic programs succeed on and off the fields of play. I walk away with excitement and enthusiasm as I look forward to the next chapter of my professional career.”
During Horne’s tenure, the school’s football program has won the Southwestern Athletic Conference East Division championship in all six seasons in which they have participated, and the SWAC championship four times. Alcorn’s women’s tennis program won the SWAC championship in 2016, and the softball team won two East Division championships. In addition, five coaches have been named the SWAC Coach of the Year.
University President Felecia M. Nave thanked Horne for his commitment and service.
“Under his guidance, Alcorn athletics has proven to be a powerhouse in multiple areas — from supporting a winning culture to bring multiple championships to Alcorn to tackling compliance and ensuring that academics were foremost for our student-athletes. We appreciate the stability that he provided to ensure the success of Alcorn Athletics,” she said.
Dr. Hugh Mighty, Howard University‘s dean of the College of Medicine and vice president of clinical affairs, has been appointed as its new SVP of Health! Learn about the new role in the Howard release below.
Howard University has appointed Hugh E. Mighty, M.D., MBA, FACOG, as the new senior vice president of health affairs. In this position, Dr. Mighty will be responsible for initiating and sustaining relationships with external partners in health care.
In the role, Mighty will also lead the Howard team in managing the emerging strategic relationship with Adventist HealthCare, which includes a new academic hospital and integration of Howard health sciences learners within the Adventist system.
Mighty has served as dean of the College of Medicine and vice president of clinical affairs at Howard University since 2015. The University said a search committee would be formed shortly to conduct a national search for a new dean of the College of Medicine. Dr. Mighty will continue to serve as dean of the College of Medicine in the interim until a new dean is appointed.
“Dr. Mighty has provided vital leadership in the education of our medical students and the oversight of the clinical operations of the Faculty Practice Plan,” said Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University. “He has overseen a period of tremendous growth and progress for the College of Medicine, culminating in the multidisciplinary implementation of a COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinic, which has proven to be a tremendously vital service for the greater D.C. community.”
President Frederick added that the Howard community was grateful to Mighty for his tireless service to the University and the College of Medicine; and he said he looked forward to his continued contributions as the senior vice president of health affairs.
The Office of the SVP for Health Affairs will serve as a driver for interdisciplinary care models as well as a clearinghouse for proposals of innovations and inventions. The aim is to improve the quality of care and outcomes delivered to persons ministered by the health professionals and supervised learners of Howard University. While focused on clinical and other health care interventions and innovation, the office will also embrace inter- and multidisciplinary initiatives that draw on the University’s talent in the natural and social sciences, engineering and computing/computer science, social work, and law.
The senior vice president for health affairs will report directly to the president and serve as a member of the president’s cabinet.
As the dean of the College of Medicine and vice president of clinical affairs, Mighty has served as the president’s liaison at Howard University Hospital during its transition towards establishing a new teaching hospital for the health sciences. During his tenure, the College of Medicine secured its largest gift in the school’s history from the Bloomberg Foundation ($31.7 million), had a successful LCME reaccreditation, doubled its research funding, and was recognized prominently in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2022.
Nikole Roebuck, a history-maker of Grambling State University‘s band, may have never fathomed the impact she would have as the first female band director. Learn about how her path has changed her, and lead to her impact on others in the article by Mia Berry at The Undefeated below.
Grambling State University’s director of bands Nikole Roebuck with the university’s World Famed Tiger Marching Band. Grambling State University
Her leadership has already inspired senior Candace Hawthorne to become drum major for the band.
Gold and black have flowed through Nikole Roebuck’s veins for as long as she could remember. She was born to be a Gramblinite.
In 2019, she became the first woman in Grambling State University history to be named director of bands. It was a storybook ending for the Minden, Louisiana, native who would lead the World Famed Tiger Marching Band through a pandemic and help usher in a new era inspiring women to join the ranks of band directors.
Nikole Roebuck marched in the World Famed Tiger Marching Band in the 1990s.
Dunbar Hall and Eddie Robinson Stadium were the backdrops for a long list of firsts for Roebuck that include the time she saw a field show, her first collegiate marching band performance and the moment she fell in love with marching bands. Her journey takes her back to sitting on the stairs of the old Dunbar Hall watching her uncle, Joseph “Doc” Miller, who served as assistant director of bands for Grambling from 1980 to 1989 under Conrad Hutchinson Jr., conducting the band during summer camp. Although too young for an instrument at the time, she settled on a spot on the field at the bottom of the director’s stepladder, but her interest was piqued.
“I made sure Uncle Joe [didn’t] fall off the ladder. So I was that little girl just looking at her uncle, never imagined in a million years that I would become the director of bands for Grambling,” Roebuck said. “But that was my first love of music, just being around the marching bands. I’m a band director because it was natural for me. So it was my job to make sure that I can teach my kids to do what I can do.”
Roebuck’s path to becoming leader of the Tiger Marching Band started in the same seats as her students. She was described as naturally meek and mild in her adolescent years, and Roebuck’s collegiate career started the same way before she was called out for only being quiet and playing the clarinet; it inspired her to come out of her shell. She opened up and moved up the band ranks, becoming a section leader, drill sergeant and eventually a student director in her fifth year in the music department. While obtaining a master’s degree and a doctorate, directing a middle school band and being assistant band director of the Tiger Marching Band, Roebuck developed a leadership style tailor-made for her and true to her Louisiana roots.
“It’s kind of like a pot of gumbo. I have taken some great characteristics from various directors, and mold them up to make them work for me. I don’t ever try to be anybody else, but I might say, ‘I like this, but let me make it work for me,’ ” Roebuck said of her teaching style. “The longer I’ve been teaching, I’ve learned for different generations you have to tweak [your style], if not every year, every couple of years, because the students that we teach are different.”
Grambling assistant band director Charles Lacy, whose relationship with Roebuck has lasted for more than two decades, has witnessed her growth and ascension over the last 20 years and believes that the elevation of women to band leadership positions has been a long time coming.
“In watching her growth and the trailblazing, I’m proud of her, but I think that we are just late when we look at women in music,” Lacy said. “I think it should have happened a long time ago and we just have to do better as a people.”
In 2005, Rhonda L. Harper became the first female band director at a historically Black college and university (HBCU) when she was hired at Lincoln University in Missouri. In 2019, Kerry Anne Simon was appointed the first female band director in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) at Mississippi Valley State. Female band directors make up only 10% of band directors in prominent HBCU conferences, the SWAC and Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference.
In November 2019, Roebuck and Simon made SWAC history as two female-led HBCU bands performed for the first time. Roebuck and Simon are two of four active HBCU female band directors — Juliet Boykins of Elizabeth City State and Fayesha Cousins of Virginia Union are the other two.
“I never imagined that Grambling would have a female band director. But I’m honored,” Roebuck said. “It has been known as a male-dominated profession. So that’s not a secret, but of being in the position that we’re eager to do the things that we’re doing. It’s just paving the way for [women] to come, and I look at it as being a servant.”
Roebuck understands she’s under a microscope. Her performances are often critiqued with a fine-tooth comb, but she tends to focus on the positive. She embraces the fact that young women look up to her as a role model. Female musicians from other programs don’t hesitate to approach her after performances to talk while the band is loading up the bus and preparing to leave.
“They say, ‘You give us hope, because we felt like we would only be able to be middle school or high school band directors. When you direct [the] band at Grambling, it gives us hope to come back and be the director at my school.’ So, to have young ladies say that you’re a role model, it was a little bit more pressure on everything else I’m doing, but just thankful that I’m in this position. All of us that are in this position right now can pave the way.”
Roebuck’s influence has trickled down to the female members of her band. The World Famed Tiger Marching Band not only has Roebuck as a woman in power leading the way, but this season senior Candace Hawthorne was named drum major along with Deante Gibson and Sheavion Jones. Hawthorne is the second woman in Grambling history to become a drum major — Velma Patricia Patterson was the first, serving through 1952. Hawthorne and Roebuck are a rare combination at the forefront of an HBCU band, and Roebuck relishes the opportunity to mentor and encourage Hawthorne, who she believes has the honor and pressure of being the first female drum major in 69 years.
“[Roebuck] has taught me to keep my head up no matter what people say about me. Becoming drum major is really big news and a lot of people are excited for me, but with all the positivity going, there’s always some negativity out there somewhere,” said Hawthorne, a Dallas native. “So, she encourages me and gives me advice because she knows what it’s like to be in a big spotlight because she’s the first female director of bands at Grambling State University.”
Nikole Roebuck directing Grambling’s World Famed Tiger Marching Band.
When Roebuck sees Hawthorne, she feels like she’s looking into a mirror. Both are naturally described as quiet and headstrong women who can accomplish anything they put their minds to.
“It’s kind of like a pot of gumbo. I have taken some great characteristics from various directors, and mold them up to make them work for me. I don’t ever try to be anybody else, but I might say, ‘I like this, but let me make it work for me.’ ” – Nikole Roebuck
Hawthorne set her sights on drum major and went through the learning process during the pandemic, making sure she was on every Zoom or Microsoft Teams call, practicing almost every day and occasionally working out to stay in shape. Hawthorne worked even harder and leaned on her bandmates to encourage her when times were difficult. Hawthorne’s appointment brought Roebuck back to her own experiences.
“I feel like I’m reliving being named director of a band with her being named female drum major,” Roebuck said. “I just feel like I’m passing the torch to her because one day she’ll have a band program. Who knows, we might look up years later and Candace Hawthorne might be the director of bands.”
Hawthorne, like most college seniors, can’t predict what her future holds, but thanks to Roebuck, she hopes music is always a part of her life. She hopes other female musicians see their example at Grambling and are encouraged to follow suit.
“No matter how big or small a dream is, as long as you believe in yourself and work hard for what you want, it’ll come true,” Hawthorne said. “Failure is not an option and never settle for anything less.
“Never be discouraged just because you’re a [woman]. Make yourself stick out to where they can’t take their eyes off of you and show them what you’re about.”
An alumnus of Xavier University of Louisiana has been appointed as the new director of the Department of Human Services in St. Louis! Get the full story from the city’s local government in the release below.
Scoggin will join the administration from the St. Louis County Department of Human Services, where he has worked since 2017.
Today, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones announces the appointment of Yusef Scoggin as Director of the Department of Human Services (DHS) for the City of St. Louis. Scoggin will join the administration from the St. Louis County Department of Human Services, where he has worked since 2017. Scoggin will begin October 20, 2021.
“Yusef’s experience working with our region’s most vulnerable populations will be a strong asset to St. Louis,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “His expertise will be valuable at a critical time as we move forward with hiring more social workers to support our public health and safety efforts, expedite rental assistance, and implement more than $48 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to strengthen and expand DHS programs.”
Elevating the social determinants of health has been a key element of his service addressing homelessness, housing instability and food insecurity with regional Continuum of Care (i.e. stakeholders addressing unhoused issues). As co-Chair of the Saint Louis Area Regional Commission on Homelessness (SLARCH), Yusef has helped lead regional collaboration of Saint Louis Metropolitan Area Continuum of Care to combat housing insecurity and unhoused. Scoggin has also led the effort to distribute rental assistance funds in St. Louis County as well as youth programming efforts, distribution to address food insecurity, and senior and veterans services.
“I’m honored to join the team of committed staff and stakeholders focused on addressing the needs of our most vulnerable that struggle to obtain and maintain housing,” said Yusef Scoggin. “Building upon the critical partnerships and systems required to provide comprehensive supports is paramount.”
Scoggin’s work focuses on the development of human capital through sustainable holistic systems and partnerships. This interest in part is expressed through board service with the United Way of Greater St. Louis, Saint Louis Mental Health Board, Saint Louis Area Regional Commission on Homelessness (SLARCH), Behavior Health Network Adult Advisory Board, Central West End Southeast Special Business District, Continuum of Care for both St. Louis City and County, Park Central Development, and more. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Doctorate of Medicine from University of Missouri Columbia School of Medicine.
After much buildup and anticipation, Morehouse College alumnus Nick Brown has been chosen to lead Western Washington as their new U.S. Attorney. His appointment has meant that he will make history as the first black official to fill his position! Get the full story from Mike Carter at the Seattle Times below.
Nick Brown served as Gov. Jay Inslee’s legal counsel. Brown was confirmed Thursday night as the new U.S. attorney for Western Washington.
Nick Brown, former general counsel to Gov. Jay Inslee, was confirmed Thursday night as the new U.S. attorney for Western Washington on a voice vote of the Senate.
Brown is the first Black U.S. attorney to serve in Washington.
Brown, 43, was a litigation partner at Pacifica Law Group in Seattle, where he handled complex civil and public policy litigation, and served as Inslee’s counsel from 2013 through 2017, where he advised the governor on issues ranging from the state’s 2014 moratorium on the death penalty to the legalization of marijuana.
Brown is an experienced federal prosecutor, and served six years as an assistant U.S. attorney handing criminal matters. He prosecuted more than 100 cases, including sex abuse trials and the prosecution of a Customs and Border Protection officer who let a Canadian woman cross in the U.S. with large loads of marijuana in exchange for sex. He also prosecuted a police officer who illegally sold weapons at gun shows.
A graduate of Morehouse College and Harvard Law School, Brown served as a judge advocate general in the Army, where he achieved the rank of captain. While in the Army, he served at Fort Lewis-McChord, Fort Bliss and in Baghdad.
He is a former commissioner on the Seattle Ethics and Election Commission.
In a less common qualification for a chief federal prosecutor, Brown was a contestant on the second season of the reality show “Survivor,” which aired in 2001.
He replaces U.S. Attorney Brian Moran, an appointee of former President Donald Trump who took the office in 2019.
Lane College is giving back to alumni and other key figures that have helped it thrive over the years with its latest Hall of Fame Banquet. The honorees, which include John Green (Lifetime Achievement), Eric Brent (Football), T. Willie Tyson(Alumni – Coach), Carolyn Jackson (Alumni – Coach), Sherard Ellis (Football), Jasmine McNeil (Softball), Shawnae Campbell (Softball), and the 1982 Lane College Football team, will all be recognized. Learn more in the WBBJ Eyewitness News story by Marcoss Santander below.
“It’s a great way for Lane College to honor its former students and student athletes for all their accomplishments when they were here,” said Lane College Athletic Director Derrick Burroughs.
Lane College is recognizing alumni that left their mark.
“It’s a great way for Lane College to honor its former students and student athletes for all their accomplishments when they were here,” said Lane College Athletic Director Derrick Burroughs.
The second Hall of Fame Banquet honoring this distinguished group from Lane will happen Friday in the school’s gymnasium. It was cancelled last year due to COVID-19.
“We kind of try to do it every two or three years. This year it’s up in 21, and we think we have a great class of honorees and we just want people to come out and support us,” Burroughs said.
The banquet will be honoring seven individuals and the 1982 football team.
“It’s a mix of coaches, former players, and just regular students who went on to accomplish great things,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs says the community plays a big role in this celebration.
“We kind of embrace each other. So everything we do is kind of for the community and east Jackson, and in turn, it kind of embraces us also,” Burroughs said.
Tickets are $100 per person and helps the college give back to their alumni.
“It’s always good when a college or university can recognize their former players, and in turn, their former players can come back and support their school. The thing that makes this whole thing special and unique is, it’s our way of giving back to the kids that gave to us,” Burroughs said.
If you would like to buy tickets for the event, click here.
Fisk University students interested in social work, kinesiology, and leadership will have new academics opportunities at the institution come next fall! Learn more about the two health services programs and leadership program from Fisk’s official release below.
Credit: Fisk University
Fisk University is launching three new academic programs in the Fall of 2022. The new programs will buttress the existing curriculum of the University by adding two additional health services programs and a leadership program. The two health services programs are Bachelors in Kinesiology and Social Work, and the leadership program is a Masters in Executive Leadership. Pending SACSCOC approval, the programs will add to the academic offerings at the University and expand the academy by adding these three new programs to the 32 of academic program offerings.
The Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology will prepare students for careers in exercise science, health and physical education-teaching, coaching, and sport management. Graduates with the Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology will gain mastery to enter fields within the health and fitness industry or pursue graduate work in exercise physiology, cardiac rehabilitation, or other health science areas such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, or therapeutic recreation.
Likewise, the Bachelor of Science in Social Work will prepare students to become professional generalist social work practitioners, which requires extensive knowledge and pedagogical field experience in working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Graduates with the Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work will work effectively and ethically with diverse populations and communities often challenged by disparities in social, economic, environmental, and social justice. HBCUs have contributed significantly to the Social Work profession.
The Masters of Executive Leadership is a comprehensive, experiential program that prepares graduates seeking to enhance their leadership skills, develop a deeper connection to their acumen, and build skills that strategically address business decisions. This executive leadership program equips graduates with effective leadership styles to apply strategic decision-making and improve employee performance, all while empowering them to become a recognized team leader. Graduates will be able to apply their learning to real-world business challenges and put new leadership skills into practice.
“Over the past few years, Fisk has made the commitment to expand our academic offerings to keep pace with the global economy and job market and these new programs will do just that,” said Provost John D. Jones. “These new programs continue to expand the academy of Fisk University and offer opportunities for graduates to engage health service professions and advance in leadership, management, and administration.”
Applications for these programs are now available for the Fall 2022 semester.
Coppin State University is seeking to give its students an edge in the budding esports industry with its new Premier Sports Lab! Learn about how the HBCU will be supported by Grammy-nominated artist Cordae in the endeavor in the official CSU release below.
You may be one of the last to find out, but esports is taking over. Already a billion-dollar industry in its infant stage, esports is continuing to draw the attention of millions world-wide. What is esports? Shortly put, organized competitive video gaming. Four words that, together, mean there’s a totally different “ball game” being invented here, no pun intended. Like any game and any business, you need players. Not just athletes to score, you’re going to need the equivalent of coaches, teams, leagues, owners, dedicated media publications, etc. There’s a whole infrastructure that’s being built and Coppin State University is placing itself in the middle.
This fall, Coppin launched its Premier Esports Lab. As part of the introduction to esports on campus, Coppin hosted a stop on the HBCU-MEAC Takeover with Grammy-nominated artist Cordae, on Friday, September 10. Students enjoyed a kickback listening party as well as competed with Cordae in NBA 2K.
Although not the first HBCU to start an esports team, Coppin is the first HBCU to invest and build a dedicated space on campus for its esports team and program. Esports is not just the future, it’s now. This is a “fast-growing international phenomenon with millions of fans and billions of dollars up for grabs. Streaming services and live events have turned casual gamers into serious stars who can sometimes rake in seven-figure earnings and massive brand endorsements,” CNN reports. Players can earn money from sponsorships, endorsements, and league salaries just as any other sport.
Coppin’s decision to support and encourage esports goes beyond gaming and sports, however. The organized component of esports provides enormous opportunity for new business. The video and online component provides boundless access across borders, with arguably lower barriers to entry than conventional sports. The competitive gaming aspect, well, that’s a recipe for great entertainment, a pillar of American influence and economics. Like anything that draws so much attention, there’s opportunity for monetization at every level. Coppin recognizes that and is creating the best resources, opportunities, and networks for its students to take advantage of these opportunities and be successful in the next blue ocean, aka the new market.
Although esports is in the beginning stages, there’s already recognizable gaps in racial representation and decision making. “Data shows that 83% of minority teens play videos games as opposed to 71% of European/Caucasian teens, and only 14% percent of video games are made up of Latinx and African-American creators, as opposed to 68% European/Caucasian video game creators,” Cxmmunity, a nonprofit in the esports sector, asserts. Cxmmunity is committed to increasing the participation of minorities within the esports and video game industry so that there is equal opportunity as new jobs and professions are being created. The organization has partnered and supported Coppin’s States new Esports program as well as Coppin’s future participation in the HBCU MEAC Esports competition.
“Gaming is already in our community, we play Madden, Call of Duty, etc. But the awareness about esports is not widespread, at least in our community,” says Director of Rec Sports at Coppin, Rahim Booth, who brought the Esports program to the university. The program has a multi-angled mission – to build a highly competitive esports team at Coppin and to leverage esports and all its benefits to the students. Even if the goal is not to become a professional esports athlete, participation in the program can be a segue into business, media, STEM, and the list goes on. Alongside the Esports Lab, Booth is partnering to bring guest speakers, courses, and soon, an esports management degree to Coppin State. Ahead of the curve, this is the exciting beginning of esports at Coppin.
Students interested in joining the CSU Esports team should contact Rahim Booth at rbooth@coppin.edu.
As part of a partnership the University of Pennsylvania to honor and support black heritage in architecture and construction, a leading school at Tuskegee University has received $750,000 to be spent over three years! Learn more about the partnership and grant in the TU release below.
The Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science and Management (TSACS) has been awarded a $750,000 grant for three years from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Mellon Foundation Board of Trustees approved the grant to support a trans-institutional partnership between Tuskegee University and the University of Pennsylvania for preservation education, outreach, and practice centered on Black heritage.
This joint award totals $1.5 million between Tuskegee University and the University of Pennsylvania, with financial resources shared 50/50. These resources will be directed toward a few areas of joint activity and implemented through coordinated and complementary investments that build capacity for preservation education, outreach, and practice centered on Black heritage. Specific activities include curriculum development, joint field projects, infrastructure development, additional faculty and professional staff support, developing digital humanities applications, research on management models, and workforce development infrastructure. Other budget priorities for Tuskegee University are project coordination staff, visiting professors/junior faculty, and student internships.
“Funding from this grant allows Dean Carla Jackson Bell and Dr. Kwesi Daniels to build on the vision to attain the school’s mission to embrace Booker T. Washington’s historical legacy to “Learn to do by Doing,” said Tuskegee University President, Dr. Charlotte P. Morris. “The expanded curriculum in the areas of historic preservation, conservation, and protection of our historic buildings will be a great asset to the history and legacy of Tuskegee University.”
Two years ago, Tuskegee University’s Department of Architecture and the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania entered a teaching-fieldwork-research partnership, supported by the J.M. Kaplan Fund, resulting in the formation of the Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites in 2020. The goals of the new activities are focused on building capacity among HBCUs, other stewardship organizations, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals—to address historic deficits in the ability to train, commission, and direct preservation efforts of many kinds (technical, design, documentation, storytelling, redevelopment). Ultimately, this work will transform the preservation field nationally by creating and opening opportunities and the capacity to seize them.
“Tuskegee is positioned to create a new model of preservation degree, centered on community-serving preservation strategies, financial sustainability and multifunctional sites, aimed at issues of built environment stewardship as well as public history, archiving, and interpretation-storytelling.” “Curriculum is the centerpiece of the whole effort, linking practice, politics, community impact, and making a generational change in the preservation field,” said Dr. Carla Jackson Bell, professor, and dean of the School of Architecture and Science and Management (TSACS) and grant Co-PI.
Tuskegee will be the central organizing point of the work. The proposed funding expands their teaching of historic preservation in the formal curriculum and through outreach projects with partners. UPenn’s CPCRS, with the NTHP African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund as a project collaborator, will help grow the capacity and affirm the potential of Tuskegee, AAACRHSC, and an emergent consortium of heritage sites in Philadelphia. Our collaborations will create replicable partnership models for other traditional/academic preservation programs nationally.
Dr. Kwesi Daniels, PI
“The field of historic preservation, long dominated by institutions marked by white privilege, has historically had a blind spot for many issues of significance for Black heritage—from listings and leadership to public policies and university study opportunities,” said Dr. Kwesi Daniels, interim department head of Architecture and grant PI. “The partners will jointly explore several options for expanding the preservation curriculum at Tuskegee – considering a range of undergraduate and graduate options, possibilities including sub matriculation or other direct partnerships with UPenn, and trades-based training programs directly connected to workforce development programs.”
In addition, other team members of the grant include Brent Leggs, the executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and Dr. Randall Mason, who teaches in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and is a Professor in the Department of City & Regional Planning at the UPenn.
A record $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is elevating Bowie State University in the public health space! Learn more in the release from BSU below.
Bowie State University is charting a path to become a thought leader in the public health space as it gains a seat at the table of national discussions of public health IT with a $10 million grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—the largest award to the school in two decades.
The university is one of 10 institutions forming a consortium to implement the Public Health Informatics & Technology (PHIT) Workforce Development Program funded by HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The project aims to recruit, secure paid internships and train diverse groups of individuals in public health informatics and technology to improve the nations’ public health workforce as identified in the Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan. The goal is to strengthen IT health education and to expand the IT health curricula at Minority Servicing Institutions, improve COVID-19 data collection, and increase representation of underrepresented communities within the field throughout the U.S.
“Through this partnership, Bowie State University will be known as a leading player in public health,” said Gale Bassette, BSU Special Assistant to the Provost for Federal Contracts Administration. “We will play a major role in how this public health infrastructure will be delivered to the communities.”
Over the course of four years, the PHIT Workforce Development Program nationally will train at least 4,000 individuals through an interdisciplinary approach to create a continuous pipeline of diverse public health IT professionals.
“This program will help to expand Bowie State’s public health focus in our curriculum offerings,” said Bassette. “BSU will create a pathway for students to be trained, recruited and placed in health informatics and technology careers. They will be mentored by healthcare institutions on real-world problems and participate in the building of the nation’s future healthcare infrastructure.”
In recent months, the university has experienced faculty and the administration coming together to pursue highly visible grant opportunities. “The collaboration across the university is really a plus,” said Dr. Anika Bissahoyo, Assistant Director for Research, BSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. “We are increasingly seeing collaboration across the campus, which is exciting.”
Ms. Bassette spearheaded the HHS grant proposal development process. Other contributors included Dr. Philip de Melo, principle investigator for the project and visiting faculty, Department of Computer Science; Dr. Birthale Archie, assistant professor, Department of Nursing; Dr. Brown-Robertson, special assistant for Research and Development, and professor in the data science and analytics program, College of Business; and Dr. Azene Zenebe, chairperson, Management Information Systems, and chair, public informatics program. Contributors from the Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics included Dr. Augustin Ntembe, associate professor; Dr. Obeidat Rand, assistant professor; and Dr. Thaddee Badibanga, assistant professor. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs provided pre-award and budget management and HealthCare Dynamics International will serve as subcontractor.
