A future Spelmanite beat all odds to get to where she is today. Destiny Jackson thanked her community, but in fact her determination and hard work gave her over 50 college acceptances and more. Learn about her incredible story in the article by Fox 29 writer Shawnette Wilson below.
Credit: Fox 29
A Philly teen who got accepted into more than 50 colleges and universities is off next week to the one her dreams.
“It’s August 5th? When I take flight. Yeah,” said Destiny Jackson whose dream of going to Spelman College is just days away from coming true. It’s an Atlanta HBCU, Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“I’m nervous but I’m excited at the same time,” she said. Destiny chose Spelman out of more than 50 colleges and universities that wanted and accepted her.
“It was like blessings on blessings and I didn’t think that I was going to be here but thank God I am,” she said. We introduced you to Destiny back in May. Today this bubbly teen with an infectious smile, laugh and tons of tenacity can’t believe what lies ahead.
“It’s more than words can explain but I’m beyond grateful,” she said. Destiny launched a campaign to raise money to help with tuition and the community answered big.
“I have to thank all the other people who donated to my Gofundme, who have been there, even thank you to people like you who interviewed me and got the word out there,” she said. This teen who says she suffered abuse, was once homeless and spent much of her life in foster care vowed to always work hard and excel academically.
“Everything has to align with your goals. If it doesn’t make you it’s going to break you and breaking is not an option,” she said. Destiny graduated from Belmont Charter last month. She’s already planning her future.
“That’s down the road for me to run for President of the United States but we’re going to start small so I’m going to run for president at Spelman College and I’m going to be part of the glee club,” she said. And she has this to say to other young people.
“Just because you might be going through a dark moment but that don’t last too long so before you know it greater things are coming,” she said.
Destiny has enough money to get to Spelman and begin her higher education but she still hasn’t reached her full goal.
Her GoFundMe is still active if you’d like to help. If you wish to donate, please click here.
HBCUs often have to fight for funding on the federal and state level. Thankfully, many generous philanthropists have given HBCUs the padding they needed to stay afloat in some instances, but always to thrive.Get the full story on how their method of giving has changed over time in the article below from Tyrone McKinley at The Conversation.
Attorneys George E.C. Hayes, left, Thurgood Marshall, center, and James M. Nabrit, all HBCU grads, successfully sought to defeat school segregation in court. AP Photo
Scott, previously married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is not making a splash just because of the size of her donations. She has an unusually unrestrictive get-out-of-the-way approach.
“I gave each a contribution and encouraged them to spend it on whatever they believe best serves their efforts,” Scott wrote in a July 2020 blog post.
She sees the standard requirements that universities and other organizations report to funders on their progress as burdensome distractions. Instead of negotiating detailed agreements before making a gift, she works with a team of advisers to stealthily vet a wide array of nonprofits, colleges and universities from afar before surprising them with her unprecedented multimillion-dollar gifts that come without any strings attached.
Her approach sharply contrasts with how many wealthy white donors have interacted with Black-serving nonprofits, including HBCUs, in the past. As a historian of philanthropy, I have studied the paternalism of white funders, including those who helped many of these schools open their doors.
Tycoon and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, shown leaving a train with his wife, philanthropist Laura Celestia Spelman Rockefeller, in the early 1910s, donated to HBCUs. PhotoQuest/Getty Images
HBCU origins
The first HBCUs were founded in Northern states before the Civil War, including Cheyney and Lincoln universities in Pennsylvania and Wilberforce University in Ohio. After the war, most HBCUs were established in Southern states. These institutions were lifelines for Black Americans seeking higher education during decades of Jim Crow segregation that locked them out of other colleges and universities. (Disclosure: I earned my bachelor’s degree at Lincoln University.)
Although many white philanthropists made large gifts to these schools, their support was fraught with prejudice. Initially, white funders pushed for HBCUs to emphasize vocational training, then called “industrial education,” such as blacksmithing, printing and shoemaking, over more intellectual pursuits.
The vocational curriculum at these schools was promoted as preparing Black students to be skilled laborers and academic teachers. During this era, however, most graduates worked as unskilled laborers or vocational teachers.
White Southerners overwhelmingly approved of this arrangement, which left many HBCU grads on the bottom rung of society rather than making them educated citizens. Emphasizing industrial education at HBCUs preserved the superior economic status of white Americans and the racist system of segregation. But African Americans’ educational aspirations required much more.
W.E.B. Du Bois, a prominent Black intellectual, was a leading critic of the funding HBCUs got from wealthy whites. He said: “Education is not and should not be a private philanthropy; it is a public service and whenever it merely becomes a gift of the rich it is in danger.”
In 1904, the HBCU leader Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Florida’s Daytona Normal and Industrial School for Negro Girls – now Bethune Cookman University – felt this pressure. She placed “industrial” in her school’s name to attract white funding. But she sought to give Black students a liberal arts education that she believed would support their full citizenship.
Decades later, the sociologist Charles S. Johnson served as Fisk University’s first Black president, starting in 1946. He sought to turn that Tennessee HBCU, founded in 1866, into a powerhouse of Black liberal arts education in partnership with white philanthropists and foundations rather than covertly.
HBCU leaders have, in short, faced a predicament for generations: When rich white donors offer big donations, can the money truly be used to support Black educational interests and goals?
Prejudiced backlash
When HBCUs secured funding early on, that money was often jeopardized because of bigotry.
In 1887, for example, the Georgia state Legislature withdrew $8,000, worth approximately $220,000 today, in critical annual funding from Atlanta University. The HBCU, founded in 1865, had flouted Southern norms by allowing whites and Blacks to share campus facilities, which white politicians did not appreciate.
Later, the school embraced a liberal arts curriculum, bucking the more vocational emphasis white segregationists preferred.
In response, many white philanthropists withdrew their donations.
Despite that challenge, Atlanta University persevered, eventually merging with Clark College. And so it is historically significant that Scott gave Clark Atlanta University $15 million in 2020 to use as it sees fit. The school is using the money for academic innovation, infrastructure and scholarships, and to build up its endowment.
In 1908 there were seven Black medical schools in the U.S. By 1921, following a sustained attack on those institutions, only two remained: Meharry Medical College in Nashville and Howard University in Washington, D.C.
The loss of those schools began in 1910, when Andrew Carnegie’s foundation funded a report by educator Abraham Flexner. Part of a larger reform movement to standardize medical training, Flexner’s study recommended the closure of five Black medical schools. It led white funders to sever their support.
At the time, there were extensive problems with medical education across the board in the U.S. There were no standards for curriculum or instruction. But Black medical schools’ particular problems – poor funding, insufficient faculty and inadequate facilities – were exacerbated by Jim Crow segregation and condescension from the establishment.
Flexner’s site visits were incredibly short. He castigated Black doctors as a group without interviewing them. He recommended support for Meharry and Howard to ensure that at least some Black doctors would be able to care for Black patients in segregated hospitals and prevent the spread of disease to the white population.
Carnegie’s and Rockefeller’s foundations were initially reluctant to support the two surviving medical schools in implementing Flexner’s suggested reforms. Their subsequent funding ebbed and flowed irregularly. Scholars have estimated that the Black medical schools closed after Flexner’s damning report would have produced 35,000 Black doctors over the past century.
A long-term shortage of Black doctors remains a critical public health issuetoday, reflecting the sustained underfunding of HBCUs.
For example, Maryland’s HBCUs won a settlement against the state in 2021 totaling $577 million intended to remedy decades of underfunding compared with the state’s predominantly white colleges and universities.
A review completed in 2021 of Tennessee State University, another HBCU, found the state underfunded it by an estimated $544 million compared with the school’s white counterparts, dating back to 1950.
HBCUs today
Today there are about 100 HBCUs, half of which are public institutions. They enroll roughly 300,000 students and award nearly 50,000 degrees annually.
There’s no way to know the full toll endured by HBCUs and the Black community as a whole from long-term underfunding and donor hostility. In my view, it will take decades of Scott-style giving for HBCUs to recover what has been lost in time, compound interest and impact over generations.
A partnership involving Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is dispersing much-needed funds to several HBCU thanks to an endowment. Get the full story about which HBCUs will receive the $1.6 million from PR Newswire below!
Members of AKA, with President Glenda Baskin Glover (center). Source: Greater Diversity
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, in partnership with the Educational Advancement Foundation (EAF), has presented its third round of endowment funds in the amount of $1.6 million to 35 additional HBCUs as part of a four-year fundraising campaign led by AKA International President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Glenda Glover to help secure fiscal sustainability and success across all HBCUs.
“HBCUs have received tremendous media attention over the past several months with the inauguration of America’s first Vice President who is a graduate of an historically Black university,” said Dr. Glover, who also is president of Tennessee State University and an HBCU graduate. “It is an historic moment for HBCUs, who graduate 22% of all African Americans with bachelor degrees, nearly 80% of all African-American judges, and 50% of all Black lawyers. We must continue our efforts to support these treasured educational institutions that make such meaningful contributions to our world through the students they graduate.”
For the past four years, Dr. Glover has challenged the sorority’s more than 300,000 college-educated members, as well as corporate partners and donors, to raise $1 million in 24 hours through the sorority’s annual HBCU Impact Day. Members and supporters have consistently surpassed the goal, raising $1.3 million in 2020. These funds help schools reduce student debt through scholarships, fund industry-specific research, recruit and retain top faculty, and provide support for other critical operations.
“It is undeniable that HCBUs cultivate leaders whose impact is felt locally in their communities and globally around the world. We are proud to have fully committed our endowment funds to these deserving schools and their students,” said President Glover. “Our investment lends credence to the significance of HBCUs and underscores their contributions to the world.”
At its recent virtual international convention this month, the AKA Educational Advancement Foundation presented unrestricted endowment funds in the amount of $50,000 to the following HBCUs: Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Clinton College, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Interdenominational Theological Center, Jackson State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morgan State University, Morris College, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University, Simmons College of Kentucky, Southwestern Christian College, Spelman College, Texas Southern University, Tuskegee University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of the District of Columbia, University of the Virgin Islands, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, Winston-Salem State University, and Xavier University of Louisiana. Receiving endowments of $12,500 were Bishop State Community College, Coahoma Community College, and Shorter College.
Members of AKA at Villanova University
Last year in 2020, the AKA Educational Advancement Foundation presented unrestricted endowment funds in the amount of $50,000 to the following HBCUs: Allen University, Arkansas Baptist College, Benedict College, Bluefield State College, Bowie State University, Central State University, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Delaware State University, Dillard University, Elizabeth City State University, Fisk University, Huston-Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian College, Kentucky State University, Lane College, Langston University, Lincoln University (PA), Oakwood University, Paine College, Paul Quinn College, Rust College, Selma University, Southern University and A&M College, Southern University at Shreveport, Talladega College, Tennessee State University, Texas College, Tougaloo College, and Virginia University of Lynchburg. Receiving endowments of $12,500 were CUNY Medgar Evers College, CUNY York College, Lawson State Community College-Birmingham Campus, and St. Philip’s College.
The AKA Educational Advancement Foundation presented the first round of endowments in the amount of $50,000 to the following 31 HBCUs in 2019: Albany State University, Alcorn State University, American Baptist College, Bennett College, Chicago State University, Coppin State University, Edward Waters College, Fayetteville State University, Florida Memorial University, Fort Valley State University, Grambling State University, Harris-Stowe State University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Lincoln University, Livingstone College, Miles College, Mississippi Valley State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University, Philander Smith College, Saint Augustine’s University, Savannah State University, Shaw University, South Carolina State University, Southern University at New Orleans, Stillman College, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Voorhees College, West Virginia State University, Wilberforce University, and Wiley College.
HBCUs have historically served all people regardless of race or economic standing and continue to do so. These schools are often the largest employers in rural areas and educate students from pre-K through college via teacher education programs, charter schools, and early-college high schools housed on their campuses. Alpha Kappa Alpha believes in the importance of these institutions of higher learning and the need to support them has never diminished.
A bill recently passed in the House that will allow for over $4 million to be spread among two Nashville HBCUs, as well as a local bridge project. Get the full story on how this bill will impact American Baptist College and Meharry Medical College in the article from The Tennessee Tribune below.
Credit: American Baptist College
Today Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05) announced $4,796,812 has been included for American Baptist College, Meharry Medical School and Jefferson Street Interstate Cap in the seven-bill spending package that passed the House. For the first time in more than a decade members of Congress have been able to submit specific requests for their districts, known as Community Project Funding, to be included in the spending package. Cooper’s approved projects would go to the following:
American Baptist College, in partnership with the Metro Historical Commission, to restore buildings on the campus of American Baptist College where many notable Civil Rights leaders received their education and training, as well as create a complementary Civil Rights walking tour of the campus to educate the public about the college’s significance and role in the Civil Rights story.
Meharry Medical School to fund a supercomputer cluster to support student- and faculty-specialized genomics research at their new School of Applied Computational Sciences.
Metro Nashville to construct the Jefferson Street Cap and Connector, an interstate cap located over I-40 from the D.B. Todd Blvd bridge to 17th Avenue North, which would help reconnect the North Nashville community and support revitalization of the historically significant Jefferson Street commercial district.
Rep. Jim Cooper (Credit: Tennessee Farm Bureau)
“These projects are vital to make Nashville more inclusive and help us continue to grow,” Rep. Jim Cooper said. “I hope the Senate will agree to support these projects and send these much-needed funds back here to Middle Tennessee.”“We deeply appreciate Congressman Cooper’s efforts and being selected for Community Project Funding to advance the Jefferson Street Cap project,” said Faye DiMassimo, Director of Metro Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodel Infrastructure. “The proposed Cap and related transportation improvements determined through community led design will yield equity, sustainability and community restoration benefits to a historical Black community generationally impacted by the construction of I-40 in the early 1960s.”“We are truly grateful to Congressman Cooper for the support of $1M towards purchase of a supercomputer cluster which will support students and faculty specialized genomics research as well as many other applications. The supercomputer cluster will provide the much-needed storage capacity and compute power as we continue to build technology infrastructure for human genomic research, with a focus on underserved populations,” said Fortune Mhlanga, Founding Dean of the School of Applied Computational Sciences at Meharry Medical College. “The support demonstrates Congressman Cooper’s great vote of confidence in Meharry’s mission. The equipment will make an immediate difference, as a vehicle to stimulate knowledge discovery, and will directly benefit our students and faculty as they develop and deploy impactful and socially-responsible scientific knowledge and practical technologies that empower society to improve the quality of life. We are now well on our way to purchase the supercomputer cluster and set it up for our faculty and students!”It is important to American Baptist College that the legacy of Congressman Lewis be preserved and his work continued,” said Dr. Forrest E. Harris, Sr., President of American Baptist College. “This legislation will provide us with the resources to accomplish that.”
For the O’Neal family, ball really is life! Amirah O’Neal, daughter of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, is heading to an HBCU to play basketball at Texas Southern University! Get the full story on her big move from Atahabih Germain at the Atlanta Black Star below.
The uptick of athletes committing to Historically Black Colleges and Universities continues to gain great attention. Early this year, Shaquille O’Neal’s youngest son Shaqir O’Neal announced that he’d be attending Texas Southern University to continue his athletic career as a Division 1 basketball player. Now his sister Amirah O’Neal is doing the same.
Amirah O’Neal Source: Yahoo News
According to HBCU Gameday, the daughter of the NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and reality star Shaunie O’Neal recently revealed that she too would be attending the HBCU located in the state’s capital, like her younger brother.
The 19-year-old had previously been a walk-on at her father’s alma mater, Louisiana State University, but will now be playing under the guidance of Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper-Dyke. According to her stats, Amirah is a 6’1 post player who averaged 17.2 points per game as a junior during the 2018-2019 season. The Los Angeles native was also a 2019 MaxPreps California All-State Girls Team honorable mention and a two-time All-state honoree.
JANUARY 13: Shareef O’Neal (L) poses with Shaquille O’Neal (C) as he celebrates 18th birthday party at West Coast Customs on January 13, 2018 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Cassy Athena/Getty Images)
The athlete, who’s been playing the game since she was 10, confirmed the news on her Instagram account over the weekend with a poster featuring the words “committed.” In her caption, number 34 wrote, “I see the doubt in they faces, they didn’t think I would make it. 🤟🏽.” Friends and family members flooded the comments section with congratulatory remarks, including one user who wrote, “Yessir! Congratulations on your new journey.” That person added, “So so proud of you and what’s to come ❤️.” “That’s right baby girl 😘😘🔥🔥🔥give me all the smoke!!!!” wrote another. A third commented, “We love to see it. Welcome to Tigerland.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CR7cg8ADMwl/
As previously reported, Amirah is the second O’Neal child to commit to the Southern university. Earlier this year, during an interview with Overtime in May, Shaqir, a shooting guard, told reporters that he chose the school because he was looking to “change the narrative” on nationally ranked high school ballplayers who choose to attend HBCUs and “do something new.” The comes as a new wave of athletes are opting to select HBCUs over more prominent colleges in hopes to bring recognition to schools lesser known for their sports programs.
Shaq’s other son Shareef currently plays for Louisiana State University, while their younger sister, Me’Arah, also reportedly has been fielding Division I offers.
Florida A&M University students received the surprise of a lifetime when they attended their summer commencement over the weekend, which last from July 31-August 1. Millions of the university’s Cares Act funds were spent to settle balances and fees for the students! Get the full story from the article by Andrew Skerritt at FAMU Forward below.
FAMU President Larry Robinson greets a 2020 graduate during the July 31, 2021 ceremony.
Florida A&M University (FAMU) spent more than $16 million to cover fees, tuition and unpaid student account balances during the 2020-2021 school year, President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., has announced.
“Over the last year and a half, the University provided over $16 million in student support and debt relief as a result of the federal Cares Act,” Robinson said in remarks during the first of four in-person commencement ceremonies for 2020 graduates Saturday morning.
“This is an indication of our commitment to student success and our hope that your time on the “Hill” has been transformative as you take on the challenges of the day, go out and make a difference,” Robinson told School of Business & Industry (SBI), College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health (COPPS, IPH) and School of Environment graduates.
Robinson’s remarks came as other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), such as Clark-Atlanta, are announcing the erasure of students’ unpaid balances.
FAMU Vice President for Student Affairs William E. Hudson, Jr., Ph.D., said the money went toward paying off students’ outstanding tuition and fee balances during 2020-2021 school year.
“Clearing student account balances from the previous school year was a way of practicing our motto of “Excellence with Caring” by supporting students and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hudson said. “It keeps them from having to get loans to pay off their unpaid balance. It’s been a tough year for our students and their families.”
Let’s be honest, we miss seeing each other! So many of us were patiently awaiting 2020 homecomings because it was supposed to be a good year! Right? Wrong. Thankfully, with vaccinations up and rates of COVID-19 down, outside is opening back up. 2021 homecomings are being planned all over the country!
If you attended an HBCU homecoming, whether it was in the Virgin Islands, along the east coast, or in the south, we’re sure you have an anecdote from your most memorable experience. But who can blame you? There’s food, connections, good music, great vendors to buy para from, and on top of that, people you haven’t seen in months if not years! Among this year’s homecoming events are we all are looking forward to are #GHOE, also known as the Greatest Homecoming on Earth at North Carolina A&T State University; the rival #NOHOE, or Number One Homecoming on Earth at Fayetteville State University; the block-party style Set Friday event at Florida A&M University; the homecoming game at The Shed at Tuskegee University; and Howard University’s Yardfest performances featuringtop-tier artists and entertainers.
Credit: Prairie View A&M University
We can’t forget about the classics, like the Black College Football Hall Of Fame Classic. On September 4th, Grambling State and Tennessee State will battle at the Tom Benson Hall Of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
There are unique parts of homecoming that especially have us ready to go outside. For one, this year’s homecoming at Jackson State University will be like none other. With Hall of Famer Deion Sanders coaching the football team and multiple 4-star recruits, nobody is going to want to miss that homecoming game against Alabama State University. And if we’re talking real reunions, the ATL homecomings in the AUC (Atlanta University Center) area are purely unforgettable. The Spelhouse Homecoming centers around Morehouse College’s game, and then Clark Atlanta University brings a re-up with its own events! Students, alumni, and friends of the whole AUC community can be found turning up to festival vibes. Additionally, a homecoming that’s really on our minds is the one at Xavier University of Louisianain New Orleans. With the city’s history of recovering from Hurricane Katrina with a bang, we can’t wait to see how NOLA emerges from COVID at homecoming!
Look below for our complete 2021 homecoming list. We hope to see you!
The gender pay gap between men and women is astounding and more companies and organizations are taking a stand to call attention to it. In the United States, on average, women make $0.82 to every $1 earned by men, annually. For black women, the disparities are even worse. The inequities of the gap have long standing impacts, resulting in issues such as misappropriated generational wealth and disproportionate numbers of leadership positions for women, when compared to men. The Female Quotient is actively working to combat the gap and has built an entire platform empowering women with information and resources they can use to succeed in their careers.
One of The Female Quotients’s initiatives is to honor Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, which falls on Tuesday August 3rd. That evening at 5pm ET, join a 45-minute seminar designed to help women fight the gap and excel in their goals regardless! At the virtual event, aptly named “Smart Career Moves,” young ambitious women can learn how to grab a seat at the table, navigate career firsts and nail their next job interview over the course of three sessions! Even more opportunities will be offered with participating recruiters and professionals that will offer expert advice on how to prepare for jobs and internships and navigate your career. Plus, the event will feature keynote speaker Jamila Mustafa! The multi-hyphenate is an award-winning journalist, actress, and speaker, a Former Miss Delaware State University and the founder of HBCU 2 Hollywood.
In the first session,“Getting A Seat At The Table!” participants will hear from Jamila Mustafa, and Jazmyne Courtnii Byrd (Owner of The Divah Filez). The second session, “Mastering Career Firsts,” will feature Calandra Jarrell (Bank of America Senior Vice President and Howard University alumna), Heather Roberson (Managing Director and Global Financial Crimes Executive at BOA), Christelle Haygood (115th Miss Florida A&M University & A Queen’s Series Queen Ambassador), and Danielle Holmes (Chief Resume Writer, Career Services by Elle), and Jazmyne Courtnii Byrd. The final session, “The Cliff Notes: Key Takeaways to Make Smart Career Moves,” will sum up all the gems learned from the seminar with Calandra Jarrell and Jazmyne Courtnii Byrd.
After the seminar wraps, The Female Quotient will continue to advance equality in the workplace, helping women to take up space on a professional level, bringing solutions, and creating metrics for accountability.and be sure to RSVP to Smart Career Moveshere. Learn more about the female-owned firm and how they are taking action by clicking here. We hope to see you Tuesday!
STEM careers are fruitful, but it often takes extensive schooling up to the graduate level to be able to practice. Luckily, eight HBCU students from Oakwood University, Tennessee State University, and Morgan State University will be getting the experience they need to take their careers to the next level after being accepted to a summer graduate program. Learn more about the program and who was accepted in the Missouri S&T release by Nancy Bowles below.
Eight students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are participating in a summer program at Missouri S&T that is designed to encourage engineering students from underrepresented groups to pursue graduate studies. This year, students in Missouri S&T’s Summer Engineering Research Academy (SERA) are from Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, Tennessee State University in Nashville and Morgan State University in Baltimore.
During the two-month program, which is in its third year, the students get involved in a range of research projects, including hypersonic flight materials, arsenic mobility in groundwater, additive manufacturing in laser 3D printing, fiber optics in steel manufacturing and other applications, and self-escape in mining.
Emmanuel Edorodion works on a mount inside a plasma vacuum chamber at Missouri S&T. Edorodion, an undergrad from Jackson State University, is visiting and doing research as part of the Summer Engineering Research Academy (SERA) program.
Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
“The students in the SERA program bring new perspectives to research projects in the College of Engineering and Computing at Missouri S&T,” says Dr. Kelley Wilkerson, assistant teaching professor of materials science and engineering and SERA director at S&T. “In turn, they are exposed to new research areas and degree programs throughout the summer in hopes that they will find their passion in engineering.”
Wilkerson says the SERA program provides students not only with research experiences, but also with networking, team building, and personal and professional development. While they attend SERA, the students live in a residence hall on campus and meet for weekly workshops that provide additional opportunities for learning.
The SERA program also allows Missouri S&T to further build bonds with the participating HBCUs and collaborate with the schools to continue research when the students return to their home campuses.
Eight students are participating in SERA this summer:
Gerald Amory of Frederick County, Maryland, a student at Morgan State University
Joshua Campbell of Ripley, Tennessee, a student at Tennessee State University (attended in 2019 and has returned for a second summer)
Emmanuel Edorodion of Jackson, Mississippi, a student at Jackson State University
Godwin Chierika Eke of Baltimore, a student at Morgan State University
Grayson Mejia of Atlanta, Georgia, a student at Oakwood University
David Pembamoto of Baltimore, a student at Morgan State University
Marcus Sarpong of Owings Mills, Maryland, a student at Morgan State University
Dorren Searcy of St. Louis, a student at Tennessee State University.
“The SERA program has been an exhilarating experience,” says Chierika Eke. “Missouri S&T is intellectually stimulating and gives you an incentive to pursue your goals. I love it.”
Delaware State University students will be able to attend an institute in Irvine, California over the next 3 years through a new grant worth $600,000! Learn more about how neurobiology students will be able to expand their studies in the release by the University of California at Irvine below.
Manuella Yassa and Dr. Autumn Ivy
Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
photo: Steve Zylius/UCI
The three-year, $600,000 grant will support 30 students from HBCUs to participate in the Summer Institute in Neuroscience, an intensive, paid residential research training and professional development program for undergraduate students interested in neuroscience. The grant will also fund year-around scientific and professional development activities, including a joint virtual seminar series and continued mentorship.
“The CNLM’s Summer Institute in Neuroscience provides a robust structure for training high-achieving students from diverse backgrounds, and we are excited to bring in students from DSU,” said Dr. Autumn Ivy, assistant professor of pediatrics at UCI, a CNLM Fellow and principal investigator of the UC-HBCU program. “By placing HBCU students in faculty labs that value diversity and culturally-aware mentorship, UCI will facilitate a high-caliber research and mentorship experience for these students to explore careers in neuroscience.”
Each year, HBCU students will be joined by an additional 10 students who are funded by a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) grant from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense. The students will live on the UCI campus for 8 weeks each summer and will conduct cutting-edge research in CNLM laboratories.
“We aim to provide a holistic experience for the students where they will gain the scientific and professional development skills necessary to thrive in an environment where they feel welcomed, valued and supported,” said Manuella Oliveira Yassa, director of outreach and education for the CNLM and training director for the UC-HBCU program.
The University of California is committed to attracting and graduating scholars who reflect the communities of the world. However, at the graduate level, Black students are under-represented – the five-year average for enrollment in UC academic doctoral programs is 3.1 percent. The UC-HBCU Initiative, funded by the UC Office of the President, invests in building relationships and active collaborations between UC faculty and faculty and students at HBCUs. The Summer Institute in Neuroscience was one of only seven UC proposals awarded funding in 2021 and the only one awarded to UC Irvine this year.
“This multi-year partnership between UCI and Delaware State University fully aligns with UCI’s Black Thriving Initiative. Launched in August 2020, this university-wide initiative aspires to make UCI the nation’s foremost destination for Black people to thrive in higher education,” said Douglas Haynes, UCI’s vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion. “In broadening pathways to graduate education in neuroscience, the Summer Institute will contribute to transforming the professoriate and knowledge workforce of the future.”
Grambling State University President Rick Gallot is approaching his fifth year in the role. He’s experienced so much, and also grown for the better. Learn what he had to say about how he’s seen Grambling change in the eye-opening release by The News Star/USA Today below.
On Aug.1, Rick Gallot will celebrate his fifth year as Grambling State University president. During his tenure, the former Louisiana state senator has presided over enrollment and infrastructure growth, shoring up of university finances and a reboot of the nursing program.
But, overall, what gives him great joy is the success of Grambling State students.
“The thing that I’m most proud of is the improvement in our first-to-second year retention rate. When I started in 2016, our first-to-second year retention rate was only 60% and we have improved that to 77%,” Gallot said. “When you think about what our core mission is — to educate our students and have them persist in the pursue of a degree — the greatest of all achievements is that our student success rate and retention have improved so significantly.”
When Gallot came in as the 10th president of GSU, the university was on fiscal watch by the Board of Regents.
“Our finances are in better shape than they’ve ever been,” he said. “We’ve had three consecutive years of no findings in our audits.”
In 2017, the university launched an effort to raise $1 million by homecoming through a partnership between Grambling, GSU Foundation, Inc. and the GSU National Alumni Association. The funds raised by alumni, students, faculty and business partners from around the country exceeded the goal — generating $1.2 million. The funds went toward institutional growth and the carrying out of the university’s mission, including student scholarships, university stability, faculty support, balancing the budget and athletic facility improvements.
Grambling State University President Rick Gallot wears an officially licensed mask with the GSU logo. (Credit: Courtesy)
Later that year, Gallot was honored with the HBCUGrow LEAD award for ”Best Leadership” for his energetic, student-focused approach to leadership and accomplishments, including the successful fundraising effort and record student enrollment.
Fall 2020 marked the sixth consecutive year that Grambling had seen enrollment increases. The university saw a 20.47% increase from fall 2014 to fall 2020.
Focusing on people, partnerships
Gallot’s presence has brought stability to the university because he is the longest-serving president in recent history. He recalled that shortly after arriving on campus in 2016, he was walking by the Student Union and a student came up to him.
The young scholar said, “President Gallot, this is my third year here. You’re the third president and the first one I’ve met.”
That statement resonated with him and solidified the need for him to be out and about talking with students, faculty and staff — something that he did a lot of before the pandemic hit.
Martin Lemelle, Grambling State University executive vice-president and chief operating officer, said working with Gallot has been a master class in the art of leadership.
“[President Gallot] displays a powerful mixture of personal humility and indomitable will,” he said. “He is incredibly ambitious, but his ambition is first and foremost for the students, the university and its purpose, not himself.”
Lemelle said Gallot embraces diversity of thought and experience and shares space with his leaders and encourages them to be innovative and bold.
“From his passion to champion “first and only” achievements to his intense focus on ensuring that (Grambling State University) has a first-row seat at tables of influence, President Gallot’s leadership ensures that (Grambling State University) remains focused on service, growth, and intelligence,” he said.
Connie Walton, Grambling State University provost and vice president for academic affairs, also describes Gallot as forward-thinking.
“President Gallot’s leadership style has consistently been that of a visionary leader,” she said. “He actively looks for partners who can enhance the reach of the university. He is student and faculty centered.”
She cited a number of “wins” under his leadership including new construction, implementation of a bachelor’s degree in cloud computing and cybersecurity, and approval to offer the university’s first doctorate program in criminology and justice administration.
Grambling also transitioned its registration process to an e-process that “proved to be invaluable during our transition to telework during the pandemic,” Dr. Walton said.
Ironically, six years ago, becoming a college president was nowhere on Gallot’s radar. The Grambling State University alumni and Southern University Law Center graduate decided to leave politics and spend more time with his wife and family, and practice law.
“I have grown to appreciate the scripture, Proverbs 19:21 — “Many are the plans in man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails,” he said.
When the opportunity arose for him to lead Grambling State, he knew it was the right fit because God “provided me with that peace that this was the purpose that He has for me.”
Grambling also transitioned its registration process to an e-process that “proved to be invaluable during our transition to telework during the pandemic,” Dr. Walton said.
Ironically, six years ago, becoming a college president was nowhere on Gallot’s radar. The Grambling State University alumni and Southern University Law Center graduate decided to leave politics and spend more time with his wife and family, and practice law.
“I have grown to appreciate the scripture, Proverbs 19:21 — “Many are the plans in man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails,” he said.
When the opportunity arose for him to lead Grambling State, he knew it was the right fit because God “provided me with that peace that this was the purpose that He has for me.”
Overcoming challenges to build legacy
Gallot said his greatest challenge as president is how slowly the wheels of government often move. As an example, when he asked GSU Computer Department head Yenumula Reddy about emerging technology, Reddy cited cybersecurity.
“So, we set about creating the first and only bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity in Louisiana,” he said.
“Business needs solutions quickly — not as rapidly as the government infrastructure would allow,” Gallot said. “That’s been one of the challenges — to quickly navigate the approval process.”
He said his goal is to “cast a vision for the institution that will make us relevant.”
The university’s new digital library, now close to completion, will be the first of its kind in the state.
“To know that we are the first and only in the state of Louisiana and the first and only HBCU with a digital library is quite an accomplishment,” he said, adding that the university needed a new library for many years but (Grambling State University) didn’t want to just build a library of the past, but a library of the future.
“We wanted to be bold and do something that would be the first of its kind but also be forward thinking and elevate our standing as an academic institution,” he said. “Our students will have the very best cutting-edge technology as it relates to the library.”
The Grambling State University School of Nursing also relaunched its undergraduate nursing program with a 12-month curriculum in 2018. It came after the Louisiana State Board of Nursing voted to remove the conditional approval status in 2015.
A $5 million renovation of the dining hall began in 2020 and was completed earlier this year.
“SodexoMAGIC has been an incredible partner to us in enabling us to deliver that,” Gallot said.
It has been his mission to provide students with the best opportunities to be successful.
“When students choose to come to Grambling, they will be surrounded by a community of people who will provide them with the kind of environment where they will feel celebrated and not tolerated,” Gallot said.
That resonates with parents and students because of what’s going in society — police shootings of people of color, challenges to voting rights and other issues.
“We are just as relevant, even more so, as we were in post-reconstruction years,” he said.
Gallot said Grambling’s motto “Where Everybody Is Somebody” is more than just a motto. “It is, at our core, who we are. We value our students and our faculty and staff.”
That was evident when he opted not to have an investiture — a traditional president’s inauguration. Instead, he chose to put money that would have been raised for the event into the university. Fiscal decisions like this are one of many that helped facilitate two raises to faculty and staff over the last five years totaling 5.477%.
Meeting needs, planning for the future
Moving forward, Gallot said the university must continue to invest in things to meet students’ needs. That includes having degree programs that will provide them with the best opportunity to be successful, including the Call Me Mister program which seeks to train black male teachers, Gallot said.
“Only 2% of classroom teachers are black males and only 5% are black females,” he said, explaining that the teachers in the classroom should reflect the diversity of the students.
“As an HBCU, we have a charge, a duty, a mission to ensure that we are training classroom teachers who will be the molders and mentors of children in their formative years — educators (both male and female) who will help bring the best out of these students,” Gallot said.
The university’s goal is the holistic development of students — not just in the classroom but by providing great facilities, engaging activities, internship opportunities and employment options.
Gallot said he’s looking forward to leading Grambling State into a bright future.
“Our best days are still ahead of us,” he said. “We’re really just getting started. This still doesn’t feel like work to me. For me, I feel like I’m living God’s purpose in my life.”
Spelman College is offering an unprecedented 14% off tuition for upcoming tuition, among other perks for students! Get the full story on all Spelman is offering from the Good Morning America article by Briana Stewart below.
Spelman College announced it will use federal funding to clear outstanding tuition balances for the past academic year of to address the financial hardships of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
GMA
The historically Black college based in Atlanta, Georgia, will also offer a one-time 14% discount on tuition for the 2021-2022 academic school year and rollback mandatory fees to the 2017-2018 rate.
The Spelman College financial relief comes after Clark Atlanta University, a neighboring HBCU in Atlanta, announced it would cancel outstanding tuition balances for the spring 2020 and summer 2021 semesters.
“We understand these past two academic years have been emotionally and financially difficult on students and their families due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why we will continue to do all we can to support their efforts to complete their CAU education,” Dr. George T. French, President of Clark Atlanta University, said in a statement last Friday.
For Ta’Lar Scott, a 21-year-old junior at Clark Atlanta University, having her $500 tuition balance canceled was the fresh start she needed to re-enroll to finish her undergraduate degree in social work after taking a semester off.
Students listen to a discussion at a Spelman Convocation at Spelman College on Nov. 17, 2016, in Atlanta, Ga
Like thousands of HBCU students, Scott has relied on federal grants and student loans to pay for her college education. With aspirations of becoming a teacher and now as an expectant mother, paying for school expenses in addition to re-enrollment was so daunting she considered not attending the fall semester.MORE: Coronavirus erodes dreams of college for low-income students
“I was going to take this semester off and it was really because I knew I had a balance,” Scott told ABC News. “The university clearing my balance up kind of pushed me and let me know that I can do this. I’ll be fine. Regardless, I’ll have to learn how to adjust, which I’ve been doing all my life.”MORE:Bank surprises single mom by paying off $150K in student loans
HBCUs received approximately $2.6 billion through the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, a $40 billion funding allocation set aside for higher education as part of the American Rescue Plan.
Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College are the latest of over 20 HBCUs using federal funding to provide financial relief and emergency funds for students in recent months. South Carolina State University, Delaware State University and Wilberforce University used federal COVID relief dollars to cancel student loan debt for eligible students.
ABC News’ Jianna Cousin contributed to this report.
A talented student at North Carolina Central University is getting support from Amazon and the Recording Academy to the tune of $10,000! Get the full story from Kia C. Bell by the NCCU release below.
The scholarship for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) offers them an opportunity to learn all facets of the music industry. Davidson is among three students selected nationally. To be considered for the honor, students must submit their college transcripts, a personal statement, a video showcasing their creativity and a letter of recommendation.
“This is a huge honor to be selected; it’s truly a dream come true,” Davidson said. “This scholarship is a testament to how far I’ve come in my personal life and academic career.”
Recipients also will participate in a two-week immersive rotation program with Amazon Music, which will provide a detailed look at their chosen field of work.
Davidson, a senior voice student majoring in jazz studies, developed his love for music as a young child preforming in school plays and in an after-school choir. He is now a member of NCCU’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble.
“Jawan has the kind of passion you can’t manufacture; he has that fire-in-the-belly passion for the arts,” said associate professor of music Lenora Helm Hammonds. “It is a joy to teach Jawan. His hunger for producing quality work and love for music is apparent in his continued success.”
Davidson credits Helm Hammonds with being an inspirational figure during his academic career.
“Professor Helm Hammonds has been persistent and motivating in getting me to share my own interpretation of song and dance,” Davidson said. “I want to inspire the world by sharing personal experiences in art forms that transcend in different genres of music including jazz, hip-hop, funk, soul and pop.”
The Harlem native’s love for music goes beyond traditional music forms. In 2019, he participated in a new outreach program by Carolinas District of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Barbershop Revival that introduced traditional barbershop singing to students in NCCU’s Department of Music.
Wiley College President Felton Jr. will be sticking around for a little longer. Learn why trustees at the college want to keep the president close in the article by Bridget Ortigo at Marshall News Messenger below.
The Wiley College board of trustees recently voted unanimously to renew the contract of university President Herman Felton Jr. for another five years, according to university officials on Monday.
Wiley College board of trustees recently renewed university President Herman Felton Jr.’s contract for another five years. (Credit:News Messenger)
Felton was hired by the board in 2018 to replace the Marshall HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) former president and Chief Executive Officer Haywood Strickland who had served in the role since 2000.
Board Vice-Chairman Walter L. Sutton Jr. said in a statement Felton was the right leader for the university, especially during the most recent challenges presented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Students can relate to him, he’s straightforward with the board, and he knows his way around Washington, having recently secured $2.5 million in EDA (Economic Development Administration) funds for the college,” Sutton said.
Felton said he plans to keep the university on the course he’s led for the past three years.
“This affirmation illustrates the shared vision between the board and myself to continue this important work as thought partners,” Felton said in a statement. “My excitement approaching this next chapter is rooted in my fond appreciation of board governance that supports me continuously and offers help we asked.”
The five year contract’s salary was not disclosed by the university.
After an initial employee furlough on campus following his hiring, Felton then moved the university to seek additional funding and installed programs to help students with everything from tuition costs to living needs.
“For the last three years, President Felton and his team at Wiley College moved with an intentional focus on strengthening its impact on the local economy as one of the largest employers in the city, increasing the physical growth of the campus with the establishment of the Wiley College Welcome Center and remodeling of two historic buildings on campus – Cole Library and Pemberton Complex,” the university said in a statement. “His efforts have also positioned Wiley College to develop a Workforce and Economic Development Center in collaboration with local officials to increase student experience and community access, and to receive gifts from EDA, PayPal, SWEPCO, Capitol One, all while stewarding relations with the institution’s historic religious partner – The United Methodist Church.”
Felton earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Edward Waters College and earned his juris doctorate degree from the Levin College of Law. He is co-founder of the Higher Education Leadership Foundation (H.E.L.F.), an organization that works to cultivate leaders to address the challenges and opportunities facing the nation’s HBCUs and he served eight years in the U. S. Marine Corps.
Before being named president at Wiley College, Felton served as president at Wilberforce University and as senior vice president, chief operating officer and vice president of institutional advancement for Livingstone College in North Carolina. He has also served as the director of development, as well as a lecturer at Murray State University in Kentucky.
“He has kept the relationship strong with the United Methodist Church which is very important to Wiley,” Wiley College Board Chairman Billy Casey said. “We made a great choice, and he is doing an awesome job. He’s an accessible president and has made good headway in building community relationships.”
Felton said he and his staff seek to continue to boost enrollment, the university’s retention rate, fundraising and to help students find jobs and careers post graduation.
“My goal is to strengthen our posture and enhance our exposure to shore up our value proposition – as a premier liberal arts institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church with an intentional focus on social good,” Felton said.
Wiley College National Alumni Association Inc. President Nolan H. Anderson Jr. said he has been impressed with Felton’s leadership and looks forward to the next five years.
“President Felton has reset the legacy and purpose of Wiley College within the Marshall community,” Anderson said. “He has been a plus-plus and a win-win for Wiley College, and we are confident he will continue to expand his vision in the years to come.”
Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns addresses the media during practice and media availability as part of the 2021 NBA Finals on July 7 at Phoenix Suns Arena. (Credit: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)
Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul is continuing to put the spotlight on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with the arrival of a new college basketball tournament, The Undefeated has learned.
Paul and the Basketball Hall of Fame have partnered in the development of the Chris Paul HBCU Tip-Off on Nov. 22-23 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The two-day doubleheader will feature HBCUs Morehouse College, Virginia Union, West Virginia State and Winston-Salem State. The games are also expected to be televised nationally, a source said.
“I appreciate the collaboration of the Basketball Hall of Fame and Mohegan Sun in hosting this inaugural event,” Paul said in a statement. “With several family members and friends who have attended HBCUs, I know firsthand how important they are to our community and country’s future. I’m excited to offer an elevated experience to the players and fans this November.”
Paul has been a champion of HBCUs – he regularly wears Black college gear to NBA games and currently attends Winston-Salem State to study for a bachelor’s degree in communications.
The 11-time NBA All-Star partnered with Harvard Business School to bring its Entertainment, Media and Sports program to North Carolina A&T and other HBCUs, creating the Special Topics in Management course to develop a career pipeline for students. The Winston-Salem, North Carolina, native raised awareness through his HBCU Sneaker Tour and launched voting initiatives to encourage students to vote in the 2020 election. He executive produced ESPN’s Why Not Us, a documentary about North Carolina Central’s men’s basketball team. Paul partnered with Sour Patch Kids and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to create the Mischief for Change Scholarship, a college scholarship fund with a $1 million commitment over the next five years for HBCU students.
“Chris Paul has shown unwavering support for HBCUs and brought an awareness to creating opportunities for the student-athletes at these institutions,” John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, said in a statement. “The Hall of Fame is proud to share in Chris’ vision and bring this event to life at beautiful Mohegan Sun Arena.”
The Basketball Hall of Fame includes the Early African American Pioneers Committee in its enshrinement election process to acknowledge and honor those who were “the greatest players of their time and created opportunities for future generations.” Hall of Fame inductees with HBCU ties include Nat Clifton (Xavier University of Louisiana), Sam Jones (North Carolina Central), Coach John McLendon (Hampton, Tennessee State, North Carolina Central), Earl Monroe (Winston-Salem State), Earl Lloyd (West Virginia State) and Willis Reed (Grambling University). Ex-Virginia Union University star center Ben Wallace is in the class of 2021.
“This is a great honor to be invited to the Chris Paul HBCU Tip-Off with some of the best HBCUs in the country. It will also be a great opportunity for our young men to tour the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, right after my teammate and Virginia Union’s very own Ben Wallace goes into the Hall of Fame in September. I would like to thank Chris Paul for continuing to give HBCUs the opportunity to showcase our prestigious schools on the biggest stage,” Virginia Union coach Jay Butler said in a statement.
Said West Virginia State head coach Bryan Poore: “We owe this privilege to the great players from WVSU who came before us and in particular the trailblazing NBA pioneer Mr. Earl Lloyd. Participating in this event will be something our players will remember for the rest of their lives.”
A champion for social justice and active participant in the Civil Rights Movement joined the faculty at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) this month. Anthony J. Harris, Ed.D., was named chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling in the Whitlowe R. Green College of Education (WRGCOE).
“We find ourselves at a place of welcoming a proven leader,” WRGCOE Dean Michael L. McFrazier, Ed.D., said during a recent welcome reception for Harris, adding that the college is looking forward to “the innovation and change” Harris will help usher in.
“I won’t say they twisted my arm, but they made it so easy for me to say yes,” the Hattiesburg, Mississippi native said of members of the search committee.
Harris earned his doctorate in counseling from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M-Commerce), where he worked as an administrator and faculty member. He served as a school board member in the Commerce Independent School District for 15 years, six as chair. He most recently served as chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University and was previously an administrator and faculty member at Mercer University and the University of Southern Mississippi.
“I have published a total of 13 books across different genres – children’s books and my memoir about growing up in the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. That’s one of the reasons I was so attracted to the opportunity to come to Prairie View A&M University – being a historically black college, being an 1876 university. I feel so at home here. I feel so welcome here. I feel like I am among family and kindred spirits.
In 2014, Harris was featured in a PBS documentary called Freedom Summer. The documentary, directed by Stanley Nelson Jr., chronicles the summer of 1964, during which white students and activists forced the country to notice the violence and injustice taking place in Mississippi. According to The Den, they held voter registration drives and set up schools to teach African American history and culture across the state.
“One of those was Freedom School,” Harris told the paper. “I was a student at Freedom School and participated in marches and demonstrations, although I was a kid.”
Some of Harris’ books detail these experiences, including “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round: A Coming of age story and a personal account of the Civil Rights Movement in Hattiesburg, Mississippi” and “Fruits of a Disgraced Legacy.” His latest books, “Leading While Black: Challenges of Being an African American Leader in a Predominantly White Organization” and “More Adventures of Little Mikey,” will soon be available in paperback and e-version.
“I published my first book in 2012, and my 13th was published in 2021,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoy writing, which enables me to tap into that artistic and creative side of my persona. A quote from Dr. Maya Angelou keeps me writing and publishing books. She once said: ‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’ So, I write because I have stories to tell, as we all do.
My books, whether fiction or non-fiction, focus on justice, education and equality. My hope is that readers will be moved by the lessons, characters and themes embedded in each book.”
Even with more than a dozen novels under his belt, Harris says these days, he’s most excited about beginning his journey on “The Hill” and getting to know his new students.
“Our students are the most important people. We are all important, but they are the reason we’re here,” he said. “As a faculty, we have to support one another. We have to support the mission of the department, college and university because Prairie View has a legacy that is the envy of so many colleges. The president here, Dr. Ruth Simmons, is so prominent and so well known throughout this country. I just feel honored to be on a campus working under her leadership.”
Harris said he gets a little spiritual about his new role, which began on July 1. “I just say God puts us where we are supposed to be. At this season in my life, I feel this is where I’m supposed to be.”
