Famed Artist Deborah Willis to Lecture Students Fayetteville State

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Renowned African-American artist, photographer, photographic historian, author, curator and scholar, Dr. Deborah Willis, will make a lecture presentation to Fayetteville State University (FSU) art students and attend a reception to kick-off FSU’s 2018-19 Fine Art Series season with an exhibit featuring a collection of her work on Sept. 7.

The student lecture will be 1 p.m. in the Rosenthal Gallery (225 Rosenthal Building) on the FSU campus.  Later that day at 6 p.m., in the same location, Willis, professor and chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU), will present a public lecture at a reception sponsored by FSU’s Department of Performing and Fine Arts (PFA). The reception will officially kick-off the PFA 2018-19 Fine Arts Series. Both the exhibit and the reception presentation are free and open to the public.  The exhibit will run August 25 to September 30.

Call It Black, is an exhibition of works visualizing Images of the black subject, whether artistic, documentary, or anthropological from the 1930s to present, presented in black and white prints. It is one of an extensive collection of photography work composed, curated, or published by Willis, who at NYU also has an affiliated appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Social & Cultural, Africana Studies, where she teaches courses on Photography & Imaging, iconicity, and cultural histories visualizing the Black body, women, and gender.

“From the medium’s (photography) beginning, race and gender have shaped and controlled the reception of photographic portraits, both politically and aesthetically. Black American photographers responded to their own lives and their communities in similar ways since the 1840s. Some evoked an emotional message that went beyond the self-representation but connected in the re-characterization of the African American experience,” Willis said, elaborating on the exhibit.

Willis was a 2014 Richard D. Cohen Fellow of African and African American Art History at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center; a 2005 Guggenheim Fellow; a Fletcher Fellow, and a 2000 MacArthur Fellow.

Willis has received the NAACP Image Award in 2014 for her co-authored book Envisioning Emancipation.  Other notable projects include The Black Female Body A Photographic History; Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers – 1840 to the Present; Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present; Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs, a NAACP Image Award Literature Winner, and Black Venus 2010: They Called Her “Hottentot.”

Willis has served as a consultant to museums, archives, and educational centers. She has appeared and consulted on media projects including documentary films such as Through A Lens Darkly and Question Bridge: Black Males, a transmedia project, which received the International Center for Photography (ICP) Infinity Award for 2015, and American Photography, PBS Documentary. Since 2006 she has co-organized thematic conferences exploring imaging the black body in the West.

Fayetteville State University is a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina and the second-oldest public institution of higher education in the state, having been founded in 1867. FSU offers degrees at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels. With more than 6,200 students, Fayetteville State University is among the most diverse institutions in the nation. Chancellor James A. Anderson is the 11th chief executive officer.

Fired Tennis Coach Feels Clark Atlanta Scapegoated Him

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A tennis coach fired by Clark Atlanta University last month after a sexual harassment investigation prompted by a student complaint believes he is being scapegoated by the university to divert attention from other complaints that its athletics department has treated some women unfairly.

Will Riley was dismissed on July 13, the day The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a report about the complaint against him and the larger concerns about the department. A 19-year-old female player said he sent her what she said were unwanted sexually suggestive messages, such as not to eat too much to maintain her figure, and followed her on social media.

In interviews with the AJC, Riley said the student and university officials misconstrued the intent of the text message exchanges.

“That was never my intention,” Riley said. “I would never make it to be sexual.”

Riley said he followed all of his players on social media to monitor whether they posted anything inappropriate and to discuss the situation if they did.

Riley said he didn’t use sound judgment by exchanging messages with the student at night. The text messages were exchanged after 11 p.m. “That was inappropriate,” he said.

Clark Atlanta University official Ramona Roman wrote in a termination letter that Riley “behaved in a manner that is inappropriate in the Scholar Athlete/Coach relationship.”

Riley, though, does not believe his actions constituted sexual harassment. He said he wanted to explain his actions.

“I feel like I was wrongfully accused of certain things. I feel like I was pulled into certain things going on in the (athletics) department,” he said.

The university declined comment, a spokesman said Friday.

The university has faced some criticism in recent months that its athletics department is hostile to women.

Three female coaches filed a complaint on June 27, according to a letter obtained by the AJC, with the university’s human resources department alleging that they’ve been “subjected to harsh and unwanted criticism, physical and psychological intimidation tactics as well as gender and equity issues.” The complaints include alleged tantrums by athletics director J. Lin Dawson, derogatory remarks about women, and scholarship cuts to various women’s sports programs. About 75 percent of the university’s students are women.

Division I athletic departments spend on average about twice as much on their men’s programs than their women’s programs, though schools without football spend nearly the same on each (about $5 million), according to a 2017 report by the NCAA. Dawson said he’s tried to improve the ratio at Clark Atlanta, which was 2-to-1 in favor of men’s athletics when he was hired. Clark Atlanta is a Division II athletics program.

The student said she brought forward her complaint because she said Riley stopped speaking to her and didn’t respond to messages from her family. Riley disputed that. The coach believes the student complained because she didn’t get to play in a championship tournament in mid-April. The student denied that.

“My intentions were not to get him fired nor was that my request. The other coaches & trainer in the department felt like the situation was not handled correctly … I am sorry that this has happened to him,” she said.

Grambling’s Bring it Home 2018 Kicks Off with $218,000 in Raised

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This July, Grambling State University’s Bring it Home kicked off with a number of major donations from alumni, staff, and corporate donors raising $218,000 in one month.

“It’s amazing to see the strong surge in initial support,” said Marc Newman, Grambling State University’s Vice President for Advancement, Economic Development, and Research. “The impact of every gift helps grow our campus and we’re grateful for partners who support that growth.”

This year’s campaign kicked off with the first donation of $10,000 from Grambling State’s President Rick Gallot who joined by five of the University’s community partners and alumni at this year’s kick-off event. The campaign’s lead partners include Coca-Cola, AT&T, Origin Bank, First National Bank, Primary Health Services, True Care Dental and Super One Food.

In addition to the corporate partners, notable Alumni including former baseball Coach Wilbert Ellis, Grambling University Foundation board members, and Grambling University Alumni Association President, Russell Le’Day showed their support at the campaign’s launch event.

Why Bring it Home?
The results of every gift and contribution to the Bring it Home campaign helps create real change on the campus of Grambling State.

Student Financial Help
Last Year’s Bring It Home campaign helped provide more than $300,000 in direct support for students in need. This impacted the balances of hundreds of students through a variety of scholarships; including GAP which is designed solely to support students in reaching the academic finish line.

Research & Grants
To date, Grambling State’s Bring it Home campaign has helped bring more than $250,000 in grants to campus. Our supporters offer more than a donation, but you also ignite powerful conversations, investments, and help from our alumni and community members. Those contributions help fund cutting-edge research in robotics, biomedical research, technology, and more right here on campus.

Increased Alumni Engagement
Students are the lifeblood of our campus and as they transition to alumni, they become the anchor of our legacy. In 2017, each of our active alumni chapters did an amazing job spreading the word and growing the investment our past graduates make in Grambling. That investment showed up, not only in the dollars on the balance sheet; it resulted in an eight percent increase in alumni giving.

Join this Year’s Success
You can be a part of creating even more positive change this year at Grambling State. Give today at www.gram.edu/giving and share the hashtag #BringItHome2018.

Funding Surges Over $64 Million for N.C. A&T Research, Second Consecutive Record Year

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EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (August 1, 2018) – Faculty researchers at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University earned $64.26 million in contracts and grants in 2017-18, an increase of nearly $2 million over the previous year, school leaders revealed today.

The university has been on a steady trajectory of growth over the past two decades, adding nearly $46 million in annual research funding since 2001. Those contract and grant monies – which come largely from the highly competitive federal funding sector – support a wide range of projects in areas ranging from food security to bioenergy to computer science and many points in between.

“Our faculty continued to demonstrate a high level of curiosity and innovation during the past year as they explored solutions to a variety of complex problems impacting society, creating new technologies, building new financial models, or developing new techniques to improve food production and safety or human health” said North Carolina A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr.  “Our continued growth as a research university is a testament to their outstanding work.”

As a land-grant, doctoral university, N.C. A&T is one of 107 U.S. universities ranked as having “higher research activity” in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. That second-highest designation among research universities is determined by measuring the aggregate level of research activity and the amount of activity divided by the number of full-time faculty.

A&T is one of the state’s three most productive public research campuses, along with North Carolina State and UNC-Chapel Hill.

Researchers across the university’s eight colleges and its Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering made significant contributions to the university’s record year, among them:

  • Lauren Davis, Ph.D., College of Engineering. Davis’s “Improving Strategies for Hunger Relief and Food Security through Computational Data Science” project was awarded $3 million from the National Science Foundation. The study will develop a better understanding of food supply, distribution and need issues and an innovative, interdisciplinary training model in data science to help grow the workforce to meet those needs.
  • Shengmin Sang, Ph.D., College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, Center for Post-Harvest Technologies. Sang’s “Nutrimetabolomics Approach to Identify the Biomarkers of Whole Grain Intake” project was awarded $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The research will identify novel bioactive natural products that can be used in functional foods and dietary supplements to prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
  • Abolghasem Shahbazi, Ph.D., College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences. Shabazi’s CREST Center for BioEnergy received $2.1 million from NSF. The center aims to make biomass a more viable source of renewable energy, conducting fundamental research toward the development of advanced thermochemical biomass conversion technology for the efficient, economic production of liquid transportation fuels and hydrogen.
  • Sameer Hamoush, Ph.D., College of Engineering. Hamoush’s “Pipeline Development of Skilled Workforce through Research in Advanced Manufacturing” project was awarded $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. The funds will be used to fabricate metal test parts and determine material properties using a metal 3D printing machine, train students in the use of 3D printing, collaborate with other research hubs on fabrication and metal properties and develop a workforce pipeline by offering outreach and education workshops targeting secondary education students.
  • Maranda McBride, Ph.D., College of Business and Economics. McBride is director of the Transportation Institute and was awarded $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The institute educates students and professionals from diverse populations to provide qualified transportation professionals in the workforce. Institute activities are designed to provide ongoing initiatives in the areas of education, research, and workforce development. It serves as a national, regional and local clearinghouse for transportation education, research and outreach.

Norfolk State On the Hunt for a New President

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The Board of Visitors (governing body) invites applications and nominations for the seventh President of Norfolk State University (NSU). The board seeks a dynamic, entrepreneurial, innovative and creative leader with strong academic, administrative, development and business acumen. The successful candidate will be a visionary, advancing the university’s reputation while increasing resources through private and public partnerships.

Norfolk State University is a comprehensive, urban public institution committed to transforming the lives of its students through high-impact educational experiences that prepare its graduates for success in the 21st century.  The next president will appreciate the distinctiveness of NSU’s mission as a historically black institution and be able to interpret that mission for the changing environment of higher education.  He or she will also have a demonstrated track record of problem solving in a complex organization, with a deep commitment to shared governance and with integrity beyond reproach.

To direct the search process, the Board of Visitors has established a 21-member Presidential Search Committee representative of the University’s multiple stakeholders. It has also retained Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc., a highly respected search firm that has successfully completed more than 2,000 searches, and consulting and training projects, to work with the committee. The committee is co-chaired by board members Deborah M. DiCroce and Larry A. Griffith.

Over the next couple of months, the Presidential Search Committee will provide multiple public listening sessions for members of the NSU external and internal constituencies to share their ideas about what qualities and characteristics they would like to see in the university’s next president. That input will inform the search process and help the search committee develop the presidential profile. These sessions are set for July 16-17 and August 9-10. Specific meeting times and locations for these listening sessions will be posted to the NSU Presidential Search website at www.nsu.edu/PresidentialSearch. All sessions are open to the public.

Additional listening sessions for the university’s faculty, staff, and students will be held in September.

For those individuals who prefer to provide their input online, survey and comment opportunities are available on the search website.

The NSU Board of Visitors recognizes that its most important work is the selection of the university’s next president. Within that context, the board views the input from the multiple stakeholders of the university as essential to a successful outcome.

Contact:  Office of Communications & Marketing

Phone: 757-823-8655

Bowie State Alum, Actor Nominated for an Emmy Award

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BOWIE, Md.) – A Bowie State University alumnus and professional actor – best known for his portrayal of rapper Kurtis Blow on BET’s “The New Edition Story” – received his first Emmy nomination for his performance in his YouTube series, “This Eddie Murphy Role is Mine, Not Yours.”

Melvin Jackson Jr. (’05) is one of five actors nominated for a 2018 Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, including CBS’s “The Late Late Show” host James Corden. The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on September 17 on NBC.

Jackson plays himself and actor/comedian Eddie Murphy in the six-part YouTube series, which he produced and co-wrote with his wife, actress Kelly Jenrette, also a first-time 2018 Emmy Award acting nominee for her guest role in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The YouTube series begins with Jackson receiving a call from his agent about an audition for the role of Eddie Murphy in his biopic. Jackson and his friend come up with a scheme to make sure he gets the role.

A Washington, DC, native, Jackson began his professional acting career as a fine arts major at Bowie State, when he landed small roles on the TV series “America’s Most Wanted” in 2003 and the HBO series “The Wire” in 2004. After graduation, he scored a recurring role on The CW’s “Everybody Hates Chris” from 2005-2006. Since then, Jackson has added writer, stand-up comedian, director and producer credits to his resume. He played Kurtis Blow in the NAACP Image Award-winning “The New Edition Story” mini-series in 2017.

Bethune Nursing Instructor’s Dissertation Unveils Strategies to Address Drowning Among Blacks

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Instructor Lorna Wilson successfully defended her dissertation on July 19, 2018, and has completed the requirements for her Ph.D. in nursing from Barry University.

Her dissertation was titled, The Decision Making Process of Afro-Caribbean Parents Towards Swimming Competency for the Family. Wilson’s research was undertaken in response to a community need.

“Broward County’s aquatic environment provides many recreational activities for both residents and visitors seeking fun in the sun and water, but the county has one of the highest rates of drowning in Florida, claiming the lives of Black children disproportionally according to the Florida Department of Health Bureau Vital Statistics, from 2013- 2015,” said Wilson.

Her study produced evidence that has unveiled a significant strategy to reverse the history of mistreatment and racial discrimination of Blacks at beaches and pools, which contributed to limited access to water and swimming for this population. This may be accomplished through community swim centers that has programs inclusive of all its community members.

“Nurses have a professional commitment to be active participants in identifying and working to eliminate health disparities,” said Wilson. “Understanding and addressing the drowning and swimming disparities in the black population is important to the theme that Black Lives Matter.”

Wilson received her nursing diploma in Jamaica; and Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Science in Nursing from Barry University. She has been an instructor at Bethune-Cookman University for three years.

ECSU Will Receive $2.3 Million for Campus Renovation and Repairs

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Elizabeth City State University will receive a $2.3 million allocation for campus repairs and renovations following the University of North Carolina Board of Governors meeting last week.

Officials note that this amount is the largest disbursement within its school system to ECSU in the last seven years. “This is great news for the University,” said interim ECSU Chancellor Karrie Dixon. “This is the largest percentage of the UNC System’s repair and renovation funding pool that ECSU has ever received, and the largest increase since 2007.”

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The $2.3 million figure is 7.2 percent of the total repair and renovation budget for the University of North Carolina System of nearly $32.4 million.

“This funding will go a long way toward the future of ECSU,” said Smith. “The Board of Governors has confidence in the University’s new direction, and in its leadership under the guidance of Dr. Dixon.”

ECSU has an assessed $15 million in repair and renovation needs.

 

FAMU Picks First Female Drum Major, Cori Bostic

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Can she get a drumroll please? This week in HBCU, black girl magic, we celebrate Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University’s (FAMU) first female drum major, Cori Renee Bostic.

The 72-year-old year old FAMU band, The Marching 100, just began it’s 2018 band camp but has already broken barriers, made history, and now has the whole internet celebrating a first for the historically black college and university.

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Atlanta native Bostic is a junior studying in FAMU’s School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. In addition to her new leadership role, Bostic is already a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority.

Did you know this is her second time vying for The Marching 100’s top spot? Last year after not being selected, Cori didn’t let that stop her dreams, and its a good thing, because she is now memorialized in the history of 131-year-old FAMU.

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We are not the same country we were in 1918 and this holds especially true when you take a look at those breaking barriers like Cori, then remember that African-American women are more educated than ANY OTHER GENDER/SEX combination in the country. Just a few weeks ago we celebrated another FAMU woman, Mareena Robinson Snowden, who became the very first woman to graduate from MIT earning a doctorate in nuclear engineering. Congratulations Cori!

Grambling Grad Martez Carter Looking for Spot in Washington

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The NFL team in Washington has seven running backs vying for what will ultimately be four or five spots on the 53 man roster. Martez Carter from Grambling is one of those running backs.

The first week of minicamp is underway and Carter has already experienced a rookie adventure. He missed some reps on the second day of training camp after his shoe got mutilated after a play. He didn’t have another shoe and had to watch the rest of practice.

“At that point, you just take mental reps, so if you get in on that play and Coach calls that same play, you’ll pretty much be schooled on it,” Carter told the Washington Post.

While the shoe was something beyond Carter’s control he has done a great job with first impressions. When camp opened up on Thursday, “Mr. Excitement” was the very first player onto the field.

Carter has become fast friends with Washington veteran Rob Kelley who started seven games at running back last season. The two sit beside one another in the running backs room.  Carter considers Kelley his own “sensei”

Starting running back Chris Thompson is returning this season from an injury just as Kelley is, so there’s a lot of unknowns at the top of the depth chart. Washington averaged just 90.5 rushing yards per game last season, 28th in the league.

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HBCU Alum Mayor Andrew Gillum Releases First TV Ad for FL. Governor

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The campaign has purchased a $60,000 ad buy on statewide cable for this week including CNN and MSNBC beginning Wednesday morning for Florida A&M University alum Andrew Gillum. The campaign will purchase a six-figure buy in Tampa, Orlando, and West Palm Beach starting the week of July 30.

The ad was shot by Mark Putnam, who was recently featured in POLITICO Magazine. From that piece: “It also was the third Putnam Partners ad in the past two years that made a Democratic military veteran go viral. In 2016, it was Jason Kander, his blindfold and his AR-15. In 2017, it was Amy McGrath, the first female Marine to fly an F/A-18 fighter jet in combat, launching her upstart candidacy in Kentucky’s 6th District. This year, it’s Hegar…Putnam, 54, is known best for his exacting work for red-state Democrats and his half-hour prime-time special for Barack Obama in 2008.”

“What’s impossible? The son of a bus driver becoming Mayor of the capital city, or that Mayor standing up against the NRA so that guns couldn’t be fired in city parks and winning? How about running for governor and being the most progressive Democrat who would invest a billion dollars in education and create Medicare for All? Is it impossible to come from nothing, be outspent 10 to 1 and win? Share this, buy a TV ad and prove the impossible.”

To show monetary support and help keep the AD on TV you can donate at:  www.AndrewGillum.com/MakeItPossible

Beyoncé’s Scholars Award Is Granted To These Eight HBCU Students

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Some might remember back in April Beyoncé announced the Homecoming Scholars Award for the 2018 – 2019 academic school year. A scholarship fund of $200k would be divided amongst eight students headed to Historically Black Colleges.

Now, Bey has announced and Bey has delivert.

  • Allana J. Barefield, Xavier University
  • Erin Evans, Wilberforce University
  • Caleb Washington, Tuskegee University
  • Jordan Davis, Texas Southern University
  • Cletus Emokpae, Grambling State University
  • Demetrius Weaver, Bethune-Cookman University
  • Dartisha Mosley, Fisk University
  • Kameron Willis, Morehouse College

The students come from several different fields of study. XULA’s Barefield is an aspiring journalist. Tuskegee’s Washington majors in sociology. Morehouse’s Willis is an aspiring surgeon. See below.

 

Six Florida Memorial Teams Named NAIA Scholars Teams

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(Miami Gardens, FL, July 23, 2018) With 8 teams in the entire program, Florida Memorial University (FMU) earned the distinction of having 6 teams awarded by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

To have 6 out of 8 teams perform well aligns with FMUs vision and athletic mission, to be a model program both academically and athletically.

Percy Caldwell, PhD., Director of Athletics at Florida Memorial University, attributes its success to athletic coaches who recruit good students. “Our ultimate goal is that our Grade Point Average (GPA)rises above our general student body,” said Caldwell. “In my 38 years as an athletics administrator, I have never had six teams win in one year,” he added.

Yulianna Charris, originally from Venezuela, has maintained a 4.0 for 4 semesters and is about to enter her Junior year at Florida Memorial University. She is a champion scholastically and on the volleyball court. “There are two things that help me win. My faith and my family and the hope that I will be withthem again one day,” said Yulianna.

“Florida Memorial University continues to have a high percentage of its teams receive the NAIA Scholar Team Award, as at least six Lions’ teams earned the honor for the third straight academic year. This is ateam award that embodies what it means to be true student-athletes, and FMU’s programs have onceagain achieved at a high level both academically and athletically in 2017-18,” said Kelli Briscoe, Championship Event Manager, NAIA.

ABOUT FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY

Located in the City of Miami Gardens, Florida Memorial University is a private, historically Black institution that offers 37 undergraduate degree programs and four graduate degree programs to a culturally diverse student body. Since its inception in 1878, the University has upheld a commitment to provide an academic education solid foundation built upon the pillars of leadership, character, andservice. As South Florida’s only Historically Black College or University (HBCU), it is widely recognized asthe birthplace of the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing. For more information call 305 623 1452 or visit www.fmuniv.edu.

FMU is among the leading HBCUs in the nation leveraging partnerships with public and corporate partners to develop academic training and certification programs in emerging markets such as Energy and Environmental Science, Cybersecurity, Homeland Security and Computer Information Technology. FMU also offers a robust study abroad program and award-winning Broadcast Communications and Public Relations programs.

The university is also part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the SunConference and offers eight collegiate sports programs, including men/women’s basketball,men/women soccer, men/women’s track and field, baseball and volleyball.

FMU offers 28 undergraduate degree majors and three graduate degree majors. The University holds a 92% retention rate for program participants. More than 14% of the student population are international students representing Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

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Beyonce & Balmain Team Up for Coachella-Inspired Collection to Benefit UNCF

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Beyoncé and couture fashion house Balmain are collaborating on a capsule collection to benefit charity. The idea was conceived at Coachella, when Queen Bey and her dancers wore Balmain looks onstage, inspired by marching-band uniforms of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Proceeds from the collection will benefit the United Negro College Fund, following Beyoncé’s $100,000 donation to four historically black colleges after her Coachella set.

https://twitter.com/UNCF/status/1016769194103312385

“When she saw all the dancers loving the outfit—and she was loving her own outfit—she realized that what we were creating on stage for her, for all the dancers, was something really impactful,” the designer explained to Vogue.

“I worked really long with her on the Beychella moments, and the fact that we can release this collaboration that is based on our creativity, Beyoncé and I, is really a big, big step for fashion and music together.”

The mini-collection — composed of yellow and pink sweatshirts Bey wore onstage and a black tee with the same graphic — will launch July 13 in Paris and will be available the following day on beyonce.com and balmain.com

Creative director Olivier Rousteing said of the collab, “I worked really long with her on the Beychella moments, and the fact that we can release this collaboration that is based on our creativity, Beyoncé and I, is really a big, big step for fashion and music together.” The joint message, he continues, is to never stop dreaming.

Morehouse Receives $2.25 Million Investment From Aramark Corporation

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Representatives from Philadelphia-based Aramark Corporation presented a $2.25 million check to Morehouse College Thursday as an investment in a partnership that will expand facility maintenance services and bring new jobs to the College.

Morehouse President David A. Thomas accepted the check, formally ushering in a closer working relationship with Aramark, the College’s dining services provider. Aramark is also now overseeing facilities management.

The partnership will increase Morehouse’s access to national facility management experts, energy efficiency strategists, skilled labor, and high-tech equipment. It will also expand Morehouse’s purchasing capabilities.

“Aramark is going to make a real difference here for us,” Thomas said. “This partnership will enable Morehouse to expand the team that maintains our historic campus and make needed repairs and upgrades to some of our facilities at a cost savings.”

Alan Robertson, Vice President for Business & Finance, said the opportunity to partner with Aramark on facility services was a plan that the College first considered in 2014. It was revisited and instituted under the leadership of President Thomas.

“We are bringing all of the trades back that we had in facilities – carpenters, plumbers. We are outsourcing it to Aramark,” Robertson explained.

Aramark officials said as many as 70 new employees will be hired to upkeep buildings and grounds at Morehouse. Ten employees from Morehouse’s former Campus Operations office were the first to transition to Aramark. The employees will receive enhanced career opportunities and benefits with Aramark.

“We will bring the right skills set to the campus to accomplish the goals that we have for the Facilities department,” said Enrico Hunter, Aramark’s general manager for Morehouse College. “We also have an arm that we can reach back to at the corporate level to provide subject matter experts. We brought on a full-time energy manager to the department who will look at all of our energy expenditures and work to make the campus very efficient.”

Aramark will work with Morehouse students to launch energy conservation campaigns. In addition, students will also be considered for corporate internships.

Aramark is a national leader in providing facilities management and other professional services to colleges and universities across the United States. The corporation serves 150 institutions and employs 270,000 people.

“The journey is just beginning,” Trevor Ferguson, Vice President of Facilities for Aramark, said of his work with Morehouse. “We are looking forward to executing and delivering on our promises. Communities like this have helped me to grow and evolve as an individual. I am honored to be a part of it.”