FAMU Leadership Meets with Federal Officials to Discuss Center of Excellence

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Florida A&M University (FAMU) has been diligently meeting with the private sector, federal officials and key legislative staff over the last several months to discuss the establishment of a new Center of Excellence in Tallahassee, Florida.

The Construction and Infrastructure Technology Innovation Center of Excellence (CITIC) is an innovative multidisciplinary partnership between several of FAMU’s core academic schools, public partners and the private sector that is focused on global sustainable infrastructure. The Center of Excellence will create new STEM-based jobs within the state of Florida and will initially focus its efforts on energy development and the advancement of technologies that enhance the construction of affordable housing, roads, transportation infrastructure, as well as rapid and sustainable reconstruction following natural disasters.

“CITIC represents a part of a broader effort at FAMU to further apply the research, extension and outreach components of our land-grant mission toward entrepreneurship and technology commercialization,” said FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., after a June CITIC meeting. “With the growing impact of our educational programs, enrollment, renowned faculty and researchers, FAMU stands ready to assist the construction sector in addressing critical requirements.”

The goals of the proposal will be accomplished through the development of innovative construction and infrastructure technology and the involvement of FAMU’s research, science, engineering, architecture and cyber-security disciplines in conjunction with private and public-sector partners. Collectively, these entities are committed to putting FAMU at the forefront of 21st-century technologies and directed research to develop sustainable infrastructure.

FAMU will continue to meet with key federal agencies in the coming weeks, targeting agencies interested in university collaborations and partnerships to evaluate infrastructure issues facing the U.S. military and communities throughout the nation. Both U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Al Lawson (FL-05) have been very supportive of the establishment of CITIC.

“I applaud Florida A&M University for establishing the CITIC. This proposal addresses pressing issues in our state, including global sustainable infrastructure development, improved infrastructure resiliency following natural disasters, and new STEM-related jobs for underrepresented minorities. We need bold initiatives like this to create a better Florida. I welcome the FAMU delegation to Washington and look forward to further collaboration on these important matters,” Rubio said.

“FAMU is one of the strong economic drivers for our community, and our state,” said Lawson. “I fully support more strategic investments in FAMU that create new opportunities for business growth and create new jobs in emerging areas.”

ABOUT CITIC

As a model program, CITIC will serve as both a research and development and technology integration and verification center. FAMU will partner with key academic, federally funded research and development centers and industry members to ensure that the best technology-based approaches are applied to commercial and residential construction, infrastructure development, civilian disaster scenarios and to military Forward Operating Base requirements.

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Howard Professor Files Lawsuit In Support Of Haitian Sugar Cane Workers In The Dominican Republic

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WASHINGTON, DC – Last month, Howard University African American Studies Professor Nikongo BaNikongo, Ph.D., filed a lawsuit in the International Criminal Court (ICC), located in Hague, Netherlands, on behalf of Haitian sugar cane-cutters in the Dominican Republic who have been denied residency for themselves and their children born in the country. The complaint seeks to hold Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina Sanchez, criminally responsible for the injustice.  It requests that the ICC prosecutor investigates Sanchez in his capacity as president for “Crimes Against Humanity stemming from the mass expulsion of Haitians and failing to exercise due diligence in securing the rights of Haitian workers in the DR.”

“The Dominican Republic has the obligation to look after the rights and the quality of life and justice as it pertains to citizens and foreigners. In our case it is foreigners,” says BaNikongo.

For several generations Haitians have worked on sugar cane plantations, known as bateys, in the Dominican Republic. Over time, families have given birth to children born in the Dominican Republic, however, the government has declared that the offspring of Haitian-born parents cannot be considered citizens, despite being born in the country.BaNikongo says the government has not provided a reasonable way for them to establish residency in the Dominican Republic.

“As a non-citizens, the Haitian workers lack the rights to healthcare, opening bank accounts and they are being expelled back to Haiti,” says BaNikongo. “They’ve been gone for so long that Haiti is unfamiliar to them. They don’t’ know anyone there.”

Over the past three years, BaNikongo has been taking Howard students to Haiti and the Dominican Republic each summer to research and advocate on behalf of the workers involved in this crisis, which impacts approximately 500,000 Haitians living in the Dominican Republic.His team has concluded that the only way to stop the injustice facing the Haitian workers was to file a criminal complaint against the President of the Republic.  Although several international commissions have found the government of the Dominican Republic guilty of violations of Human Rights, the government continues to refuse to provide reasonable means to remedy their situation. However, BaNikongo is hopeful that the International Criminal Court will rule in their favor.

“We are asking the office of the prosecutor to investigate based on our findings. As a result, he could issue a warrant for President Sanchez’ arrest, in the same way that Saddam Hussein was deemed to be a war criminal,” says BaNikongo.

Kadeen Menzie, a recent political science graduate of Howard University, participated in one of Professor BaNikongo’s mission trips to the Dominican Republic and helped the sugar cane workers fill out the paperwork to apply for residency. She describes the experience as eye-opening and life changing.

“I wasn’t born in the U.S., I was born in Jamaica and I have a child that was born in America,” says Menzie. “If I had to go through everything they are going through for residency, it would be very difficult for me. So, I can imagine what they are going through, having come from a third world country myself but never having it this bad.”

During the mission trip, Menzie helped pass out seeds for those in need to plant in order to grow food to eat. She recalls how happy everyone was in spite of their current situation.

“To us it was just seeds, but to them it was a lot more than just seeds. When I saw how these folks were living, it made me appreciate the little I had growing up,” says Menzie, who now plans to do humanitarian work after graduate school. “You can cry about something when you feel like you don’t have enough, but there are people out there who have less and are still making it. They were happy, they are fighters.”

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Photo cutline: Sugar cane workers in the Dominican Republic lined-up to have Residency Rights applications prepared by Howard University Professor BaNikongo and his team in Fall 2017.

**In The International Criminal Court, The Hague, Netherlands

Residents of Bateyes Cacata, Santa Rosa & Batey #16 of the Region of Bayahibe, Dominican Republic v. Danilo Medina Sanchez, President of the Dominican Republic

CIAA Launches Bidding Process To Host 2021 Basketball Tournament

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Charlotte, NC – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Board of Directors Tournament Sub-Committee has formally launched the bidding process to identify the next host location of the annual CIAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament for 2021.

The sub-committee made bid specifications available this week to prospective tournament hosts and plans to announce the host city in December 2018. The selected city will serve as the official tournament location for a three-year term, from 2021-2023. The CIAA Tournament has been hosted in Charlotte since 2006 and will continue its existing agreement with the city through 2020.

Prospective bid cities are asked to submit a declaration of intent to bid, including a draft budget, hotel rates, and confirmation of adherence to the CIAA’s bid specifications by September 9, 2018. When evaluating prospective hosts, the committee will review each city’s competition venue, lodging and transportation, ability to create an advertising-free or “clean” zone to protect sponsors, and to prevent ambush marketing within that footprint. The region’s overall commitment to the annual event, including a provision for scholarship dollars to be distributed to member institutions, will weigh heavily in the decision.

Venues must hold a minimum of 8,000-10,000 fans and host cities or regions must be able to provide at least 6,000 full-service hotel rooms within reasonable proximity to the competition venue.

“The selection of the future CIAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament site is in alignment with site selections for all CIAA championships. The conference’s Board sees this as a great opportunity to open the tournament experience to other markets and to forge new alliances,” said Jacqie McWilliams, CIAA Commissioner. “Charlotte has been a great home for us and we look forward to continuing our partnership. Our future includes writing a new chapter in our tournament’s history, with a goal of creating exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for our student-athletes, coaches, alumni, sponsors, and fans.”

In 2018, the CIAA Basketball Tournament brought over 140,000 fans to Charlotte during the week of competition with an economic impact of $50.5 million. Since 2000, the CIAA has generated more than $650 million in economic impact and an average of $500 million in the state of North Carolina.

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Tony Bailey Named CAU Women’s Basketball Acting Head Coach

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Clark Atlanta University assistant women’s basketball coach Tony Bailey has been named acting head coach for the Lady Panthers while head coach Yolanda Moore remains on an official leave of absence.

Bailey was Moore’s lead assistant during a 2017-2018 season in which the Lady Panthers won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division regular season title and the SIAC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship. The Lady Panthers earned an NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament bid and finished the season with a 20-9 record.

Before coming to CAU, Bailey spent three seasons as an assistant women’s basketball coach at his alma mater, the University of West Georgia. A native of Villa Rica, Ga., Bailey was a national NJCAA All-American and All-Region player for East Central Community College (MS) from 1991-1992 before going to Murray State University and then the University of West Georgia. At West Georgia, Bailey was the nation’s third-leading scorer, averaging 25.2 points per game and helping West Georgia to a conference championship and an NCAA tournament appearance in 1994.

Bailey earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management and psychology from West Georgia and his master’s degree in sport management with a concentration in Athletic Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

WCSU Launches “Talk To Me” Community Public Affairs Talk Show

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Former Norfolk State Basketball Player To Make NASCAR History

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NORFOLK, Va. – Former Norfolk State University women’s basketball player Brehanna Daniels adds another chapter to her legacy as a NASCAR trailblazer this Saturday when she becomes the first African-American female pit crew member to work a race in the Monster Energy series, the sport’s top series.

Daniels will change tires for Rick Ware Racing and Ray Black Jr., driver of the No. 51 car, at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 Saturday at the Daytona International Speedway. The race will be televised live on NBC beginning at 7 p.m.

Daniels, who played for the Spartans from 2014-16, broke two barriers last year. The former NASCAR Drive for Diversity pit crew recruit became the first African American female to pit a national car racing series event last April for an Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) race in Nashville, Tennessee. In June 2017, she became the first to pit at a NASCAR national series event when she worked a truck series race in Dover, Delaware.

This week, she works the sport’s top circuit for the first time at the famed Daytona International Speedway. In fact, Daniels will be one of two females to pit the race, another NASCAR first. Former Alcorn State softball player Breanna O’Leary, another Drive for Diversity recruit, will change tires on the same team as Daniels on Saturday. O’Leary will be working her third Monster Energy race this year. The two, who are roommates, will be just the fifth and sixth female Drive for Diversity alums to reach NASCAR’s highest level.

“It’s hard to believe I’ve only been changing tires for two years and now I’m here at the Monster Energy Series level,” Daniels said in a NASCAR press release. “What I’m doing in NASCAR is so much bigger than me. It’s been so rewarding to be part of history while at the same time inspiring others to take on challenges they thought might not be possible.”

Sheryl Lee Ralph & Others Honored by McDonald’s

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NEW ORLEANS — Actress, singer and producer Sheryl Lee Ralph is a triple threat in the entertainment industry but was honored during this weekend’s Essence Festival for something entirely different — her activism. Ralph was honored Sunday as part of McDonald’s 365Black Awards, receiving the program’s advocacy award for her work fighting against HIV and AIDS.

“To be awarded for my activism feels absolutely amazing because I didn’t think anyone cared about the number of people still getting infected and being affected by HIV/AIDS,” Ralph said prior to the luncheon ceremony held at the Ritz Carlton.

“This is work that had to be done and I’m truly thankful that it’s being recognized.”

Ralph was among a group of women receiving recognition for their roles in strengthening African-American communities. CNN political commentator Symone Sanders received the Game Changer award, while Monique Vann-Brown, who owns seven McDonald’s franchises in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, received the Business Trailblazer Award. In addition, Kimberly Bryant, founder and CEO of Black Girls CODE, which introduces young girls to the technology and computer science, received the Catalyst Award and Tishauna M. Wilson, a rising junior and computer science major at Florida A&M University, received the HBCU Forward Award.

Bryant, whose effort to get more girls of color interested in tech is in its seventh year and has reached about 8,000 students, said the award “means a lot to her.”

“We now have chapters in 14 cities and have reached 8,000 students. To get this for being a catalyst in my community is near and dear to my heart,” she said. “I’m all about sparking change and sparking a match under these little black and brown girls who do tech.”

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Walmart Foundation Grants $500,000 to UNCF to Strengthen HBCUs

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UNCF announced a $500,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation that will provide funding and technical assistance to selected UNCF-member institutions. This grant will help these institutions with accreditation efforts and support a summer professional development conference geared toward institutional advancement.

Over the last decade, the Walmart Foundation has granted more than $4 million to UNCF, which includes today’s announcement of $500,000 to support UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building (ICB), a network-wideinitiative that helps strengthen member colleges and universities. Through the Walmart Foundation’s support of ICB, funds and technical assistance can help institutions in areas such as accreditation reaffirmation, enrollment management, fundraising or any area where unforeseen technical assistance may be needed.

“Once again, the Walmart Foundation has made a significant investment in UNCF’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which in turn results in an investment in America’s future workforce and economic development,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, UNCF president and CEO. “Through the continued investment in UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building, which supports our member HBCUs, Walmart is ensuring that our institutions are given the proper tools to function, to train and equip faculty and staff, and to best serve the students who will become the leaders of tomorrow.”

For 2017,12 UNCF-member historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were selected to participate.

The five institutions selected for reaffirmation readiness reviews are preparing for the customary 10-year review required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), their regional accrediting body. Each will receive a $20,000 grant, in addition to technical assistance from content-area experts, to better prepare the institutions to maintain full accreditation upon completion of their review.

The seven selected institutions for the five-year interim readiness reviews are preparing their Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and other reports due to SACSCOC five years prior tothe reaffirmation process. Each will receive a $10,000 mini grant and technical assistance from content-area experts. For historically low-resource institutions like HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, programs that provide assistance and support during the reaffirmation of accreditation process are instrumental.

“At the Walmart Foundation, we recognize the tremendous support that UNFC provides to its member institutions to remain competitive options for students to realize their potential,” said Karrie Dennison, senior director, Walmart Foundation. “That’s why, we’ve made investments in UNCF that support their efforts to strengthen member colleges and universities. The $500,000 grant announced today is a natural next step in our continued support.” As a result of targeted implementation activities, anticipated outcomes include improved fiscal operations and processes, improved staff competencies and capacities, timely report submission and full compliance with the accrediting body. Taken together, these help to ensure that an institution is providing a quality education and has sufficient facilities, faculty, staff and other resources to accomplish its mission. Since the beginning of the Walmart Foundation’s support of ICB, the entire network of UNCF’s 37 member HBCUs have received grants to assist in various areas of the accreditation process. Last year, Walmart Foundation’s grant provided support for eight UNCF-member HBCUs.

In addition, the grant will support the 2017 UNCF ICB Institute, to be held July 12-13 in Atlanta, which is geared toward UNCF-member institution staff who work in institutional advancement and institutional effectiveness. The goal of this two-day institute is to equip attendees with the necessary strategies for using data to achieve their fundraising and other institutional goals.

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About Philanthropy at Walmart

By using our strengths to help others, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation create opportunities for people to live better every day. Walmart has stores in 28 countries, employing more than 2.3 million associates and doing business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are helping people live better by accelerating upward job mobility for the retail workforce; addressing hunger and making healthier, more sustainably-grown food a reality; and building strong communities where we operate. We are not only working to tackle key social issues, we are also collaborating with others to inspire solutions for long-lasting systemic change. To learn more about Walmart’s giving, visit foundation.walmart.com.

About UNCF

UNCF is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 21 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org, or for continuous news and updates, follow UNCF on Twitter, @UNCF.

FAMU Alum Andrew Gillum Can Create History As First Black Governor of Florida

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In the 173 years of Florida becoming the “Sunshine State” of America, never once has an African American male or female been elected as Governor. Mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum believes he has what it takes to change that narrative and rewrite history.

Growing up as the fifth of seven children to a mother who drove school buses and whose father was a construction worker; Gillum rose out of the struggle of intergenerational poverty to become the first in his family to graduate both high school and college. While attending Historically Black University Florida A&M University, he became the youngest person in history elected to Tallahassee City Commission, before later being elected as Mayor.

A devoted husband to Lady R. Jai Gillum and father of 3 young children, Gillum understands the necessity of pushing forward legislation that allows for equal pay for women all across the board to level the playing field and also fight against legislation that aims to discredit a woman’s right to choose when making their health care decisions.

Having a sibling whose has been through the criminal justice system, Gillum understands the difficulty of many individuals who struggle with establishing themselves in society after doing time in prison majority of time for low-level offenses including marijuana possession.

“I believe we can tax marijuana and use that revenue to better fund our public schools. We can reform our criminal justice system while also investing in our public schools.”

Gillum is the the only candidate that fought against the National Rifle Association (NRA) and won, and as Governor he wants to get weapons of war off our city streets, and repeal the “Stand Your Ground” law which allowed for George Zimmerman to walk away with no jail time in the murder of teenager Trayvon Martin.

Although tremendous strides have been made in regards to LGBTQ rights when the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage constitutional, there is still much work to be done in the state of Florida. Over the course of his political career, Gillum has been a constant supporter of LGBTQ rights opening the doors of Tallahassee as a safe haven for same-sex couples to gain marriage licenses when other counties denied them their rights. However, LGBTQ individuals are still exposed to discrimination in public or the workplace; Gillum plans to press the demand for equal treatment and equal rights through statewide policies.

“Florida’s diversity is our strength…”

In wake of Trump administration immigration policies that have led to the deportation and separation of thousands of families across the nation, Gillum believes this is an issue of a lack of moral compass within our country. He understands that many immigrants have contributed greatly in America becoming some of the brightest students and leaders of our time; contributing to the special country that America is today.

“This moral crisis demands our leaders to stand up to this outrage in unequivocal terms, and will we not turn away from what the Trump Administration is doing to these families.”

Gillum believes the idea that we must choose between security and compassionate immigration policies is false when in fact we can have both.

With Stacey Abrams’ historic win as she tries to become the first African American female governor in American history, Andrew is also charting an historic path. Recently he earned the support of Tom Steyer and NextGen America, including a $1 million endorsement towards Gillum’s effort. Since Abrams’ win in the Georgia primary, Gillum has received endorsements from the Working Families Party (WPP), the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida (DBCF), and New Florida Majority.

“Stacey’s helping rewrite the political playbook of what our Democratic nominees are supposed to look like…we’re both trying to show our respective states a new way forward, because unfortunately for a long time in both Georgia and Florida we’ve tried to run a very safe campaigns down the middle — but those haven’t worked out for us.

Being the only Democratic candidate that is not a millionaire, Gillum has shown throughout continuous service and a strong work ethic that you can go from the bottom to the top while still fighting for everyday, working people. It is safe to say that Gillum is the change that we need to see in Florida — a man that is capable for making a drastic difference and create history in the process.

CAU Receives More Than $4.5 Million in Grants for Upward Bound, HBCU C.A.R.E.S.

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(ATLANTA) June 29, 2018 — Clark Atlanta University recently received two grants totaling more than $4.5 million. The first grant lays the groundwork for a new legacy within the Department of Counseling Education, while the second continues the 50-year legacy of CAU’s Upward Bound program.

“These grants demonstrate that our cutting-edge research and commitment to making college accessible to traditionally underserved students are both worthy of investment,” said CAU President Ronald A. Johnson. “This year, as we celebrate 30 years of the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College, it is gratifying to see the legacies of our parent institutions are being driven forward as Clark Atlanta University lifts every voice and ignites new possibilities.”

The University beat out fierce competition to become the only institution to receive a recent Health and Human Services (HHS) grant, with a total award of $1,804, 697 to establish a new center of excellence for the University called HBCU C.A.R.E.S. (Career Awareness, Recruitment and Engagement Services) for Behavioral Health. It officially kicks off September 30, 2018, with a first-year budget of $213,333 to fund the program’s set-up.

The grant was administered by HHS’s Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, whose mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.

Dr. Leonissa Johnson, assistant professor of school counseling and the grant’s principal investigator, plans to set up a career awareness advisory council that will engage the 10 HBCUs that currently have behavioral health programs and eventually create a network of faculty across all HBCUs. To share information with the larger public, a website will be created that will serve as a clearinghouse of information.

“We will be very intentional about sharing information and programming with all HBCUs. Our goal is to have a connection with at least one person at each HBCU,” said Johnson.

Additionally, an ambassadors program will annually serve 25 graduate students (100 students altogether over the life of the grant) from HBCUs as they explore knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities. Once a year, they will converge at CAU for a two- to three-day experience where they will be required to create material and presentations on their areas of study so that they practice sharing information and talking with individual students.

The second grant extends the 50-year life of the University’s Upward Bound program for another five years. When the Department of Education announced grant winners this spring, CAU took its familiar place on the list. The institution was awarded a five-year grant of $2,755,000 — or $551,092 a year.

Upward Bound plays a crucial role in providing access to lower-income and first-generation students who traditionally have found it challenging to attend college. Upward Bound students take core classes, and seniors are able to take two college courses that are transferable to any college they attend in the fall. Students also are instructed in college readiness, such as applying for college, financial aid and scholarship programs.

“We’re providing a wholistic approach to help them map out their future,” said Zandra Genous Tate, director of CAU’sUpward Bound program. “This is our opportunity to increase the number of students of this population who get in college and complete college.”

The NFL Pros Pastime

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Here in the U.S., poker is something of a national pastime. Perhaps we don’t all hit the casinos and play for actual money, but many of us do spend quite a lot of time at the kitchen table enjoying a home game with friends. So, it should come as no surprise that players of another national pastime would turn out to be quite good on the felt. Yes, we’re talking pro footballers who rock at poker, and while it might seem like an odd combination, it’s more common than you think.

Now, the game of choice for most players is, of course, Texas Hold ‘em. It’s the most popular version of poker played in the U.S., but there are also slightly different versions such as the recently released Split Hold ‘em. It takes quite a bit of practice to learn how to play properly and no small amount of intelligence. Yes, we know what you’re thinking, but contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of smart cookies in the NFL, and it does take quite a bit of brainpower to master poker to the level that these guys have reached.

Strangely though, there are few quarterbacks that play poker at such a level that we’ve even heard of them at a table. And while this would seem to be at odds with our earlier assertion that poker is a thinker’s game, who’s to say that running backs and wide receivers aren’t just as intelligent. Not us, that’s for sure.

So, who are the pros that can hold their own at the table? Emmitt Smith, the former Cowboys legend, has spent a lot of time at the tables playing and doing quite well at several celebrity and charity events. He even had a run at the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2010 but failed to make it past the first day. Fred Jackson of Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks fame is another running back who had a crack at poker and played on the Mid-States Poker Tour. He has yet to win an event, but he’s plugging away.

Wide receivers aren’t well represented on the poker circuit with Miles Austin and Sammy Watkins the only two notable names that we’ve seen at any tournaments. Watkins is notorious for skipping Buffalo Bills off-season training to play poker and has garnered a reputation as a man who loves his cards. Austin, on the other hand, heads up quite a few charity poker events and in 2014, made it to Day 3 of the WPT World Championship. No mean feat for a man who plays only for fun.

Perhaps the most successful though is Richard Seymour. The former Oakland Raider and New England Patriot has enjoyed a lot of success on the poker circuit since retiring back in 2012 and so far, has earned over $150,000 in winnings. While that might not sound like much compared to his NFL contracts, it shows that he is taking the game seriously. He told ESPN that although the game is still a hobby, he wants to one day make it to the final table at the World Series of Poker.

Of all the players that have taken to the tables since retiring from the NFL, our money is on Seymour to make it big. The guy has an incredible competitive streak and is taking the game seriously. He’s even played on the European Poker Tour and down in the Bahamas.

So, who’s next? Will we see Brady and Gronkowski in Vegas anytime soon? Or perhaps we’ll see James Harrison lighting up the World Series of Poker Main Event. We’d love to see that, so fingers crossed it happens.

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Reasons Why We Can’t Get To A Place Where Student Protest Is Forbidden

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By

Within a single academic year, a seeming resurgence of student protests at historically black colleges and universities is calling attention to these schools in ways that undoubtedly make most administrators uncomfortable and often marks protesters as threats to the survival of the institutions they call their own.

Student protesters at HBCUs are not, however, preoccupied with convention that says: if you love your alma mater you will not criticize her publicly.

Maybe they are right.

Black protest at HBCUs is a tradition as old as the institution themselves — especially if one recognizes that to be black and educated defied conventionality which advanced that black folk were not educatable, much less smart.

In fact, black education in and of itself is a protest.

And for as long as black schools have existed, black college students have led the way in the forging by force, the making of modern America.

All of us have been the beneficiaries of the courage of black college students. Whether it’s in choosing your seat on a bus, sitting in a restaurant, trying on clothes or drinking from a water fountain, desegregation in public accommodations has been ushered in by their protests.

Related imageTo be clear, protesting is as much a part of the HBCU tradition as Greeks strolling on “the yard,” bands playing at football games and fried chicken Wednesdays in the cafeteria. It is not an aberration. It is central to our historic and contemporary mission.

To lose them means that we have loss a part of what makes us special. Then we’d really be in trouble because it would be an indication that our historic mission has been subject to some kind of erasure.

Which is why we cannot get to the place where student protest is disallowed.

Black colleges have, by virtue of racism and of white supremacy, have been burdened with exceptionalizing themselves in ways in which demonstrate the influence of toxic black respectability as well as a preoccupation with the white gaze—the notion that we are not supposed to wrestle with the same types on intra-institutional struggles that other institutions have and do.

That is to say, all institutions have problems—including HBCUs. If protesting is not present at them, it doesn’t mean we no longer have problems but rather that students have lost the courage to protest because we are failing to cultivate the courage to protest in our students. That’s the real canary.

Administrators, understandably, are keenly aware of the delicate positions of HBCUs in a sector that most experts agree is beset with serious and real challenges to the persistence of many American colleges and universities—not just HBCUs.

Although preoccupied with their institution’s story not ending with them, HBCU administrators generally and presidents especially should always remain aware that their institution’s story did not begin with them. It is our duty to honor the past, a past filled with HBCU presidents who likewise, were faced with student protests and who did not always or even often welcomed the “trouble” they bring.

To honor the past is to inspire in the present what will be needed in the future. And for us, that means cultivating informed courage in our students. Because inasmuch as courage is absent in cowards, it is dangerous in those who are ignorant. Nothing is as damning as courage paired with ignorance.

So how should HBCU administrators respond to student protests?

In general, college administrators could do a better job, listening, explaining, confronting difficulties together—as opposed to simply dismissing protesting students as rebellious or misplaced or outside of the character of your institution. Something up to and including how students process across the graduation stage, should be discussed with students who simply put are customers. Because despite our definition of ourselves as a family, and our efforts to lend care to students as though they are our children, they are, in fact, not children. read more

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Which HBCU Will Win $1.5M for Rocketry Program?

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By Dominique Burns
Diverseeducation.com

While a number of historically Black colleges and universities are likely to enter a competition for a seven-figure grant to develop a rocketry program, a professor at Tuskegee University is letting it be known that his Alabama school has a distinct edge.

In an initiative that will be announced in more detail in coming days, Base 11 of Costa Mesa, Calif., will award a $1.5-million grant to one HBCU to develop a hands-on, experiential liquid-fuel rocketry lab.

Contacted by Diverse, Dr. M. Javed Khan, Tuskegee professor and head of the Department of Aerospace Science Engineering there, said Tuskegee “has the unique distinction of having the only accredited aerospace engineering program at an HBCU. We have graduated the largest number of African-American aerospace engineers in the U.S.”

He added that students in the program “are active participants of high-impact, hands-on engineering activities such as the University Students Launch Initiative, Unmanned Aerial Systems design-build-fly and have also participated in the NASA Zero-Gravity program.”

Base 11 – a nonprofit, self-described “STEM workforce and entrepreneur acceleration” company – is trying to increase diversity among aerospace engineers and in the commercial space industry in general. This effort is in collaboration with Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the oldest predominantly African-American fraternity in the world, which unveiled the competition at its recent Boulé bi-annual gathering in Cincinnati.

“The African American workforce and entrepreneurial community was largely left behind by the tech boom in Silicon Valley, and we don’t want to see the same thing happen with the commercial space industry,” said Base 12 CEO Landon Taylor. “This grant will equip an HBCU with the seed capital and human capital needed to build a robust, long-term student rocketry program that can work in concert with industry to develop in-demand aerospace talent and launch new innovations that will harness space as the new frontier.”

Although she did not name names, Christine Byrd, director of communications for Base 11, said some HBCUs already have sent emails indicating interest in applying for the grant. Diverse reached out to several HBCUs to gauge interest, but only Tuskegee commented. There will be a competitive request-for-proposal process that begins in August, with the winning school selected by the end of fall.

“What’s important to realize is that the big names in commercial aerospace right now – SpaceX, Virgin, Blue Origin – are using liquid propulsion, and they need aerospace engineers with hands-on experience,” said Byrd. “So by establishing this rocketry lab at an HBCU, we will significantly accelerate their students’ opportunities to participate in the commercial space – which is estimated to become a $2.7-trillion industry within 30 years.”

The diversity gap as it relates to the STEM field, with women and non-Whites underrepresented, makes the grant an opportunity for a school to jumpstart the level of participation among those groups, particularly African-Americans.

Bringing more diversity to the field is going to be key to long-term economic growth as well as America’s global competitiveness because at the end of the day it is technology that’s driving the future of humankind,” said Douglas R. Bender, a Base 11 corporate board member. “You’ve got academia, you’ve got industry, and you’ve got philanthropy, and for the first time ever we’re kind of squarely in the middle to try to tie those things together so we can support STEM, but also the participation of minorities through HBCUs.”

The grant announcement comes weeks after the public announcement of the Base 11 Space Challenge, a $1 million+ competition for the first student-led rocketry team to design, build and launch a liquid fuel rocket to 100 kilometers – the edge of space.

The Base 11 Space Challenge was announced on June 6 in Compton, Calif. at Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, where youth in South Los Angeles can learn everything from piloting aircraft to building rockets. NASA astronaut Leland Melvin headlined the event, where more than 120 leaders from aerospace, government and academia gathered with student rocket team members.

Khan referenced Tuskegee’s history of contributions to aviation and technology as another factor that may impress the panel that will determine who gets the $1.5-million grant. He said Tuskegee’s aerospace engineering program “continues the legacy of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen by educating African-Americans to successfully meet the challenges of the modern technological world.

“We consider ourselves well-positioned for being selected for this excellent opportunity to enhance the education infrastructure of the aerospace engineering program and contribute significantly to the diversification of the aerospace engineering workforce.”

Howard University Gets $1,000,000 From the National Science Foundation

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 27, 2018) – The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Howard University’s College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) a three-year, $1,000,000 grant to fund an innovative cyber security research project created by Associate Dean Moses Garuba, Ph.D. and Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Danda B. Rawat, Ph.D.

The research project, entitled, “Security Engineering for Resilient Mobile Cyber-Physical Systems,” will focus on significantly advancing the field of cybersecurity for networked systems.According to the NSF award abstract, the goal is to design, develop and evaluate the cyber-defense solutions for resilient cyber-physical systems using a federated framework.

“The rapid and massive connection of remotely accessible and reconfigurable cyber-physical system (CPS) devices, which can be any device, such as a smart car, make CPS systems more vulnerable to a multitude of cyber attacks,” says Rawat, who is also director of the University’s Data Science and Cybersecurity Center.

Rawat and Garuba plan to develop a mobile physical systems testbed for implementing and evaluating adaptive cyber-defense solutions.

“With this award, Howard University will be able to provide research assistantships to graduate and undergraduate students to work on this project to develop adaptive cyber defense solutions for CPS,” says Rawat.

The project is being supported by NSF’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (HBCU-RISE) initiative and aligns with national efforts to produce the next-generation of cybersecurity experts for government and academia.

“I am delighted to see our faculty vigorously transform our college, while engaging our students in conquering the daunting technological challenges of our time,” says Dean Achille Messac, Ph.D., College of Engineering and Architecture. “Dr. Rawat and Dr. Garuba are exemplary change agents in our college, and I am proud of them.”

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About Howard University’s College of Engineering & Architecture

The College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) is one of Howard University’s 13 schools and colleges. The CEA comprises the five departments of Architecture, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering. The CEA offers fully accredited Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs. Graduate degree programs with abounding research opportunities offered in the engineering disciplines are Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy. Certificates in Cybersecurity and other professional programs are also offered. CEA graduates possess the ability to apply their knowledge of mathematics, science, design and engineering to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems and understand the impact of architectural and engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context.

About National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2018, its budget is $7.8 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 50,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards.

About HBCU Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (RISE) awards support the development of research capability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities that offer doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines. Supported projects must have a unifying research focus in one of the research areas supported by NSF, a direct connection to the long-term plans of the host department(s), institutional strategic plan and mission, and plans for expanding institutional research capacity as well as increasing the production of doctoral students, especially those underrepresented in STEM.

Media contact: Ramzey Smith, ramzey.smith@howard.edu

A Look Inside the Lives of White Students at Historically Black Colleges & Universities

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By David J. Dent

On her first visit to West Virginia State University a decade ago, Leisha Salyer, who is white, did not even realize WVSU was a historically black college. On an average weekday, the school of 3,800 bustles with white commuter students who are West Virginia residents—65 percent of the total student body is white, though most of the 500 residential students are black.

When WVSU awarded Salyer a volleyball scholarship, she was unaware she was on the verge of a college experience that would become a racial fairytale of sorts. She didn’t know much about HBCUs at all. There was only one black kid in her high school class, and his adoptive parents were white. “And you only see black people in the media portrayed so negatively,” Salyer told me. “State changed my outlook, totally, my whole outlook on everything, and I know that’s really a massive thing to say.”

Initially, she fell in love with the small-town feel of the tree-shaded campus in Institute, West Virginia. On the second visit, however, someone mentioned WVSU’s history. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute, the school was among the segregated public institutions that opened in the South during in the late 19th century to serve black students, who were then legally barred from attending other schools. Name changes would follow to fit the times. Eventually, West Virginia State College became West Virginia State University in 2004. You’ve probably heard of the school if you saw Hidden Figures, which tells the story of Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, a mathematician and 1937 graduate of the school whose brilliant calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were behind the success of the first US manned space flights.

“I thought that it was really cool that my school actually had a history.” Sayler said.

When she shared the school’s story with her parents—Trump-loving Republicans—the scholarship was not enough to conquer fears about their daughter’s choice.

“Are you sure you want to go there and be a part of that?” she remembers her mother asking.

“Yes!” Sayler answered emphatically.

“They were so nervous about it,” she told me. “Then they came to campus to see me play. It was so funny because everyone was so nice to them and they would be like, ‘They’re just so polite. Everyone here is so polite.’ So it was kind of a great learning experience for them just to see a whole other culture and to see how it is around me and how they took care of me. My family and I just love it. It was just a learning curve for them for sure.”

Salyer, who spent three years coaching volleyball at WVSU after graduating in 2012, said she easily introduced her parents to her black boyfriend at WVSU, and they love the African American man she married two years ago. Yet she still has not told them that she did not vote for Trump, much less that she voted for Obama in both 2008 and 2012.

 

HBCUs were once the only choice for many black college students, but even though that’s no longer true they remain pillars of black culture. Since desegregation, many have viewed them as spaces that spare black students from the racial tensions that plague predominantly white institutions. But today they are also home, almost paradoxically, to a growing number of white students. The change is most dramatic at Bluefield State University, another HBCU in West Virginia, that is now 93 percent white. For both Bluefield and WVSU, attracting whites has been a matter of survival, given the rapid decline of the state’s black population in the wake of the collapse of coal mining. Today only 3.6 percent of the state’s residents are black, according to the most recent Census estimates. (The presence of white students at HBCUs in other southern states is no longer rare, but they are far behind West Virginia schools in enrolling white students.)

“The African American population in this country is going to be flat as far as graduation rates,” said Anthony Jenkins, the president of WVSU. “So if you have historically white and historically black institutions fighting for this small pool of African American students, you have to recruit other students from other ethnic and multicultural backgrounds.” More on VICE.

This $1Million Grant Should Ramp Up HBCU Aerospace Learning

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The space race is expected to become a $2.7 trillion powerhouse, yet companies can’t find enough people for rocket science and system engineering jobs. 

Base-11,  a nonprofit group which teaches people to think beyond decimals, sets students on direct pathways to four-year degrees, jobs, and start-ups with hands-on training in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Recently, a  donor gave a $1.5 million grant to Base-11 to foster career development with aerospace departments at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

The initiative was announced at the annual gathering of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, also known as The Boulé, the oldest African American fraternity with more than 5,000 members across 134 chapters.

“Sigma Pi Phi is honored to support the next generation of aerospace talent, and ensure young African Americans are part of the commercial space race,” said Wes Coleman, president of Sigma Pi Phi. “We are proud to count among our members the leaders of many HBCUs and of Base-11, and look forward to working together.”

The grant to increase the numbers of African Americans in the commercial space industry comes just weeks after the announcement of the Base-11 Space Challenge, a $1 million competition for a student-led team to build and launch a liquid fuel rocket to the edge of space.

The Base-11 Space Challenge was announced June 6 at Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, where youth in South Los Angeles can learn everything from piloting aircraft to building rockets.

NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin headlined the event that drew leaders from aerospace, government and academia as well as student rocket team members.

“The African American workforce and entrepreneurial community was largely left behind by the tech boom in Silicon Valley, and we don’t want to see the same thing happen with commercial space,” said Landon Taylor, chief executive officer of Base-11.

“This grant will equip an HBCU with the seed capital and human capital needed to build a student rocketry program that can work in concert with industry to develop in-demand aerospace talent and launch new innovations that will harness space as the new frontier,” Landon said.

Base-11 will fund a grant to one HBCU to develop a hands-on rocket program, create a liquid-fuel rocket lab, as well as recruit and hire aerospace faculty to head the development of a liquid fuel program within its engineering school.

“We hope that this is just the first of several grants, and that more partners will step forward to establish and support aerospace education at HBCUs,” said Dwayne Murray, who leads Sigma Pi Phi’s committee on HBCUs.

Interested HBCUs will be able to apply for the grant beginning August 2018. The grant recipient is expected to be selected by the end of fall. Read more