Mister A&T Also Rules HBCU Nation

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James Bowen II is not just the king of N.C. A&T. He’s the king of all the historically black colleges and universities in the nation. John Newsom of New & Record sat down with Bowen:

Q. How do you become Mister A&T?

A. You go through a pageant. You have to do an oratory, a talent, an ease of manner section — it’s formal wear — and then a question-and-answer portion. From that pageant, the judges eliminate it down to the top three. Whoever those top three are, they go on to campaign to the university. The students vote for who they would like to be Mister A&T.

Mister A&T serves the overall university. It’s part of the SGA (Student Government Association).

Q. What are your duties?

A. There are two main goals. One is, you have to speak at different events, attend events where the chancellor is present and provide representation on behalf of the student body.

Also, you provide community service for the campus. … Last semester I organized a march to the polls. We marched down to the Greensboro courthouse, and the students went down to vote for local elections. This semester, we just finished off a shoe drive.

Read more here

White House to Recognize HBCU Champions of Change Hosted by Terrence J

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The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans Twitter Account will recognize “Champions of Change” from Historically Black Colleges & Universities, according to the White House. The event will be moderated by Terrence Jenkins, better known as Terrence J.

The NCAT grad is an American actor, television personality and model best known for his work as host of BET’s popular music video countdown show 106 & Park from 2006 until 2012. He is now a co-anchor of E! News.

The Champions of Change are honored for their outstanding work to cultivate a rich learning environment and build initiatives to that promote post-baccalaureate success.

LIVE 10am ET here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

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This Black History Month, the White House will recognize faculty and staff members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that drive the college completion agenda. These leaders work with students, families, higher education leaders, and policymakers to build paths to graduation.

To reach President Obama’s goal of helping our nation lead the world in college completion by 2020, we must ensure that more African American students graduate from college. Currently, the college graduation rate for African American students is 34.3 percent, compared to 47.1 percent for Asian students, 46.2 percent for white students, and 41.05 percent for Hispanic students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015).

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HBCU Innovation in the Fast Lane

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If someday you’re eating your beloved peanuts and they don’t spark an allergic reaction, think about innovation at an HBCU. Or if your vehicle, supported by an artificial intelligence valet system, can find its own parking space and avoid collisions, think once again about innovation occurring at an HBCU.

Those represent two colorful examples among a chest of accomplishments of technological innovation occurring on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Statistics show that the 105 U.S. institutions with that designation produce 23 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, 13 percent of all master’s degrees and 20 percent of all first professional degrees earned each year by African-American students.

“HBCUs conduct research in many areas of national and global importance, and HBCU faculty and students are advancing solutions to breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Parkinson’s disease,” said John Michael Lee Jr., who was appointed vice president of the Office for Access and Success for the Advancement of Public Black Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions, by the Washington, D.C -based Association of Public and Land-grant Universities in September 2012.

Lee said the pace of innovation at HBCUs has grown steadily since the mid-2000s, noting that before 1970, no HBCU-affiliated inventor had received a patent for an invention, but more than 100 patents have been issued since that time, including 17 in 2012.

The expectation is that HBCU campuses will be as robust as majority institutions in spawning an expanding roster of students, researchers, scientists and inventors tinkering in labs at HBCU campuses, perhaps someday mirroring the accomplishments of legendary African-American inventors like Granville Woods, Garrett A. Morgan and George Washington Carver, and contemporaries like Mark Dean, Lonnie G. Johnson and James E. West.

With peanuts, agricultural researchers at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, North Carolina, began developing a process in 2007 for cost effectively removing allergens from the popular food. Peanut allergies, which can cause health issues ranging from hives on the skin, difficult digestion and breathing and conditions like anaphylaxis that can be deadly, afflict millions of people worldwide. read more…

 

Bowie State’s Cameron Knox Named 2015 CIAA Player of the Year

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Bowie State’s Cameron Knox is the second leading scorer in the CIAA, averaging 17.7 points per game this season. The Baltimore native has been recently named 2015 CIAA Player of The Year, and to top that off the Bulldogs can clinch the CIAA Northern Division title with a win over Elizabeth City State.

Below is a release from the CIAA:

Cameron-KnoxHampton, V.A. — The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Men’s and Women’s Basketball Coaches and Sports Information Directors have selected the 2015 slate of All-Conference honorees. This season’s line-up features Men’s Player of the Year, Cameron Knox of Bowie State University and Verdine Warner of Shaw University as Women’s Player of the Year.

Knox, a senior forward from Baltimore, Maryland, is a three-time CIAA Player of the Week and leads the conference in points scored (461). He ranks in the top 5 in field goals made, three pointers made, steals and points per game. He has only one disqualification in the 26 games he started.

Warner, a native of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies, is second in the conference in scoring average, first in total points, first in rebounds per game, third in field goal percentage and tied for second in blocked shots per game. She averaged 27.5 points per 40 minutes in the 27 games she’s played.

Knox and Warner are joined by Tyrece Little (Virginia State) and Deja Middleton (Fayetteville State) as Defensive Players of the Year. All four honorees and their fellow All-Conference selectees will be formally recognized at the Men’s and Women’s Tip-Off Awards Luncheon scheduled for Monday, February 23 in Charlotte.

For more information about the CIAA Tournament, visit TheCIAA.com/bballtournament.

2014 All-CIAA Men’s Basketball Team

FRONTCOURT

#22 WyKevin Bazemore Winston-Salem St.Senior F Kelford, NC
#3 Hakeem Jackson Livingstone Senior F/C Live Oak, FL
#20 Darrell Ward Elizabeth City St.Senior F White Plains, NY
#23 Stedmon Lemon Johnson C. Smith Junior F Lithonia, GA
#34 Eric Mayo Livingstone Senior F Shelby, NC
#1 Tyrece Little Virginia St. Senior F Greenville, NC
#5 Donta Harper Winston-Salem St. Senior F Greenville, NC’s

BACKCOURT
#4 Cameron Knox Bowie St. Senior G Baltimore, MD
#4 Eric Dubose Livingstone Junior G Brooklyn, NY
#3 Raheem Jolliffe St. Augustine’s Senior G Fayetteville, NC
#3 Lamar Kearse Virginia St.Senior G Syracuse, NY
#4 Kyree Bethe lChowan Senior G Fayetteville, NC

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Cameron Knox, Bowie State University
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tyrece Little, Virginia State University

2014 All-CIAA Women’s Basketball Team

FRONTCOURT
41 Verdine Warner Shaw Senior C St. Vincent and the Grenadines, WN
23 Tiffanie Adair Virginia St. Senior F Spartanburg, SC
32 Zephrah Pam Lincoln (Pa.) Senior C Syracuse, NY
21 Deja Middleton Fayetteville St. Senior C Richmond, VA
11 Alisha Mobley Chowan Junior F Winchester, VA
14 Dionna Scott Winston-Salem St. Senior F South Riding, VA
21 Donia Naylor Bowie St. Senior F Washington, DC

BACKCOURT

4 Jadda Jefferies Elizabeth City St. Senior G Burlington, NC
4 Ashle Freeman Virginia Union Senior G Richmond, VA
00 Dashae Jones Virginia St. Senior G Norfolk, VA
3 Ty-Nita Baker Bowie St. Junior G Houston, MS
23 Cierra York Livingstone Senior G Winston-Salem, NC

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Verdine Warner, Shaw University
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Deja Middleton, Fayetteville State University

Report: 10 States Withheld $57 Million in HBCU Funding

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Nearly $57 Million in funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are withheld, reports the APLU. In a 2013 survey of 1890 land-grant universities conducted by the APLU Office for Access and Success, 50 percent of institutions indicated that they did not receive one-to-one matching funds from their state.

Courtney at Black Enterprise explains:

[quote_box_center]Between 2010 and 2012, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Florida and Delaware reportedly did not allocate proper funds to some of the minority institutions within their state. [/quote_box_center]

A second Morrill Act, aimed at the former Confederate states, was passed in 1890 that required each state to show that race was not an admissions criterion, or else to designate a separate land-grant institution for persons of color. Among the 70 colleges and universities which eventually evolved from the Morrill Acts are several of today’s historically black colleges and universities.

Though the 1890 Act granted cash instead of land, it granted colleges under that act the same legal standing as the 1862 Act colleges, hence why the term “land-grant college” properly applies to both groups. However, many did not receive land nor money.

Frank Show – Southern Center Back for A&M Game

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Southern is just getting used to playing with a smaller lineup and now it’s getting one of its big men back.

Center Frank Snow, who has missed the last four games after undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone in his shooting hand, is expected to return to the floor when the Jaguars (13-14, 10-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference) play Alabama A&M (7-15, 6-6) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

Snow won’t return to the starting lineup right away and he’ll play limited minutes as coach Roman Banks eases him back into action. Nonetheless Snow’s return is significant because he joins Keith Davis as the tallest players on the team at 6-foot-10. Jared Sam (6-9) is the only other player taller than 6-7.

“Our biggest struggle this season has been rebounding,” guard Christopher Hyder said, “so having Frank back will be big.”

In Snow’s absence, Banks often went with essentially a four-guard lineup that had 6-4 shooting guard Adrian Rodgers playing power forward, flanked by Trelun Banks (6-1), Tre Lynch (6-0), Hyder (5-11) and one frontcourt player.

Read Full Article via theAdvocate

C-SPAN Black History Tour – Xavier University President

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C-SPAN is hosting a historically black college and university tour, where they will visit several HBCUs in honor of Black History Month. Wednesday, Xavier University of Louisiana President Loren Blanchard sat down with C-SPAN host, Pedro Echevarria.

Blanchard, Loren. Interviewed by Pedro Echevarria. Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Washington Journal, 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

Actor Lamman Rucker to Kick-off FAMU’s Presidential Lecture Series

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Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) President Elmira Mangum, Ph.D., will launch her Presidential Lecture Series on Monday, Feb. 23 with a master class for theatre students and other related majors. The master class will feature actor, educator, activist, and entrepreneur Lamman Rucker.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. in the Charles Winter Wood Theatre in Tucker Hall, located at 515 Orr Drive Tallahassee, FL 32307. FAMU Student ID must be presented for admission.

Rucker is the star of the new film “The Man in 3B,” and his previous credits include “Why Did I Get Married?,” “Why Did I Get Married, Too?,” “The Undershepherd,” “Meet the Browns,” “The Temptations,” “Half & Half,” “As The World Turns,” and “All My Children.”

Rucker is a passionate activist and spokesperson for several non-profit organizations and community action initiatives, including Tied To Greatness, Art Creates Life, Green For All, Good Ground-Good Life, A.H.E.A.D., Inc., Inner City Industry, BET’s Rap-It-Up, the Black AIDS Institute, and the Magic Johnson Foundation.

“Mr. Rucker is an excellent example of what we strive to demonstrate to our students every day,” President Mangum said. “We want our students to graduate with an understanding of how excelling in their respective crafts can and will allow them to use their talents as a platform to positively impact others. The Presidential Lecture Series serves to encourage participants to be engaged in critical thinking, problem-solving, and in honing their skill sets in order to meet the needs of our society.”

Read more here

Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Church the HBCU Way in Washington DC

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Sunday, 7:45 and 10:55 a.m.: HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) Sunday. Alumni and sorority and fraternity members may show their support to these academic institutions by wearing their school colors or Greek paraphernalia and bringing family and friends to the worship services. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, will deliver an uplifting message at both services. The Bowie State University Concert Choir will perform. Shiloh Baptist Church, 1500 Ninth St. NW. 202-232-4288. read more…

Record-Setting Howard Grad Signs With CFL

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As quarterback hopefuls try to impress at the NFL Scouting Combine, Greg McGhee already can call himself a professional.

The former Perry Traditional Academy and Howard University star signed Thursday with the CFL’s B.C. Lions.

Whether it was playing in the City League instead of the WPIAL, at an HBCU instead of a BCS school or in the CFL instead of the NFL, McGhee has succeeded despite taking the road less traveled.

“It’s funny “” I’m always taking a detour route. It’s never the main course,” McGhee said. “It’s another obstacle I have to get over, whether it’s high school, college or professionally.”

It’s a shame McGhee didn’t get a combine invite because the 6-foot-3, 210-pound left-hander would have tested off the charts. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, bench presses 350 pounds and has a 39-inch vertical leap. read more…

C-SPAN Black History Tour – Tuskegee University President

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C-SPAN is hosting a historically black college and university tour, where they will visit several HBCUs in honor of Black History Month. Wednesday, Tuskegee University President Brian Johnson sat down with C-SPAN host, Pedro Echevarria.

Johnson, Brian. Interviewed by Pedro Echevarria. Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Washington Journal, 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

Southern University Welcoming Back Grad David Banner

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It looks like David Banner is finally coming back home to Southern University.

Born in Jackson, MS, the rapper, record producer and actor wrote on his Twitter account that at one time he was banned from speaking as SGA president due to his views on “closed admissions” during his second semester at Southern, and will return to the place that “helped me become a better man,” he says.

Banner also says that prior to his coming back home, Southern had banned him for years from performing at the historically black university.

We’re still unsure exactly what Banner will do while visiting his alma mater on Sunday, but will update as soon as the information becomes available.

UPDATE:

The rapper and occasional actor David Banner says he might hang with some friends and chill on the yard during his first time visit back to Sourthern in years on Sunday…

Student Loan Debt Greatly Affect Lives of Black Students

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According to reports on an analysis done by the Urban Institute, a Washington based organization that studies education, low income families, and health regulations, over 40% of African-American families had student loan debt in 2013. This is comparable to 28% of White families who had student loan debt.

[quote_box_center]From The Huffington Post: “Research shows it’s much harder to get a decent-paying job without a college degree, yet saddling oneself with loans can be daunting. Among African-American students, the choice can be particularly acute.”[/quote_box_center]

The analysis also states that on average, African-American families take on $10,295 of student debt compared to white families who take on $8,020. A report by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says student loan balances have reached $1.16 trillion in the United States alone.

Extra debt once black students graduate could delay wealth increase within their families, which in turn prevents what they can and cannot do in the future, like saving for retirement.

[quote_box_center]“One big reason black families are more likely to borrow for college is because they’re less likely to have access to traditional sources of wealth such as inheritances, or wealth-creating tools such as homeownership.”[/quote_box_center]

The Urban Institute analysis says that it is less likely for African-American students to attend college, and when they do, it is usually a for profit college (Ex: Everest or Strayer University). But profit colleges have been under public scrutiny for some time for their low graduation rates and falsely promising to assist students in getting jobs.

A 2014 study done by the Center for Economic and Policy Research discovered that recent African-American college graduates face double the unemployment rate compared to White Americans. This could be because of discrimination and unintentional bias against black job applicants, reports the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Overall it becomes a “darned if you do, darned if you don’t” situation for African-Americans. Without College, Blacks are less likely to obtain well-paying jobs, and with college they are put in high amounts of debt which spirals off into cutting how much money they will have in the future.

TMCF Award Tuskegee With A Generous Gift

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Tuskegee University, a historically black college or university (HBCU) located in Tuskegee, AL, was the recipient of a generous gift by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) recently. TMCF has awarded Tuskegee $885,000 in Microsoft-funded grant software, the “largest single grant given by the organization in the last four years,” reports say.

[quote_box_center]From The Tuskegee Newsroom: “According to a release from the organization, the TMCF Technology Initiative was created to address long-term technology needs of HBCU campuses and to identify funding sources to support technology upgrades. The grant makes available Microsoft software and licenses across the spectrum of Microsoft products including operating system software, desktop applications, programming, server, site management and instructional software. The university will use the software to enhance campus computing labs with the latest technology to help support student education and research.”[/quote_box_center]

The Newsroom also notes that the multi-hundred thousand dollar grant is the first major gift for historically black university under the leadership of its seventh president, Dr. Brian L. Johnson.

“We, along with our partners at Microsoft, are excited to watch the transformation at Tuskegee.” – Johnny Taylor

President and CEO of the TMCF Johnny Taylor says the Microsoft-funded grant is apart of his “five strategic priorities” regarding Tuskegee’s transition into the 21st century, “We are very pleased that the Thurgood Marshall Fund administered Microsoft award to Tuskegee University is the first of what we hope to be many more as we translate Tuskegee’s historic tradition into a 21st century trajectory,” he said.

Taylor added: “This software grant is key to the implementation of one of my five strategic priorities— Fully Inaugurating 21st Century Higher Education at Tuskegee University: (Through) Innovative Online and Expanded Academic Programming and Instruction, Infrastructure and Technology.”

“We, along with our partners at Microsoft, are excited to watch the transformation at Tuskegee,” Taylor said.

Read more at Tuskegee Newsroom

Grambling State May Name a New President in June

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Grambling State University, a historically black college or university (HBCU) located in Grambling, LA that boasts “where everybody is somebody” plans to announce its new leader as soon as the month of June, reports say.

University of Louisiana System President and Grambling Presidential Search Chair Sandra Woodley told The News Star, “It is critical that we do nothing to limit our choices and these extra two months are worth the potential delay to ensure that we give ourselves the best pool of candidates possible.”

“Therefore, it will be my recommendation that we shift the timeline by two months while still retaining the original goal to have the president begin work at Grambling as close as possible to the beginning of the fall term,” Woodley said.

According to The News Star many applicants are said to be quite worried about GSU’s unknown proposed budget and are holding their resumes because of it:

[quote_box_center]”Higher education is facing a possible loss of almost $400 million in FY 2015-16 that would equate to anywhere from a 40 percent to 60 percent loss of state funding for Grambling.”[/quote_box_center]

The News Star also confirms that the Presidential Search Committee will meet in Baton Rouge on Tuesday to receive a report from its search firm and consider a revised timeline that aims to name a new president in June.

Read more here

200 Jackson State Students Given Free Passports

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Jackson State’s motto is “Challenging minds, changing lives.” They attempted to do just that on Thursday.

In order to promote a two-week studying abroad in six different parts of the world, Jackson State University, along with a nonprofit organization, provided some 200 students attending the university free passports.

[quote_box_center]From The Clarion-Ledger, “In an effort to increase the number of students who travel to other countries, Jackson State University, along with , provided up to 200 JSU students with free passports Thursday.”[/quote_box_center]

Jackson State University, a historically black college or university (HBCU) located in Jackson, MS, joined together with the Council on International Educational Exchange to encourage students to study abroad. Originally the Council said they would provide up to 100 free passports to JSU students, but JSU leaders matched their offer putting the total number to 200 free passports.

[quote_box_center]”In a matter of months, we have created this historic program,” said James Pellow, president and CEO of CIEE. “It’s not only historic for Jackson State University and the state of Mississippi, but it’s a model we believe will be emulated by universities across the nations. It breaks down the barrier of cost, it overcomes the barrier of curriculum and it enhances the culture here at JSU.”[/quote_box_center]

“As a college student, it has been pretty inconvenient and expensive to get a passport,” Jarvis Jones, a Business and Marketing major told The Clarion-Ledger. “I just didn’t really have the income to do it. When I heard about this opportunity, it was really a no-brainer.”

“The whole world is your playground. We’re writing history, not only for Jackson State with this partnership, but also for the whole state of Mississippi and really the nation. That’s what we should be doing,” said JSU President Carolyn Myers.

Read more at The Clarion-Ledger