$1.4 million in grant money under federal investigation at Alabama A&M

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A dispute over the administration of a multi-million dollar grant by Alabama A&M University is under investigation by a federal agency.

The dispute centers around $1.4 million that Alabama A&M said it is withholding because of questions regarding the grant, which is designed to provide textbooks to children in Ethiopia.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which issued the grant, said today the grant is “under investigation” and officials could not comment. read more….

Bowie State opens Business Innovation Center

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The nonprofit Business Innovation Center opened at Bowie State University in October, initially hosting four resident businesses.

More than five years in the making, the center will serve as an incubator for fledgling businesses, providing office space, equipment and receptionist services, coaching and mentoring, business plan support and other services with an eye to fostering strong companies that can provide jobs, revitalize neighborhoods and energize the local economy.

The center is the fruit of a partnership between the university and the city, which commissioned a feasibility study to determine how it could foster small business growth. read more…

Obama mania: Another 4 years

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Four years ago, Jakarah Porter was so excited she could hardly stand it. She was a high-school senior in Mobile, Ala., who was about to cast her first vote in a presidential election, and it was going to be for Barack Obama, who would become the first African-American president.

“I was part of history,” said Porter, the president of Dillard University’s student body. “I felt so honored.”

Four years later, Porter said she will vote for Obama again, but some of the magic is gone. Her enthusiasm has been tempered by the events of the past four years, most notably the sluggish economy. read more…

Dillard to host gala for nursing school’s 70th anniversary

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The 70th anniversary of Dillard University ‘s School of Nursing will be celebrated Nov. 11 with a 5 p.m. gala in the Professional Schools and Sciences Building. Tickets are $70; the proceeds will be used for scholarships.

The event will feature a reception, dinner, live music, a film chronicling the school’s history and a speech by Mackie Harper Norris, a 1960 graduate.

Tickets are on sale in the cashier’s office on the first floor of Rosenwald Hall during business hours. People also may contact Travis Chase at tchase@dillard.edu or 504.816.4713. read more…

Moody’s cuts credit rating for Cheyney and other PA colleges

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Moody’s Investors Service has cut the credit rating on $1.5 billion borrowed by West Chester University, Cheyney University, and the 12 other Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education colleges to Aa3, from Aa2.

The state-owned colleges face “weakening state support” under Gov. Corbett, along with “declining enrollment” – the number of full-time students dropped below 107,000 this fall, from 112,000 a year ago – and “weak” applications from feeder high schools, especially in depressed parts of Western Pennsylvania. Moody’s also cited “political limitations on the system’s ability to raise tuition and fees, and challenges in reducing expenditures” under negotiated labor contracts. read more…

FAMU’s Joe Taylor will retire after 40 years of coaching

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Expressing a sense of fulfillment after 40 years of coaching that included the last five seasons at FAMU, Joe Taylor stunningly announced Saturday morning he is retiring from college football.

Taylor said he and his wife, Beverly, discussed it for several months before he decided to retire after the Rattlers play their final game, Nov. 17 in the Florida Classic.

Taylor told his players of the decision here during a meeting before they boarded the team bus for Aggies Stadium, where the Rattlers were set to face North Carolina A&T in a pivotal MEAC game. read more…

First Lady visits Hampton U

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First lady Michelle Obama asked Hampton University students Friday to change their plans for the weekend and volunteer for President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign’s effort to get voters to the polls Tuesday.

“Hampton students, whatever you are planning to do for the weekend that doesn’t involve getting the vote out – postpone that,” the first lady told a raucous crowd of more than 2,200. “A weekend out of your lives could make a difference about your future.” read more…

Bulldog men picked to finish last in MEAC basketball poll

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It will be a full decade next year since the South Carolina State men’s basketball team last appeared in the NCAA tournament.

The rest of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference apparently believes this dry spell will continue. Coming off the worst season in school history, the Bulldogs were picked to finish last by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.

S.C. State received only 62 voting points, well behind 1st place and defending regular-season champion Savannah State (616) which received 24 of 26 first-place votes. Second-place Delaware State and fourth place MEAC tournament champion Norfolk State received the other first-place votes. read more…

Hawkins Selected to MEAC Preseason All-First Team

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The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference released the 2012-13 preseason rankings and honors early Tuesday afternoon and the Delaware State University women’s basketball team is predicted to finish 11th in the league while redshirt sophomore Tierra Hawkins (Clinton, Md.) was selected to the MEAC Preseason All-First Team.
The Hornets received a total of 160 points in the preseason poll, as voted on by the conference’s head women’s basketball coaches and sports information directors. read more…

18 Famous Historically Black College and University Alumni

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Many of pop culture’s biggest names have their own remarkable origin story. A lucky break, a serendipitous career move, or the life experience and knowledge gained at university.

It should come as no surprise, then, that quite a number of today’s black leaders — actors, singers, authors and political figures — all share a common bond: as fellow HBCU alumni.

From Florida A&M to Howard, Spelman to Morehouse, here are 15 of some of the most famous contemporary faces to come out of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. read more…

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Former Howard U dean, Austin Lane passes

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Austin D. Lane, 79, who retired from Howard University in 1986 as dean for special student services, died Oct. 27 at a nursing home in Oxford, N.C.

He had complications from diabetes and dementia, said a nephew, Robert B. Lane Jr.

Austin David Lane was a native of Raleigh, N.C., and a 1958 business administration graduate of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. He was a 1961 graduate of Howard University law school and received a master’s degree in law from Georgetown University in 1963. read more…

Miss Mykie: From Howard University to ‘106 & Park’

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It’s always hard for fans when the hosts of “106 & Park” change. Though AJ and Free, the original hosts, left the show in 2005, a Google search of the words “Bring AJ and Free back” will prove that some fans still have not let go. Big Tigger and Julissa filled in for a while, but in 2006 Rocsi Diaz and Terrence Jenkins settled in, and carried BET’s music video countdown for six years.

After the network announced in May that they would be leaving, BET upped the replacement host ante, launching “The Search”, a nationwide contest to be the next host of the music video countdown show. read more…

FAMU professor awarded U.S. patent to indentify bacteria stains

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Marlon S. Thomas, bioengineer and professor in Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, has been awarded United States Patent No. 8,252,522 for his research development in species detection methods and systems.

Bacterial infections continue to be one of the major health risks in this country and timing in successfully diagnosing life-threatening ailments contributes to the high cost of health care and patient mortality.

Thomas, after six years of research, has invented a new method to quickly identify bacteria stains by using chemical dyes and fluorescent assays. read more…

HBCU Power Rankings

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This is the first I’ve seen/read of this, but Boxtorow has just released its latest HBCU Power Rankings. It’s the third week of such rankings, so I guess it’s better late than never.

Jackson State isn’t on the list, but several of the Tigers’ opponents are. Alabama A&M comes in at No. 7, Alabama State at No. 5 and Arkansas-Pine Bluff is ranked third.

Tennessee State is ranked No. 1. read more…

Farrakhan leaves Bowie State students with a message

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The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered an inspirational message of empowerment and responsibility to a capacity crowd of mostly students inside the Martin Luther King Jr. Communication Arts Center on the campus of Bowie State University October 26.

“I am the change that I’ve been looking for,” Minister Farrakhan told the crowd and those viewing live nationwide via Internet web-cast. “Don’t look for somebody else to make change for you. You have got to say I am the change that I’ve been looking for,” he added. read more…