FVSU floods the NFL with free agents

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Just one day after the National Football League lockout ended, the floodgates of free agent signing opened and crested with an all-time high for the Fort Valley State University Wildcats. With the signing of Ricardo Lockette, Dionte Dinkins, Darnell Burks and Narada Williams, it was the first time in the school’s history that four players were signed as free agents in the same year.

News of the first FVSU player signed as a free agent came early on Tuesday, July 26, when speedster Ricardo Lockette was hired by the Seattle Seahawks. While barely missing selection in the NFL draft, Lockette, a native of Albany, Ga., was the first wide receiver to be drafted as a free agent.  At 6’2, 215 lbs, Lockette finished the 2010 season as the Wildcats’ third leading receiver with a total of 23 receptions for 262 yards.  He averaged 11.4 yards per catch and had one touchdown grab. As the team’s kick return specialist, he averaged 24 yards per return.

The next FVSU player contracted as a free agent was defensive back Dionte Dinkins, who joined the St. Louis Rams. At 6’2, 195lbs, Dinkins is the prototypical defensive back. Despite an early injury, he finished the 2010 FVSU season with 16 tackles, one interception, five pass break-ups, six passes defended, one forced fumble and two blocked kicks.

Interest in defensive back Darnell Burks was extremely high among the NFL franchises. After all, Burks was noted as one of the fiercest defensive backs in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and finished fifth for the Wildcats in tackles during his senior campaign. With offers from multiple teams, Burks decided to play for the New York Giants. In 2010, the Shellman, Ga. native tallied 54 tackles for FVSU. He also had 10.5 tackles for losses totaling 71 yards and registered 5.5 sacks for 50 yard. Burks had two interceptions on the season along four pass break ups, six passes defended, two quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble, and one blocked kick.

The day concluded with word that the Detroit Lions nabbed FVSU’s Narada Williams as a free agent. Williams, 6’4, 255 lbs, finished the 2010 FVSU season with 35 tackles and eight tackles for losses.  He also had 4.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Williams is from Douglasville, Ga.

FVSU employee institute kicks off new school year

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Most Fort Valley State University employees know what they’d do with a pay raise. For some, new money would be spent paying down bills, stashing it into a savings account or shopping; but President Dr. Larry E. Rivers’ unexpected pay increase from the Board of Regents will benefit Wildcats.
“Whatever is left of my raise, minus social security and taxes, will go to the general student scholarship fund until all FVSU employees receive a raise,” Rivers announced during the presidential address at the 2011 Faculty/Staff Institute Aug. 8 in the C.W. Pettigrew Center auditorium.

Rivers explained to a back-from-summer-vacation, standing-room-only audience of FVSU employees why the BOR approved the raise in July. FVSU’s chief executive and Albany State University president, Dr. Edward Freeman, were the two lowest paid leaders in the University System of Georgia.

The audience applauded Rivers’ pledge of cash to the scholarship fund. Since USG revenues are up and the system is operating in the black, a potential pay increase for employees may come as early as the 2012-2013 fiscal year according to Rivers. Employees received the last raise in 2006.

Almost 700 FVSU faculty and staffers arrived early and reconnected with colleagues in the lobby after completing paperwork for new parking decals. During the institute’s morning session, department heads introduced new employees and formally announced promotions. The most notable included Dr. Govind Kannan, recently named dean of the College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology. Willie Williams was appointed FVSU’s interim vice president of student affairs and enrollment management.

During a break, employees feasted on fresh, hot buttered popcorn, served by Health Services and courtesy of FVSU’s Office of Marketing and Communications. The surprise appearance of the Blue Machine Marching Band was a crowd pleaser.

Read Full Article at FVSU

Tri-Cities High School Student Makes The Mark At Clark Atlanta University Summer Science Program

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Confident and articulate, high school student Clarisa Hernandez was not the least bit nervous when she made her recent presentation on a drug delivery system for prostate cancer cells, before an audience of faculty, researchers and students at Clark Atlanta University (CAU).

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FAMU Students were Leaders in National Technology Transfer Competition

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Three graduate students in the Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS) participated in the Emerging Minority Business Leaders (EMBL) Summer Institute at West Liberty University in Wheeling, W.Va.

The program, now in its 15th year, seeks to develop and empower students from a wide variety of backgrounds to become the next generation of entrepreneurs and technology leaders for the advancement of American society.

The students were as follows:

Byron Aguilar, a fourth-year doctoral student in the medicinal chemistry program;
Jennifer Green, a fifth-year doctoral student in the pharmacology program; and
Randolph Duverna, a fifth-year doctoral student in the Medicinal Chemistry program

The students first learned about the program when Tyrone Taylor, an administrator for the initiative and ex-NASA employee, came to FAMU in the spring of this year and made a presentation. Aguilar, Green and Duverna were three of only 20 students to attend the lecture.

“The EMBL competition strengthened what we were learning in the Intellectual Property class,” said Duverna. “It gave me an opportunity to learn more about business and helped me to be more marketable.”

The test of endurance, focus and stamina began almost immediately for the three students upon their arrival at West Liberty University.

“We were assigned to a tiny dorm room space that we shared with a roommate and no air conditioning!” says Aguilar, who maintains a 3.6 grade point average. “But it really didn’t matter because we were only in our rooms long enough to get a few hours of sleep.”

Read Full Article at FAMU

Howard University Presents the “New” College of Pharmacy

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The Howard University School of Pharmacy is now the College of Pharmacy, a freestanding entity, and no longer part of the College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Health Sciences.

The new college was recreated July 1 as part of the University’s ongoing Academic Renewal, giving Howard University 13 schools and colleges. Anthony K. Wutoh, Ph.D., has been named dean of the college.  Wutoh, a registered pharmacist, is responsible for the day-to-day leadership and operation of the college’s programs.

Dr. Eve Higginbotham, senior vice president and executive dean for Health Sciences, said the University felt it appropriate to make the pharmacy school a stand alone college because of the strength of its programs and to bring it in line with the nation’s other pharmacy academic programs.

“Over 80 percent of pharmacy programs are freestanding,” said Higginbotham, who oversees the College of Pharmacy, College of Nursing and Allied Heath Sciences, College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, Howard University Health Sciences Library and Howard University Hospital.  “This puts us in the framework of what we find in the overall academic pharmacy community.”

The change also allows the program to build on its strengths and to attract more academic funding from the federal government and investment from private industry, she said.

Higginbotham pointed to the college’s new Center for Drug Research and Development, as an example of its strengths.

Wutoh said the 4,900 square foot, state-of-the-art facility gives the University the ability to conduct drug research and will accelerate the discovery and development of new drugs and drug products.

The center’s five laboratories and other facilities give faculty, students and outside companies the capability to work on every phase of drug development, from working with the raw pharmaceutical ingredients to the manufacture,  packaging and labeling of the product.

“Our research facility is an example of the potential in the college,” said Wutoh, who served as associate dean of the School of Pharmacy before the transition.

Read Full Article at Howard University

UDC’s Initiative on Equity, Civic Engagement & Community Leadership Banquet

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A banquet was held Monday night, August 8th, to honor 12 UDC interns and to thank the Live to Give Charitable Trust Fund, which made the internships possible.  The dinner was held at B. Smith’s at Union Station and featured remarks from Heather Burns, founder of the Live to Give Charitable Trust, UDC President Dr. Allen L. Sessoms, Professors G. Derek Musgrove and Meena Srinivansan as well as many of the interns who were able to attend.  Dr. Sessoms congratulated the interns as “demonstrating the great talent that lies within UDC.”

UDC’s Initiative for Equity, Civic Engagement and Community Leadership focuses on social justice and equity.  It encompasses public service, community/civic engagement, research and scholarship.  The initiative aspires to demonstrate strategies and solutions that revitalize disadvantaged urban communities and their residents.  It ensures that economic and social prosperity are equitably distributed across U.S. communities.

The interns, their majors and the organizations in which they worked are as follows:

  • Brandi Bell (Environmental Science) – Living City Block
  • Natasha Bennett (Administration of Justice) – Washington Bureau of the NAACP
  • Jose Campos (UDC Law) – Latino Economic Development Corp.
  • William Fenwick (History) – Bill of Rights Defense Committee
  • Rosham Ghimire (Mass Media) – Empower DC
  • Erin Herrero (UDC Law) – David A. Clarke School of Law’s Low Income Tax Clinic
  • Samantha Holley (UDC Law) – DC American Civil Liberties Union
  • Angeline Hotio (UDC Law) – Second Chance Employment Services
  • Cedric Jocktane (Architecture) – UDC Archetectural Research Institute
  • Leslie Johnson (Public Health) – Effie Barry HIV/AIDS Initiative
  • Vincent Tanoe (Applied Statistics) – TeamHappy.org
  • Patrina Whitney (History) – Institute of Caribbean Studies

Read Full Article at UDC

Dr. Maya Green Alabama A&M University Biology Graduate helps minorities with HIV/AIDS

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Chicago’s Dr. Maya Green, MD, MPH recently won a Minority Clinical Fellowship to help minorities with HIV or AIDS who lack care in their communities.

The fellowship was awarded by the HIV Medicine Association and has grants from Gilead Foundation, Genentech, and Tibotec.

“The first thing I recall was excitement,” Dr. Green said about winning the fellowship. “I was shocked that I received it and I was really thankful.”

Dr. Green grew up in what is formerly known as Chatam, now the Roseland community on Chicago’s South Side. She went to Whitney Young High School, where she attended for three years but was let go due to her behavior and grades.

“After I saw the things in my community that were going on, it did have an effect on me where I didn’t put forth a lot of effort in high school,” she said. “I finished at a Christan high school called Liberty Temple. In addition to that, I had to do night school and summer school and make up for some of the things I lost in those first three years.” Dr. Green went to Julian for summer school and Olive Harvey for night school for that summer.

“I didn’t want to stay where I was. My life’s purpose guided me to help me change my life,” she said. That’s another thing, if anyone is at the point where they aren’t enjoying their life, I want them to know that it is possible to change. It is possible not to live their life the same way.”

By the time she got to college she was focused and she knew why she was there. Although Green didn’t get the best grades, she graduated cum laude from Alabama A&M, in Huntsville, with a bachelor of science in biology. After college she originally became a teacher for fourth and fifth graders for four years.

“I always wanted to be a physician. I was initially nervous about going to medical school because on the inside I didn’t think I could do it,” Dr. Green said. “Something inside of me didn’t think I could do it, so I was nervous about that. I didn’t apply.”

Green described children as “extremely honest.” “So all the time when I was asking them what their dreams were they would ask me the same thing. And they were like ‘well if you say we could do what we want to, how come you’re not doing what you what to?'” she said. “And that is what kind of sparked me to go to medical school and follow the path and I’m thankful for that.”

Green received her medical degree and masters of public health degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

During medical school she worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago as a nursing assistant. She’s also done work at Cook County, Illinois Masonic Medical Center and Great Lakes Naval Base—to name a few.

Read Full Article at WindyCityTimes

CBS Anchor Joins Lincoln University Faculty

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CBS 3 on-air personality Dave Huddleston is the new instructor of the Lincoln University course Comm 453-Television Practicum in the Mass Communications Center of Excellence.

The purpose of the television practicum is to offer mass communications students practical broadcast experience.  The students will be given ample opportunity to take part in all aspects of television production and operation.  The primary mode of learning will be through hands-on application in: station management, board operation, production, promotions, news, sports and entertainment.

Huddleston is currently the co-anchor of Eyewitness News at 10 on The CW Philly as well as anchor of the Sunday evening edition of CBS 3’s Eyewitness News.  He joined CBS 3 as weekend anchor in November 2008.  In February 2009, he became the anchor of the newly launched 10 p.m. newscast on sister station The CW Philly 57.

He is also a multi-award-winning anchor and reporter.  Huddleston came to the Philadelphia market from Minneapolis where he had been an anchor/reporter for WCCO, the CBS station, since 1993.  While at WCCO, he was one of a team of reporters to receive the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for a series of stories on the importance of mentoring. Huddleston also spent three years as a weekend anchor for WKOW in Madison, Wisconsin.  In addition, he served as the host for the national Emmy Award-winning science show, “Newton’s Apple.”

Read Full Article at Lincoln

Bowie State University Homecoming 2011 – September 11-18 Mark Your Calendars

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Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 17 for the homecoming football game when the Bowie State Bulldogs will take on the Blue Bears of Livingstone College! Bowie State alumni and fans will be tailgating and reconnecting during homecoming week, September 11-18, 2011 and we invite you to come back to BSU to be involved in our annual celebration!
Events and activities in store for this year include the alumni cruise and alumni artist reception, a comedy show and concert featuring mainstream artists, and, of course, the parade and carnival on the day of the game. You don’t want to miss out on these exciting events celebrating thetradition and legacy of our Bowie State University alumni, students and community.

More details about the events leading up to the game will be posted here on the official homecoming website soon. Check back for the announcement of the comedy show and concert lineup! Go Bulldogs!

Long Live the King Part II- Reaching the Mountaintop

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“With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A mountain is a colossal formation of rock that was created years before man’s memory, a testament to the Great Architect’s everlasting mastery. It is permanent, it is incredibly hard to overcome, and it is impervious to change.

It is also a reminder of man’s futility in searching for immortality. A mountain is interminable, but man can meet his end on any given day. Some of us cannot live forever. We can try to live on through leaving a legacy, what we were able to create while on Earth.  Common’s Finding Forever album sets its theme on the premise that through music, he, along with the most legendary of musicians (Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur) can live forever, long after they have retired and have gone on to make music with angels.

Sports heroes can reach the same plateau, but only by transcending their sport. Michael Jordan’s name is synonymous with basketball, and he became the sport’s first global icon and brand, thus he has a statue outside of the United Center in Chicago where he made basketball his kingdom. Bill Russell, the NBA’s  most championed player with 11 titles under his belt, will have a statue of him in Boston’s City Hall Plaza, an overdue tribute to Boston’s biggest winner–in championships and in race relations.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of mountains in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, the quote italicized above and the one that will appear on the side of the 30-foot mountain of a memorial in which MLK’s likeness emerges, standing tall and firm. In his most famous speech, he referred to escaping out of “a mountain of despair.” That perfectly symbolizes how African-Americans felt about America and its system of segregated racism and discrimination. It is permanent. It is incredibly hard to overcome. It is impervious to change.

The committee who created the monument did their best to make King’s words as literal as possible. When we go to Washington, D.C. to see the memorial, we will travel through what the designers have proclaimed the “mountain of despair”-a boulder shaped portal through which tourists and visitors will walk through. This symbolizes the struggle King went through in order to obtain justice and equality.

This leads to The Stone of Hope King mentioned in his speech. Why a stone? I believe that when an entity such as a mountain changes and becomes something new, it has to be given a new name. It is not the same as it once was, even though it looks the same. King didn’t change the name of the United States, but he did change it–forever, and for the better. King changed America, the mountain of racism and oppression that he was destined to climb and conquer.

His last speech, given the day before his assassination, was entitled “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop.” He talked about the crazy black woman who tried to take his life by stabbing him in the chest with a letter opener. The blow was so severe that if he sneezed, he would die. He went on live a life of service, helping to climb the mountain of racism and segregation in America. The next thing he did was bigger for the cause than the last one. He had to start at the bottom, because that’s how you climb mountains. He helped the Civil Rights Movement make stride and stride, overcoming challenge after challenge.  He was there when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Those accomplishments are nothing to sneeze at.

He knew on April 3, 1968 that he did not have long to live. He said he would not be with us to reach the mountaintop, but that as a people, we would reach the Promised Land. A land where mountains, like King, are interminable.

Jerry Rice Named Greatest HBCU Football Player of All Time – Mississippi Valley State

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Sports website HBCU Sports Online have drafted up a list of who they think are the 25 Greatest HBCU Players of the Modern Era and none other than Mississippi Valley State University alum and Super Bowl champion Jerry Rice topped the list. While at MVSU Rice was a three time All-SWAC conference player and set all-time SWAC receiving records with 310 career catches and remains the Delta Devils’ only 1st round draft pick into the NFL.,

He tops a list that featured a plethora of familiar names including Super Bowl players and champions Steve McNair (Alcorn State University), Michael Strahan (Texas Southern), Greg Lloyd (Fort Valley State), Walter Payton (Jackson State) and recent NFL Hall of Fame inductees Shannon Sharpe (Savannah State University) and Richard Dent (Tennessee State University).

The list was comprised by sports writers and HBCU sports information directors across the country. Of course with any list, there was plenty of debate in the comments section. A couple of people felt that many players were slighted because they did not have great professional careers.

“I knew it. This a PRO survey,” said commenter Anntony L. Pace. “No Earl Harvey? No Richard Huntley? You’ve GOT to be kidding me!”

You can check out the rest of the list HERE to see if any of your favorite players or schools were represented.

Delaware State University Sustainability Garden in Full Produce Bloom

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The DSU Sustainable Garden was one of the elements that won the University’s the 2011 Second Nature’s Climate Leadership Award at this year’s American College & University President’s Climate Commitment Leadership Summit held in Washington, D.C. on June 23.
The DSU Sustainable Garden is maintained by students from the University’s Cooperative Extension and the DSU Green Ambassadors.
The garden is a throwback to the years when the campus – back in the years when the institution was known as the State College for Colored Students and later Delaware State College in the early to mid-1900s – grew much of the produce that was consumed by the students in its food service facility.
Referenced from Delstate

Alcorn State University pays off $680,000 bond, proves financial stability

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Alcorn State University recently paid off its $680,000 revenue bond acquired in 1996 for constructing a residence hall on its Natchez Campus. The project was completed in 1997 and it also included equipping and furnishing the dormitory initially intended for ASU School of Nursing students.

“With today’s concerns over long-term bond agreements and debt, this payoff is evidence of Alcorn’s financial stability,” says Alcorn President M. Christopher Brown II. “We value our financial portfolio and work hard to continue Alcorn’s growth and ability to assist our constituents.” The cost of the project was estimated at $2,894,950 and the state of Mississippi issued general obligation bonds to provide funding in the approximate amount of $2,200,000 to pay a portion of the total project costs. The $680,000 institutional bond was issued to pay the balance of the project costs. The additional funds allowed Alcorn to double the Natchez Campus Residence Hall’s capacity.

The key accessible and 24-hour security monitored Natchez Residence Hall Complex houses ASU School of Nursing and School of Business students as well as Copiah-Lincoln Community College students who attend college in Natchez. The complex is divided into three buildings: individual residence halls for male and female students and the main building that includes the director’s office, guest lobby, kitchen area, computer laboratory, and laundry facilities.

“Alcorn State University strives to provide its students with a living and learning environment that fosters excellence,” says President Brown. “And this project allowed the University to provide a state-of-the-art facility that enriches our students socially and academically.”

Article Referenced from Alcorn State 

Morgan State Named Among ‘America’s Best Colleges’ by Forbes Magazine

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Ranks in Top Third Among Research, Southern Institutions

Morgan State University has been included in a very elite group of colleges and universities around the country, named one of ‘America’s Best Colleges’ recently by Forbes Magazine. Listed among the top quarter of the nation’s colleges and universities, Morgan also ranked among the ten best historically black colleges and universities.

“To be included among such an exclusive list of colleges and universities shows Morgan’s continued drive to be among the best research institutions in the nation,” said Morgan President David Wilson. “We believe the academic, social and cultural experience here at Morgan to be without peer, and our place on this list demonstrates a recognition of the same outside of our community.”

Read Referenced Article Article at MSU

MSU Professor Named to Governor’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council

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Council to Lead Integration of Electric Vehicles Into Maryland Communities

Governor O’Malley recently named Morgan State Professor Z. Andrew Farkas to a newly formed state Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure Council. Dr. Farkas joins automobile manufacturers and dealers, electrical vehicle (EV) charging manufacturers and environmental and energy experts to plan and coordinate the successful integration of electric vehicles into Maryland’s communities and transportation system.

The Council will develop recommendations on the supply, support systems and consumer awareness strategies the state will take to promote the use of electric vehicles in commercial and private use.

Dr. Farkas is also the Director for the National Transportation Center at Morgan State University.

Article referenced from Morgan State

Hampton University Pharmacy School Lauded for Partnership

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White Coat Ceremony at Hampton University (Roops Photography)

HU Pharmacy School Lauded for Partnership –  The Hampton University School of Pharmacy was recently recognized, by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)  and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, for its educational partnership with the Norfolk Technical Center. Norfolk Technical Center houses the only Virginia Board approved pharmacy technician program in a public high school system in Hampton Roads. The goal of the partnership is to build a pipeline of students who want to further their education and pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Hampton University.

HU School of Pharmacy Assistant Dean of Academic and Student Affairs Corinne Ramaley, has served on the advisory board for the pharmacy technician program at Norfolk Technical Center, within Norfolk Public Schools, since 2010. Crystal Stokes received the VDOE Career and Technical Education “Creating Excellence Award,” in the individual teacher category, for the Hampton University/Norfolk Technical Center Pharmacy Technician Partnership. Stokes is the pharmacy instructor in the School of Health Occupations at Norfolk Technical Center.

The partnership with Norfolk Technical Center is a component of the HU School of Pharmacy’s strategic plan to enhance recruitment of high school students to HU’s pre-professional pharmacy program. Students in this high school program are eligible for Virginia Pharmacy Technician State Licensure and national certification from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).  McDonnell and the VDOE acknowledged three exemplary career and technical programs, and outstanding work of private sector and local educators.

Read Full Articles at Hampton University