Southern University at New Orleans’ boasts enrollment increases

NEW ORLEANS, LA - Southern University at New Orleans’ (SUNO) enrollment has increased to 93% of its pre-Hurricane Katrina enrollment of 3,647 students, according to preliminary Spring 2010 figures. Currently, 3,391 students have enrolled this semester, representing the institution’s highest enrollment since Hurricane Katrina. 

This preliminary figure also includes 160 first-time/fulltime freshmen and 176 transfer students.    Twenty-two-percent (22%) of the transfer students joined SUNO from Delgado Community College, thanks in part to the articulation and 2+2 agreements signed last year between the institutions which allow Delgado’s students to seamlessly transfer to SUNO in order to pursue specific academic programs.

Additional preliminary figures indicate that the University has retained 86% of its first-time/fulltime freshmen who had enrolled in Fall 2009.  This represents the highest fall-to-spring retention percentage for SUNO since 2003.  The Louisiana Board of Regents officially calculates retention percentages from fall-to-fall.  However, the 86% retention rate this semester gives SUNO tremendous momentum for improvement in this area heading toward the next school year.  Official enrollment and retention figures will be available on January 29th.  Students who are currently enrolled must meet their financial obligations for the semester by that date. 

“These preliminary enrollment and retention figures are very encouraging.  They mean that more individuals are continuing to make SUNO their first choice for pursuing higher educational opportunities, and that more of our faculty and staff are working hard to retain our current students.  This bodes well for the immediate and long term future of this institution,” said Victor Ukpolo, Ph.D., SUNO’s chancellor.  “Our new student housing is a great addition, and we look forward to experiencing the increased pool of students from around the state, nation and world that this amenity promises to bring.”

Bowie State to present play on life of late Justice Thurgood Mashall - Feb. 25

(Bowie, Md.)-Bowie State University’s (BSU) Performing Arts Center partners with The Elder Theodore L. Barber Scholarship Foundation, Inc. to present a play on the life of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall on Thursday, February 25, 2010, at 7 p.m. The event takes place at the University’s Samuel Meyers Auditorium of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Communications Art Center. Leading up to the play, at 6:30 p.m., the Oxon Hill High School Choir will present a mini-concert. The event proceeds will be donated to the scholarship foundation for Bowie State University students.
“The Department of Fine and Performing Arts is honored to have been selected by The Elder Theodore L. Barber Scholarship Foundation, Inc. to celebrate Black History Month at Bowie State University with this particular play that highlights the life of Thurgood Marshall, an extraordinary figure who served as the first African American on the Supreme Court and who had a major impact on civil rights for African Americans,” said Dr. Gail Medford, professor and coordinator of the BSU Theatre Program.

Tickets are $20 for general admission; $10 for students with I.D. Call 301-442-2166 for details.

HSSU Assistant Professor Dr. Shereen Kader chosen as a 2009 Heartspring awardee

(St. Louis, MO) – Harris-Stowe State University Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education Dr. Shereen Kader was recently selected to receive a 2009 Heartspring Award for Innovation and Creativity in Special Education. Each of the 10 chosen Heartspring awardees receive a $1,000 stipend, an original award sculpture, free travel and all-expenses paid to attend this year’s Heartspring Award Summer Conference, which will run July 22-25, in Wichita, Kansas.

“It is very fulfilling to be rewarded for your innovative ideas and to know that these ideas have a great potential to make a difference in others,” Kadar said. “I am thankful for the support and encouragement I got from the Heartspring organization and Harris-Stowe State University colleagues and friends.”

Dr. Gary Singleton, Heartspring President and CEO, said of Dr. Kader, “We received many applications for this prestigious award, and your creativity and passion placed you among a very select group. There are many dedicated teachers, therapists and other professionals across this country and around the world who give of their time and talent to help children with special needs and or who are living in special circumstances, but there are many fewer who are truly pioneers who bring innovation and creativity to achieve even greater results for children in need.”

Heartspring is a global center for children with special needs, and the organization has provided training to many other institutions for 75 years. Through the Heartspring School, Heartspring Pediatric Services, the Heartspring Hearing Center and Heartspring World Reach, the center has established greater independence for children with disabilities.

Hampton University students win first place at NASA Pre-Service Teacher contest

 Photo Caption: (From left to right) Dr. Kianga R. Thomas (NASA/PSTP Faculty Advisor), Shea Thompson, Ashlyn Williams, Brittany Yhap, Brittany Street, Eunice Collier, and Dr. Clair Berube (NASA/PSTP Faculty Advisor).

(Hampton, Va.) –  Students from Hampton University recently received first place at the NASA/Pre-Service Teacher Program STEM Lesson Plan Contest on April 23 at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.  These future teachers were required to develop, implement and submit a documented lesson plan incorporating the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  

Eunice Collier, Brittany Street, Shea Thompson, Ashlyn Williams and Brittany Yhap designed a lesson plan based on the real-life situation of developing a small plane that could fit on a fleet ship.  The students taught their lesson to a group of elementary students ages 8-10 and documented the lesson for evaluation purposes.  The lesson contained national standards from all four STEM areas and demonstrated a high level of inquiry.

Dr. Kianga R. Thomas and Dr. Clair Berube, both assistant professors in the HU College of Education and Continuing Studies, advised the students.  

“I think this opportunity has thoroughly given the students a lot of insight in terms of lesson plan writing and providing inquiry learning in the classroom,” said Thomas. “This experience is going to place them head and shoulders above the rest.”

The HU team competed against teams from Norfolk State University, Elizabeth City State University, Kentucky State University, Jackson State University, Alabama A&M University, and Virginia Union University.

Southern University students part of winning team at engineering competition

(BATON ROUGE) – Four Southern University Electrical Engineering students were part of a three-school team of historically black colleges and universities that placed second in the second annual Lonestar Challenge Design Competition held recently at Texas A&M University.
Southern students Joshua DuBois, Chad Dugas, Ashton Jones and Steffon Wiley, along with students from Tennessee State University and Prairie View A&M University, competed as a team against Texas A&M and the University of Texas in a robotics challenge at College Station.
The challenge required the three teams to design and build a remote-operated and undetectable device that could be used to provide surveillance and reconnaissance information to the Air Force, who sponsored the event. The devices were then put to the test in a simulated hostage situation in an office setting.
The Southern-Prairie View-Tennessee State team finished behind Texas A&M and ahead of last year’s winner, the University of Texas.
“The three days of competition were very exciting and even though the students put in long hours to create a product to meet the design criteria, they became more knowledgeable about engineering design, and they learned a great deal about how to work with others to accomplish a goal,” said Dr. Fred Lacy, associate professor in Southern’s College of Engineering.   
The three HBCUs formed one team because neither school had enough senior capstone design majors for the competition.
The schools also faced other challenges preparing for the competition. The team only met once before the challenge. The HBCU students had to coordinate efforts with teammates in three different states and also had to meet the challenge in considerably less time than the other two schools - about three months compared to nine months by the other schools.
“Needless to say, our students have demonstrated that when they are challenged, they are hard working, innovative and capable of competing with the very best students from two of the top engineering programs in the country,” said Lacy.

Southern University professor to study at Cambridge

(BATON ROUGE, La.) - Southern University’s Jill Bambury is going to Cambridge, England to get her doctoral degree.
The associate professor in the School of Architecture has been awarded the
Cambridge International Scholarship through the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust to
earn her doctoral degree in Architecture from the University of Cambridge.

TSU President Melvin Johnson hosts book reception for Ace Fellow - June 17

(Nashville, Tenn.)—President Melvin N. Johnson hosted a book reception June 17, 2009, for Dr. Peter Nwosu, American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow seconded to Tennessee State University, whose third book has just been released.  

The book titled Beyond Race: A New Vision of Community in America is a non-fiction work about communication, race, and public policy in America, and is designed for the general public, policy makers, students and scholars in a variety of disciplines and professions. Its subject matter focuses on America’s racial dilemma, drawing from the O. J. Simpson case to the culture gap in America, from the rise and fall of the civil rights movement to the dialogue on reparations, from America’s new immigrants to the complexities in building a color-blind society, and from the politics of racial classification to the challenge of spreading American values abroad.

The book can be purchased through the University Bookstore in the Floyd-Payne Student Center, and it will be available for sale during the reception. In addition to the TSU bookstore, it can be purchased at local booksellers.
 
Dr. Nwosu is one of 35 individuals selected in a national competition by the American Council on Education (ACE), the major coordinating body for U.S. higher education comprising of more than 1,600 university and college presidents, to participate in the 2008-2009 Fellows class as part of the leadership pipeline for higher education. As ACE Fellow, Dr. Nwosu served in President Johnson’s Cabinet, and provided leadership in developing the University’s 2010-2015 strategic plan titled Transforming Tennessee State University (see http://www.tnstate.edu/strategicplan).

He will conclude his ACE program at the end of June, and will return to his home institution, California State University, Northridge.

Jackson State University Department of Facilities and Construction awarded for campus landscaping

 (JACKSON, Miss.) – Jackson State University’s Department of Facilities and Construction Management was recently presented the award for Best Urban Forestry Project by the Mississippi Urban Forest Council (MUFC) and the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC). The university was honored for its landscaping, trees and greenery.

Representatives from MUFC and the MFC toured the campus last October when the university participated in the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA Program. The program recognizes college and university campuses that:

• Effectively manage their campus trees.
• Develop connectivity with the community beyond campus borders to foster healthy, urban forests.
• Strive to engage their student population utilizing service-learning opportunities centered on campus, community and forestry efforts.

Colleges and universities across the United States can be recognized as a Tree Campus USA college by meeting stringent standards developed to promote healthy trees and student involvement.

Wayne Goodwin, assistant vice president for facilities and construction management, said the campus landscaping has been admired by the surrounding community as well as by students, faculty and staff.

“This award will encourage members of our Site Care Division who maintain the university’s grounds and landscaping,” he said. “JSU will continue to have one of the premiere campus grounds in Mississippi.”

Bowie State gets new Admissions director

(Bowie, Md.) - Lonnie R. Morris Jr. brings new energy and leadership to Bowie State University as director of admissions. He will provide strategic leadership to both the undergraduate and graduate admissions operations. A leader in the areas of college admissions, enrollment management, and institutional effectiveness, Morris is a trendsetter in urban higher education. 
He joins Bowie State during an upswing in student enrollment which rose to 5,483 in fall 2008 while new transfer enrollment increased more than 10 percent from fall 2007 to fall 2008 and new graduate enrollment, over 25 percent.  University officials project an increase in transfer, graduate and continuing education students entering the institution this fall.
Morris plans to use his leadership experience to advance the admissions process. He previously served as vice president of enrollment management at Holy Names University in Oakland California, director of admissions at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee and director of admissions for Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. He has experience working with programs of widely-recognized agencies such as the National Organization of Concerned Black Men, the College Bound Foundation, TRIO programs, the Black College Network and Sylvan Learning Systems.
“I plan to combine my passions for outreach and volunteerism with my leadership initiatives to take the admissions process at Bowie State to a new level,” said Morris, who holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Morgan State University and a master’s degree in organization development from Johns Hopkins University.
The assistant vice president for enrollment management, Don Kiah, oversees the division which encompasses the admissions office. He commented, “We are excited about our admissions team, having worked to assemble a group of people with innovative ideas and both traditional and nontraditional experience in admissions. Our new admissions director has the right mix of leadership experience and abilities to help us achieve the goals we have set.”

Pathway to Greatness Rolls into Jefferson City - June 18

(Jefferson City, MO) -Lincoln University Foundation President Victor Pasley will finish a 1400-mile fundraising bicycle tour in Jefferson City on Thursday, June 18.  Pasley, who began the Pathway to Greatness 1866-2009 tour on April 25 in Rochester, New York, is scheduled to arrive at the North Jefferson City Pavilion at 10 a.m.  Local cyclists are welcome to join Pasley as he rides the final miles to the Lincoln University campus.  Pasley is expected to reach the finish line at the entrance to Lincoln University along Lafayette Street at approximately 10:30 a.m.  A celebration, including music, presentations and refreshments will begin at 11 a.m. at Scruggs University Center (819 Chestnut Street).  Informational booths will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.  
A cycling enthusiast, Pasley decided the tour would be an exciting way to raise $1 million to fund scholarships for Lincoln University students.  The 1968 graduate of Lincoln University says he and his wife Pamela have been longtime supporters of their alma mater, but were looking for something to make a bigger impact.  

 Since leaving Rochester, Pasley has been hosted by alumni in cities along the tour route.  His first stop was May 2 in Cleveland.  From there he traveled to Detroit (May 16); Chicago (May 30); Indianapolis (June 6) and St. Louis (June 13). 

Events in those cities included cycling and spinning events, as well as health fairs.