alumni news
came to WSSU as a freshman in 1956,” says Cleveland, “and played football my first year. Got cut from the team as a sophomore. Turns out that “I was one of the best things that could have happened to me. I focused on aca-
Message from the President, WSSU National Alumni Association Dear Fellow Alumni, Thank you for electing me to serve as your President of the National Alumni Association. The legacy we inherited from our beloved founder Simon Green Atkins is alive and well. WSSU remains one of the top comprehensive public universities in America. Our students remain competitive as they continue to matriculate at the finest graduate and professional schools in America, and WSSU graduates continue to work in all facets of the private, public and non-governmental sector. Most importantly, I am proud the “Rams” carry on the legacy of our visionary founder by opening doors for those less fortunate and becoming pillars in our respective communities. Each of us is proud to be a “Ram,” and our days at WSSU remain the most influential period in our lives. As the alumni, we have an obligation to support WSSU. The 2010-2015 strategic plan contains five goals. They are: Academic Excellence; Student Success; Community Engagement; Efficiency, Effectiveness and Resources; and University Culture and Pride. I encourage all alumni to read the WSSU Strategic Plan and determine how you can best support the Strategic Plan. Homecoming 2010 (October 17-24) will be here soon. I look forward to welcoming you home to “A Ramatizing Experience.” Our Special Events Committee has planned a great 2010 Homecoming. A highlight takes place Thursday morning as the alumni “Return to Serve” by visiting with hundreds of students and faculty in their classrooms and lecture halls. The Mr. & Miss Alumni Crowning and Scholarship Gala are scheduled for Friday, October 22, at the Millennium Center in downtown WinstonSalem. The evening will commence at 7:00 p.m. with the Hall of Distinction Induction and Reception. This event will be held in the Courtroom of the Millennium Center. The Mr. & Miss Alumni crowning ceremony will begin at 8:00 p.m. sharp. It will be held in the Ballroom of the Millennium Center. Following the crowning will be the Gala; you will be royally entertained by “Envision.” The evening will climax and the morning will begin with a bountiful buffet breakfast. On Saturday evening the Alumni Victory Extravaganza will take place at the Millennium Center at 9:00 p.m. There will be four different venues to choose from under one roof: R&B, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Vegas Night. I am sure many old friendships will be renewed and new ones created on this night. On Sunday morning, grab a classmate and return to your favorite house of worship that you attended while at WSSU. I look forward to seeing you receive your “Ramatizing Experience.”
Gordon G. Everett
Gordon
National President Class of 1978
2010 Class Reunions Class Year
20
Contacts
Class Year
1950 60
Mr. Nathaniel Hayes 336-475-2896
1975 35
Catherine Lowe clowe@wsfcs.k12.nc.us
1955
55
Mrs. Alice Dalton-McNeill adhmcneil@aol.com
Trudy Smart 336-682-8111, trudysta@att.net
1958 52
Mrs. Theresa Snuggs 301-773-9127
1980 30
Craig Umsted craigumst1@yahoo.com
1960
50
Ms. Barbara Manning 336-750-2122, rams75737@triad.rr.com
1985
1970 40
Tonya Talley-Smith tebunnie15@aol.com
25
Jacqueline Gary, Regina McQuaig Huntley, Denis Wilson (President) sweetoumy@yahoo.com
1990 20
Daphne E. Huntley daphne.huntley@wachovia.com duckhuntley@yahoo.com
Melanie Ford my_ford@verizon.net
FAL L 2 0 1 0
Anniversary
Anniversary
Contacts
demics and graduated after 3½ years with a degree in elementary education.” In the classroom he found his calling: helping young people benefit from education. Bit by bit, he added to his own education, earning advanced degrees in education and school administration, advancing from teacher to principal to assistant superintendent to superintendent. Always hard-working, for a period of years he added to his income by operating a newspaper delivery business with 35 paper boys who saw him as a mentor and teacher of money management as much as a boss. At every stage in his career, his high standards and his commitment to his students earned the respect of his peers, even during the precedent-setting era of school integration. “In 1971, I was appointed principal of an elementary school in Eden, and this was my first experience working in an integrated educational setting,” he notes. “Instead of expecting negative reaction, I decided to be positive and proactive. I told the parents—white and black alike—to give me until Christmas to work with the students and then if they had any questions or concerns, come to me.” The semester—and the year—went by smoothly. Cleveland retired in 1995 to take care of his wife, who died later that year. After her death he focused on an assortment of long-delayed hobbies and interests, ranging from fresh-water fishing to traveling to faithfully following WSSU athletics. He and Marlene married in 2000 and, in her, he found a fellow traveler and fellow believer in the importance of education. “I was only able to go to community college a couple of years,” she points out. “I started out as a school secretary and advanced over the years to bookkeeping responsibilities and ultimately was promoted to secretary to the superintendent of Eden City Schools—one of only four blacks in North Carolina to hold that position at the time.” Widowed at an early age, she was a personnel specialist in the Rockingham County Schools when she retired in 1997. “We’re blessed,” she says of the blended family she and Cleveland share, each with two children and a total of six grandchildren. “Neither of us ever made a big salary. We’re just hard-working folks who lived within our budget and built up our savings over the years. Our children have been able to go to college—Cleveland’s daughter has her M.D. in psychiatry and his son has an MBA and works in New York; my daughters are both WSSU graduates. I’m really pleased that we made the decision to set up this endowment. Through it, we’ll be helping students who don’t have the resources or family support we had.” “WSSU equipped me to go out and make a living and be successful,” says Cleveland. “And now they’ve made it easy to give back, since they have the legal staff and provide professional management and investment of the funds. We set our endowment up so we can contribute to it annually. It means a lot to know we’ll be helping young people from our part of the state get an education—and hopefully become educators themselves—even after we’re gone.”
The Cleveland and Marlene Ellison Endowed Scholarship
S
ome people let the circumstances of life control them. Others find ways to turn obstacles into opportunities and quietly proceed to achieve solid success. Cleveland and Marlene Ellison fit squarely into that second category. And WSSU is the beneficiary of their upbeat, can-do approach to life.
SUPPORT FUTURE RAMS... ENDOW A SCHOLARSHIP
Has being a WSSU Ram helped prepare you for success? Now you can pave the way for promising young people who simply can’t afford to attend without financial support. WSSU will work with you to set up a scholarship that meets your goals and impacts lives for years to come.
For more information contact Michelle Cook, cookm@wssu.edu, 336-750-2184 ARCHWAY
21