Echo The
a publication for Delaware State University alumni and friends
Spring 2016
Jimmie and Tina Strong began a lifelong relationship and built a foundation for career success at DSU
THE LIFE OF DR. JEROME HOLLAND
‘We are because he was’ As funds are raised to create a statue in his honor, the pivotal role of Delaware State’s sixth president is remembered
IN THIS ISSUE
On the Cover
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Sixth President Dr. Jerome Holland changed the course of Delaware State in the 1950s.
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Jimmie and Tina Strong hold their alma mater close to their hearts.
Grants
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$5 million from NASA will enhance collaboration.
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Commencement celebrations
DSU partners with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Giving
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Greater Than One: Campaign for Students — In the final days, let’s keep the momentum going!
Alumni
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Hugh Williams’ foreign service career has taken him around the world.
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The Buzz
DSU recognized as 1890 University of the Year
Athletics
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5 home games, return of the First State Rivalry highlight 2016 football schedule.
ALSO INSIDE Class Notes
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Chapter Notes 32 Cover Photographer: Carlos Holmes
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History Quiz
Past and present, how well do you know DSU?
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Echo THE
The Echo is a collaborative publication of the Division of Institutional Advancement and the Office of Marketing and Communications at Delaware State University. Contact the Office of Alumni Relations with alumni news for future editions at alumni@desu.edu or 302.857.6050.
125 years later, much gratitude
EDITOR AND DESIGNER
s we embark upon the yearlong observance and celebration of Delaware State University’s 125th anniversary, there is much for which to be grateful at this venerable institution. From its fledgling days as the State College for Colored Students to the current exciting years as DSU, Del State has faced many challenges. However, Delaware’s only HBCU has not only overcome everything that has seemed to threaten our existence, but we have gone on to thrive as one of the top historically black universities in the country. For the second time in three years, in November DSU was honored by the Association of Public and LandGrant Universities as the top land-grant university in the nation. In addition to helping our students to achieve their aspirations and become global-ready to pursue their professions, the University also collaborates to meet needs of institutions of higher education abroad, resulting in students from countries such as China, South Korea and the nations of Africa coming to DSU to complete their academic journeys under the instruction of our worldclass faculty. A number of those faculty members are also exported to teach DSU academic programs on the campuses of our international university partners. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has found DSU’s initiatives toward student success so promising that it is providing significant financial support in the analytic tracking of those innovations. SAP SE, a market leader in enterprise application software, has established the University as a Center of Excellence where advanced training in its technologies in widespread use around the world can take place.
Jennifer Rickard, associate director of Integrated Marketing CONTRIBUTORS Writers Director of News Services:
Athletic Media Relations:
Dennis Jones
Carlos Holmes
Photographers
Jennifer Rickard
Carlos Holmes Peter Howard Blake Saunders Athletic Media Relations
Institutional Advancement:
Dr. Vita Pickrum
vice president for Institutional Advancement
Dr. Lisa Dunning Lorene Robinson Charity Shockley
Campus photo coordinator:
Tracy Channel
DSU EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION Harry L. Williams, EdD, president Saundra DeLauder, PhD, interim associate provost and dean, School of Graduate Studies and Research Bradley Skelcher, PhD, associate provost Teresa Hardee, EdD, senior vice president and chief operating officer Noureddine Melikechi, DPhil, vice president for Research, Innovation and Economic Development Stacy Downing, EdD, vice president for Student Affairs Vita Pickrum, EdD, vice president for Institutional Advancement Irene Hawkins, vice president for Human Resources David Sheppard, Esq., general counsel Louis B. “Skip” Perkins Jr., associate vice president and Athletics director
DSU BOARD OF TRUSTEES David G. Turner ’86, chairman Barry M. Granger, vice chairman John J. Allen Jr.
Wesley E. Perkins
Robert E. Buccini
Roy Roper
Michael N. Castle
James W. Stewart III
José F. Echeverri ’08, MBA
Leroy A. Tice, Esq. ’02
Lois M. Hobbs
Mark A. Turner
Charles S. McDowell, Esq.
Devona E. Williams, PhD
Wilma Mishoe, EdD
Dear DSU alumni and friends,
A
Dr. Harry Lee Williams
The confidence in our scientists by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and NASA has enabled our research portfolio to prolifically expand, making it a significant part of our institutional character. And while we are extremely grateful for the above, we are also very appreciative of the growing ownership that our alumni are assuming in the University’s success. More of you are not merely boasting about your alma mater, but also are assisting us in retaining students and DSU sustainability through your financial contributions. We greatly appreciate the increase in alumni support and look forward to continued growth in that area. Throughout the yearlong 125th anniversary observance that began May 15, we hope to hear from you and see you on campus to join us in the celebration.
Spring 2016
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THE BUZZ
MAY 2016 COMMENCEMENT
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n a historic ceremony featuring the highest active elected official to ever speak at DSU, 554 undergraduates, 61 master’s degree and 13 doctoral degree graduates celebrated the completion of their academic degrees during the May 7 Commencement at Alumni Stadium. Shakirah A. Abdul-Rashid and Leslie Asanga Fogwe
PRESIDENTIAL ACADEMIC AND LEADERSHIP AWARDS During the ceremony, President Harry L. Williams awarded the Presidential Academic Award to Shakirah A. Abdul-Rashid, who graduated with a cumulative 4.0 grade point average on the way to earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications in the concentration of Television, Radio and Film. Abdul-Rashid will continue working toward her aspiration to become a writer, director and producer in TV/film by pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design. 4
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Williams also awarded the Presidential Leadership Award to Leslie Asanga Fogwe, a native of Cameroon who has lived in the U.S. for the last four years. In addition to excelling as a 3.97 GPA honor student who completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in three years, he found time to serve as vice president of both the Men’s Council and Rotaract Club, as well as the treasurer of the Honor Students Association and as its Honors King during the Homecoming Coronation. He also donated his time as a volunteer at the Modern Maturity Center, Beebe Hospital, Kent General Hospital and Christiana Hospital.
Miss DSU Donametria Stallings shares a laugh with U.S. Sen. Tom Carper onstage.
Denise Young Smith, vice president of Worldwide Human Resources for Apple, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters during the ceremony.
U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden to graduates
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You’re the most talented, tolerant and technologically advanced generation in American history. You can be the next Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Robert L. Johnson or Ursula Burns. You are equipped now with the capacity to be what you dream of.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS In his address, U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden predicted that the Class of 2016 will be challenged to learn how to balance material success with happiness. “Successful people and happy people understand that the good life is about being personal, being engaged,” he said. “Being there for a friend or colleague when they’re injured in an accident, remembering to congratulate them on a marriage or a birth of a child, being available as they go through difficult loss and personal failure. It is about loving someone more than you love yourself. It just all seems to get down to being personable. That is the stuff that fosters relationships and breeds trust. It allows you to do the things you need to do in a complex world to get things done.”
During Commencement weekend, members of the Class of 1966 returned to campus for a reception at the home of President Harry L. Williams celebrating the 50th anniversary of their graduation from thenDelaware State College, and several members also participated in Commencement exercises. Spring 2016
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THE BUZZ
DECEMBER 2015 COMMENCEMENT
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ore than 300 graduates celebrated the end of their academic journeys during Delaware State University’s December 2015 Commencement. Among the undergraduates receiving their diplomas, seven completed their academic journeys as Summa Cum Laude (3.75 GPA and above), 15 as Magna Cum Laude (3.5 to 3.74), 20 as Cum Laude (3.25 to 3.49) and six as Honorable Mention (transfer students with 60 or more credit hours at DSU). Graduates heard from keynote speaker Ann Rosenberg, vice president and head of Global SAP University Alliances. SAP SE and DSU last year entered into a partnership to form Project Propel Empowered by SAP on campus. Rosenberg told graduates that industry needs them to find better ways to do things. “You have the mind through which you will be the disrupter in those industries,” she said. “Get the job you want. Go big and be a change agent.” During the ceremony, she was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
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PRESIDENTIAL ACADEMIC AWARD RECIPIENT
YOUNGEST-EVER DOCTORAL DEGREE RECIPIENT
President Harry L. Williams presented the Presidential Academic Award to Desirae Hagaman of Dover.
History was made at December Commencement with the conferring of a PhD to the youngest-ever doctoral candidate, Jalaal A. Hayes, 22, of Philadelphia. Hayes’ dissertation was titled “Thermodynami and Kinetic Studies of Alkali Metal Doped-Lithium Amide-Magnesium Hydride Hydrogen Storage System.” Hayes graduated from high school at 15 and earned bachelor’s degrees in History and General Science at 18 from Lincoln University.
A movement science major, Hagaman maintained a 3.96 GPA throughout her entire undergraduate Summa Cum Laude journey.
DSU named Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
1890 University of the Year T “ DSU also was awarded: The 1890 Agriculture Degree Completion Award in recognition of the highest increase in agriculture bachelor’s degrees. The 1890 STEM Degree Completion Award for having the highest increase in science, technology, engineering and mathematics bachelor’s degrees. The 1890 International Student Engagement Award for showing the largest increase in undergraduate international students and participation in study abroad programs.
This is reflective of the ongoing and consistent direction of the University toward higher levels of excellence, which is driven by DSU’s steadfast high priority of student success. President Harry L. Williams
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he Association of Public and LandGrant Universities (APLU) in November named Delaware State University as its 1890 University of the Year, and also presented the University with three other land grant awards. DSU received the University of the Year honor due to its best overall performance in the nine award categories, which included: retention, agriculture degree completion, education degree completion, STEM degree completion, innovation, research, experiential student learning, international student engagement and alumni engagement, according to the APLU.
New international partnerships formed in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean CHINA | Changchun University of Science and Technology
development in the country, and GE internship opportunities for DSU students.
Delaware State University and Changchun University of Science and Technology have reached a three-year formal agreement that will also include the Disney Theme Parks and Resorts College Program. Changchun students will study for four weeks at DSU and then travel to Orlando, Fla., where they will spend six months as part of the Disney program. While in Orlando, the students will continue to study the DSU curriculum online.
SOUTH KOREA | Jeju NATIONAL University
JAMAICA | College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) The University also has finalized a new agreement with the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), one of the Caribbean’s premier institutions of higher education. The agreement will allow future study abroad/student exchanges as well as collaborations in research and other academic pursuits with DSU.
Alumna Pamela Hall ’94, managing director of GE Healthcare in Nigeria, was instrumental in initiating discussions with President Harry L. Williams that led to the partnership.
NIGERIA | GE International Operations of Nigeria A new Memorandum of Understanding with GE International Operations of Nigeria will open the door to a number of academic and technical collaborations between the company and DSU. The agreement facilitates a number of possible collaborations: Capacity development for Nigeria in nursing and engineering, assisting with the GE manufacturing strategy in Nigeria in the area of curriculum design and certificate programs, aviation pilot training and pilot pipeline
A new agreement with Jeju National University of South Korea will establish a joint bachelor’s degree program in accounting and management concentrations in business administration and management information systems. JNU students taking part in the program will complete their first two years of study at Jeju, then enroll at DSU for their final two years of study, receiving bachelor’s degrees from both institutions.
SOUTH KOREA | Yeungnam University College DSU and Yeungnam University College of South Korea have agreed to establish a joint bachelor’s degree program in accounting and management. Yeungnam students will complete the first two years of the degree program in South Korea and the last two at DSU. Both institutions will issue diplomas to students who complete the program. Spring 2016
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$5 MILLION NASA GRANT
will strengthen partnership
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elaware State University has been awarded a $5 million grant for a NASA research and education program that will continue its partnership with the space agency. Built on the success of a previously NASA-funded program at DSU, this new program will strengthen the partnerships and collaborations with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Delaware; enhance the research capabilities at DSU; and provide a rich intellectual environment for training our students. Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, Distinguished University Professor of Physics, founder of DSU’s Optics Research Program and director of the Optical Science Center for Applied Research (OSCAR), is the principal investigator of the grant. “It is with great pride that DSU will continue to be connected to NASA’s Mars mission through the work of Dr. Noureddine Melikechi and OSCAR,” said President Harry L. Williams. “The research funded by this grant will not only make its mark on the world, but far beyond it on the Red Planet.”
4 MAJOR RESEARCH PROJECTS ON DEVELOPING OPTICS-BASED SPACE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGIES Dr. Noureddine Melikechi along with Dr. Yuri Markushin and Dr. Jun Ren, professors at DSU, and Dr. Roger Wiens of Los Alamos National Laboratory will lead efforts to develop new optical technologies for space exploration — of major relevance to the ongoing (2012 and 2020) NASA MARS exploration missions.
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Dr. Renu Tripathi, associate professor of physics, and her team will develop a ground-based sodium-Lidar instrument in collaboration with Goddard scientists. This instrument will be used to perform highresolution time and space measurements of the atmospheric sodium density, temperature and vertical wind velocity from the mesosphere region of the atmosphere. The study will provide critical understanding of radiative cooling in the mesosphere, which is highly relevant to NASA’s Heliophysics Science Goals.
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In collaboration with Goddard researchers, DSU assistant professor Dr. Amir Khan and associate professor Dr. Hacene Boukari aim to develop the next generation of infrared-based technologies for ultrasensitive detection of chemicals present in the atmospheres of planets. Some of these chemicals could be associated with the presence of life.
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Dr. Mukti Rana, chair of the Department of Physics, will lead a project that seeks to design and fabricate an infrared detector that does not need an active cooling system, which would be a major step in the development of low-cost, high-performing and low-weight detectors suitable for future space flights.
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IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SECURE AN ELEMENT! With a contribution to the DSU Foundation, you can make an impact on DSU’s Optics Program — and be honored with a permanent representation of your support. Donors of $2,500 or more have the option of having their name (or the name of someone they wish to honor) inscribed on a representation of the periodic table of elements in the Delaware Institute for Science and Technology’s new OSCAR Building on campus. desu.edu/SupportOptics
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THE BUZZ FIRST IN THE WORLD GRANT
$2.6M supports enrollment and retention efforts The U.S. Department of Education announced that Delaware State University is among 17 colleges and universities to be awarded funding under the First in the World grant program. The $2,647,764 in funding will be used in support of DSU’s Access to Success initiative, which seeks to increase the applications, enrollment and retention in postsecondary education of at-risk and underrepresented students who are from low-income families and would be first-generation college students. The program partners the University with the American Council on Education (ACE), the American College Application Campaign (ACAC), ACT and the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). The partnership will develop a College Match-and-Fit Tool and implement a postsecondary enrollment model that high school guidance counselors can use to assist at-risk students in determining a list of institutions from which they are most likely to enroll in and graduate from following high school. Delaware’s Congressional delegation — U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. John Carney — helped DSU get the grant through letters of support for the initiative.
$535K GRANT WILL ESTABLISH NEUROSCIENCE SUMMER PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATES Dr. Melissa Harrington and Dr. Murali Temburni have been awarded a five-year, $535,000 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to establish an undergraduate research program in neuroscience. Offered in partnership with the DSU-headquartered Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research, the program will be focused on recruiting undergraduate students from underrepresented groups and integrating them into a vibrant community of neuroscience researchers. Each year, 12 undergraduates from DSU, Delaware Technical Community College and Wesley College will spend 10 weeks over the summer carrying out neuroscience research with faculty researchers at DSU, the University of Delaware and the Nemours, A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. The students will also have the opportunity to present their research at a national conference as well as the Delaware Neuroscience Symposium.
$695K FROM NIH WILL FUND STUDY OF NEUROTRANSMISSION SYSTEM Dr. Hakeem Lawal, assistant professor of biological sciences, has been awarded a $695,700 National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging research grant that will support his work in better understanding the neurotransmission system. The grant will fund a five-year study entitled “Cholinergic Neurotransmission during Aging,” which explores how deficits in the acetylcholine neurotransmission system result in cognitive and memory impairment in the aged. The research will involve the use of the fruit fly to explore this neurological question.
DSU awarded almost $900K from USDA DSU’s College of Agriculture and Related Sciences has received almost $900,000 in U.S. Department of Agriculture grant funding, part of more than $18 million that the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded through 53 competitive grants to support research teaching and extension activities at 1890 historically black land-grant colleges and universities. The grants will go toward the following projects:
$499,982 research grant | “The Development of Epigenomic Tools in Legumes — Global Understanding of Biotic Stress Methylomes and Transcriptomes in Common Beans.” Dr. Venugopal Kalavacharla is the principal investigator (PI) for this project, a collaboration between researchers at DSU, the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mayville State University.
$149,838 teaching grant | “Nanomaterial Detection in Food, Water and Environmental Waste by Inductively Coupled PlasmaMass Spectrometry.” Dr. Daniela Radu is the PI. $249,993 Extension grant | “Collaborative Initiative to Assess and Develop Intervention Programs to Combat Obesity Among Low-Income Families.” Dr. Samuel Besong is the PI.
$400K FROM NSF will enhance mathematics teaching The National Science Foundation has awarded DSU a three-year, $400,000 Targeted Infusion grant in support of the Cyber Infused Mathematics Initiative (CIMI) to redesign the teaching and learning environments in introductory mathematics courses. Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty will partner with colleagues in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields to create active learning classrooms infused with online mastery learning. Students will also be supported by trained supplemental instruction (SI) leaders in class and in SI sessions.
NEW BUSINESS ANALYTICS LAB PROVIDES CUTTING-EDGE STUDENT WORKSPACE President Harry L. Williams and the College of Business last fall officially dedicated a new Business Analytics Lab that will be a premier research center for data analytics and a cutting-edge workspace for the analysis of big data. The lab is equipped with several mobile computer stations, curved monitors, a cabinet full of laptops with charging stations, the latest software and other tools. The dry erase painted walls promote creative thinking through writable/erasable surfaces. Dean Donna Covington said the ability to analyze data, predict outcomes and improve performance to guide decision making is an essential learning skill set for all students in higher education. The dean expressed appreciation to the Division of Institutional Advancement, which funded the purchase of 40 laptops for the lab through the Greater Than One: Campaign for Students, and to SAP, which donated analytics software as part of its partnership with DSU. Spring 2016
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As part of an initiative that began in 2015, each incoming freshman at DSU now has an Individualized Development Plan (IDP) to ensure academic success, to personalize their college experience and to develop their post-baccalaureate career plan.
THE BUZZ $1.2 MILLION GRANT
DSU partners with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for student success initiative
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n October, Delaware State University was joined by Gov. Jack Markell, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, U.S. Rep. John Carney and other dignitaries to announce a $1.2 million grant award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, significant news for the University. “The partnership between our University and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one where the Foundation is partnering with institutions that are transforming their higher education models so that more students — especially lowincome and first generation students — graduate at higher rates, with high-quality degrees or credentials at an affordable price,” said Dr. Teresa Hardee, senior vice president and chief operating officer. “Partnering with Gates will support our work by using
data to support student success,” said Hardee. The University has developed “personal” Individualized Development Plans (IDPs) for every entering freshman. This allows for a tailored academic experience to ensure student success. This process also includes counseling, tutoring and virtual services for any student who may need assistance. This individual attention will allow for aggressive, intrusive and predicting advising of each student. “This partnership is not solely focused on Delaware State University,” said President Harry L. Williams, but is national in scope. “They will be looking closely at the results of our initiative here at DSU, with an eye for sharing with other institutions of higher education across the country once its effectiveness is proven.”
NCAA grant provides academic support for student-athletes The initial funding from the $449,850 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Accelerating Academic Success Program grant awarded to Delaware State University’s Division of Academic Support for Student-Athletes in the summer of 2015 immediately began to provide added support for studentathletes on campus and on the road. Here’s a look at some of the ways the grant has already made a difference and what is proposed for the future:
TECHNOLOGY |
For the first time, student-athletes from all 18 varsity athletic programs were able to take advantage of new mobile technology during the 2015-2016 academic year. Twenty Microsoft Surface Pro laptops and 10 Verizon Wi-fi Hotspots funded through the grant allow studentathletes to access academic resources and be virtually linked to the DSU campus community while traveling to away competitions. Whether being able to log into their University Blackboard assignments or complete needed research of electronic library resources, students are able to accomplish the tasks associated with being an exceptional college student.
SPECIAL EVENTS | While visiting the University of Nebraska, the men’s basketball team had the opportunity to participate in a Life Skills session and hear an inspirational message from Dr. Jamie Williams, a former Nebraska and National Football League player and writer of the movie “Any Given Sunday.” “As student-athletes, I’m glad we got a chance to hear from someone who had a very successful football career while balancing his schoolwork. ... He really stressed the importance of being a student first. His determination was admirable to me as I hope to have as much success that he has had,” said student-athlete Larry Haley.
SUPPORT STAFF |
On campus, the grant has funded staff positions including two graduate assistants, alumna Jade Washington ’15 and Trey Anderson. The duo are instrumental in the day-to-day support provided to student-athletes, and they also serve as resources on the road for the men’s and women’s basketball programs, proctoring study halls during away competitions. In addition to preparing student-athletes with their academics, the two also assist in the certification process and are basketball graduate managers.
WHAT’S AHEAD |
The Department of Athletics is planning a 2016 summer program for incoming freshman student-athletes to give them an opportunity to acclimate themselves to the campus and earn up to six credits through English or learning strategies courses. To complement the grantfunded initiatives, the University also is designing a space on the second floor of the William C. Jason Library with a computer lab and study areas that promote collaboration among student-athletes. “We are excited that the Academic Support for Student-Athletes unit was awarded this prestigious grant. To be acknowledged by the NCAA as a program that can be enhanced by such a financial commitment speaks volumes to the academic performance of our students. I know all studentathletes will benefit from the many services that are planned to be provided through this grant opportunity,” said Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Louis “Skip” Perkins.
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Governor appoints Roy Roper to Board of Trustees Roy Roper, president and CEO of the Blood Bank of Delmarva, has been appointed by Gov. Jack Markell to Delaware State University’s Board of Trustees for a six-year term. He was officially sworn in during the board’s March 24 meeting. At Blood Bank of Delmarva, Roper is responsible for an annual budget of $24 million, 155 fulland part-time employees and 100 volunteers who support collection, processing and distribution of over 100,000 blood and related products to hospitals in the Delmarva region. He formerly served as its vice president of Administrative Services from 2009-2011. Roper was formerly president of Roper Consulting Group, director of Organization Effectiveness for U.S. operations at AstraZeneca, vice president of Business Development for a Wilmington, Del.based technology start-up, and held a number of key management and leadership roles at United Healthcare and operational roles with CIGNA. Roper holds a master’s degree in Organization Effectiveness from American University.
PRESIDENT WILLIAMS GIVES FIRST ‘STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY’ ADDRESS President Harry L. Williams presented his inaugural “State of the University” address in February at M&T Bank in downtown Wilmington to a gathering of New Castle County corporate leaders and elected officials, delivering an inspirational message about academic achievement, history and the institutional direction of DSU. Highlights included the latest enrollment figures, student profiles and an overview of the University’s academic programs, international partnerships and its work to achieve operational sustainability and student success goals. More than 50 attended the breakfast meeting, including representatives from Christiana Care Health Systems, Delmarva Power, M&T Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Nemours, Barclays Bank, EDiS, the Wilmington City Council and the offices of U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons.
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Katie Ommanney works with elephants in Africa Growing up in Tanzania, junior Natural Resources major Katie Ommanney spent her childhood at a wildlife reserve, where she was particularly drawn to the elephants that roamed that country and beyond. After moving to Delaware and graduating from Dover High School, she enrolled at DSU, where she directs her studies toward returning to the African wildlife and her love of elephants. Last summer through funding support from the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences and others, Ommanney did research on elephant stress levels at Knysna Elephant Park in Plettenberg, South Africa. “The research looked at whether the frequency of tourist levels affected their stress,” she said. While visiting her father in Tanzania, Ommanney learned that an elephant orphanage would be opening in Arusha, Tanzania. She met with the people running the operation and landed an internship next summer. Elephant orphanages exist to provide a place for young elephants whose parents are killed by poachers for their ivory tusks. “There is a huge psychological component when dealing with orphan elephants, which in some cases they witnessed the killing of their parents,” she said. Ommanney credits the DSU Aquatics Laboratory with giving her the needed scientific foundation and the guidance and support of Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay, professor of natural resources, and Dr. Karuna Chintapenta, DSU postdoctoral research associate in aquatics. She said the care and preservation of elephants is her professional aspiration. “Since I was a child, I didn’t have a choice,” Ommanney said. “It was always going to be wildlife.”
Deshaun Crawford awarded Apple Scholarship The aspirations of junior computer science major Deshaun Crawford have expanded with his selection into the Apple HBCU Scholars Program. Through the program, Crawford will receive a $25,000 scholarship for his senior year at DSU and also participate in a summer internship with the company and be paired with an Apple employee mentor who will help prepare him for his post-graduation career. He is one of 30 recipients from across the country. The program is the result of a partnership between Apple and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Diversity Initiative. “I will learn a lot about my major through working with Apple and it will improve my leadership skills,” Crawford said. “It could also lead to a job at Apple.” A native of New Brunswick, N.J., and a graduate of Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, Del., Crawford’s plans after DSU are to work in the corporate world for a period time and then ultimately create his own company. At DSU, in addition to maintaining a 3.82 GPA, he works as a research assistant under Dr. Gary Holness, associate professor of computer and information science. “We are working on the development of an autonomous wheelchair, which once programmed will take a person where he or she wants to go without doing anything else,” Crawford said. He is also a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, as well involved in STOMPP (Skills, Talents, Opportunities through the Movement of Project Propel), which is a student organization that stems from the partnership between DSU’s College of Business and SAP, a major software corporation.
THE BUZZ
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Indira Ridgeway recognized by President Obama Indira R. Ridgeway, a sophomore political science major, has been recognized by President Barack Obama with the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her work to educate people on the issue of human trafficking and advocate on behalf of its victims. Her awards — gold, silver and bronze medals — were presented to Ridgeway during the Jan. 21 DSU Board of Trustees meeting. A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Ridgeway said she was introduced to human trafficking as a high school 9th-grader, when she saw the movie Taken. After reading more about the crime, during her 10th grade year she developed a display on the subject and entered it in the regional National History Day competition. She advanced to the state competition and was recognized on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where she met state Rep. Kevin Boyle. That connection led to an opportunity for Ridgeway to meet a victim of human trafficking, a female from Latin America who was being forced to commit prostitution. She and Boyle advocated on the victim’s behalf and played a role in convincing the state’s Office of the Attorney General to drop prostitution charges against her, Ridgeway said. Meanwhile, the FBI was able to track down and arrest the traffickers in that case. Throughout her high school years, Ridgeway continued to serve as an advocate for those caught up in such circumstances. Now in her second year at DSU, while majoring in political science and minoring in law studies, she has continued her work on human trafficking. She says that law school is in her future and that she aspires to be a prosecuting attorney.
Sharnada Martin named Allstate Ambassador Junior accounting major Sharnada Martin has been named by Allstate as its first-ever Quotes for Education Ambassador to help the insurance provider raise scholarship dollars for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Martin was among a number of HBCU students who had received scholarships from Allstate and were considered for the honor. She was selected because of her track record of academic excellence and her involvement in constructive extracurricular pursuits, according to Allstate officials. The Philadelphia native is the vice president of the Women’s Senate as well as the Future Leaders in Progress (FLIP). She is also a member of the Educated Ladies Igniting True Essence (ELITE) and the National Society for Leadership and Success. She aspires to become a certified public accountant and also to possibly operate her own cosmetology business. She said Allstate is helping her achieve her dreams. “I believe any dream can come true through hard work and dedication,” Martin said. “So for students like me who come from poverty or an unfortunate background, it is possible to achieve your dreams.” Allstate has joined forces with the Tom Joyner Foundation to raise money for scholarships at HBCUs and has already donated more than $1 million, including $18,500 last fall to DSU. With every Allstate insurance quote requested and coupled with a mention of the Quotes for Education program, Allstate donates $10 toward its scholarship fund. Quotes can also be obtained online at allstate.com/hbcu.
Nivette Pérez-Pérez receives NOAA Scholarship Nivette M. Pérez-Pérez, a DSU graduate student who is working toward a master’s degree in Natural Resources, has been awarded a $36,000 Graduate Research and Training Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Pérez-Pérez is a part of the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences’ Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center (LMRCSC). Her current research is focused on the survival and development of eggs and larvae of red deep sea crabs and testing the effects of diet and temperature in laboratory conditions. Her research project is a collaboration between Dr. Matthew Poach from NOAA’s James J. Howard Laboratory, Sandy Hook, N.J.; Dr. Bradley Stevens of the LMRCSC of University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Dr. Stacy Smith, senior research scientist, and her advisor Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay, professor and extension specialist of natural resources, both of DSU; and the Atlantic Red Crab Company of New Bedford, Mass. This study will develop protocols to help maintain red deep-sea crab larvae in laboratory conditions. Its immediate goal is to collect baseline information needed to open new lines of experimentation with this species including topics of climate change, ocean acidification, advance development and behavior. The longterm objective is to study the factors affecting the larval stages of the red deep-sea crab. Pérez-Pérez said that the scholarship is a significant development. “It puts me in touch first-hand with NOAA researchers and broadens my network within the NOAA community,” she said. “It will also broaden my skills and mold my future steps in my academic career.” Spring 2016
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Ground broken for statue commemorating Dr. Jerome Holland Delaware State University held an October groundbreaking ceremony in recognition of the campus site that has been selected for the planned Dr. Jerome Holland statue. Honoring the sixth president of then-Delaware State College (1953-1960), the statue will stand just inside the entrance of the campus pedestrian mall on the grassy triangle that is adjacent to the brick wall.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We hope you’ll join us in commemorating Dr. Jerome Holland’s accomplishments with a gift supporting the statue’s creation as part of the Greater Than One: Campaign for Students. To date, more than $26,000 in generous contributions have been made.
DONATE ONLINE | desu.edu/hollandstatue You may also call 302.857.6055 or mail your contribution (made payable to the Delaware State University Foundation, memo: Jerome Holland Statue Fund) to 1200 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901.
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THE LIFE OF DR. JEROME HOLLAND | 6TH PRESIDENT (1953-1960)
because he was
Transformational administrator changed the course of Delaware State in the 1950s through his institution-saving leadership and unwavering faith for its potential
D
elaware State College was fortunate that Dr. Jerome Holland’s life journey followed a course that led him to Dover. Any deviation in the circumstances or outcomes of his opportunities, challenges, successes or failures would have most probably changed his trajectory, and Delaware State would not have benefited from his institution-saving leadership. It is clear to anyone with knowledge of DSC history in the 1950s that Holland provided a special brand of leadership. As the DSC president, he was interested in measures and actions that yielded effective results and would settle for nothing less. Handpicked for the job by Gov. J. Caleb Boggs, Holland’s leadership inspired confidence from state government officials, resulting in an unprecedented $2.5 million for the construction of three new buildings on campus. The unwavering faith Holland had in the potential of DSC and what could be accomplished if the state changed its unsupportive ways had an infectious effect on the College community in that decade that left it with the expectation that reaccreditation was not only attainable, but expected. So it was fortunate for DSC that professional football was segregated when Holland completed his All-American gridiron years at Cornell University. Otherwise, he may have opted for a career as a pro-athlete. The fact that a more permanent opportunity did not arise from his previous teaching positions at Lincoln (Pa.) or Tennessee A&I State universities kept him available for his DSC destiny. Dr. Jerome Holland’s life led him to Delaware State College. Because he was the DSC president, Delaware State University is (what it is today). n Story and research by Carlos Holmes
‘
‘ We are
THE EARLY YEARS Holland was born Jan. 9, 1916, in Auburn, N.Y., the fourth child of Robert Jr. and Viola Holland. He would carry the nickname “Brud” throughout his life — which originally came from his siblings calling him “Brudder” and that being later shortened to “Brud.” As early as age eight, young Jerome worked with his gardener/handyman father and learned very early on that close attention to his schooling would be the only way he could avoid continuing such menial work into his adulthood. His experience being comfortable as a minority member among white movers and shakers in business and nonprofit pursuits was a constant in his life that began during his public school days. Holland attended Auburn High School from 1930-34, playing all four years on the varsity football team and also competing on the school’s basketball team, lettering in both sports. A 1930s newspaper clipping shows him as the only African-American on the school’s football team. When he began his undergraduate studies at Cornell University in 1935, Holland was the first African-American to ever play alongside whites on the institution’s football team. A six-foot, 215-pound end with sprinter’s speed, Holland was “a superb defense player, and spectacular on offense,” according to the book Part & Apart — The Black Experience at Cornell, 1865-1945. The book notes a local writer’s description of Holland’s customary gridiron prominence during a 1937 game against Colgate: “During a 66-yard touchdown march, Holland made a one-hand catch of a pass with the dexterity of a toe-dancer and threaded his way for a 20-yard gain,” wrote a Cornell Daily Sun writer. Holland would go on to be twice selected as a football All-American end in 1937 and 1938. However, his celebrated status as a gridiron player would not translate into a professional
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DR. JEROME HOLLAND COMMEMORATIVE STATUE
Photos courtesy of the Holland Papers at Cornell University
During World War II, Jerome Holland served as a director of personnel at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Chester, Pa. Right: Holland was twice selected as a football All-American at Cornell.
sports career, as the NFL at that time would be segregated from 1933 until the end of World War II. While at Cornell, Holland married Madeline Small, who was also a student there. Their union would produce two children, Pamela and Jerome II, but the marriage would end in divorce in the 1940s. Holland earned a Bachelor of Science (1939) and a Master of Science (1941), both in sociology. While working on his master’s degree, Holland served as an instructor of sociology and as a physical education coach at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania from 1939-1942. After his teaching stint at Lincoln, Holland fulfilled his wartime obligation to his country as a director of personnel for the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Chester, Pa., in which he oversaw the employment affairs of the African-American workers of that company from 1942-1946. He returned to education as the director of the Division of Political and Social Sciences at Tennessee Agriculture & Industrial State University in Nashville from 1947-1951. During that period, Holland earned a PhD in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950. In 1951, he became a social research consultant for the Pew Memorial Foundation of Philadelphia. This was his livelihood when the opportunity to become the DSC president was presented to him.
PRE-HOLLAND ERAS To understand the impressive pivotal nature of Holland’s presidency, the dire state of affairs of the Delaware State College he inherited has to be explored. Since its birth as the State College for Colored Students (SCCS) in 1891, the institution limped from decade to decade making modest improvements over time amid woefully low levels of state financial support. After a federal education assessment around 1915 noted that the College’s offerings were in reality no higher than a secondary school level, it methodically worked to raise its education quality. By the 1920s, a junior college degree program was established, and in the early 1930s, a four-year degree program was offered, both under President Richard Grossley. In the mid-1940s under the presidency of Dr. Howard Gregg, DSC received its first provisional accreditation as a four-year institution of higher education. A few years later, the state’s
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General Assembly would pass legislation that changed the name of the SCCS to Delaware State College. A casual observer of the College from the 1920s to the mid-1940s might have concluded that although the progress was slow, it was methodically taking place. That conclusion was largely an illusion. The state of Delaware’s financial support of the College’s operations during its first 60 years ranged from miserly in the early years to somewhat increased but still inadequate in the 1920-40s. State funds to help the campus infrastructure grow — i.e., major capital funding for new building construction — contributed to the building of only three edifices after the inaugural year — Lore Hall, a female dormitory, in the early 1900s, Delaware Hall in 1927 and Conrad Hall in 1930. The lack of expansion of the campus physical infrastructure would catch up to the College in adverse ways that would almost lead to its demise. It not only struggled to maintain a four-year degree institution in the 1930s and 1940s, but also operated a high school on campus. With the end of World War II, black soldiers armed with the G.I. Bill came home to enroll in historically black colleges throughout the country. DSC’s enrollment tripled with the veterans’ arrival. The College’s classroom space, residential facilities and food service was inadequate to handle such growth. This led to widespread campus discontent and a student strike in February 1949 that was publicized
THE LIFE OF DR. JEROME HOLLAND | 6TH PRESIDENT (1953-1960)
Photo courtesy of the Holland Papers at Cornell University
Dr. Jerome Holland’s tenure at then-Delaware State College began in 1953 when he was chosen by former Delaware Gov. J. Caleb Boggs, left, to lead the institution. In October, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dr. Jerome Holland statue on campus was attended by J.C. Boggs, the governor’s grandson, right, shown with President Harry L. Williams.
by newspapers in the state. A subsequent state investigation ensued, leading to the dismissal of then-president Gregg. Before a permanent replacement could be chosen, the regional accrediting body — the Middle States Commission — paid the campus a visit, determined that the College fell short of just about every higher education standard and then revoked DSC’s accreditation as a four-year college. With that accreditation loss, Delaware State College’s future was very much in doubt. Its enrollment plummeted, some state legislators and members of the public began calling for its closure, and the overall morale on campus was low.
MAKING A CASE FOR DELAWARE STATE It was against this dismal backdrop that the fortuitous introduction of Delaware Gov. J. Caleb Boggs to Holland took place in early 1953 during a masonic dinner at the YMCA in Wilmington. Seated next to one another, Boggs and Holland had a long conversation that naturally shifted to the challenges confronting DSC. Before the governor rose from the table, he realized that he had just broken bread with the possible solution to the problems of Delaware State. The remarkable reversal of fortunes during the Holland tenure is especially profound when the condition of the college upon his arrival is considered. In his 1960 exit report Reclaiming a College — A Report on Delaware State University, Holland described what he learned about the institution prior to assuming the top post: “In May 1953, Delaware State College had few if any of the materials, both human and physical, characteristic of institutions of higher education. The College had a divided Board of Trustees that was ineffective; a very unstable faculty-staff; an extremely inadequate library; an inefficient business management program; a poor physical
plant; a divided alumni group; an antagonistic public clamoring for its closing; an inefficient maintenance program; a very limited student body; an extremely low prestige level; and had lost its accreditation with the regional association. This presented the new president who took office in July of 1953 with a dismal picture.” However, in that same paragraph of the report, Holland goes on to share some potential hope that he saw in the College: “It was possible to ascertain after some study, that the College really had never been given an opportunity to exploit its educational potential. If this general pattern could be changed, it appeared as though the College might serve a positive educational role for the citizens of Delaware.” Holland, who began his tenure July 1, 1953, would prove to be the most pivotal chief executive in the institution’s history in the midst of its greatest-ever challenges. In the advent of his presidency, the debate raged on over DSC’s continued existence as a four-year institution, with some calling for its conversion into a junior college and others for its closure altogether. Legislation was introduced in the Delaware Senate to abolish DSC in the spring of 1953. There were also some who advocated that DSC should be made a part of the University of Delaware. Due to the loss of accreditation and administrative instability from 1949-53, the College’s enrollment precipitously dropped from a thenschool-record 387 students in 1948-49 to 133 students in 1952-53. After assuming the presidency, Holland immediately initiated a study of the College and submitted his findings to Boggs on July 1, 1954, reviewing at length the challenged history of the institution. “… the history of Delaware State College has been a stormy and unstable one. Every president (except the first) has been forced to resign under extenuating circumstances, which in itself could wreak a devastating blow upon any school. Up until the present time, Delaware State College has always had financial difficulties due to the lack of
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THE LIFE OF DR. JEROME HOLLAND | 6TH PRESIDENT (1953-1960)
Dr. Donald Blakey ’58 | co-chair of the Holland Statue Committee
sufficient State appropriations for current operational expenses. Also, the State has neglected the College to the regrettable degree in not giving it money for capital improvements over a long period of time. Thus, it has been impossible for the school to improve and grow, to attract faculty members and students,” Holland said in the report. His report further pointedly stated that the ongoing controversy over DSC’s future had “wrought havoc with College programs and the morale of the institution,” and simply put, that the state needed to make a decision concerning its continuation as a higher education institution. In a frank analysis, he boldly stated that if there was no change in the level of state financial support and appropriation of necessary capital improvement funds, DSC should be discontinued. However, Holland also made a strong case for the need for DSC — and hence for an appreciable increase in state funding to support it — noting that the socioeconomic reality of that time made the existence of a College that especially served the black populace particularly paramount. If the state made a commitment to substantially improve its financial commitment, Holland recommended that DSC remain a four-year undergraduate institution “open to all students regardless of race, creed or national origin.” He called for most of the courses to be continued and strengthened. He also noted how political consideration in the governors’ Board of Trustees appointees added to the College’s instability and advocated that the then-six-member board be increased to allow appointments not related to political party affiliation or state geographical area, but rather made by the elected board in an at-large capacity. The report carried great persuasive weight with Boggs, who supported nearly all of Holland’s recommendations. Along with General Assembly support, DSC was better positioned to overcome its past difficulties. Under his leadership, DSC proceeded to address its shortcomings.
HOLLAND’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS Business Practices | Among Holland’s top priorities was to get the College’s financial affairs in order. H. Gordon Pinkett was appointed as the new business manager in charge of the reorganization of business procedures. According to the 1960 report, by the end of the 1953-54 school year, the College had regained a healthy financial status with the area business community. Subsequently, the annual state appropriations increased from $307,000 in fiscal 1954 to $400,000 in fiscal 1960. The DSC annual operating budget correspondingly increased from $401,605 in fiscal 1954 to $622,796 in fiscal 1960. The budget increase was added by a rise in private revenue (tuition and fees) from $88,840 to $233,017 during the same period.
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We are because he was. Without his timely leadership, the College would not have survived and we would have never become Delaware State University. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS | Holland was able to broker thenunprecedented major capital improvement allocations from the state. The General Assembly in 1956 was persuaded to appropriate more than $1.6 million for the construction of a men’s residence hall (Conwell Hall), a multipurpose gymnasium (Memorial Hall) and a faculty residential building (Kent Apartments), marking the first phase of the College’s expansion program under Holland’s leadership. The following year, the Assembly provided $850,000 that funded the construction of a classroom, administration and laboratory building (Grossley Hall), an addition to the existing library, and three large Cape Cod-style homes for single female faculty-staff members. Holland also led the important renovation of several existing buildings.
ACADEMIC CHANGES AND ACCREDITATION | In addressing the academic shortcomings of the institution, Holland sought and received help from the accrediting agency that had stripped DSC of its accreditation — the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Universities — which led DSC through a self-study process that brought critical improvements. The most important change was the division of the Office of the Dean-Registrar in the 1957-58 school year, with the former focusing on academic affairs and the latter on enrollment management and academic records. The College reduced the number of academic departments from 14 to 10. In addition, a General Education Program was established to provide students with a more well-rounded education. The Jason Library increased its total volumes from 18,000 to almost 35,000, and library usage almost tripled between 1953-1960. By 1957, DSC had won back its full accreditation by Middle States. ENROLLMENT | With improved conditions, enrollment began rising from 133 students in 1952-53 to 383 students in 1959-60. The number of applications also increased from 163 to 351 during that time period, while simultaneously DSC became more selective in the students that it accepted. In 1953-54, the College rejected only nine of the 163 applications (5%); in 1959-60 that percentage rose to 33%. ALUMNI SUPPORT | From the very beginning of his tenure, Holland made improved alumni support a priority. In October 1954, a DSC Alumni Office was created, and Holland directed it to establish more effective communications with alumni, as well as seek their support in the College’s programs — especially in the areas of scholarships and recruitment. By the end of the decade, a $40,000 Alumni Fund Campaign was launched for the construction of an Alumni House on the campus, which was built in the 1960s.
Top photo courtesy of Mary Evans-Monroe/right photos the Holland Papers at Cornell University
Dr. Jerome Holland poses with 1960 graduate Mary Evans-Monroe. Right: In his post-Delaware State years, Holland walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and talks with former President Richard M. Nixon.
PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT | Because some worthwhile activities could not be paid for with state or federal funding, Holland began a precedent of looking toward philanthropic organizations for additional financial support. Through those efforts, the College received annual funding from the Pew Memorial Foundation — for which Holland worked as a social research consultant prior to his DSC appointment — and the Clifton Center Inc., a combined almost $88,000. BOARD OF TRUSTEES | In 1957, an earlier Holland recommendation was followed, as enacted state legislation changed the composition of the DSC Board of Trustees to include eleven members — six appointed by the governor and five appointed by the board membership. FACULTY QUALITY | Faculty quality improved, increasing from eight doctoral faculty members in 1953-54 to 15 in 1959-60. The average length of service also increased during this period, as did the average faculty salary. In addition, the first white faculty members were hired during Holland’s administration. ATHLETICS | Prior to the 1960s, several Hornets teams would be led by the same head coach. In one of his last leadership acts, Holland divided up the head coaching responsibilities, resulting in a different head coach for each intercollegiate Hornets team. With the unprecedented progress of the institution during his tenure, the College and the community were stunned when Holland resigned May 18, 1960, to become president of Hampton University. Dr. Luna I. Mishoe took over as his presidential successor and would go on to build greatly upon the successful reversal of fortunes at DSC by leading the College through a tremendous transformation over the next 27 years.
POST-DELAWARE STATE YEARS In the years after he left DSC, Holland continued to achieve. •
He was elected to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1965.
•
About the same time that Holland announced he would retire in 1970 from the Hampton presidency, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon appointed him ambassador of Sweden, a post he would serve for two years. It was a challenging ambassadorship for Holland, as there was significant tension regarding the U.S. and Sweden over the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War.
•
In 1971, Auburn Senior High School, which later became Auburn Junior High School, renamed its stadium in his honor. The stadium was rededicated again as Holland Stadium in 1995.
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In 1972, he became the first African-American to sit on the board of the New York Stock Exchange, a seat he held for 18 years. He served as a board member of nine major U.S. companies — AT&T, General Foods, the Culbro Corp., Federated Department Stores, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Pan American Bankshares, the Union Carbide Corp., Zurn Industries and Continental Corp.
•
In 1979, Holland was elected and appointed by President Jimmy Carter as the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Red Cross, a position he held until his death. The Red Cross renamed the research and development laboratory in his honor in 1987.
Holland died in New York City on January 13, 1985, after a long bout with cancer. After his death, he was posthumously awarded the highest civilian award one can receive — the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985. During his speech, President Ronald Reagan described Holland as “… a leading educator, civil rights activist, author and diplomat …,” leading “a life of service, the memory of which today serves as an inspiration to millions.”
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Celebrating 125 years of service to the state, the nation and the world!
Celebrating 125 years of service to the state, the nation and the world!
This year, Delaware State University marks the 125th anniversary of its founding as a land-grant institution on May 15, 1891. The celebration officially kicked off May 15, 2016.
We want to share your success story! During DSU’s 125th anniversary celebration, we are interested in sharing the success stories of alumni who got their start at DSU and made their mark during or following their time on campus. We’d love to hear from you!
We hope you’ll plan to join us during Homecoming, Saturday, October 15, as we remember our beginnings and reflect on our evolution into one of the nation’s premier HBCUs.
Please visit desu.edu/125-success-stories to share your story in 125 words or less and provide your contact information. It can be your own personal success story or that of an alumni colleague you think deserves to be shared.
Other Upcoming Events: President’s Prayer Breakfast Friday, September 9 President’s Scholarship Ball Saturday, December 10
For more information on the yearlong celebration, including events and activities, please visit
desu.edu/125 20 The Echo www.desu.edu Spring 2016
Success story nominations may also be mailed to: 125th Anniversary Committee, Delaware State University, 1200 North DuPont Highway, Dover DE 19901.
HISTORY QUIZ
How well do you know DSU? On May 15, 1891, the institution known today as Delaware State University was established by the Delaware General Assembly under the provisions of the Morrill Act of 1890. In honor of the celebration of our 125th anniversary, we’d like to test your knowledge of some of the institution’s history. How well do you know DSU? (Answers are on page 33.)
1
What was the original name of Delaware State University when it was established?
6
a) True b) False
___________________________________
2
At the time of its creation, the institution was located in the state capital of Dover. True or False?
7
a) True b) False
3
4
5
a) Dr. Luna I. Mishoe b) Dr. William B. DeLauder c) William C. Jason d) Dr. Richard S. Grossley
8
Which current campus building formerly served as a high school?
9
Dr. Claibourne Smith is the second person to serve as the institution’s acting president. The first one was
___________________________________.
Before the current William C. Jason Library was constructed, the library was located in: a) Delaware Hall b) Loockerman Hall c) The Thomasson Building d) Lore Hall
Who was the longest-serving president in the history of DSU?
a) Loockerman Hall b) The Health Center c) Conrad Hall d) Harriet Tubman Hall
Before Memorial Hall was built, the gymnasium was located in Delaware Hall. True or False?
What is the only surviving building from the University’s beginning? _____________________________ DSU has never had a white president. True or false? a) True b) False
10
What legislation was Dr. Harry L. Williams successful in getting the state legislature to pass in 2010? a) The SEEDS Scholarship Program b) The DSU Aviation Fund Support Bill c) The Student Center Complex Bill d) The Inspire Scholarship Program
STATE PUBLIC ARCHIVES HOSTS DSU EXHIBIT In recognition of its 125th anniversary celebration, the State Public Archives in Dover this year hosted an exhibition on DSU history. At left, Stephen M. Marz, state archivist, points out to President Harry L. Williams an aspect of the exhibit featured throughout the State Archives public lobby until June.
SENATE RESOLUTION HONORS 125TH CELEBRATION On May 3, Gov. Jack Markell signed Senate Joint Resolution No. 8 honoring DSU on its 125th anniversary observance. Sponsored by Sen. Brian Bushweller and Rep. Sean Lynn, the resolution also designated May 15 as DSU Day in Delaware. Spring 2016
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together, we are greater
Your generosity impacts students’ lives! “
I am the second oldest child of a single mother who faced major challenges in raising her children. ... My father eventually became my role model after conquering a hard-fought battle with substance abuse. Even though I have faced daunting challenges in my personal life, these challenges made me determined to strive for the life I dream of living as an individual working a fulfilling job in my field and as a contributing member of society. To do this, I knew I had to go to college. The initial start was rough; without enough money, I wasn’t sure how I would make it, but I knew that I would not quit. Then help came in the form of scholarships. I will graduate in 2017, thanks largely to your support. Please continue to help individuals like me who depend upon caring individuals like you; your investment in my future will pay dividends from the seeds you have sown into my life. Thank you!
“
Deshaun Terran Crawford | junior computer science major Read more about Crawford’s journey at DSU/Page 12
With your support,
2,723 students have received scholarships over the life of the campaign.
Thank you! Won’t you help to keep the momentum going during the campaign’s final days?
Donate today: desu.edu/GreaterThanOne 302.857.6055 | dsufoundation@desu.edu
CAMPAIGN GOAL: $20 MILLION
THE LATEST
RECENT ALUMNI GIFTS $20K | Halvin T. ’61 and Pauline E. Blocksom Endowed Scholarship
RAISED TO DATE: $18,333,650 (as of 5/13/16)
Scholarships
$6,133,420
Student Programs
$6,086,579
University Support
$3,828,070
Endowed Scholarships
$1,690,228
Faculty Support
$595,353
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
More than $186,000 in contributions assist 71 students with scholarships
Saying he learned the message of giving and helping others during his time at his alma mater, Halvin Blocksom and his wife, Pauline, have contributed $20,000 to create the Halvin T. and Pauline E. Blocksom Endowed Scholarship. Halvin ’61 is one of four siblings to receive degrees from thenDelaware State College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He went on to earn a master’s degree in Education and Counseling at Wilmington College and spent the next 42 years in public education. Pauline was a homemaker and worked at the Brown Shoe Co. and the Brandywine School District in Food Management.
$15K | Scholarship and scholarship endowment in memory of Peggy Cuffee Brinkley ’79 A $10,000 endowed scholarship and an additional $5,000 scholarship have been established in the name of the late Peggy Cuffee Brinkley by her family. Brinkley graduated with honors in 1979 from thenDelaware State College with a degree in Economics and Business Administration. She went on to enjoy a more than three decade career with Pepco Holdings. The $5,000 scholarship will benefit students matriculating to DSU from Delmar High School, her 1975 alma mater. The $10,000 Peggy Cuffee Brinkley Memorial Endowed Scholarship will be available to any student attending DSU.
Since the establishment of the Trustees Scholarship Fund in 2012, members of the Delaware State University Board of Trustees have contributed more than $216,000 for student scholarships. Over the life of the scholarship fund, more than $186,000 — with an average award of $2,677 — has provided financial assistance to 71 students with an average 3.69 GPA. Full-time students who are at least a sophomore with a minimum 24 credit hours and a 3.0 GPA who demonstrate a financial need are eligible.
$11,480 | Class of 1974
CHAMPION FUND grows to more than $36,000
In commemoration of its 40th Class Anniversary in 2014, members of the Class of 1974 presented $11,480 in contributions to the DSU Foundation Inc. to enhance student success during a symbolic check presentation at Homecoming.
During Homecoming, a display check was presented to President Harry L. Williams representing the total amount raised since the 2011 creation of the Champion Fund — now more than $36,000. All donations provide scholarship support to student athletes during summer school, help to honor alumni athletes and support overall athletic needs.
Class of 1965 fund tops $105,000 Members of the Class of 1965 continue to contribute to their Culture of Giving Drive, growing their initial May 2015 gift of $104,000 to more than $105,000. As requested by the Executive Committee of the class, a significant portion of the funds are allocated to assist seniors who have satisfied the academic criteria to graduate, but have outstanding financial balances. Awards range from $200 to $2,000. For the 20142015 academic year, more than $6,000 was awarded from the class’s financial support fund for scholarships. The class also contributed $10,000 to the Jerome Holland Memorial Statue project.
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RECENT CORPORATE CONTRIBUTIONS $70K | Good Samaritan Inc. and Marmot Foundation grants support nursing lab renovations Delaware State University has received grants totaling $70,000 — $50,000 from Good Samaritan Inc. and $20,000 from the Marmot Foundation — for capital improvements critical for nursing student success within the College of Education, Health and Public Policy. The grants will allow enhanced educational offerings for future nurses through renovated laboratories that will be a hub of scientific exploration.
$50K | M&T Bank Scholars Program established with grant In January, M&T Bank pledged $50,000 for DSU to establish the M&T Bank Scholars Program geared toward student success. The grant, payable in four equal installments, began with the first installment of $12,500. The program’s primary goal is to award scholarships to provide financial support to seniors from Delaware who were supported in their freshman, sophomore and junior years via the state’s Inspire Scholarship program. Inspire Scholars at DSU must maintain a 2.75 GPA, demonstrate good conduct and perform 10 hours of community service each semester.
$25K | AstraZeneca grant will fund STEM scholarships DSU has been awarded a grant of $25,000 for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) scholarships from the
AstraZeneca Healthcare Foundation. AstraZeneca scholarships will be awarded to sophomores, juniors and seniors earning grade point averages of 3.0 or higher, majoring in STEM fields of study.
$20K | Bank of America Acquired Talent Management Program created through grant In fall 2015, Bank of America granted $20,000 for DSU to establish a program geared toward student success, the Bank of America Acquired Talent Management Program (BOA-ATM). The program aims to develop life skills for DSU student participants, preparing them for work in the financial market sector. Bank of America professionals are paired with students for personal growth and career development. In addition, the program offers exceptional students with an opportunity for paid summer internships and potentially full-time employment.
$20K | Verizon grant will enhance robotics education DSU has received a $20,000 grant from Verizon in support of robotics education that will establish teams at the Early College High School@DSU and Kent County kindergarten through grade 12 schools as well as help to host the state championship FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge. Grant funds will cover consumable robotics kits, teacher stipends and other supplies, including a shared 3-D printer. Through a partnership with FIRST (For Inspiration Recognition of Science & Technology), a nonprofit organization that gives students an opportunity to apply STEM skills to solve real-world design challenges using robotic platforms, DSU is charged with expanding programs throughout Delaware.
First Lady’s Hats and Gloves Tea benefits Honors Program Dr. Robin Williams presented the inaugural “First Lady’s Hats and Gloves Tea — An Evening of Elegance” on March 17, drawing 300 women (as well as a few men) from the University and the surrounding Delaware community for fellowship, dinner and entertainment to benefit the DSU Honors Program. The First Lady’s Hats and Gloves Tea recognized three women as the “Honorable Honorees” of the event: Carla Markell, first lady of the State of Delaware and wife of Gov. Jack Markell State Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden ’69, Delaware House of Representatives, 2nd District State Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, majority whip of the Delaware State Senate, 2nd District. The Tea featured an abundance of style in the hats, gloves and dress that adorned the attendees. The mistress of ceremony was alumna Kathleen Charlot ’11, currently a sales manager for Dell Secure Work in Atlanta. The event featured entertainment by DSU students that included the DSU Jazz Combo, a sextet from the DSU Concert Choir, poet Kamara Rice, and soloists Chelsea Taylor and Jahselah White. 24 The Echo www.desu.edu Spring 2016
From left are First Lady’s Hats and Gloves Tea “Honorable Honorees,” State Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden, State of Delaware First Lady Carla Markell and State Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, along with the event’s host, Dr. Robin Williams.
Dr. Robin Williams and Virginia Carson were co-chairs of the 13-member First Lady’s Tea Executive Committee, which was supported by the work of 33 Tea Subcommittee members. There was also a group of students who served as ushers and escorts during the event.
2015 PRESIDENT’S SCHOLARSHIP BALL
An elegant night to show support for students
Top, from left: Legendary performer Jennifer Holliday. Community Partner Award recipients Marion Gibbs ’61; Dr. Reba Hollingsworth ’49, also representing her husband, Dr. Berlin Hollingsworth ’67, who was in attendance; Norman Oliver ’85; and Bayhealth Inc. President and CEO Terry Murphy, shown with President Harry L. Williams. Actor Aaron D. Spears ’94, who served as emcee.
P
resident Harry L. Williams welcomed guests to the annual President’s Scholarship Ball in December in the ballroom of the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino. The well-attended fundraiser, emceed by alumnus and actor Aaron Spears ’94, featured the singing of Broadway legend and recording artist Jennifer Holliday.
GIVING
Holliday performed a number of songs from her career, including selections from Dreamgirls, the long-running Broadway production in which she was an original Tony Award-winning star, as well as her latest album “This Song is You,” prompting several standing ovations from the crowd. Raising money for student scholarships, the ball also received strong support from the following sponsors:
Premier Sponsor: DuPont Diamond Sponsor: Delmarva Power Gold Sponsors: Delaware Today and Delaware State News SAVE THE DATE! 2016 President’s Scholarship Ball | Saturday, December 10, 2016
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ALUMNI
I
t began as a debate between two Delaware State College freshmen about the sound of each other’s voice, and it led to the union of Jimmie and Tina Strong — a successful businessman and public school teacher as well as strong supporters of their alma mater. But long before Jimmie and Tina made their mark in Atlanta with their diverse construction company, Jimmie Strong and Associates, their story together began at DSC in 1961. College years Raised in Atlanta, multiple high school sports successes created some opportunities for Jimmie, attracting interest from the Los Angeles Dodgers as well as some college scholarships. But Jimmie was not initially interested in playing sports in college. Because former DSU football coach Bennie George’s brother was Jimmie’s high school coach and mentor Clyde George, Jimmie was directed to DSC where he enrolled. “I wasn’t going for sports,” Jimmie said. “I just wanted to go to school.” Meanwhile, then-Tina Maynard — raised in Bridgeport, Conn., and finishing high school in Newark, N.J. — followed a counselor’s recommendation and enrolled at Del State. Her first day, she was seated in an orientation testing session — right behind her future husband. “I was talking (to someone) and Jimmie turned around and said ‘What’s wrong with your voice?’ ” Tina said. “I said, ‘What’s wrong with your voice?’ And the fight was on.” As health and physical science majors, the two were in the same classes together that first year. Tina said despite their contentious beginning, “By the end of our freshman year, he had become my best friend.” DSC head football coach Roy D. Moore persuaded Jimmie to join the team as a kicker. Jimmie would play not only four years of football, but he would also put in some time on the baseball and basketball teams. But it was on the gridiron were Jimmie excelled. In addition to kicker, he played defensive back, halfback, quarterback and kickoff/punt returner. His career totals of 28 interceptions and a 43.9 yards per kick punting average are still Hornets records, leading to his 1988 induction into the DSU Athletic Hall of Fame. As a DSC cheerleader, Tina had a close view of his football exploits. During their junior year, Peaches (Jimmie’s nickname at DSC) suffered a head injury during the Hornets’ football game at Hampton. Tina came to his aid on the sidelines, applying pressure to stop the bleeding while they waited on the ambulance. Jimmie would spend two days in a Hampton hospital. Upon his return, he thanked Tina for being there for him when he was injured. She then let him know she had gotten all his homework assignments and notes for their classes while he
From their first day on campus to a lifetime together At Delaware State, Jimmie and Tina Strong built a relationship that has lasted five decades and an entrepreneurial spirit that has led to career and business success n Story and photo by Carlos Holmes was out. The two then proceeded to do their homework together. It was there the sparks of romance were ignited. “We had not been in a relationship, but I was sitting across from her and I kept thinking, “Boy I’d like to kiss her,’ ” Jimmie said. He then got the courage up to approach her. Tina, understanding the heat of the moment, resisted and ran away from him. The chase ended with their first kiss. “As soon as I laid one on her, I knew I had her,” Jimmie said. Although Tina initially berated him and demanded that they return to their studies, another chase ensued, ending in another kiss. And the couple knew they were no longer “just friends.” “But in those days, our dates were from the dormitory to the cafeteria, to class and back to the dorm,” Tina said. The couple also learned that they had an enterprising chemistry as well. Tina’s father had given her a 1952 Dodge car in 1964, and the lovebirds used the car to make runs for other students to a nearby pizza and sub shop. “The owner would pay us 10 cents an order and we would get all the food we wanted for free,” Jimmie said.
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“
“
Del State is the same as family, and the nurturing we got there is something we have never forgotten.
Tina said she was constantly defending her boyfriend. “Some thought he was just a wild athlete, but he was a perfect gentleman; he had the old Southern manners,” she said. “I would tell people that they really didn’t know him.” By their senior year although they had a planned wedding for that summer, the couple joined two other DSC friends for a dual elopement in Sudlersville, Md. “We still did our big wedding in June, but our parents never knew that we eloped before that,” Jimmie said. By that time, Tina had graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education. Jimmie had one semester of student teaching he had to get in and would not receive his diploma until the following year. Prior to their elopement, Jimmie signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Colts as a defensive back and kicker. When he did not make the team in 1966, he spent that fall playing for the Wilmington Clippers and then returned in January 1967 to complete his student teaching requirement.
Career and business life The Strongs would settle down in Dover. Tina held a succession of successful physical education and science teaching positions at William Jason High School, William Henry Middle School, Dover Central Middle School and Dover High School. Jimmie initially was a teacher and also served at DSC as an assistant football and baseball coach for 10 years. In 1969, Jimmie and Tina launched their first business, which involved running dump trucks and hauling gravel, sand and dirt. Two years later, they started Strong High Pressure Systems, a high-power water blasting company. Their entrepreneurial spirit also took them into food service. The couple opened Coach Strong’s Sub Shop in 1972 across from the campus, providing sandwiches for the DSC community over the next two years. The Strongs expanded into home building in 1974, launching Strong Construction, which did renovation work, built additions and constructed entire house projects. In 1980, the couple decided to move to Jimmie’s former Atlanta stomping grounds, where they continued their businesses. Jimmie Strong and Associates included big highpressure water blasting and painting contracts with the Atlanta Airport, Fulton County Stadium, Holiday Inn International, Omni International, Morris Brown College and Clark-Atlanta University, among many others. Another venture called The Strong Company encompassed new home construction renovations and land developing. The Strongs opened a Country Club facility called Private Affairs at Amberstone where they hosted dinners and events for the movers and shakers of the Greater Atlanta area. The couple even got into the music business. As the executive producers in 1994, the Strongs launched the career of R&B singer Wendell Brown, leading to his first album and concert tour. 28 The Echo www.desu.edu Spring 2016
Tina Strong ’65
From a sub shop to companies focusing on gravel and dirt hauling, highpressure water blasting and construction of luxury homes like the one above, Jimmie and Tina Strong have operated several businesses in Dover and Atlanta. Tina also has had a long career as an educator, currently teaching at-risk students.
They also hosted the LaFace Record Summer Festival at their Amberstone facility in 1996, drawing 2,600 people, including major artists such as Biggie Smalls, TLC, Kid N’ Play, and serving as the coming out concert for Usher. While Jimmie was occupied with the management of their various business ventures, Tina spent her evenings doing the paperwork and preparing contracts for their pursuits. “I get so filled up with what God has done for us,” Jimmie said. “I just ask God to keep me humble.” In the course of their business success, the couple also raised a family. Their union produced two daughters — Audra and Cassandra — as well as an adopted daughter Fredrena. The Strongs have two grandchildren. With so much success behind them, Jimmie retired in 2010. Tina has retired twice from teaching only to return both times. She now teaches at-risk students. “I teach lost kids, the dropouts, the ones that come out of juvenile detention facilities,” Tina said. “I don’t find them threatening; I learn about them before I start teaching them.” Through it all, the Strongs faithfully have continued their strong support of DSU. In addition to helping countless students through their annual donations, they have been instrumental in projects such as the Class of 1965’s fundraiser, which met its goal in 2015 and continues to grow, contributing more than $105,000. Tina said the couple financially assists DSU students because they were helped greatly during their DSC years. “Del State is the same as family, and the nurturing we got there is something we have never forgotten,” Tina said. “If you needed something, there was also an instructor there to help.” Jimmie said the reason for their support is simple. “We love DSU,” he said. “We have no other reason.”
ALUMNI Strong leads EFFORT TO CREATE Hall of Fame facility As a DSU Athletic Hall of Fame athlete, Jimmie Strong has made it a mission to help his alma mater establish a permanent place where the institution’s top athletes can be celebrated. Strong founded the Vision Committee in 2014 to raise $500,000 to build a DSU Athletic Hall of Fame facility within Memorial Hall to house inductee plaques, photos and stories. “We started in 2014 raising money by contacting as many Hall of Fame inductees as we had contact info on,” Strong said. “We have asked them to donate $600 per year.” He said the committee has raised $30,000 so far and is still trying to contact other inductees who have not yet been reached. “Over the years, we have lost some of their contact information,” said Strong, adding that the committee is also seeking some corporate support for the project. The first Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1985, and now there are almost 300 athlete, coach and administrator honorees. In recent years, the Hall of Fame has also celebrated teams. However, the University has no place to showcase these inductees. “Athletics is certainly a part of DSU’s institutional story and our Hall of Fame inductions are one of the ways of preserving that history,” said President Harry L. Williams. “It is great to see Mr. Strong and other alumni working toward the strengthening of that preservation.” Strong is seeking help from other alumni to help the committee reconnect with Hall of Fame inductees. Any alumni with contact information or who want to financially support the project may contact Strong at 770.507.4773 or tms180@aol.com.
Did you and your spouse meet on campus? Share your story with The Echo! Email us 250 words or less at alumni@desu.edu.
Hugh Williams ’73 rose to be chief of Consular Affairs posts in Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Chennai and Hong Kong during a 35-year career with the U.S. State Department.
35-year foreign service career takes alumnus around the globe Alumnus Hugh Williams recently retired from his career as a foreign service officer for the U.S. State Department, and now he wants other young people from DSU and elsewhere to know about the international opportunities that they can prepare themselves for. The Class of 1973 graduate said his entry into international diplomacy was not by design, but was through the intervention of key people as he worked through his Delaware State undergraduate years as a math major and afterward in connection with his graduate studies at Texas Southern University. As a mathematics major from Philadelphia, Williams fell under the mentorships of math instructors Arthur Bragg and Allen Hamilton. Add the inspiration of Dr. Scott King, English professor, and Williams’ admiration of those faculty members made him aspire for a teaching career in higher education. A new direction would surface during his
Hugh Williams ’73 graduate studies at TSU, through which he entered a two-year Teachers Corps/Peace Corps program in which he taught in the Houston Independent School District during the first year and high school math in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the second year. It was in Sierra Leone that the unlikely first career game changer for him manifested itself — basketball. “We organized pickup games, which evolved into a league, and then into a national basketball team — the first one the country ever had,” Williams said. “I was the head coach of the Sierra Leone National Team; we were fledgling, but competitive.” This brought him to the attention of Malvin “Mal” Whitfield, a former Tuskegee airman and a Spring 2016
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three-time gold medal Olympic track star (1948 and 1952), who by this juncture of Williams’ life was an American foreign service officer. “He took me under his wing and mentored me on the opportunities in international service,” he said. While Williams returned to DSU as an adjunct instructor after his 1976 master’s degree completion, he was also vying for a post with the U.S. State Department. “I understood the importance of having a DSC support system,” Williams said. “I used DSU as a springboard into foreign service.” He added that the State Department was opening up to African-Americans at that time, and through having an advocate like Mal Whitefield, “our advocacy got special attention.” The rest is a 35-year history in which he rose to be chief of Consular Affairs posts in Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Chennai and Hong Kong. But one of his most memorable stories took place in the early years of his foreign service in Jamaica. As a consular officer, Williams was responsible for vetting foreigners who wanted to immigrate or visit the United States. In 1978, an up-and-coming Jamaican music group wanted to do a tour in the U.S. and applied for visas. All of the band members were approved, except for a guitar player denied because of some adverse information in his past. “After I refused the guitarist’s application, I started getting phone calls about this case from INS, State Department officials, even from famed attorney Alan Dershowitz,” he said. “Finally someone at the State Department mentioned that I could issue a waiver that would let the guitarist in the country.” Williams said at first, he was going to stick by his decision, but then pondering the case and all the attention it was getting, he decided to reverse it. However, before he did so the next day, Williams got another phone call. He answered it and heard: “Hey ’mon, it’s Bob Marley, I got to have my guitarist!” The guitarist was permitted to enter the country, and Bob Marley and the Wailers did a successful tour across the United States on the way to become a legendary reggae band. During his last tour, Williams was the chief of Consular Affairs in Hong Kong when a young African-American woman was arrested while serving as a “mule” — smuggling drugs in her suitcase — while attempting to go from Hong Kong to mainland China. She was facing possible life in a Hong Kong prison.
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TIPS FROM A LONGTIME Foreign service OFFICER Hugh Williams ’73 offers the following advice to college students interested in foreign service: Maintain at least a 3.2 GPA. Take quantitative courses as well as classes in the humanities, foreign languages, philosophy and anthropology. Take advantage of study abroad opportunities. Enhance your resume with internships (whether paid or volunteer). Know the application deadlines and turn them in ahead of time. Have a personal plan mapped out over a timeline.
“I intervened through my contacts and pleaded that she was an unwitting accomplice,” Williams said. “After four months, (the Hong Kong officials) agreed to allow her to be released into the custody of a nun and I got a plane booked and got her out of the country. I broke every rule in the book, but I took great delight that it gave her life back.” Since retiring from foreign service, Williams has been teaching since 2012 at Morehouse College and at Spelman College as a diplomatin-residence and has designed a course entitled “Pathway to Diplomacy and Global Leadership.” Williams said there is still a shortage of people of color in the foreign service field, and he has made it a personal goal to help guide minorities toward such a career. Alumnus Craig Bowman ’93, currently a foreign service officer in Brazil, is one such person assisted by Williams. Bowman said that his father and Williams were fraternity brothers and DSC classmates. “Mr. Williams convinced me to go into the Peace Corps as he had done,” he said. “Later when he returned, we spoke often about the State Department as a career, and after I finished grad school I took his advice.” Bowman currently works as an information technology manager at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia.
In Memoriam Alumni Dawn R. Barron ’98 Clarise M. Johnson ’67 Clarence K. Draper ’05 Carla L. Howard ’95 Kenneth Livingston ’61 Barry N. Harmon Sr. ’63 Elaine Gwyn ’90 Peggy Cuffee Brinkley ’79 Betty Jean Lingo Dickens ’67 Lydia Perkins-Payton ’44 Donell Guy ’58 Grace C. Jackson ’54 Grace Riley ’49 Louvenia Griggs ’67 Janis Donophan ’90 Alice M. Carter ’57 Mary L. Joseph ’69 Ada E. Smith ’81 Janet Maull Lawton ’74 Kristen Lopez ’13 Monica Shields ’85 Brenda Blakey-Bell ’65 Stephen R. King ’02 Steve Coleman ’73 Desi Day Muriel Drake ’58 Tanya Haman ’95 Thomas Garfield ’75
July 11, 2015 July 27, 2015 Aug. 30, 2015 Sept. 4, 2015 Sept. 11, 2015 Sept. 23, 2015 Sept. 27, 2015 Oct. 6, 2015 Oct. 13, 2015 Oct. 17, 2015 Oct. 20, 2015 Oct. 29, 2015 Nov. 4, 2015 Nov. 7, 2015 Oct. 15, 2015 Nov. 11, 2015 Nov. 12, 2015 Dec. 2, 2015 Dec. 25, 2015
Board of Trustees Marjorie W. Steiner,
board member, 1994-1997
Jan. 23, 2016
Faculty & Staff Joseph P. Backer,
Jan. 31, 2016
Ed Wyche Jr.,
Feb. 16, 2016
Peggy A. Holloway,
Jan. 4, 2016
adjunct instructor, English and Mass Communications, 2007-2015 head football coach, 1975-1978 computer lab coordinator/ assistant to vice president of Student Affairs, 1994-99
Danita F. Parnell-Reed ’87 Sept. 5, 2015
coordinator of credit and collections
Student Thalya Crawford
n Story and photo by Carlos Holmes
Feb. 6, 2007 June 21, 2014 Nov. 20, 2014 Dec. 13, 2014 Feb. 27, 2015 March 11, 2015 May 7, 2015 June 17, 2015 July 5, 2015
social work major
Nov. 29, 2015
ALUMNI
Journalist Michael J. Feeney ’05 mourned by DSU community The Delaware State University community deeply mourns the passing of award-winning journalist and Class of 2005 graduate Michael J. Feeney. Feeney died of cardiac arrest Jan. 31, 2016, after he had been hospitalized in Teaneck, N.J., about a week. A popular student at DSU, Feeney honed his journalism skills as a mass communications/print journalism major as well as with The DSU Hornet student newspaper, where he began as a freshman reporter and culminated as the publication’s editor-in-chief. “Mike took advantage of every opportunity that was available to develop himself as a journalist,” said Carlos Holmes, director of News Services, who was advisor of The Hornet during Feeney’s tenure. Feeney’s leadership skills with the newspaper and his other constructive campus activities were recognized during his 2005 graduation when he was presented the Presidential Leadership Award. His undergraduate preparation showed upon graduation, as he immediately landed a job as a writer/reporter with the Associated Press. He would later write for the New York Daily News; his journalism work there led to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) recognizing him in 2010 as the Emerging Journalist of the Year. In 2011, he was elected as the president of the NABJ’s New York Chapter. At the time of his fatal illness, Feeney was preparing to begin a coveted job as an entertainment reporter for CNN. com in Atlanta. Amid his journalism activity, he never forgot his alma mater, often returning to participate in the annual spring DSU Mass Communications Day to share his experience and advice with the DSU students. “I remember bringing him back for the first Mass Comm Day symposium that I coordinated and being in awe of how entrenched and knowledgeable he was as a young journalist,” said Dr. Francine Edwards, current chair of the Department of Mass Communications. “But even more amazing was his passion for the undergraduates and this University. Feeney was a staple here and a true trailblazer.” In 2014, Feeney helped to welcome the new academic year as DSU’s fall Convocation speaker. At February funerals in Harlem, N.Y., and Englewood, N.J., huge outpouring of expressions of love were in great evidence. The exceptionally large sanctuaries of both church locations were filled to near capacity, in large part due to the more than estimated 600 DSU alumni who came to pay their respects to their fellow Del State Hornet.
Michael J. Feeney shows the Presidential Leadership Award that he received during his 2005 graduation.
ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP CREATED IN FEENEY’S HONOR The family and friends of Michael J. Feeney came together in a big way in the week following his unexpected Jan. 31 death, raising enough money to create an endowed scholarship at DSU in his name. The newly created $10,000 Michael J. Feeney Memorial Endowed Scholarship was announced to the gatherings assembled for his funerals. The endowed scholarship became a reality after 573 donors responded to an online fundraiser spearheaded by Feeney’s classmates and family, raising (as of Feb. 10) over $27,000 that went to the funeral costs and the scholarship. The scholarship will be available to DSU sophomores, juniors or seniors majoring in mass communications who have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher. Financial need will be priority consideration. President Harry L. Williams said the endowed scholarship will be a lasting and loving tribute to Feeney’s character and to the dynamic, far-reaching impact of his life. “We should all hope to live in such a way that will plant seeds that produce long after our spirits have flown,” Williams said. “Because he was all about being a positive force in the lives of his fellow Hornets and others, I am certain Michael would be proud to know that his legacy of giving will be honored in this significant and impactful manner.” Alumni and friends wishing to contribute to the Michael J. Feeney Memorial Endowed Scholarship may visit desu.edu/mjfendowment.
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CHAPTER NOTES Florida Alumni Chapter Retreat II/Special Elections Call Meeting The Florida Chapter hosted a retreat for alumni on April 9 in Seffner, FL.
Chapter Meetings The chapter has conference call meetings the first Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. The free call-in number is 641.715.3580, and the access code is 888-725. Questions? Contact President Alfred A. Outlaw at floridadsualumnichapter@ gmail.com or 215.680.3040.
Greater Hampton Roads Alumni Chapter Chapter Meetings The chapter meets every other second Saturday at 1 p.m. at Dudley’s Driving Center, 2845 N. Armistead Ave. in Hampton, Va. Conference call meetings are held every other second Tuesday at 8 p.m. (Free call-in number: 559.546.1000. Access code: 251316#). Questions? Contact President Al Weal Jr. at mastercook3@cox.net.
Kent County Alumni Chapter Chapter Meetings The chapter meets the fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m. on the DSU campus in Room 204 in the Bank of America Building. Questions? Contact President the Rev. Dr. Geraldine Jones at 302.736.6491 or gerryej@aol.com.
New Castle County Alumni Chapter Chapter Meetings The chapter meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. at DSU@Wilmington on Kirkwood Highway. Questions? Contact President Theressa W. “Tessie” Holmes at 302.229.5909 or tesswholmes@gmail.com.
Philadelphia Alumni Chapter Old School Cabaret The Philadelphia Chapter joined the Cheyney University C-Club, Jackson State and Shaw universities to host an “Old School” HBCU Cabaret on March 19 in Philadelphia. 32 The Echo www.desu.edu Spring 2016
Elected National Officers June 2014-July 2016 President: Sheila M. Davis ’01 | dsuaapres2014@yahoo.com Vice President: Joy C. Hopkins-Keita ’99 | dsuaavp1967@gmail.com Recording Secretary: Theadora White ’98 | dsuaars@gmail.com Assistant Recording Secretary: Lakisha Thompson ’01 | dsuaaasstrec@hotmail.com Treasurer: Veronica Hopkins ’96 | vhop655194@aol.com Assistant Treasurer: Troy Ashley ’96 | tashley76@hotmail.com Alumni Representatives: Clarence Davis ’94 (2014-2016) | DSUAAAlumniRep2014@gmail.com
Herman L. Wood Jr. ’73 (2016-2017) | dsuaaalumni2016rep@gmail.com
Chapter Meetings Chapter meetings are held the first Saturday of the month at 10 a.m. at Bromley House Apartments, 6901 Old York Road, Philadelphia. Questions? Contact President Dr. Jillian Inge at inge5901@aol.com.
Sussex County Alumni Chapter Sixth Annual Holiday Dinner Dance Spirits were elevated by the diverse sounds of “Best Kept Soul,” the headliner for the Sussex County Chapter’s Sixth Annual Holiday Dinner Dance in December. The party continued to the mix of DJ S Sound Productions. During the event, the chapter recognized three individuals whose services significantly impact the Sussex community — Tamara Jubilee Shaw, journalist, media studies and historical researcher and interpreter; Howard E. Smack Sr. ’71, community activist, coach, educator, DJ and DSU Sports Hall of Fame member; and Kaneisha W. Trott, composer, singer, dedicated worker and spiritual individual. A silent auction and souvenir booklet provided resources for scholarships to deserving Sussex students matriculating to DSU in 2016.
‘We Remember Rosedale’ At the chapter’s first “We Remember Rosedale”
Chaplain: Rev. Theressa Holmes ’78 | tesswholmes@gmail.com
Parliamentarian: Dr. Reba Hollingsworth ’49 rebe_rh_19904@yahoo.com
Chairman of Nominating Committee: Albert S. Weal Jr. ’74 | Mastercook3@cox.net Immediate Past President: Dr. K. Bernard Chase ’72 | drkbchase1@verizon.net
JOIN THE DSUAA | dsuaa.com
event in August, Tamara Jubilee Shaw presented a video on the History of Rosedale Beach, the scene of national black entertainers from the 1940s to the 1960s. Located on the banks of the Indian River in Millsboro, Rosedale hosted performers from Lionel Hampton in 1944 to Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder in the ’60s. Also presenting memories were the daughter and family of the owner, Jesse W. Vause, and patrons going back to the era of Harmon’s Park from 1898 to the 1920s. The event was so well-received that the chapter plans to host it again this year.
Chapter Meetings The chapter meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Old Landing 11 Community Center, 400 Wilson St. in Millsboro, Del. Questions? Contact President Robert Draine Sr. at 302.947.4580 or draine11@verizon.net.
Greater Washington Alumni Chapter Chapter Meetings The chapter meets the third Thursday of each month at 11 a.m. at H.D. Woodson Senior High School. Questions? Contact President Robert J. Saunders II at 202.498.2335 or SJR4691@gmail.com.
HISTORY QUIZ ANSWERS From page 21
1
1) The State College for Colored Students. It was renamed Delaware State College in 1947 and Delaware State University in 1993. 2) False. It was located outside the state capital, about two miles north of it. 3) C. Second President William C. Jason (1895-1923) served for 28 years.
2 4
6th Annual Loockerman Hall Holiday Open House The Kent, New Castle and Sussex County chapters hosted their 6th annual Holiday Open House on Nov. 30, Dec. 2 and Dec. 4, inviting the campus community to historic Loockerman Hall. Nearly 30 Inspire Scholars had the opportunity to gain volunteer hours through their assistance with the event. Carlos Holmes, director of News Services, provided history presentations. DSU Lab School students were among the attendees.
ATLANTA ALUMNI FRIENDS AND FAMILY WEEKEND Alumni in the Atlanta area enjoyed a weekend of events in late August hosted by President Harry L. Williams and First Lady Robin Williams that not only gave those in the region an opportunity to network with one another, but also allowed the University to expand its alumni connections. Activities included a dessert reception, a reunion dinner and a church service, as well as the chance to experience the city’s sights. Alumni in Atlanta are making plans to stay engaged. Spearheaded by Kathleen Charlot ’11 and Jamal Jeffers ’02 ’03, alumni in the region have reactivated the Atlanta Alumni Chapter.
3 Kent and Sussex photos courtesy of Bernard Carr Florida and New Castle photos courtesy of the chapters
1. The Kent County Chapter hosted its Second Annual Gospel Fest, “Remembering the Past, Embracing the Future,” in November, where it honored several individuals for dedicated service. Shown with DSUAA President Sheila Davis, left, and Chapter President Dr. Geraldine Jones, right, were Dr. Mable Morrison; Mary Minus ’80; the Rev. Dr. Homer Minus ’52; Vermell DeLauder, representing her husband, former President Dr. William B. DeLauder; Dr. Martin Drew ’65; Carmen Hardcastle ’77, representing the late Dr. James C. Hardcastle ’35; and Bob Frazier, minister of Presbyterian Church of Dover, accepting on behalf the Rev. Mary Reed. Net proceeds from the event benefited scholarships for Kent students matriculating at DSU.
4) B. The present Health Center was the former site of the only high school for blacks in Kent County, Del., from 1921 to 1952. 5) Dr. Maurice Thomasson (1949-50 and 1951-53) 6) True. Built in the 1920s, a gymnasium/ auditorium was included in the construction. 7) C. The Thomasson Building, constructed in the early 1900s as a chapel, served as the library for 45 years beginning around 1930. 8) Loockerman Hall 9) False. First President Wesley Webb was white. 10) D. Delaware high school graduates with a 2.75 GPA who demonstrate good conduct and enter DSU the fall semester following graduation are eligible to apply.
2. Sussex County Chapter President Robert Draine Sr., left, presents an award to honoree Howard E. Smack Sr. ’71, center, shown with his son, Howard Smack Jr., during the Holiday Dinner-Dance. 3. John Ridgeway ’75, Carol Wright ’70 and President Harry L. Williams pause for a photo at the New Castle County Chapter’s Annual Summer Send-Off in August for county students matriculating at DSU. 4. Members of the Florida Chapter of the DSUAA enjoyed a golf outing in September at The Claw at USF in Tampa.
FOR nontraditional students
Adults entering DSU to pursue their first bachelor’s degree after at least a five year cumulative gap in their education after high school may apply to receive up to $5,000 toward tuition costs.
desu.edu/scholarships Funding is made possible through the generosity of The Bernard Osher Foundation.
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MEAC Champions Bowling team wins conference title For the third time in team history, Delaware State is the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference bowling champion. The top-seeded Hornets claimed their first league title since 2010 with a 4-1 victory over No. 6 seed Norfolk State in a best-of-seven Baker format match. DSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the match, taking game one 192-179 and opening up a 2-0 lead with a 194-178 victory in game two. The Hornets built a commanding 3-0 lead after a close win (179-175) in the third game. Norfolk State stayed alive in the match with a 167-154 victory in game four, but DSU left no doubt with a 198-140 win in game five to clinch the title. Delaware State senior Stephanie Sheridan earned Outstanding Tournament Performer honors with a 193.0 average pinfall during team
games. Also this season, Sheridan became the first bowler in team history to qualify for the USBC national individual championships after finishing third in the regional competition with a 211.3 average in six games. Joining Sheridan on the MEAC All-Tournament Team was teammate Chelsey Merklinger. Merklinger was also selected as a National Ten Pin Coaches Association All-America Honorable Mention this season and was named to the All-MEAC First Team. Sheridan and sophomores Elizabeth Burkholder and Amber MacLeod were selected to the All-MEAC Third Team. DSU’s Elysia Current was named MEAC Championship Outstanding Coach. “This means everything and this is everything we have worked for all season. ... The ladies did an amazing job, and they deserve it,” Current said.
Hornet basketball pair captures 2015-2016 MEAC Rookie of the Year awards The future looks bright for Delaware State’s basketball programs. At the end of the 2015-16 season, Lady Hornets freshman forward NaJai Pollard was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year, while Hornet first-year guard Devin Morgan earned top newcomer honors for the men. During the regular season, Pollard was 12th in the MEAC in scoring (11.3 points per game), seventh in rebounds (8.1 per game), 10th in field goal percentage (.456), eighth in free throw percentage (.742) and fifth in blocks (1.7 per game), in addition to ranking among the league leaders with seven “double-doubles.” She was the odds-on favorite to win the award after earning a league-best eight Rookie of the Week honors during the regular season. Morgan, a five-time MEAC Rookie of the Week this season, was tops on the Hornets and 23rd in the MEAC in scoring at 12.2 points per game. He also ranked 11th in the league in assists (2.7 per game), 10th in free throw percentage (.792), 14th in three-point percentage (.356) and ninth in threepointers per game (2.3) during the 2015-16 regular season. He entered the 2016 MEAC Tournament with a string of 27 straight games with at least one 34 The Echo www.desu.edu Spring 2016
three-point field goal. The Hornet guard nailed at least three three-pointers in 11 games, including five in two contests. On Feb. 22, Morgan scored a career-best 31 points in a home loss to Hampton, the single-game high on the Hornets this past season.
ATHLETICS VOLLEYBALL
SOCCER
Team takes second conference crown, sets seasonal records With a victory over South Carolina State in the Independent Conference Tournament Championship, DSU wrapped up what was arguably the best season in school history. The Hornets not only won their second consecutive tournament crown, but also set a new mark for most wins (8) and best overall winning percentage (.475) in program single-season history. DSU also set single-season best marks for most games played (20), goals (36), points (91), shots (235) and shots on-goal (110). The women’s soccer program also was recognized for its performance in the classroom during the 2014-15 school year, earning National Soccer Coaches Associate of America (NSCAA) College Team Academic Award honors. A total of 875 soccer teams (310 men, 563 women) posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher to receive the recognition.
SOFTBALL
HORNETS CLAIM THIRD STRAIGHT MEAC NORTH CROWN The Delaware State softball team this spring captured its third straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern Division title and a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in May. The Hornets won their last 12 conference games to finish the regular season with a 16-2 division record, their highest win total since tallying 20 in 2006. Head coach Amber Jackson has led the Hornets to the MEAC North title in each of her two seasons at DSU.
Football
2 RECEIVE ALL-MEAC RECOGNITION Junior defensive end Gabe Sherrod has been selected to the All-MEAC First Team for the 2015 football season and sophomore linebacker Malik Harris earned Third Team recognition. Sherrod was tops in the MEAC and second among all NCAA FCS players in tackles-for-loss at 2.3 per game. He had 25 total tackles behind
Senior outside hitter Jasmine Jackson finished her career as No. 3 on the Hornets’ alltime list with 992 kills. She played in 101 contests in four seasons with the Hornets.
MEAC HONORS SENIOR STANDOUT Delaware State senior outside hitter Jasmine Jackson closed out her career on a high note, earning All-MEAC Second Team honors for the 2015 season. Jackson was third in the MEAC in kills at 3.52 per game (331 total) and in points at 4.03 per game (379 total) during the season. She also received the final MEAC Player of the Week award for the 2015 campaign after tallying 52 kills, 30 digs and 16 aces in three matches. The highlight of her week was a triple-double in the Hornets’ 3-2 win over Hampton on Nov. 14. Jackson had 26 kills, a career-high 13 aces and 13 digs in the match. The 13 aces and 39.5 points in the contest were tops for a match in the MEAC during the season.
the line-of-scrimmage for minus-116 yards during the 2015 season. In addition, Sherrod was third in the MEAC and 18th in the nation in sacks at 0.73 per game (eight total). He also was named to the 2015 BOXTOROW (Press Box to Press Row) HBCU All-America Team in voting by Black College coaches and media members. Harris was third in the MEAC in solo tackles at 5.0 per game (55 total), seventh in tacklesfor-loss (1.3 per game; 14.5 total) and eighth in total tackles (9.5 per game; 104 total). He was tops on the Hornets in tackles, and also credited with 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, interception (46-yard return) and two pass break-ups.
CROSS COUNTRY During the fall 2015 season, Ashley Robinson had the best performance for the women with her time of 20:27.00 in the MEAC Championships, hosted by the Hornets for the second consecutive year. For the men,
Emanuel Hitch had the fastest time for any male Hornet runner with his 19:07.44 time in the first meet of the season. The season was the first for Damion Drummond, the new head coach of the Hornets’ cross country and track and field teams.
GOLF During the 2015 season, the Hornets hosted the Delaware State Invitational, where the team took home third with a score of 99+ (both best of the season). While all the Hornets had a great season, it was Suchada Anusuriya and Samyra Lewis who continually led the team. Anusuriya scored the lowest for Delaware State four times, while Lewis did it once, in addition to finishing second four times. Anusuriya’s performance at the Navy Invitational was the best of any Hornet all season, as the senior finished 14th with a score of 18+.
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2016 HORNETS FOOTBALL Return of the First State Rivalry vs. University of Delaware
5 home games
Visit to SEC contender Missouri ... and more!
September 1
Delaware
OCTOBER
Newark, Del. 7 p.m.
10
Hall-of-Fame Day MONMOUTH HOME
17
OPEN
24
Missouri
5 p.m.
Columbia, Mo. TBA
1
Morgan State* Baltimore, Md. TBA
8
HAMPTON*
HOME
2 p.m.
15
HOMECOMING FLORIDA A&M* HOME
2 p.m.
22
SC State*
Orangeburg, 1:30 SC p.m.
Bethune- Cookman*
Daytona Beach, FL
29 36 The Echo www.desu.edu Spring 2016
NOVEMBER
4 p.m.
5
NC CENTRAL*
HOME
2 p.m.
12
NC A&T*
HOME
2 p.m.
19
Howard* Washington, TBA DC
* MEAC games Keep up with the latest Hornets news
dsuhornets.com
CAMPUS NEWS MAKERS President Williams named to 2 major boards, gives Commencement address in Jamaica Dr. Harry L. Williams has been appointed to the board of directors of two major organizations — the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Bayhealth. TMCF supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending its 47 member-schools, including publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Bayhealth operates Kent General Hospital in Dover and Milford Memorial Hospital as well as a number of medical centers throughout Kent County. Also in recent months, Williams gave the fall commencement address at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Jamaica, one of DSU’s newest partner institutions. While in Jamaica, Williams and Dr. Dyremple Marsh, dean of the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences, also held meetings with CASE officials on the progress of agreement activities.
Former President DeLauder Receives Morrill Award The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently presented President Emeritus William B. DeLauder with the Justin Smith Morrill Award in recognition of his long contributions to food and agricultural sciences and his service as an educator and leader at land-grant universities. Awarded at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Annual Meeting, the recognition coincided with DeLauder’s presentation during the event’s Justin Smith Morrill Lecture titled “1890 Land-Grant Universities: 125 Years of Providing Access and Opportunities for Success.”
Board ChairMAN TURNER AN APLU Career Exemplar Award RECIPIENT Board of Trustees Chairman David G. Turner ’86 has been named by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) among its inaugural 1890 Universities Career Exemplar Awards recipients. Distinguished alumni representing each of the 19 historically black land-grant universities, the awardees have achieved excellence in navigating their career pathways and providing mentorship to other traditionally underrepresented students pursuing similar fields. In addition to its recognition of his Board of Trustees chairmanship, the APLU also noted Turner’s work for IBM as a global analytics leader for banking and financial markets and Fortune magazine’s recognition of him as being among the “50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America.” Presented with the award at the APLU Annual Meeting, the recipients were nominated by their alma maters.
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/COO HARDEE COMPLETES INSTITUTE AT HARVARD Dr. Teresa Hardee, senior vice president and chief operating officer, has completed Harvard University’s prestigious Institute for Educational Management (IEM) program. Amid a highly selective admission process, Hardee was one of about 100 higher education leaders chosen from around the world for the two-week intensive study program on management and leadership in higher education taught by Harvard’s worldrenowned faculty at its Graduate School of Education.
PICKRUM NAMED VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT, DSU FOUNDATION PRESIDENT Vita T. Pickrum, EdD, has been named vice president for Institutional Advancement, a position in which she oversees the administration of the Office of Development, Alumni Relations, University Events and Ceremonies and the DSU Foundation, for which she is also the newly elected president. Pickrum is responsible for implementing development strategies and alumni initiatives that support the University’s mission and strengthen the financial resources of the organization. Prior to this appointment, Pickrum was interim vice president of the division since August 2015. From 2008 to 2015, she served in the ascending posts of grants manager, associate vice president and senior associate vice president of the Office of Development.
RESEARCHER PRESENTED WOMEN OF COLOR STEM RISING STAR AWARD Dr. Lathadevi Karuna Chintapenta, a postdoctorate research associate in aquatic sciences, has been awarded the Women of Color STEM Conference 2015 Technology Rising Star Award, given to young women who are helping to shape technology for the future. A native of India, Chintapenta earned her PhD in natural science at North Orissa University in India in 2011. Since becoming a research associate at DSU in 2012, she has successfully trained about 20 undergraduate students in connection with their research projects. She assists her research mentor, Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay, in all aquatic sciences research and extension activities, including grant writing.
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CLASS NOTES 1970s Dr. George Stevens ’71 last fall traveled to Dubai, where he worked with Abu Dhabi University representatives to install a Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society chapter and induct its charter members. Stevens is a past president of the international organization. He also met with faculty and students at the University of Dubai to discuss topics in academia, and outside of his work had the chance to visit the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, and other sites. Retired from Kent State University as dean of the College of Business and Graduate School of Management, Stevens teaches online courses for Kent State and does accreditation of business schools and universities worldwide for four accreditation agencies. He accumulated over 80,000 miles of travel in 2015.
1980s Markanthony Henry ’85 completed his doctorate (DBA) in Health Care Management from Walden University. Having worked in the health care arena for over 20 years, Henry is launching a nonprofit geared at improving early disease detection and health awareness.
Karen Jones ’88 completed her graduate studies in fall 2015 for a degree in Strategic Leadership from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y. Jones is an IT manager in contract services. The Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce Inc. (LIAACC) recently appointed Erna Jones-Blackman ’89 as Queens County director. Blackman, who received a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Delaware State University, in 2012 founded Butterflies BBI Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides free hair replacements and solutions to children with hair loss due to medical conditions. 38 The Echo www.desu.edu Spring 2016
James “Frank” ’62 and Mary J. Marshall ’75 were awarded the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award during the MEAC Basketball Tournament.
MARSHALLS NAMED DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AT MEAC James F. “Frank” ’62 and Mary J. Marshall ’75, one of DSU’s strongest supporting alumni couples, have been honored as the institution’s corepresentatives of the 2016 class of Distinguished Alumni of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The couple was recognized along with alumni of other conference schools in March during the MEAC Basketball Tournament.
1990s Paula Bishop ’94 has been named vice president of Human Resources at Choptank Electric Cooperative in Maryland. She previously served as the cooperative’s manager of Human Resources. Bishop received a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Delaware State University. Cristel Haltom ’99 has joined Burns & Ellis Realtors in Dover as a real estate agent. Haltom, who received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Delaware State University and a master’s degree in school counseling from Wilmington University, previously was a teacher and school administrator in the Caesar Rodney School District.
2000s Erica Varites ’02 was named Delaware’s Geography Teacher of the Year in 2014 and represented the state at the National Council for Geographic Education conference in Memphis, TN. Varites also was a 2015 recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award from the NCGE, presented at its conference in Washington, DC. Varites received a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Delaware State University. Ronnie Geter ’03 and Patricia Burke Geter ’02 were promoted in 2015 within Durham Public Schools in Durham, NC. Ronnie now serves as assistant principal at Burton IB Magnet Elementary, and Patricia is principal at Lakewood Montessori Middle School. Jye Breckenridge ’04 has been appointed as a home visiting administrator for the Ohio Department of Health. A Licensed Independent Social Work Supervisor (LISW-S), Breckenridge has nearly 15 years of clinical and supervisory experience in the treatment of children, adolescents, adults and families. He received a Master of Social Work degree from Delaware State University and has completed doctoral coursework at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago.
ChangeS in the Office of Alumni Relations Nnamdi Chukwuocha ’98, left, and his identical twin brother, Albert Mills, are the Twin Poets.
Photo by Cylinda McCloud-Keal
CLASS of 98 ALUMNUS, BROTHER NAMED POETS LAUREATE of Delaware Identical twin brothers Nnamdi Chukwuocha ’98 and Albert Mills, the Twin Poets, have been appointed by Gov. Jack Markell to share the title of 17th Poets Laureate of the State of Delaware. Inspired at an early age to express themselves through writing, Chukwuocha and Mills have become two of the most respected poets on the re-emerging poetry and spoken word scene. The duo has been featured on HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, BET’s Lyric Café and NPR’s Poetic License, and they are the subject of a Hearts and Minds Films documentary called Why I Write. Chukwuocha is a member of the Wilmington City Council and chairs the city’s Education, Youth and Families committee. He is also a community-based social worker with over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit world.
Cecelia Pharris ’08 has been promoted to serve as the youth and adolescent program coordinator for a Federally Qualified Health Center in Harrisburg Pa., a position in which she is the main point of contact for all youth/adolescent programming including medical, dental and prevention programs. Pharris completed her master’s degree in Social Work in July 2015 at Temple University Harrisburg and also completed a parenting coach certification program to become a Triple P provider (Positive Parenting Program). Yuan Shen ’04 passed the New York Bar exam in February 2015 and that state’s required Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam in August 2015. Shen is focusing her legal career in the areas of immigration law and general practice. She is a 2013 graduate of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich. Delano Hunter ’06 has been appointed the new chief service officer of Serve DC, The Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism, a District of Columbia agency that promotes community service across the city. Previously the interim senior deputy director for programs at the Department of Employment Services (DOES), Hunter has also served as deputy director of Serve DC, special assistant at the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs and interim chief of staff at DOES within Washington, DC, government. He received a bachelor’s degree in Management from Delaware State University.
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The Division of Institutional Advancement this winter wished a fond farewell to Dr. Lisa Dunning ’03 ’07, who left the position of assistant vice president for Alumni Relations to become associate vice president of Academic Affairs/University College at DSU. Under her leadership, the University’s relationships with alumni grew and alumni participation goals in the Greater Than One: Campaign for Students were achieved, with the rate rising to a record 10 percent in 2015. “Through her efforts to encourage alumni involvement with their alma mater, including the new Alumni Ambassadors Outreach Day, expanded Homecoming activities, special events and receptions, and her interactions with alumni chapters, Lisa has made a difference in building relationships with alumni in the region and across the country. Moving forward, we’re going to keep the momentum going, with plans for new outreach to younger alumni and a push for even more alumni Greater Than One participation,” said Dr. Vita Pickrum, vice president for Institutional Advancement.
New executive director of Alumni Relations, manager of Alumni Engagement named Tracye Williams ’05 ’07 has been named the University’s new executive director of Alumni Relations, a position in which she will focus on creating a lifelong engagement continuum with DSU alumni that encourages and fosters their involvement with their alma mater. Williams was formerly the managing principal of CT Williams & Associates, a fundraising and engagement consulting firm that served a host of Delaware nonprofit clients and focused on continuing their missions. She also previously worked in health care philanthropy at MedStar, Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia as the director of Sustained Giving and was a member of the development staff at the Bayhealth Foundation in Dover. Williams earned her Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Delaware State University. A native Delawarean, she is active in the community with nonprofits like the Delaware Multicultural & Civic Organization (DEMCO Inc.). Jovoni Simmons has been appointed the new manager of Alumni Engagement, a position in which she will implement new initiatives for the young alumni community. Simmons was formerly an admissions counselor in the DSU Office of Admissions, where she spent two years recruiting students in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. She was also previously the advancement service coordinator and assistant to Alumni Relations and Annual Giving in the Office of Institutional Advancement at her alma mater, Wesley College in Dover, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. She also worked as the Cultural Infusion Liaison for the Office of Student Affairs at Wesley.
Email alumni@desu.edu | Visit desu.edu/echo-form Spring 2016
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