Delaware State University The Echo -- Winter/Spring 2015

echo the

a publication for alumni and friends of Delaware State University

Winter/Spring 2015

David Turner

’86

elected to lead Board of Trustees, ready to help guide DSU transformation Dr. Claibourne Smith steps down after more than two decades as board chairman Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard ’65 works to boost diversity in legal communities

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DSU EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION Harry L. Williams EdD, president

Winter/Spring 2015

EMBARKING ON A TRANSFORMATION 10

Alton Thompson PhD, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs

With Gates Foundation grant, DSU helps build model for HBCU success

Teresa Hardee EdD, senior vice president and chief operating officer

Stacy Downing EdD, vice president for Student Affairs

Noureddine Melikechi DPhil, vice president for Research, Innovation and Economic Development, dean

Valerie M. Dinkins

ON THE COVER

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special assistant to the president for University Advancement

David Turner ’86 succeeds longtime Board of Trustees chair Dr. Claibourne Smith

22

Vita Pickrum senior associate vice president for Development

Thomas P. Preston, Esq.

Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard ’65 makes a difference in New England legal communities

general counsel

Cover photo: Carlos Holmes

30

DSUAA has a new office on campus

13

Kenneth Carter welcomed as head football coach

18

Photos: Homecoming, President’s Scholarship Ball

IN EVERY ISSUE

The Buzz 10

Giving

Alumni 22

Athletics 34

Chapter 30 Notes

Class Notes

the

echo

Editor and Designer Jennifer Rickard associate director of Integrated Marketing

2

32

25

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Two 1990s graduates find jazz inspiration at DSU

32 Late alumna Jane W. Bickham’s gift plans for the future

Louis B. “Skip” Perkins Jr. Interim associate vice president for Athletics Services and Athletics director

DSU BOARD OF TRUSTEES David G. Turner chairman

Barry M. Granger vice chairman

John J. Allen Jr. The Echo is a publication of the Division of Institutional Advancement at Delaware State University.

Alumni news for future editions may be sent to Dr. Lisa Dunning, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations, at alumni@desu.edu. She can also be contacted at 302.857.6050.

Contributors

Photographers

Carlos Holmes, director of News Services Bryant T. Bell, director of major gifts Dr. Lisa Dunning, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations Dennis Jones, assistant director of Athletic Media Relations Brandon Maddox, graphic designer Vita Pickrum, senior associate vice president for Development

Carlos Holmes Peter Howard LaShawne Pryor Blake Saunders DSU Athletic Media Relations

Lorene Robinson, director of Donor Relations

Tracy Channel

The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

Campus photo coordinator:

Robert E. Buccini Michael N. Castle José F. Echeverri Lois M. Hobbs Charles S. McDowell, Esq. Wesley E. Perkins Bennie L. Smith Claibourne D. Smith, PhD James W. Stewart III Leroy A. Tice, Esq. Mark A. Turner Devona E. Williams, PhD

together, we are greater

FUNDRAISING GOAL:

$20 MILLION

What is the Greater Than One: Campaign for Students?

For generations of students, Delaware State University has been more than a place to spend their college years.

It has been a promise — a promise that those years will be the foundation for a lifetime of fulfillment and achievement.

Our Greater Than One: Campaign for Students will help us keep that promise — today, and for years to come.

Born of our sense of mission, aligned with our vision and true to our values, this multi-year initiative seeks to raise $20 million for the benefit of current and future students. Reaching this goal will help ensure that we can provide the resources, facilities and opportunities that will help them become leaders both here in Delaware and throughout the global community.

All contributions will be channeled directly into the areas that will benefit them most: Scholarships, University support, student programs, endowment and faculty support.

The need is real The primary focus of this campaign — and a key objective of the University’s Strategic Plan — is to significantly increase graduation rates among our students. We will accomplish this in two important ways.

First, we will continue to help students offset the cost of higher education. More than 85% of DSU undergraduates depend on scholarships or financial assistance. They have the grades. They have the desire.

Together, we can ensure they have the funding to complete their educations.

Second, we will implement specific programs and processes to evaluate and enhance student success in the classroom, as well as attract and enroll highly-prepared students at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Many students are unable to graduate due solely to a lack of funds. More scholarships mean more students can earn their degrees.

Campaign progress

We’re $7.5 million from the goal: Your gift is important Dear DSU alumni and friends, As Delaware State University goes into overdrive toward becoming one of the top Historically Black Colleges & Universities in the country when it comes to student success, one element that we cannot do without is strong support from alumni of this great institution.

Student success is expressed in large part by the University’s retention and graduation rates as well as graduates’ marketability in the global job landscape. It is best accomplished by helping students cover the cost of higher education and by providing them with the best programs that will give them the competitive edge in the areas of their chosen majors.

Dr. Harry L. Williams

Since launching on January 1, 2011, the Greater Than One: Campaign for Students has received more than $12.5 million from 4,417 donors: alumni, individual donors, corporations/foundations and various organizations.

This money is already benefitting our students in a number of ways.

Allocation of Funds Giving as of 2/27/15 Scholarships

$4,196,493

University Support

$3,420,400

Student Programs

$2,760,501

Endowment

$1,576,809

Faculty Support Grand Total

$570,112 $12,524,315

DSU is now engaged in the greatest transformation process in its history, a comprehensive initiative that will not only maximize the most effective use of DSU resources, but also will be instructive to other HBCUs striving to meet the challenges that confront them. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has selected the University to be among nine HBCUs selected to come up with novel solutions that can have widespread applicability.

Central to the University’s initiative is the understanding that our students’ successes are not only the result of their individual efforts, but also require a host of other people on and off campus to support them and ensure they have the best opportunities to make the most of their DSU experience.

Alumni should be quick to recall the people who helped them through their academic journey — the faculty, advisors and administrators, as well as former graduates who generously provided financial support. Because of the pivotal role alumni play in a transformational endeavor such as the one DSU is undertaking, the University is calling on its past graduates to figure tremendously in the Greater Than One campaign to raise $20 million to help our students.

The money raised will be used to ease students’ financial burdens as well as enable the University to implement innovative programs and processes to sharply measure and enhance student success. Your involvement and support will not only make you part of DSU’s success story, but those of every student who will be touched and blessed by your faithful commitment to them and your alma mater.

Donate online at desu.edu/GreaterThanOne or contact us at 302.857.6055 or dsufoundation@desu.edu

Cover Story Dr. Claibourne D. Smith receives a standing ovation at the Jan. 15 Board of Trustees meeting after it was announced that the Administration Building is being renamed after him. Smith, who stepped down as chairman after more than two decades, will continue to serve as a board member until 2016.

Change in

leadership Longtime Board of Trustees chairman Dr. Claibourne Smith steps down; alumnus David Turner succeeds him

Dr. Claibourne D. Smith, who has been the chairman of Delaware State University’s Board of Trustees since 1992, announced at the Jan. 15 regular board meeting that he is stepping down as head of that DSU governance body, effective immediately.

Following Dr. Smith’s announcement, the trustee members proceeded to nominate and unanimously elect David Turner as the new board chairman and Barry Granger as the vice chairman.

Smith said he will continue as an active board member until his term expires in 2016. He noted that he has always felt that a good leader of any organization should plan for his or her successor.

“Several years ago during a meeting of the board, I told them that I can’t be chair forever,” Smith said. “I said that we have to have someone ready to serve in that role after me.”

Toward that end, Smith appointed Turner to be chair of the Development and Investments Committee after he came on the board in 2008. In 2009, Turner was given the opportunity to serve as acting vice chair, and he was elected permanent vice chair in 2010.

Turner said that Smith set a good tone on the board through his dedication to the leadership work of the governing body.

“Dr. Smith’s mentorship has been very valuable to me,” he said.

“It is not easy to share the leadership of an organization, but he has done so openly and willingly.”

Among the highlights of his long tenure as chair, Smith pointed especially to the college becoming a university in 1993 and the opportunity to serve 16 months as the acting University president.

“Serving as acting president made me a better board chair,” he said.

From left, President Harry L. Williams and new Board of Trustees Chairman David Turner present Dr. Claibourne D. Smith with an appreciation award for his longtime leadership service to the board and the University.

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING RENAMED IN DR. CLAIBOURNE D. SMITH’S HONOR In honor of Dr. Claibourne D. Smith and his more than 25 years of service on the Board of Trustees and longtime service as chair, the board voted unanimously to rename the Administration Building the Claibourne D. Smith Administration Building.

“I am deeply honored for this to be bestowed upon me.

I could not have done any of this by myself. This has been a great board that has truly been engaged in the business of this University.”

Dr. Claibourne D. Smith

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The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

Dr. Claibourne Smith, left, passes the Board of Trustees chairman’s gavel to his successor, David Turner.

Ready to help DSU ‘become the

MODEL FOR HBCUs’ In his 30-year career, David Turner ’86 has become a leader in data management and analytics. Now, he aims to lend his experience as his alma mater embarks upon a transformation

D

elaware State University Board of Trustees member David Turner has established himself as a leader in the financial industry showing banks and corporations how to use data, analytics and information technology to make informed decisions and guide them to greater success.

Now as the board’s newly elected chairman, Turner will oversee the governance of the University’s data-based decision-making transformation that is expected to propel the institution to unprecedented heights and serve as the model for success for other historically black colleges and universities.

And DSU will get the benefit of

Turner’s expertise in data management — without also receiving the same expensive bill for his services.

On Jan. 15, Turner became the first DSU alumnus to be elected as chairman of the Board of Trustees, succeeding Dr. Claibourne Smith. The former chair said that Turner has proven himself as the board’s Finance Committee chair and as the Executive Committee’s vice chair.

“He is a natural to take on the post as chair,” said Smith. “As a dedicated alumnus, he will take us places we have never been before.”

Turner, who graduated from thenDelaware State College in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science, is evidence of the

 Story and photos by Carlos Holmes

possibilities for building upon personal success. While at DSC, Turner obtained an internship with AT&T, which grew into a position with the company that he held while completing his undergraduate degree.

It was the heady days of computer science, before personal computers became standard home operating equipment. AT&T trained Turner in the latest computer technology of the time, and he in turn used that experience as a DSC student worker to help the college maintain its computer systems.

While receiving a wealth of handson experience, Turner recalled that he was well-prepared academically by the instruction of Dr. Arthur Bragg, thenchair of the DSU Math Department, and Harry Washington, another math

Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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New Board of Trustees Chairman David Turner, right, talks with fellow trustees Dr. Claibourne D. Smith and Wesley E. Perkins at a meeting. “He is a natural to take on the post as chair,” said Smith. “As a dedicated alumnus, he will take us places we have never been before.”

instructor. He added that he and other students were inspired by the example of then-President Luna I. Mishoe.

After graduating from DSC, Turner would go on to work for AT&T for 14 years, beginning first by successfully completing the company’s accelerated management development program.

That led to a middle management post in which he was based on Wall Street in New York City, supervising 32 people and making $40,000 a year.

“What I was doing directly related to the hands-on experience I got at DSC,” he said. “That why it’s important that our students walk out with a lot more handson experiences.”

Based in an office in the World Trade Center, Turner led an AT&T team that installed and maintained new computer and telecommunication systems for Merrill Lynch. However, having developed good communication skills, Turner realized he could use his technical knowledge to become a computer salesman and make far more money.

Once the sales commissions came rolling in, he never looked back longingly for the technician’s life.

Turner — who progressed up to the post of vice president of Business Services and eBusiness — proved himself many times over in 14 years at 8

The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

2015 MEAC awardee David Turner is Delaware State University’s selection among the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Distinguished Alumni Award honorees celebrated this year at the March 9-14 MEAC Basketball Tournament in Norfolk, Va. AT&T, and eventually the company could not keep up with what he was worth.

Gateway Inc. approached Turner with an offer that made him a vice president of consumer marketing, doubled his salary and moved him to San Diego, “my alltime favorite place I have lived,” he said.

By this time, Turner had earned a Master of Science in Management Information Systems from Fairleigh Dickerson University and completed a Master of Business Administration program at Dartmouth College.

During his 2000-2003 years with Gateway, national recognition began coming his way. In 2002, Turner was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the “50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America.” His alma mater also honored him with the DSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003.

A family issue, however, took precedent over the prosperity he enjoyed with Gateway. His brother Rodney Maye

on the East Coast was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer with only a limited time to live.

“I only had one brother, and Gateway did not have anything for me on this side of the country,” Turner said. “I started to search for something on the East Coast.”

MBNA jumped at his availability and hired him as the senior vice president of eBusiness and Internet Operations.

When the company became Bank of America, Turner also underwent an executive transformation, ultimately becoming the senior vice president of enterprise data and analytics executive.

“I was the chief data officer,” Turner said. “It was the first time in the country that such a position had been done successfully.”

Meanwhile, the recognitions continued. U.S. Black Engineer and Information Technology Magazine lauded Turner as one of the “50 Most Important Blacks in Technology” in 2005 and 2006.

In 2008, he returned to his alma mater to become a member of the Board of Trustees (appointed by then-Gov. Ruth Ann Minner).

Turner realized in learning how to make data and analytics work to transform underachieving banks into highly successful ones, he had knowledge and experience that he

This is the BIG idea. DSU has the opportunity to become the model for HBCUs. We are going to build a model for sustainability and run DSU that way. And then we are going to help our brethren, to make our (HBCU) system sustainable for our young people.

could offer other banks. He left Bank of America in 2009 and started his own consulting firm in which he sold his expertise in enterprise data transformations to other financial institutions and corporations.

One of those entities, IBM, was so impressed with what Turner had to offer, the company persuaded him to become a part of the organization.

Through his work with IBM, Turner has become an industry leader for his expertise in analytics, leading IBM’s Business Administration Organization Practice for financial services clients.

Now with what he knows about the value of relying on solid data management and analytics, instead of intuition and “gut feeling,” he has made it a priority to make DSU a beneficiary of his expertise and knowledge.

‘A big mission’ As DSU currently undertakes its own transformation to focus its decisionmaking on solid data, Turner says there is a lot at stake for DSU and for other Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“This institution needs to be here for our kids. That is our primary job,” said Turner. “That’s why (decision-making) needs to be data-based. Once you start seeing the data, we are going to start

Board of Trustees Chairman David Turner ’86

David Turner talks with students about his career experiences as the keynote speaker at the 2013 Convocation.

making very different decisions based on data, not the headlines.”

As the University is earnestly undergoing its data management and analytics transformation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has taken great interest in DSU as one of the nine HBCUs it is closely looking at in a search for solutions to the challenges that face such black institutions.

At a late 2014 Board of Trustees retreat, Turner shared the following as proof of the importance of HBCUs, noting that they are responsible for producing:  22% of current bachelor’s degrees

Delaware State University

“

“

earned by blacks  40% of all black congressmen  12.5% of all black CEOs  40% of all black engineers  50% of black professors

at non-HBCUs  50% of black lawyers  80% of black judges Turner said he is not sure he would have had the success he has experienced if he had first gone to a non-HBCU. “I started here at DSC, where I got confidence. I learned who I was and what I was capable of,” he said. “Men who looked like me, believed in me.”

While Delaware State’s success in transforming itself is important, Turner said that should not be the end of the story.

“This is the BIG idea. DSU has the opportunity to become the model for HBCUs,” he said. “We are going to build a model for sustainability and run DSU that way. And then we are going to help our brethren, to make our (HBCU) system sustainable for our young people.”

Turner said in taking on the responsibility of board chairman, he is still young and has the energy to take on such a transformation challenge to help set the stage for HBCUs for the next 100 years.

“That is a big mission and an important one,” Turner said. “It’s important that (HBCUs) are here long after we are gone.”

KEYNOTE Speaker John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor

2 0 1 5 May 17 | 10 a.m. | Alumni Stadium

Second President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana (2001–09) Chairperson of the African Union (2007–08)

desu.edu/commencement Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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The Buzz

With Gates Foundation grant, DSU helps build model for HBCU success

10 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

GPS

Getting Prepared to Succeed (GPS) is a pathway to help new students navigate their journeys toward retention and graduation from Delaware State University, using personal attention in academics and student services to guide successful experiences from recruitment through post-baccalaureate plans.

Getting Prepared to

SUCCEED The Student Journey

RETENTION

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (IDP)

DSU College Readiness

Admission    

  

Grade Point Average Math Level High School Rank Standardized Test

 Summer Bridge  Enrichment Programs New Student Orientation

Online Courses Accuplacer

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN   

Advising  Academic Services  Tutoring

Retention

Enrollment    

Student Services Early Alerts Supporting the Plan

Welcome Days Learning Communities University College Summer Bridge

Job Placement Services      

Capstone Internships Undergraduate Research Service Learning Civic Engagement Study Abroad

DSU, but also serve as a model for other HBCUs. The other eight institutions selected by the Gates Foundation are Claflin University, Dillard University, Fayetteville State University, Jackson State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Morehouse College, Spelman College and Xavier University.

The “transformation” that is taking place at DSU is building on its past and most recent successes and will further enhance its upward trajectory.

President Harry L. Williams said while it is important for the institution to embrace its historic legacy as an HBCU that provided

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Career Placement

Graduation

   

Graduate School Gainful Employment in Field of Study Management Development Programs Military/Officer Training School

opportunities for those who had no other way to reach their college degree aspirations, DSU also has to embrace change and develop new ways and more efficient ways of doing its academic business.

“We have to stay competitive, we have to be responsive, and we have to be relevant,” Williams said.

Over the last 20 years, DSU transformed itself into an institution in which STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) became a major emphasis. The acquisition of top-notch faculty researchers led to grant funding that was instrumental in establishing a solid science research infrastructure and putting the University in a

GRADUATION

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

CAREER PLACEMENT

DSU is developing a new transformation strategy that includes 10 separate initiatives that focus on a significant upgrade of the University’s system for individual student advising, the improvement of admission criteria, equipping faculty to do more than simply deliver academic content and other advancements.

I N T E G R AT E D T R A N S F O R M AT I O N P R O C E S S

Sixty years ago, the very existence of then-Delaware State College was in serious peril.

With major challenges in the early 1950s concerning its college accreditation and revenue, its fate appeared on the unfortunate track to join other unsuccessful Historically Black Colleges and Universities on the list of black schools that were eventually closed down.

Sixty years later, the present Delaware State University is proof that it not only survived the tumultuous 1950s, but it has gone on to thrive as one of the top HBCUs in the country.

And now, a major foundation has identified DSU as one of nine HBCUs that it wants to work with as a model of institutional excellence.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — known for using its resources to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems in poverty, health and education — has selected DSU and its transformative student success initiatives to receive plan development and implementation support from the foundation.

The foundation believes that the successes of this select group of HBCUs will show other black schools how to effectively address current challenges and prosper in the 21st century. Therefore, DSU’s cutting-edge initiatives are expected to not only significantly improve the success of students and faculty at

Planning begins for memorial statue to honor 6th president Dr. Jerome Holland

During the fall 2014 semester, a group of students met with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation representatives visiting the campus.

position to attract large research grants in neuroscience, optics, chemistry, mathematics, agriculture and natural resources.

However, while its research portfolio continues to expand, many of the student success challenges that confront other HBCUs have also vexed DSU over the years. It has prompted the University to develop new initiatives designed to improve retention and graduation rates.

DSU is developing a new transformation strategy that includes 10 separate initiatives that focus on a significant upgrade of the University’s Career Placement system for individual student advising, the improvement of admission criteria, equipping faculty to do more than simply deliver academic content and other advancements. Upon the implementation this year, the University has also incorporated metrics that will provide data analytics that give timely evaluations of the initiatives’ performances.

The Gates Foundation has found enough promise in the DSU transformation initiatives to award the University a $75,000 planning grant to assist in the implementation of the work.

“The Gates Foundation wants to understand the challenges that HBCUs face and to invest in the novel solutions to the problems,” Williams said. “And they have found that DSU has some initiatives that have the potential to not only dramatically improve student success at DSU, but at other HBCUs as well.”

During its annual Founders’ Day Program on Feb. 19, President Harry L. Williams announced the launching of a project to erect a memorial statue honoring Delaware State College President Jerome Holland on the Dover campus.

Dr. Holland — DSC president from 19531960 — is credited with providing the critical leadership needed to navigate the College through the most difficult decade of its history.

Amid forces in the state that threatened to close the institution, Holland brought about improvements at DSC that ensured its survival and established a foundation that future presidents would build upon.

Williams said that a Jerome Holland Statue Committee has been established, which includes Dr. Donald Blakey ’58, chair and alumnus; Vita Pickrum, senior associate vice president of Development, co-chair; Dr. Bradley Skelcher, associate provost; Dr. Lisa Dunning ’03 ’07, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations; Dr. Edward Lorio, associate professor of art; Carlos Holmes, director of News Services; Dr. U.S. Washington, retired dean; and alumni Delores Blakey ’62, Ned Brown ’71, Robert Draine ’60, Dr. Reba Hollingsworth ’49, Philip Sadler ’62 and Sheila Davis ’01, president of the DSU Alumni Association.

A timetable will be established in the near future as to when the statue will be projected for completion and dedication.

Dr. Jerome Holland led then-Delaware State College for seven pivotal years in its history, 1953-1960.

Alumni donate $5,000 toward statue During the Founders Day announcement of the project, Dr. Donald Blakey and his wife, Delores, presented a donation of $5,000 to go toward the memorial statue.

DSU joins 1890 land-grant universities to celebrate act’s 125th anniversary In 1890, U.S. Sen. Justin Morrill crafted the Second Morrill Act to further his vision of higher education for all. This second landgrant act became law August 30, 1890; it improved upon the first Morrill Act of 1862 by creating institutions like Delaware State University for minority residents of primarily Southern states who were denied admission to the publicly-funded and supported 1862 land-grant universities.

Today, DSU and the other 18 campuses that comprise the 1890 land-grant system continue to provide students with access to education that enhances their opportunities for future success.

For a schedule of events at DSU celebrating the adoption of the Second Morrill Act, please visit desu.edu/1890.

Throughout 2015, the 1890 land-grant universities will commemorate 125 years of existence. Events are planned on each campus and in Washington, D.C.

Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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The Buzz

Enrollment record broken for 5th year

Delaware State University again broke its enrollment record with a fall semester 2014 total enrollment of 4,644 students, up from 4,505 in fall 2013.

Included in the total are: • A record 4,259 undergraduates — marking the first time DSU has surpassed 4,200 undergraduates.

• 894 new freshmen with an average grade point average of 3.08 — the highest ever for an

incoming class. “As the student population continues to increase, the academic quality of our new

freshmen continues to rise as well,” said President Harry L. Williams.

International connections PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEY TO DISCUSS FUTURE EXCHANGES

GE Nigeria CEO Visits DSU to Explore Future Partnership

In September, President Harry L. Williams traveled to Celal Bayar University in Turkey to meet with its president, Dr. Mehmet Pakdemirli, in a visit that followed up the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation at DSU last spring.

The five-year agreement paved the way for future undergraduate and graduate student study abroad opportunities, joint research and teaching activities, the exchange of pedagogical materials, as well as collaboration in the areas of business, administration, sciences, education and professional training.

Williams, Pakdemirli and other Celal officials held further discussions on ways in which the two institutions could move forward, especially in the areas of student exchanges and the DSU U.S. Cultural Enrichment Program.

President Harry L. Williams hosted a January luncheon meeting with Dr. Lazarus A. Angbazo, chief executive officer and president of GE Nigeria, and Pamela Hall, managing director of GE Healthcare in Nigeria, to explore some internship and training partnership possibilities for GE Nigeria and DSU. The meeting was also a homecoming for Hall, an alumna who earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics from DSU in 1994.

Also joining in the conversation were Dr. Alton Thompson, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs; Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, dean of the College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology; Dr. Dyremple Marsh, dean of the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences; Dr. Marsha Horton, dean of the

12 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

From left are Pamela Hall ’94, managing director of GE Healthcare in Nigeria; President Harry L. Williams; and Dr. Lazarus A. Angbazo, chief executive officer and president of GE Nigeria.

College of Education, Health and Public Policy; Vita Pickrum, associate vice president for Development; and Dr. Lisa Dunning, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations.

Further discussions will take place toward finalizing future collaborations.

New football Head Coach Kenneth A. Carter, left, shown with President Harry L. Williams, has served in a variety of coaching positions for more than two decades.

New chapter for Hornets football Kenneth A. Carter welcomed as head coach

2015 NATIONAL SIGNING DAY 10 high school seniors and college transfers signed the National Letter of Intent to attend DSU and join the Hornets for the 2015 season.

The incoming 2015 class features three defensive linemen and a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, kicker and long snapper.

2015 SCHEDULE | Page 35

K

enneth A. Carter has been named the new head coach of the Hornets football program.

“With this head coaching appointment, a fresh new chapter is beginning for the Hornets football program,” said President Harry L. Williams. “We are excited about the future, not only concerning what this will mean for DSU on the football field, but also in terms of the overall success of our student athletes.”

The new head coach inherits a team that was 2-10 overall and finished 10th in the MidEastern Athletic Conference with a 2-6 league record this past season.

Carter said he is “extremely excited” about this new chapter in his football career. “There are only 250 such opportunities in Division I football, so it is truly a blessing,” he said.

The incoming coach added that his coaching priorities are to be “fundamentally sound, thorough and ensure that the team understands that physicality, proficiency and energy will not be compromised.”

During the 2014 season, Carter served in multiple assistant coaching positions for Youngstown State University in Ohio — as wide receivers coach, coordinator of passing game and co-coordinator of special teams.

Prior to that, Carter was a running backs

“We are excited about the future, not only concerning what this will mean for DSU on the football field, but also in terms of the overall success of our student athletes.”

President Harry L. Williams

coach and special teams coordinator for the University of Louisville from 2010-2014.

Louisville was the Big East Champion in 2012, co-champion of that conference in 2011 and made four bowl appearances, including the Sugar Bowl in 2013.

From 2008-2009, he served as running backs coach for the University of Florida, which was the BCS National Champion in 2008. From 2004-2007, he was running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for Vanderbilt University.

In addition, between 1993-2003 he held assistant coaching posts at Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Louisiana State University, Furman University and his alma mater, The Citadel (Military College of South Carolina), where he was a four-year letterman as an inside linebacker and earned a Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science in 1990.

The battle has begun — support your favorite college today!

The Battle of the Colleges is an opportunity for each DSU college to raise funds for academic enrichment priorities.

The challenge ends April 17. Thanks for your contribution — and may the best college win!

desu.edu/CollegeBattle | 302.857.6055 Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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GRANTS

& research Dr. Bertrand Hankoua, a College of Agriculture and Related Sciences food and nutritional sciences researcher, has been awarded an almost $500,000 grant that he will use to study the use of high biomass yielding energy grasses for conversion to biofuels.

College of Ag Awarded $1.8 million in USDA Capacity Building Grants Delaware State University’s College of Agriculture and Related Sciences has been awarded more than $1.8 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants Program.

Eleven DSU faculty members — nine from the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences (CARS) and two from the College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology (CMNST) — will use the $1,866,349 in funding for nine projects ranging from scientific research to curriculum enhancement.

• Biofuels production research — Dr. Bertrand Hankoua, CARS food and nutritional sciences researcher, is the principal investigator of a $499,964 grant for a project employing metabolic engineering techniques expected to result in the use of high biomass-yielding energy grasses for the efficient and cost-effective production of biofuels. He will collaborate with several co-PIs at biofuel and biotechnology research centers nationally.

Stephen Lumor, associate professor of human ecology; Dr. Carol Giesecke, director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics; Donna Brown, DSU Cooperative Extension family life agent; and collaborators from Camden County College of New Jersey and Delaware Technical and Community College.

• Oyster-associated Vibrio infection detection — Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay, CARS research professor, is the co-principal investigator of a $175,895 grant in which she will work with University of Maryland Eastern Shore researchers to develop a less expensive and time-consuming colony overlay procedure for identification of the marine malady.

• Genetic research relating to sweet potatoes — Dr. Venu Kalavacharla, professor of molecular genetics in the Department of Agriculture, is a co-principal investigator in a project in which DSU will receive $129,850 to gain a better understanding of the differences between virus-free and virus-infected sweet potatoes.

• Enzyme immobilization in support of food security — Dr. Cheng-Yu Lai, associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Chemistry, is the principal investigator of a three-year, $299,996 grant for a project to use porous silica nanoparticles to anchor enzymes that are able to break biomass in sugar. The technique is projected to lower the cost of enzymes in the food industry. Lai is assisted by co-PIs Dr. Daniela Radu, assistant professor of chemistry, and Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay, CARS research professor.

• Agriculture Study/Research Abroad in Latin America — Dr. Marikis Alvarez, CARS associate dean of research, is the principal investigator of a $149,500 grant that is DSU’s portion in collaboration with Tuskegee University and Alabama A&M University to bring about a study-abroad program in Costa Rica that will focus on agriculture education and research.

Dr. Sathya Elavarthi, assistant professor of agriculture, is also a co-PI.

• Expanding economic opportunities of underserved farmers — Dr. Lekha Paudel, DSU Cooperative Extension farm management specialist, is the principal investigator of a three-year, $245,281 grant to introduce underserved farmers to alternative specialty crops and ways to reduce postharvest spoilage, as well as help them develop marketing skills.

• Tension Irrigation Technology Research — Dr. Mingxin Guo, professor of agriculture, is the principal investigator of a $65,988 professional development grant that will fund a five-month sabbatical for research at the National Engineering Research Center for Information Technology in Agriculture in Beijing, China.

• Build Capacity and Strengthen DSU’s Food and Nutritional Sciences Program — Dr. Samuel Besong, chair of the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, is the project director of a $299,875 grant to establish a collaborative approach to recruit and train a diverse workforce for career opportunities in food and nutritional sciences. Co-directors include Dr.

• Food Safety of Fresh Produce Program — Dr. Samuel Besong, chair of the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, is a co-principal investigator of a project designed to build an integrated program on Food Safety of Produce. DSU is one of several 1890 Land-Grant institutions awarded toward this project.

14 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

The Buzz $500K grant will fund acquisition of scanning electron microscope A group of College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology faculty members have been awarded a $501,100 Major Research Instrumentation Grant from the National Science Foundation that will enable DSU to acquire a Scanning Electron Microscope for use in multidisciplinary research.

The microscope is an ultra-modern tool that images a sample with more than a million magnification. The technology will also have the capability to determine the atomic composition/ structure of samples.

The principal investigator grant is Dr. Mukti M. Rana, assistant professor of physics. Co-PIs are Dr. Hacene Boukari, associate professor of physics and engineering; Dr. Theresa SzaboMaas, assistant professor of biological sciences; Dr. Wafa Amir, DSU Imaging Facility director; and Dr. Dula Man, assistant professor of chemistry.

With $500K grant, DSU Center will map Virgin Islands’ assets The U.S. Commerce Economic Development Administration has awarded the DSU University Center for Economic Development and International Trade (UCEDIT) a three-year, $500,000 grant to implement a geographic information system to map the regional assets of the Virgin Islands.

The UCEDIT will do asset mapping as a critical first step in marshaling the resources that the U.S. Virgin Islands can leverage to support an integrated workforce and economic development initiatives. The project’s principal investigator is Dr. Michael H. Casson Jr., UCEDIT director and associate professor of economics.

$249K DepARTMENT of Energy Grant WILL BOOST CARBON DIOXIDE RESEARCH Two DSU chemistry researchers have been awarded a $249,291 U.S. Department of Energy grant for carbon dioxide-related research.

Principal investigator Dr. Cheng-Yu Lai, associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Chemistry, and co-PI Dr. Daniela Radu, assistant professor of chemistry, will use the funding to develop a novel silica nanostructured platform to capture carbon dioxide from advanced fossil energy power. In the study, the platforms are believed to be capable of increased carbon dioxide absorption. The captured carbon dioxide could then be recycled for other uses.

Optics facility construction continues Construction on the new Optical Science Center for Applied Research (OSCAR) facility has progressed throughout the winter, with its reflective exterior in place and work continuing toward completion in the spring. The design of the new 21,000-square-foot building breaks down traditional research silos to promote interdisciplinary academic research, innovation and collaboration with industry.

New student organizations complex established A series of offices on the third floor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center have been renovated and re-established as the new Student Organizations Complex.

The complex now serves as home to the Office of Student Leadership and Activities (OSLA), Student Government Association (SGA), Campus Activities Board, Resident Hall Association, National Pan-Hellenic Association, Royal Court, The Hornet newspaper and the

Student Employment Office.

The space also features two new conference rooms that are available for use by all active student organizations of the University. The purpose of the renovation was to make the former SGA Suite more accessible to the student body, promote engagement and collaboration among student organizations and provide a “one-stop-shop” for leadership development initiatives of the University.

ARTS CENTER’S OUTREACH PROGRAM HONORED BY DELAWARE GOVERNOR An outreach program of the DSU Arts Center/Gallery (ACG) has been honored by Gov. Jack Markell.

VSA Delaware — one of several unique outreach programs of the ACG — received the 2014 Governor’s Award for the Arts.

VSA Delaware (VSADE) provides artistic opportunities for individuals with disabilities throughout the state. By providing a unique

link between the arts, disability and education communities, VSADE (formerly known as Very Special Arts) recognizes the need for children and adults with disabilities to be provided with opportunities to participate and achieve in the areas of performing and visual arts.

VSA Delaware is under the direction of Arts Center/Gallery director Jennifer Gunther and has been a part of the ACG for the past 16 years.

Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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The Buzz

Campus

NEWS MAKERS

Appointments Dr. ALTON THOMPSON | Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Alton Thompson has been promoted to provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs at Delaware State University.

Prior to this appointment, Thompson served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs since fall 2010.

Dr. TERESA HARDEE | Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Teresa Hardee has been promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer at Delaware State University. Prior to this appointment, Hardee served as chief financial officer and vice president for Finance and Administration since 2012.

Dr. Stacy Downing | Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Stacy Downing has been named vice president for Student Affairs. Prior to this appointment, Downing served as DSU’s associate vice president of Student Affairs since August 2013.

Stephen J. Ampersand | Assistant VP for Financial Aid Services Stephen J. Ampersand has been named assistant vice president for Financial Aid Services. Ampersand was previously director of Financial Aid at Cecil College for three years and an enrollment representative at Peirce College in Philadelphia.

16 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

James Jones and Jamila Mustafa | Mr. and Miss DSU The 2014 Mr. and Miss DSU, James Jones and Jamila Mustafa, were formally crowned during the annual Coronation Ceremony in October.

Jones is a business administration major from Upper Marlboro, Md. His ambition is to become a world-renowned philanthropist and entrepreneur.

Mustafa is a mass communication major from Wilmington, Del. She is a former Miss Teen Essence USA and this fall was first runner-up at the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame (NBCAHF) Queens’ Competition, where she became the first DSU queen to finish in the top five of the 29-year competition and the first Hornet to finish as high as the first runner-up. Jones won the Mister Congeniality Award during the event.

NEW University College FORMED • Dr. Jacqueline A. Washington has been named the new associate vice president for Academic Affairs/ University College.

The newly formed College will consolidate and strengthen many DSU programs and initiatives that are central to student success. That includes providing integrated, quality, academic support services for first-year and second-year students and transfer students, the Academic Enrichment Program, the University Academic Advisement Centers, and coordination and oversight of the University’s General Education curriculum.

Prior to this appointment, Washington was the director of DSU’s General Education and University Studies and First-Year Programs.

Dr. Bill H. Means | Director of Career Services Dr. Bill H. Means has been named the new director of the Office of Career Services. Means was formerly the director of the Office of Internship and Career Programs at Queens University of Charlotte, N.C.

LOUIS B. “SKIP” PERKINS JR. | Interim Associate VP for Athletics Services and Athletics Director Louis B. “Skip” Perkins Jr. has been named interim associate vice president for Athletics Services and athletics director. Perkins was previously director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Howard University from 2010 to 2014 and AD of the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff from 2007 to 2010.

Awards & Ceremonies Dr. Melikechi AWARDED FOR WORK IN AFRICA Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, dean of the College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology and vice president for Research, Innovation and Economic Development, was presented with an Excellence Award for Youth Empowerment and Development in Africa by the African Society for Engineering Management at a conference in Istanbul, Turkey. The award particularly noted his work in his native country of Algeria.

DSU Nursing PROGRAM Holds First-Ever White Coat Ceremony The Department of Nursing held its firstever White Coat Ceremony in September in honor of the latest class of students to be accepted into the Nursing Program. Twentynine juniors celebrated the successful completion of their first two pre-nursing years at DSU. Funding from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and its collaboration with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing resulted in a pilot program for such ceremonies. DSU was one of 100 nursing schools to each receive a $3,000 grant to fund the event.

Fall 2014

Events

December 2014 Commencement

More than 200 graduates received their diplomas during Delaware State University’s December Commencement Ceremony.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVERS HONORED Among the December undergraduates receiving their diplomas, four completed their academic journeys as Summa Cum Laude (3.75 GPA and above), 10 as Magna Cum Laude (3.5 to 3.74), 13 as Cum Laude (3.25 to 3.49) and 13 as Honorable Mention (transfer students with 60 or more credit hours at DSU).

President Harry L. Williams presented the Presidential Academic Award to Marco Kano, left, an international student from Bradenburg, Germany, who maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his entire undergraduate journey. Kano completed a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics.

DSU supporter Bebe Coker awarded Honorary Degree President Williams presented an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Beatrice “Bebe” Coker, a community activist in Wilmington and throughout the state of Delaware, as well as a strong supporter of DSU. Williams noted that Coker was instrumental in working with DSU and the State of Delaware to create the Inspire Scholarship, and also has “served as an important advisor to the University on numerous issues, has been an overall champion for the University and has helped raise funds for DSU especially among the churches around the state and in Wilmington in particular.”

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D

elaware State University’s 2014 Homecoming was like no other.

A beautiful, sunny Saturday brought out droves of Hornets alumni and fans for the parade, football, tailgating, Vendor’s Lane and the Fall into Jazz Concert. New this year, the Alumni Welcome Home Breakfast and the Alumni & Friends Unity Tent sponsored by the DSU Foundation, the DSU Circle and the DSU Alumni Association joined the foundation’s Greater Than One Donor Hospitality Tent as spots to mingle and catch up with DSU faces.

Several new events along with existing favorites like the Homecoming Step Show and the DSUAA Legacy Mixer welcomed alumni to campus in the days leading up to Saturday.

Alumni on Friday had the opportunity to take part in new Affinity Reunions for alumni with common interests and professions and the inaugural Alumni & Friends Art Festival.

President Harry L. Williams, right, and First Lady Robin Williams, left, wave to the crowd while their son, Gavin, hands out candy during DSU’s Homecoming Parade on Loockerman Street in downtown Dover.

Bottom center and right: Donors to the Greater Than One: Campaign for Students were recognized on campus with “I Joined the Swarm” signs featuring their names, and they also enjoyed fellowship and refreshments at the DSU Foundation’s Greater Than One Donor Hospitality Tent. Jacqueline PennickDerricks ’76 is joined by Carmen Hardcastle ’77 at the tent.

MORE PHOTOS: See photos from the Alumni Affinity Reunions and Alumni & Friends Art Festival on Page 29

18 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

#FOREVERHORNETS #HOMECOMING SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER facebook.com/desuedu

 “Thank you for the great Homecoming experience; Homecoming was like Disney World where you needed a few days to enjoy everything. Blessings to you all!”  “Homecoming was LEGENDARY this year! ... I really love my Delaware State University, Del-State Circle and DSUAA HORNET family!!”

DelStateUniv youtube.com/delawarestateu DelStateUniv

SAVE THE DATE

Homecoming

2015 Saturday, October 24

Scholarship Ball draws more than 400 supporters, raises over $150,000 Held in the ballroom of the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, the 2014 President’s Scholarship Ball drew more than 400 supporters of student success.

A special performance by five‐time Grammy Awardwinning artist Dionne Warwick and emceeing by actress, author, former MY 9 and FOX 5 News-New York news anchor and DSU alumna Cathleen Trigg‐Jones ’92 set the stage for an exciting evening.

The pre-ball reception featured smooth music by the Joe Baione Jazz Sextet, while the dance portion of the night was propelled by the versatile Delaware band Mike Hines and the Look.

During the ball, the University announced the launch of the public phase of its $20 million Greater Than One: Campaign for Students.

An impassioned appeal from the emcee resulted in spontaneous donations totaling over $20,000 from attendees for scholarship support, bringing the preliminary total raised to over $150,000.

In addition, the Scholarship Ball received support from 18 sponsors, including lead supporters:  Premier sponsor — DuPont  Diamond sponsor — Delmarva Power  Platinum sponsor — AstraZeneca  Gold sponsors —Delaware Today

and the Delaware State News.

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1. Representatives from Premier Sponsor DuPont attended the ball, including DSU Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Barry Granger, second from right, and his wife, Michelle, to his left.

2. Also stepping out were representatives from Diamond Sponsor Delmarva Power.

3. Joining singer Dionne Warwick, center, are Bobby Horton and Dr. Marshá Horton, dean of the College of Education, Health and Public Policy; Dr. Bradley Skelcher, associate provost; and Cynthia and Dr. Alton Thompson, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs.

4. President Harry L. Williams, right, and his family, from left, Gavin, Austin and Dr. Robin Williams, pose with Dionne Warwick, center.

5. From left are Giselle and Isaiah

9 Nathaniel ’04; Vita Pickrum, senior associate vice president for Development; and Cheryl ’94 and James Saunders.

6. Miss DSU Jamila Mustafa interviews alumna and Delaware state Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden ’69, right, and Dr. Hanifa Shabazz.

7. Receiving President’s Community Partner Awards, shown with Dr. Williams, center, were alumni Donald ’58 and Delores Blakey ’62;

10 Jocelyn Stewart, senior director of Community Investment for Barclaycard US; and alumna Enid Wallace‐Simms ’74, Delmarva Power public affairs manager. Community activist and DSU supporter Beatrice “Bebe” Coker also was honored in absentia.

8. Students enjoy the dance floor.

9. The family of emcee Cathleen Trigg-Jones ’92, second from left, joined her for the ball.

10. Kim Drexler, right, and Clint Walker, both of Barclaycard US, get their Wings or Stings pins ready.

11. Alumni Mary ’75, left, and James “Frank” Marshall ’62.

12. Alumnus Meeshach Stennett ’98, left, and his wife, Illyana.

13. DSU Alumni Association Sussex Chapter President Robert Draine ’60 and his wife, Luvenia.

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Alumni highlights

Photo by Carlos Holmes

MAKING A DIFFERENCE in the legal community

Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard ’65 leads two New England consortiums that work to recruit and retain lawyers of color  Story by Carlos Holmes

22 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

“(Without DSC) I really don’t think I would have had the same sense of self, the same commitment to developing others and sharing whatever gifts I have with others, because that happened for me at Del State.

Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard ’65

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C

arolyn Golden Hebsgaard spent a good part of her childhood being among the first children to integrate into the white public schools of New Castle County in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education.

These days, the 1965 graduate of then-Delaware State College is a driving force in the efforts to bring more diversity to the legal communities in Boston, Mass., and the state of Connecticut.

Hebsgaard has been the 22-year executive director of the Boston Lawyers Group (BLG), a consortium of more than 40 law firms and legal agencies that work to recruit and retain lawyers of color in that legal community.

Her success in leading the BLG has resulted in a similar consortium she now leads in Connecticut with the same goals — the Lawyers’ Collaboration for Diversity (LCD).

And many people assume she is an attorney.

She is not.

“That is because I am around attorneys all the time, I know the language and I function like one,” she said. “People see me at a lot of legal events.”

Although Boston is remembered for violent racial strife over busing in the 1970s, that outdated picture is rendered even more obsolete by the diversity efforts of the city’s legal community over the last two decades — led largely by Hebsgaard.

“There is a better understanding in the legal communities in Boston and Connecticut that diversity is no longer just a part of the social agenda, but that it is a business imperative,” Hebsgaard said.

Education and career path As a youth, Carolyn Golden (her maiden name) became a part of the education imperative to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. It resulted in a change of schools for her; she enrolled in previously all-white elementary and junior high schools, as well as the formerly segregated P.S. DuPont High School.

“It seemed like I desegregated everything, including the YWCA and the Girl Scouts,” she said.

However, when she tried out for the P.S. DuPont cheerleading team and seemingly made the squad, the school’s dean raised safety concerns and would not permit her on the team. “I went berserk. I walked out and slammed her door hard so that all of the glass fell out,” Hebsgaard said.

Nevertheless, she did well academically at P.S. DuPont, resulting in a full scholarship to the University of Rhode Island.

But she told her mother that she no longer wanted to be a minority student in a predominantly white school.

Instead, Hebsgaard enrolled at Delaware State College, where she majored in sociology, joined the cheerleading team, sang in the college choir and pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Among the award recognitions Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard ’65 has received for her work: The Constance Baker Motley Trail Blazer for Justice Award from the New Haven, Conn., chapter of the NAACP, the Golden Apple Award from the Connecticut Chapter of Appleseed, the Leadership in Public Service Award from the Boston Forum for Black Public Administrators, and the Connecticut Bar Association’s 2015 Citizen for the Law Award.

She said her most memorable professors were Dr. Maurice Thomasson and his wife Laverne Thomasson, who both taught sociology.

“You never saw one without the other. If her class ended, he would be outside waiting on her,” she said. “Every time you saw them walking together they were holding hands. He was the ultimate gentlemen.”

Hebsgaard said that Dr. Thomasson taught her a lot about being a professional.

“He didn’t accept mediocrity; you needed to be prepared,” she said. “I carry that to this day.”

After what she called one of the “best four years of her life,” Hebsgaard graduated from DSC with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology. From that point on, she traveled a career path in which she not so much sought jobs, but was sought and recruited for a variety of important positions.

Among her career stops: director of programs for the New Jersey Commissioner of Institutions and Agencies; deputy director of the New Brunswick (N.J.) Urban League; director of organizational development for Opportunities in Industrialization Center of America; as well as human resources director for Marriott. Along the way, she earned a Master of Social Work from Temple University.

In the 1980s, she relocated to the Boston area and worked Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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under Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis as the director of his Executive Search Program and later as the internal organization director for his presidential campaign.

Afterward, she was the executive director of Opportunities in Boston, an organization designed to attract young professionals of color to that city. She said the collaborative consortium model she used would become very important with her later work with the legal community.

She was then recruited by Cellular One to become its vice president of customer service, and then within a couple of years, she established her own consulting firm — Vision 21 Inc. “A lot of people I had worked with and had great relationships with offered me work,” she said.

In 1993, while she served as the founding president of the Boston Chapter of the Coalition of 100 Black Women, she was recruited for the Boston Lawyer Group executive director post.

“I said that I would do it for one year,” Hebsgaard said. “And now I am still here.”

Now in her 22nd year with BLG, she says the ability to be her own boss has kept her in that position.

“It satisfies my ability to run my own organization and do it like I want,” Hebsgaard said. “I don’t have 19 layers of people I have to report to. The law firms are happy with my work.”

BLG runs programs that introduce law students of color to the Boston legal community such as summer law firm internships and mock trial programs, as well as resources to promote the retention of attorneys of color once they are hired. The BLG is also constantly in the education mode to ensure the entire legal community — including the bar, the bench and government agencies — understand the importance of diversity.

Her success with the BLG prompted attorneys in neighboring Connecticut to persuade her to establish a similar consortium there. Since 2003, she has split herself among two executive director pursuits — three days a week with the BLG and two days a week with the LCD. Joe Rose Jr., a longtime African-American attorney who broke the law practice color line in Connecticut, said that Hebsgaard’s work has shown results.

“There have been hundreds of lawyers of color who have joined the Connecticut Bar Association and the number of black partners has grown many fold,” Rose said. “Whereas she works with law firms in Boston, the LCD in Connecticut is statewide.”

Her niche in increasing the diversity in legal communities

CAN Make your mark.

At a 2003 women’s conference she co-chaired, Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard had the opportunity to meet Maya Angelou, who served as keynote speaker.

WITH CLASS OF 1965 CLASSMATES, A COMMITMENT TO GIVE BACK With all of the career moves, successes and awards, along with the numerous boards on which she has provided valuable service, Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard has never forgotten her alma mater in Delaware. She is part of a group of members of the Class of 1965 who have committed as a group to raise $100,000 within five years.

Her classmates who are involved in this initiative — including Jimmy and Tina Strong, Maurice Pritchett, as well as the late Don Wright and Wilbert “Big D” Johnson, who helped to launch the fundraiser before their deaths — continue to hold a warm spot in her heart.

“We had to depend on each other. We all struggled together and we all committed to not forgetting where we came from, and we also committed to not being poor again,” she said. “That particular core group, it was a real rare breed.”

She said she continues to support DSU because it was instrumental in making her the successful professional she became. “(Without DSC) I really don’t think I would have had the same sense of self, the same commitment to developing others and sharing whatever gifts I have with others, because that happened for me at Del State,” she said.

“And then you see others that were there and received the same benefits that we did, and they don’t give a thing. And I don’t understand that.” of Boston and Connecticut is such a fulfilling fit for her, it is unknown when she will retire.

“The thing that keeps me engaged is that feeling that I can make a difference… and that people trust my judgment,” Hebsgaard said. “Also I see young people regularly that benefit from our work.”

DSU SPRING OPEN HOUSE

Each One, Reach One!

and 2nd annual

• Bring prospective middle and high school students to campus for Open House • Participate in a forum with President Harry L. Williams • Take part in a panel discussion: Alumni mentoring for career development • Discover ways be engaged with DSU

Alumni Ambassadors Outreach Day Saturday, April 11, 2015 |

24 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

9am–2pm

Please register today!

desu.edu/alumnioutreach

Jazz inspirations nurtured at DSU

I

t was a very unique and jazzy decade of the 1990s for Delaware State University’s Department of Music.

Alumni Otis Brown III and Dr. Carlton “Butch” Cannon, graduates of that period, were both members of the then-locally popular DSUbased jazz group Three Guys So Far. Cannon joined the group shortly after its creation by trumpet player Nelson Render, pianist Trendle Thomas and drummer Al Holmes.

Brown joined the jazz combo after the departure of the original drummer. Later, Cannon enlisted Brown to be part of his group Jabari.

Both jazz groups were part of their undergraduate experiences, as they performed throughout Delaware and beyond.

At the same time, the musicians were introduced to the late jazz legend Dr. Donald Byrd, who became an artist-in-residence at DSU. The renowned trumpet player and band leader became an inspiration and mentor to both Brown and Cannon, who both note his instrumental contribution to their musical success.

 Stories by Carlos Holmes

Drummer Otis Brown III ’97 releases album on major label

Photo by Carlos Holmes

Otis Brown III ’97, shown with his wife, Paula, has released an album with the famed Blue Note Label.

Alumnus Otis Brown III has broken into a select professional jazz music stratosphere, becoming the first Delaware State graduate to release his own music album on a major jazz label. And even more remarkable — he has done so as a jazz drummer.

Not bad for someone who originally believed at DSU that his destiny was as a music educator.

Brown, a 40-year-old drummer from the Class of 1997, has released the album “The Thought of You,” a jazz work that instrumentally and vocally tells the story of his life, with the famed Blue Note Label.

Prior to his ascent as a featured recording artist, he solidly established himself as an in-demand jazz drummer, performing with celebrated artists such

as Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, Oliver Lake, Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano and others.

His music livelihood is hardly surprising, as his childhood and subsequent DSU years reveal a life destined for a career in the industry.

Raised in Newark, N.J., his father Otis Brown Jr. was a former drummer for the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown; he later became a music educator (including being his son’s high school band director) before becoming a school administrator.

Brown III’s mother Dr. Norma FairBrown is a pianist, music educator and minister of music at the family church, New Hope Baptist in Hackensack, N.J. Another influence was his godfather Bernard Purdie, a renowned drummer

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“The most special thing about working with Otis is simply the joy he gets out of playing music. It’s all over his face like a little kid.”

Robert Glasper, pianist on Otis Brown III’s album

who performed with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, Dizzy Gillespie, B.B. King and a diverse host of others.

Public school and church opportunities to play music were foundational for Brown III. But while he played some drums as a child and teen, by the time he arrived at DSC in 1992 he was focusing more on the saxophone and on becoming a music educator.

Randolph Johnson, current DSU director of bands, had a recruiting relationship with the elder Brown that resulted in Brown III’s enrollment.

Johnson recalls that Brown would drive up in his Ford Pinto to the Education and Humanities Building, haul his entire drum set up to the second floor and practice almost nightly.

“When he first got there he wanted to play the drums, but I made him play sax,” Johnson said. “Now he can read charts that other drummers can’t read, and it helps him as he writes his own compositions.”

A DSU band member during his entire undergraduate journey, Brown served as a drum major in 1995; he also was the band’s saxophone section leader and the lead alto sax for the jazz ensemble.

But it was the jazz environment at DSU and in Dover that began moving Brown toward life as a jazz drummer. He received important experience with the groups Three Guys So Far and Jabari.

Dr. Donald Byrd’s arrival at DSU also provided student musicians with some serious jazz adrenaline.

“There was a group of us that would hang with him almost every night in his office,” Brown said. “It was amazing listening to him talk about music.”

Byrd’s influence continued beyond Brown’s graduation. He persuaded the young drummer to further his education at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music at the New School University in New York City.

“I don’t think I would have this career if it weren’t for Byrd, if he hadn’t put New York City and the New School University on my radar,” Brown said.

26 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

Photos by Carlos Holmes

Otis Brown III, right, and Randolph Johnson, current DSU director of bands, caught up at Homecoming 2014. “He was huge for me,” Brown said of Johnson during his DSU years. “Randolph Johnson took care of me when I was there.”

LEFT: Brown and his wife, the former Paula Fairfax, met during his undergraduate years.

She attended DSU for three years and then moved north with Brown after his graduation, completing her teaching degree at Kane University. The couple has two children.

Building a livelihood in jazz The move to New York City connected Brown to prominent saxophonist Joe Lovano, and the drummer began keeping rhythm for his group in the late 1990s. By 2000, being a jazz musician was Brown’s full-time livelihood.

Through Lovano, Brown met a then-up-and-coming bassist/vocalist, Esperanza Spalding. He began playing with her group, including performing on her self-titled 2008 album “Esperanza.” He toured with her for five years and helped Spalding in her ascent to become a fourtime Grammy Award-winning artist.

Meanwhile, Brown decided that he had enough to say musically to self-record and produce his own album. Gathering a team of outstanding musicians, he completed the recording project in 2011.

While accompanying Spalding at the 2012 Grammy Awards ceremony, Brown ran into Don Was, the head of Blue Note.

The jazz music producer told Brown to send him a copy of his album.

“He got the record and loved it,” Brown said. “He told me that he wanted to sign me before the end of 2012.”

“A Thought of You” not only features Brown’s highly improvisational drumming style, but also showcases the other musicians — pianist Robert Glasper, trumpeter Keyon Harrold,

saxophonist John Ellis, bassist Ben Williams, organist Shedrick Mitchell and guitarist Nir Felder, as well as vocalists Gretchen Parlato and Nikki Ross.

Derrick Hodge, a co-producer of the album, said Brown’s musical approach resonates with the musicians he plays with. “Otis has become one of those drummers who once you hear him play, his experience becomes your experience in the moment,” he said.

A unique album feature is the inclusion of a few Christian gospelthemed jazz compositions.

“I was just trying to tell my story on the album and that covers a lot of bases, me growing up in the inner city, me going to a black college and listening to a lot of different music,” Brown said. “The church was always there and still is. That is the foundation of my music, where I first heard music.”

He said he has signed a three-record deal with Blue Note and expects to begin recording his next album sometime in 2015. He will also do a performing tour in connection with the current album.

The late famed jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown briefly attended then-Delaware State College but did not graduate. He recorded several albums on Blue Note and other jazz labels before his untimely death in 1956 in a car accident.

Alumni highlights Dr. Carlton Cannon ’99 mentors up-and-coming musicians When it came to the Homecoming weekend Fall Into Jazz concert, alumnus Dr. Carlton “Butch” Cannon Jr. was instrumental in making it happen.

Cannon spearheaded the event along with co-promoter Joe Baione, bringing longtime stellar jazz and R&B vibraphonist and vocalist Roy Ayers Jr. and other artists to campus in October.

The concert was considered a success by the University, but the real miracle was how Cannon found the time to play such a critical role.

The life pursuits of Cannon, a Class of 1999 graduate of the University’s music program, have flowered into a number of diverse areas, including being the director of bands at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington, Del., and a top-notch musician

who performs his saxophone

in jazz and gospel praise and worship genres, as well as an ordained bishop in the Church of God denomination and an associate pastor at the Clarence Street Church of God in Seaford, Del. In addition, Cannon is part of the executive board of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 21, which represents the interests of professional musicians throughout Delaware and parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. He also serves as the coordinator of the

Delaware All- State Jazz Program, which is organized under the Delaware Music Educators Association.

Randolph Johnson, current DSU director of bands, says he is not surprised by his former student’s success.

“He always had the potential, work ethic and character,” Johnson said. “I knew that he would be successful at whatever he chose to do.”

The son of Carlton Sr. and Lettie Banks Cannon grew up as a “military brat” and spent a large part of his childhood in Japan, where his father was stationed as a U.S. Marines officer. There, he was raised by the military discipline of his father (a battalion commander) and the Christian values of his parents, and he was immersed in a Japanese culture that emphasized honor and respect.

It was in Japan where Cannon was introduced to music, at first being inspired by an appearance by jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. on the children’s show “Sesame Street.”

Throughout his youth, he received instruction by military musicians.

He returned to the U.S. after his high school graduation and enrolled in thenDelaware State College in 1991. However, his narrow view of what he wanted to do musically at the historically black university did not sit well with Johnson.

“I told Mr. Johnson that I only wanted to play in the DSU Jazz Band, but he told me I couldn’t unless I played in the other bands of the program,” Cannon said.

“For that reason, I didn’t play in the

While he also performs, Dr. Carlton “Butch” Cannon Jr. ’99 says being a music educator and helping others to develop and succeed as musicians are his primary passions.

RIGHT: During his time at DSU, Cannon was mentored by the late jazz legend Dr. Donald Byrd and performed with the group Three Guys So Far.

Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

The Echo

27

band as a freshman or sophomore.”

During those years, he instead played saxophone — soprano, alto and baritone — with the DSU Gospel Choir, while also performing with the jazz band Three Guys So Far, as well as with his cousins’ prominent Washington, D.C.-area jazz group, Double Digit.

Meanwhile, he changed his major several times before finally settling on majoring in music in 1994. He also eventually changed his mind about participating in all of the program’s bands during his last two academic years.

“Mr. Johnson provided me with a scholarship, which was needed because I had run out of money,” Cannon said. “I owe him a lot; without him I would not be where I am now.”

The alumnus said in addition, his exposure to Dr. Donald Byrd at DSU was particularly pivotal for him.

“When he came to DSU in 1995, I asked what I could do to improve myself musically,” he said. “Dr. Byrd told me to meet him in New York City that next weekend.”

There, Byrd introduced him to the Jazzmobile Inc., where he was able to continue to augment his music studies on the weekends with instruction from Charles Davis and Frank Foster. He also received instruction from Grover Washington Jr. at the Clef Club of Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

Byrd would become a mentor, not only refocusing Cannon on completing his undergraduate journey, but also serving as a major catalyst to the advanced degrees that would come after he graduated from DSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Instrumental Music Education.

Photo by Carlos Holmes

Dr. Carlton “Butch” Cannon Jr. instructs students at the Cab Calloway School for the Arts in Wilmington, Del., where he is a music educator and director of bands.

“He was a great proponent of education and drove me to get my terminal degree,” Cannon said.

He earned a Master of Education in 2003 and a Doctorate of Education, Innovation and Leadership in 2008, both from Wilmington University.

Cannon’s career began with a short stint as a school music instructor in Maryland. He was lured back to Delaware in 1999 to become director of bands at A.I. DuPont Middle School in Wilmington.

Five years later, he assumed the post of director of bands and dean of discipline at Conrad Middle School in Wilmington.

In 2006, he moved once again to become the director of bands at the Cab Calloway School for the Arts, where he said he has thrived as a music educator.

“Cab Calloway is where I should have been all along,” he said.

While he continues to perform,

being a music educator and helping others to develop and succeed as musicians are his primary passions.

“Performing is good, but I’d rather be behind the scenes pushing someone else up,” he said. “I don’t need the limelight.”

The Church of God has been a constant throughout his life. In addition to being a bishop and associate pastor, Cannon also founded the Purity of Worship Experience, which has resulted in a number of scripturally based and Holy Spirit-led recording projects that have utilized the music talents of Cannon and other Christian musicians.

“Purity of Worship actually began with my work with Dr. Byrd in putting some of the sermons of his father Dr. Elijah Byrd to music,” Cannon said.

The alumnus is married to Nancey Cannon, and they have three children — Carlton III, Shekinah and Caleb.

MICHAEL FEENEY ’05 SHARES EXPERIENCE WITH STUDENTS AT 2014 CONVOCATION Michael Feeney ’05 helped to launch the 2014-2015 academic year as keynote speaker of the 2014 Convocation.

An award-winning journalist who graduated with a degree in Mass Communications/Print Journalism, Feeney told the audience that his DSU undergraduate experience prepared him well for his career — which has included jobs with the Associated Press and the New York Daily News, as well as recognition from the National Association of Black Journalists as the 2010 Emerging Journalist of the Year.

“All of that wouldn’t have been possible without DSU,” he said. “I urge each one of you to take advantage of the opportunities you have here, because what you do here will ultimately determine what you will do after you graduate.”

Feeney told the students to surround themselves with people who want to achieve and be successful.

“Figure out your goals and do whatever you have to do to achieve them,” he said. “If you face adversity, find a way to get through it. If you fail, get up. If you find success, keep it going and be the best Hornet you can be.”

28 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

Alumni highlights Alumni Affinity Reunions and Alumni & Friends Art Festival

In Memoriam

Alumni returned to campus for new Affinity Reunions for alumni with common interests and professions and the inaugural Alumni & Friends Art Festival on Homecoming weekend.

We sorrowfully acknowledge the following deaths within the DSU family and extend heartfelt condolences to their survivors.

ALUMNI Rev. Marva Agnes Burris Jones Rudolph N. West ’73 Monique Drew-Woodley ’90 Dennis Brooks ’64 Valleree L. Roach ’78 Willie E. Jones ’82 ’84 Jason D. Smith ’14 Jane Bickham ’61 Charles H. Breza Sr. ’76 Jeannette Wright-Lingo ’68 William G. Conner ’71 William E. Torian ’77 Gary Rosnack ’76 Leslie H. Cauthern Jr. ’69 Peter Rusanowsky ’75 Willie Murray ’70 Lamar Banks ’98

1

2 1. From left are alumna Anita Jarman ’09; Dr. Marikis Alvarez, associate dean for research in the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences; Dr. Bradley Skelcher, associate provost; and Dr. Marshá Horton, dean of the College of Education, Health and Public Policy.

FACULTY & STAFF Victoria “Vicky” L. Seymore Former custodian supervisor, 1990-2014 Ronnie Andrews Nov. 15, 2014 Former food service employee Joe W. Burden Sr., retired head coach of the men’s track and field teams from 1971 to 2000, passed away Oct. 12, 2014. During his tenure, Burden’s teams won seven MidEastern Athletic Conference championships.

4

3. Alumna Malika Davis ’01 talks with Dr. Youngsik Kwak, College of Business professor and associate dean.

4. Amy Goote-Ash, left, and Angela Shorter, right, of the Department of Public and Allied Health Sciences; and Dr. Rebecca Batson, dean of University Libraries.

Sept. 14, 2014 Sept. 21, 2014 Oct. 5, 2014 Nov. 11, 2014 Nov. 12, 2014 Nov. 25, 2014 Dec. 6, 2014 Dec. 13, 2014 Dec. 15, 2014 Dec. 17, 2014 Dec. 23, 2014 Dec. 26, 2014 Jan. 2, 2015 Jan. 6, 2015 Jan. 22, 2015 Feb. 2, 2015

William N. Davis, 91, a Class of 1951 alumnus, passed away Dec. 13, 2014.

Davis served on his alma mater’s Board of Trustees for 26 years, from 1970 to 1996.

3

2. Student Devontay Phillips, left, and Dr. Geraldine Jones ’61

Sept. 3, 2014

Dr. Richard “Rick” McCallister passed away Jan. 25, 2015, after a long illness.

McCallister was a faculty member who taught Spanish in the Department of English and Foreign Languages from 2001 to 2013.

5

Nelson Townsend, athletic director from 1979 to 1986, passed away Jan. 8, 2015.

During his tenure, the Hornets captured back-to-back Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Talmadge Hill Awards as the league’s top overall men’s program in 1985 and ’86.

5. Frankie Manley ’79, left, and Armetrius Howard ’78 6. Colleen Miles ’13 7. Arnold Nearn ’71

6

7

Note: Death notices sent to the Office of Alumni Relations must be accompanied by creditable documentation such as a news clipping, death certificate or funeral program.

Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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DSUAA is moving on campus The Office of Alumni Relations is pleased to announce that the Delaware State University Alumni Association now has a centralized office on campus to increase visibility and foster collaborative efforts for alumni outreach.

The office opened in the Thomasson Building in late February with a celebration for alumni and friends.

DSUAA’s move to campus will cultivate greater alignment of strategic goals between the association and DSU’s administration and continue to build upon a stronger united presence that aims for greater alumni impact.

“When you see DSUAA President Mrs. Sheila Davis during alumni events, you will also see DSU President Dr. Harry L. Williams and/or the Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations Dr. Lisa Dunning,” said Davis.

Delaware State University Alumni Association President Sheila Davis stands outside the Thomasson Building on campus, where a new DSUAA office is now located. The phone number to the new office is 302.857.7053.

Chapter Meetings Greater Hampton Roads Alumni Chapter

New Castle County Alumni Chapter

The Greater Hampton Roads 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. Participant access code: 251316#). Questions? Contact Chapter President Al Weal Jr. at mastercook3@cox.net.

The New Castle County Chapter meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. at DSU@ Wilmington on Kirkwood Highway. Questions?

Contact Chapter President Theressa W. “Tessie” Holmes at 302.229.5909 or tesswholmes@ gmail.com.

Kent County Alumni Chapter

The Sussex County Alumni 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 Chapter President Robert Draine Sr. at 302.947.4580 or draine11@verizon.net.

The Kent County Chapter meets the fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m. on the DSU campus in Room 104 in the Agriculture Annex Building. Questions? Contact Chapter President Philip Sadler at philsad@comcast.net.

Sussex County Alumni Chapter

Philadelphia Alumni Chapter

Annual Meeting

Philadelphia 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 Chapter President Dr. Jillian Inge at inge5901@aol.com.

The DSUAA Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, May 16, in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center on the DSU campus during Commencement weekend.

30 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

CHAPTERS OPEN LOOCKERMAN HALL FOR ANNUAL HOLIDAY EVENT Members of the Kent, New Castle and Sussex County alumni chapters hosted their 5th annual Loockerman Hall Holiday Open House in December, decorating the stately home for the holidays and welcoming students, faculty, staff and children from the Early Childhood Laboratory School, above. Visitors were treated to a history presentation and carol singing.

From left are Shannon Booker, President Harry L. Williams, Larry Williams, DSUAA President Sheila Davis, Arnold Nearn, Melynda Hani, Alfred Outlaw, First Lady Robin Williams and Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations Dr. Lisa Dunning at an October pre-football game reception held in Daytona Beach, Fla.

FLORIDA ALUMNI LOOK AT CREATING A CHAPTER The Office of Alumni Relations partnered with DSUAA to increase visibility in Daytona Beach, Fla., for the DSU vs.

Bethune-Cookman Football game in October, with President Harry L. Williams hosting alumni for a pre-football game reception. As a result, Florida alumni are in the process of establishing a potential alumni chapter in central Florida.

Alfred Outlaw ’71 is the point of contact and will lead the initiative for the Florida Alumni Chapter development group, which is in the process of defining the goals and objectives for a chapter. Plans are underway to conduct a chapter officer’s forum and election. Florida alumni also hosted a Christmas Meet and Greet Party in Daytona in December.

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

3 CHAPTERS JOIN FOR PREGAME TAILGATE Members of the Philadelphia, New Castle and Kent County alumni chapters showed their Hornet pride during a pregame tailgate in September before the DSU vs. Temple football game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

vhop655194@aol.com

Assistant Treasurer: Troy Ashley ’96 tashley76@hotmail.com

Alumni Representatives: Bernard W. Carr ’77 (2013-2015) bwadecarr@aol.com

Clarence Davis ’94 (2014-16) davisclarence@icloud.com

Chaplain: Rev. Theressa Holmes ’78 tesswholmes@gmail.com

Kent, Philadelphia and Sussex photos courtesy of Bernard Carr

KENT CHAPTER HOLDS POST-GAME RECEPTION The Kent County Alumni Chapter hosted a post-game reception for alumni following the last home football game vs. Florida A&M in November. At the event, from left, are Chapter President Philip Sadler, DSUAA President Sheila Davis and Odai “DJ Mega Skills” Morgan.

PRESIDENT WILLIAMS HOSTS RECEPTION FOR VIRGINIA ALUMNI President Harry L. Williams hosted a group of Virginia alumni for the DSU vs. Norfolk State University football game in October. Alumni from the Hampton Roads area and DSU officials gathered for a pre-football game reception on the NSU campus.

From left are Rachelle Purnell, 2014 scholarship awardee Jalesa Johnson, Chapter President Robert Draine and 2011 scholarship awardee Joshua Hackney.

SUSSEX HOSTS 5TH ANNUAL DINNER-DANCE The Sussex County Alumni Chapter held its 5th annual Holiday Dinner-Dance and Scholarship Fundraiser in December at the Millsboro Civic Center, where it awarded six community stalwarts and recognized three 2014 scholarship recipients. Each year the association hosts the event in partnership with the DSU Foundation Inc. and awards $1,000 scholarships to DSU students from Sussex County. The 2014 awardees were Jalesa Johnson, Lyteesha Bailey and Antonio D. Saez. Community honorees were Sen. George Bunting, the Rev. Annie J. Custis, William “Bill” Collick, Bernice Edwards, Ronald “Beau” Gooch and Harvey W. Hyland Jr.

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 Visit dsuaa.com to become a member.

Giving to DSU

Late alumna’s gift plans for the future Jane W. Bickham ’61 establishes $10K endowed scholarship, $124K charitable bequest to help future teachers succeed Before her death in December at age 75, Class of 1961 alumna Jane (Waters) Bickham acted on a desire to help students at her alma mater achieve for years into the future.

With a $10,000 gift, Bickham established the Jane W. Bickham Endowed Scholarship to assist Early Childhood Education majors at Delaware State University. Through her will, she provided $124,076 as part of the Jane W. Bickham Charitable Bequest to continue funding her endowment and provide support for students for many years to come.

“There are so many students struggling to get into college and graduate on time,” she said. “I want to do whatever I can to help them succeed. I urge all alumni to give what they can to support our students.”

Bickham’s gifts follow a 36-year career in which she herself prepared young students to move through life equipped for continued learning.

Bickham earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from then-Delaware State College.

Following her graduation, she accepted a job offer to teach fourth grade in the public school district in Asbury Park, NJ. After two years, the lure of a warmer climate convinced her to move to California. She secured a job in one month, teaching kindergarten students in the Covina Valley School District, a position she went on to hold for 34 years.

During her teaching career, Bickham met her husband, Jewell Bickham, and after their marriage, they moved to Pomona, Calif.

Their son, Kenric, Jane W. Bickham attended DSU from 1989 to 1991 and now lives in Claremont, Calif. Daughter Laura Ann Gray lives in Watchang, NJ. Outside of teaching, Bickham loved to travel, visiting 60 countries.

Among the locations she traveled were Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, the Amazon River, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Greece, Spain and Turkey.

She was a member of the National Council of Negro Women, the Red Hat Society and the Delaware State University Alumni California Chapter.

While at Delaware State, she pledged the Zeta Phi Beta sorority and was on the first line for the campus, assisted by a graduate chapter from Wilmington, Del. In California, she became a member of the Los Angeles Alpha Psi Zeta (graduate) chapter.

A Greenwood, Del., native, Bickham held fond memories of cooperation among the student body at her alma mater. “All of the Delaware State students, whether from the city or the country, worked together,” she recalled.

Following her 1961 graduation, Jane W. Bickham was a 36-year educator. Outside of her teaching career, she enjoyed traveling to locations worldwide, including the Great Wall of China, bottom.

United Baptist Convention of Del. adds $10K to book scholarship When the United Baptist Convention of Delaware Inc. wanted to pay homage to one of its leaders, the late Rev. Tommie Lee Brown, it established the Rev. Tommie L. Brown Memorial Endowed Book Scholarship. Its namesake who inspired the fund was pastor of New Hope Baptist Church and served two tenures as UBCD president, the last of which ended with his passing in 2002. DSU students who are members of Baptist churches are eligible to apply.

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Richardson III, left, second vice president of the UBCD, was present to make the presentation of the most recent gift of $10,000 to President Harry L. Williams.

32 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

Students who received Osher Reentry Scholarships for the 2014-15 academic year were recognized at a reception in September.

$1,050,000 Bernard Osher Foundation gift, student scholarship recipients are celebrated

In May 2014, Delaware State University was awarded $1,050,000 from the Bernard Osher Foundation.

As a result, this fiscal year, 21 nontraditional students were awarded scholarships to pursue their first college degrees. The students are now known as Osher Reentry Scholars.

The $1 million endowment permanently

provides for continuation of the Osher Reentry Scholarship, started with an initial grant of $50,000 in 2012.

A minimum of $50,000 in Osher Reentry Scholarships will be awarded annually to nontraditional students 25 years of age or older.

To apply for Osher Reentry Scholarships, students can visit desu.edu/scholarships.

Toyota Financial Services donates $10K to DSU

Representatives of the five HBCUs who were awarded $10,000 each join with Toyota Financial Services officials. From left are Kevin Shuman of Toyota; James Shaw of Morehouse College; Cheryl Hitchcock of Morgan State University; Dr. David Wilson, president of Morgan State University; John Ridgeway of Toyota, a 1975 DSU alumnus; Dr. Harry L. Williams, president of DSU; Dr. Richard L. Lucas Jr. of Bowie State University; and Dr. Edward Cornwell III of Howard University.

In honor of the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Toyota Financial Services made a donation of $10,000 in January to Delaware State University as part of $50,000 the automobile producer awarded to five Historically Black Colleges & Universities. King observed that “education must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of life.” Mike Groff, TFS president and CEO, said the company’s donations help further the principles King championed and are consistent with TFS’ deeply held commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Alpha Phi Alpha raises $2,990, wins Divine 9 Challenge

Members of the winning Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. join President Harry L. Williams, third from front left, on the field during halftime of the Homecoming football game.

The men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. were the winner of the 2014 Divine 9 Challenge, raising $2,990. The challenge annually engages Greek letter organizations to raise scholarship dollars for DSU students as part of the Greater Than One: Campaign for Students. The total amount raised in 2014 was $5,613. Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta finished second and third, respectively, in the contest.

WHY I GIVE | IN THE WORDS OF AN ALUMNUS

“ ‘Enter to Learn...Go Forth to Serve’ ... graced the entrance of Delaware State College — now University — as I embarked on my undergraduate education. This phrase continues to summarize my purpose and commitment to the State of Delaware, this great institution and the office I now serve.”

Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden | Class of 1969 Bolden, who has served in elected positions for 26 years, is a state representative in Delaware House of Representatives District 2 Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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Hornet Athletics

HOOPS SEASON HIGHLIGHTS Men make MEAC title run for first time since 2007 Postseason journeys to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title game and the College Basketball Invitational, the national spotlight on seniors Kendall Gray and Amere May, and a 24,600 mile travel log with first-time trips to Hawai’i and Oregon highlighted the 2014-15 Delaware State University men’s basketball season.

Season Highlights • With wins over No. 12 Savannah State and No. 4 Howard and a come-from-behind victory over top seed North Carolina Central, the Hornets advanced to the MEAC championship contest, a journey that ended in a 82-61 loss to Hampton. The team was rewarded for its successes with an appearance in the College Basketball Invitational.

• Less than two weeks after opening the season with an overtime victory at the University of Pennsylvania, the Hornets made school history by upsetting Wake Forest 72-65 for their first-ever victory in 20 games against an Atlantic Coast Conference team.

• The Hornets also claimed First State bragging rights for the season with a 66-53 win at the University of Delaware on Dec. 7.

All-MEAC First Team Center Kendall Gray and guard Amere May have been named to the 2014-15 All-MEAC First Team.

May is No. 1 in the MEAC and sixth in the nation in scoring at 21 points per game this season. He topped the 40-point mark in two games, including the Division I high of 48 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 17. May tallied 40 points at Coppin State on March 5.

He scored at least 30 points in five games, including 32 in the victory at Wake Forest, and reached double figures in scoring in 25 straight games.

May is second in the MEAC in three-point field goals (2.8 pg) and three-point percentage (.387), and fourth in the league in free throw shooting (.821). He had 671 points through the MEAC postseason, the fourth player in team history to surpass the 600-point mark in a season. He is a three-time MEAC Player of the Week this season.

WOMen’s basketball All-MEAC First Team Posting team highs in points (16.7) and rebounds (7.9) per contest, in addition to leading the conference in double-doubles (11) and field goal percentage (.546), forward Tierra Hawkins received First Team All-MEAC honors for the first time, adding to her previous MEAC Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-MEAC recognition.

Hawkins earned MEAC and ECAC Player of the Week twice, Akron Classic All-Tournament Team honors and tallied a streak of fourstraight double-doubles. For her career, Hawkins will go down as one of the best in DSU history, one of two players to post at least 1,700 points (1753), 800 rebounds (823) and 70 blocks (71).

34 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

Kendall Gray

MEAC Player of the Year and Top Defensive Player

Senior center Kendall Gray is the second player in the 44-year history of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to earn the league’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season.

He has dominated the MEAC’s weekly awards this season, earning eight Defensive Player of the Week honors and one Player of the Week recognition. On Jan. 19, he was selected as the Lou Henson National Mid-major Player of the Week.

On March 5, he earned national recognition after recording career highs of 33 points and 30 rebounds in the Hornets’ 104-92 win over Coppin State, becoming the first player in the Division I history of Delaware State and the MEAC to pull down 30 rebounds in a game. It also marked the first time in recent memory that any Division I player reached 30 points and 30 rebounds in a game.

Delaware State wrapped up its 2014-15 MEAC postseason play with Gray leading all NCAA Division I players in total rebounds (401) and second in rebounds per game (11.8). He’s the MEAC leader in blocks per game (2.8), total blocks (95), offensive rebounds (3.3 pg) and double-doubles (17).

The Hornets’ career leader with 305 blocks, Gray set single season records for blocks in each of the last three seasons. He also ended the MEAC postseason with 1,020 points and 821 rebounds, just the fourth player in team history with 1,000 points and 800 boards.

Senior outfielder Charles Dailey

2015

Junior catcher Sandy Hawthorne

FOOTBALL

SPRING 2015 SEASON PREVIEWS

Hornets baseball predicted to lead MEAC Northern Division Delaware State University is the preseason favorite to win its fourth straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern Division baseball title. The Hornets received 13 of 18 first place votes and 66 total points in the Northern Division poll of league head coaches and sports information representatives.

Delaware State was 30-16 overall and won its third straight MEAC North title with a 17-7 division record in 2014. The Hornets have a combined record of 60-12 in northern division games the last three seasons.

2015 preseason All-MEAC First Team Three Hornets were named to the preseason All-MEAC First Team — senior Hornet shortstop

David Kimbrough, senior outfielder Charles Dailey and sophomore outfielder Ron Farley.

Kimbrough was fourth on the Hornets in hitting with a .370 average in 2014, collecting 40 hits in 108 at bats. He was also fourth on the team in stolen bases, swiping 11 bags in 11 attempts.

Dailey batted .356 (52-for-146) and was second on the Hornets with 34 runs batted in last season. He was also second in the MEAC (39th in Division I) with five triples in 2014.

Farley batted .336 and was tied for third on the team in RBI (33) and doubles (10).

Delaware State opened its season Feb. 13 and played its 2015 home opener March 7. The team began MEAC play with a three-game series at home against Norfolk State on March 14.

Under new coach, softball picked to finish 2nd in MEAC North The Hornets softball team was slotted to finish second (162 points) in the Northern Division in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s 2015 AllPreseason Softball poll, and pitcher Tara Tursellino, outfielder Nicole Gazzola and catcher Sandy Hawthorne all earned First Team honors.

In 2014, DSU had its best overall finish (35-17) since 2004, in addition to a 15-3 MEAC mark en route to clinching a share of the northern division.

2015 preseason All-MEAC First Team Tursellino, who is the reigning MEAC Rookie of the Year, also earned Second Team All-MEAC and NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) MidAtlantic All-Region Third Team honors in 2014 after posting a team-best 13-6 record with a 1.97 ERA and finishing as the nation’s leader in saves (7).

Starting all 52 games, juniors Gazzola and

20

Hawthorne earned First Team All-MEAC recognition after leading the Hornets in batting at .404 and .403, respectively. Gazzola also led DSU in hits (67), runs (52) and stolen bases (17), while Hawthorne led the Amber Jackson squad in doubles (22) and walks (23).

For 2015, under first-year head coach Amber Jackson, Delaware State returns eight letter winners, in addition to six newcomers. Jackson spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Maryland under now Bethune-Cookman head coach Laura Watten. She also starred at Bethune-Cookman for three seasons (2002-05), where she earned All-American honors each year.

th 20 Annual

SAVE THE DATE

SCHEDULE

Five home games at Alumni Stadium, a visit to FBS Mid-American Conference contender Kent State and contests against the five teams that shared last year’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship highlight the 2015 Delaware State University football schedule.

September 5 Liberty 12 Kent State 19 Chowan

Lynchburg, Va. Kent, OH HOME

Hall-of-Fame Day 26 OPEN

TBA TBA 2 p.m.

October 3 10 17 24

Morgan State* HOME Hampton* Hampton, Va. Florida A&M* Tallahassee, Fla. S.C. State* HOME

Homecoming 31 Bethune HOME

-Cookman*

2 p.m.

TBA TBA 2 p.m.

2 p.m.

November 7 N.C. Central 14 N.C. A&T* 21 Howard*

Durham, N.C. 2 p.m.

Greensboro, N.C. 1 p.m.

HOME 2 p.m. * MEAC contests

DSU, UD to resume series in 2016

Monday, June 8, 2015

Deerfield Golf and Country Club | Newark, DE

desu.edu/golfclassic

The football series between Delaware’s lone NCAA Division I programs will resume in 2016 for four games through 2020. The games, which will all be played at the University of Delaware’s Delaware Stadium, are scheduled to take place Sept. 3, 2016, Sept. 2, 2017, Sept. 7, 2019, and Sept. 12, 2020.

Hornet Athletics FALL 2014 IN REVIEW

Coach Scroope, several players receive postseason soccer honors The Delaware State University women’s soccer program received several postseason accolades, headlined by Kerri Scroope winning Coach of the Year honors from College Sports Madness.

Scroope led the Hornets to a 6-12-1 record in her second year at the helm, falling just one victory shy of matching a DSU record for most wins in a season.

Several players earned First Team Independent Kerri Scroope All-Conference honors for their 2014 efforts: forward Emma Cain, midfielder Danielle Valente, defender Morgan Durham and goalkeeper Katelyn Koslosky.

Receiving Second Team recognition were forwards Taylor Addison, Julia Bossert and Chelsea Boursiquot, along with defender Tere’ Crawford.

FOOTBALL PLAYERS NAMED TO MEAC SECOND, THIRD TEAMS Senior defensive lineman Rodney Gunter was named to the 2014 All-MidEastern Athletic Conference Second Team in voting by league head coaches and sports information representatives. Gunter was tops for the Hornets and eighth in the MEAC with seven sacks (0.64 per game) and 16th in the league with 12 tackles-for-loss (1.09 per game) during the 2014 season.

Senior wide receiver Milton Williams III and junior defensive back Terrick Colston were third team selections. Williams ranked third in the MEAC in receptions at 4.2 per game and he was seventh in receiving yards at 48.8 per contest in 2014. His season totals included 50 receptions for 586 yards (11.7 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. Colston was tied for fourth in the MEAC in 2014 with four interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. He set a team record with interceptions in four consecutive games this season.

Visit dsuhornets.com for the latest in Hornets athletics.

The Hornets hosted the 2014 MEAC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships at DSU’s Outreach and Research Center in Smyrna, Del.

DSU hosts MEAC Cross Country Championships for first time The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships were hosted for the first time at DSU’s course on a rainy, windy Saturday in November.

On the women’s side, Florida A&M captured its third straight title with 38 points; DSU finished sixth (202 points). Ketsia Dornevil crossed the finish line at 19:26.40 to place seventh to lead all Hornet runners. The next best finisher for Delaware State was Nicole Gazzola with a time of 20:53.80 (32nd).

For the men, UMES came out on top with 45 points for its fifth MEAC title; DSU placed 11th (253 points). Leading the way for the Hornets was Presten DeMarreau, finishing 29th with a time of 29:44.50, while Irving Baker placed 45th (31:13.90) as the next best finisher.

HORNETS SHOW COMMUNITY SPIRIT During the holidays, members of the DSU lacrosse team helped the local Salvation Army aid needy families by serving as bell ringers for the kettle campaign at the Dover Walmart.

Earlier in the fall, the team took part in the 28th annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup.

36 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

This fall, women’s track and field was among the Hornets athletics teams supporting the volleyball team’s annual “Dig Pink” match to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer. Dig Pink® is the Side-Out Foundation’s national October breast cancer campaign.

16 inducted into 2014 Athletics Hall of Fame class Sixteen former Hornet athletes were honored in September as members of the 2014 Delaware State University Athletics Hall of Fame class.

2014 honorees who attended the banquet were: • Delores Blakey — Basketball • Rafael A. Cora Cintron — Baseball • William “Skip” Clark — Baseball • Desi Day — Football • Donald Haman — Football • Wardell Holt — Football • George Lewis Jr. — Football • Fay (Green) Nance — Track & Field • Robert Nixon — Football

• Michael North — Football • Cora Evern Jackson-Robinson — Basketball • Robert Watson — Football • Albert Williams — Baseball • David Withers — Basketball Honorees not in attendance were: • Willie Murray — Baseball Honoree Murray passed away in January 2015.

• Eric Wharton — Baseball

Save the date: The 2014 banquet and induction ceremony is set for Sept. 18, 2015.

Delaware Diamond Extravaganza honorees recognized for commitment to women’s athletics Two couples and four individuals who have made significant contributions to women’s athletics, education and the arts are set to be honored March 22 at the 2015 Delaware Diamond Extravaganza.

The 2015 honorees are: • Dr. and Mrs. William DeLauder — Former DSU president and first lady • Drs. Berlin and Reba Hollingsworth — Philanthropists and supporters of DSU athletics • Dominick Pulieri — Former Smyrna High School teacher; founder and chief executive officer of Grotto Pizza • Trish McGee — Championship field hockey coach; longtime sports editor and school board member • Dave Kergaard — Championship coach and principal; world class personal trainer to Ms. Delaware • Annette F. Cornish — Teacher, educator and published author of Golf For Girls.

HORNETS SALUTE THEIR CORPORATE PARTNERS Delaware State University Athletics gave a personal thank you to its 2014-15 corporate partners during the 2014 Homecoming football contest. Representatives from State Farm, Bayhealth Medical Center, Delaware College Investment Plan, Delaware Lottery and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware were honored by President Harry L. Williams and then-Athletics Director Candy Young during halftime ceremonies for their financial support of Hornets athletics.

The Delaware Diamond Extravaganza annually recognizes coaches, administrators, educators, athletes and other contributors in Delaware who have helped women’s athletics grow and excel in addition to creating additional scholarship and financial support to aid female athletics programs.

Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

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Class Notes

1970

1985

Harvey Hyland Jr. was recently named the town of Laurel, Del.’s Citizen of the Year. Hyland, the first African-American male to receive the award, was a plumbing and pipe fitter instructor at Sussex County Vocational-Technical School in Georgetown for 28 years and a member of the Laurel School District Board of Education for 12 years.

Frank Burton Jr. retired from the FBI after a 22 1/2-year career in which he was a national recruiter and the media representative for the Philadelphia Division. He is the pastor of Perfect Will Ministries in New Castle, Del., a church he founded with his wife Tasey Burton 11 years ago.

Burton’s son, Frank Burton III, was team captain for the William Penn High School football state champions and as a junior was named All-State Lineman of the Year and 1st Team All-State Tight End and Defensive End.

1973 Hugh F. Williams Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., was honored with the Peace Corps’ Franklin H. Williams Award. Williams is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the personal rank of minister counselor. He held numerous assignments overseas and domestically and received Meritorious Honor awards and the department’s Superior Honor award. His current assignment is as diplomat in residence at Spelman College and Morehouse College. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Williams served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, and he taught math in public schools and at Delaware State University. He and his wife, Marie, have two adult daughters.

1976 Vaughn M. Banks of Dover has retired from the State of Delaware as a bank examiner IV after 33 years of service. Banks also retired from the United States Air Force, where he was a master sergeant. Banks, who received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Delaware State College, has been married for 38 years to his wife, Beverly C., a 1975 DSC graduate. The Banks’ have two children, TaMaira and Christopher.

1977 Dr. Lydia J. Williams earned a doctorate degree in Management of Community College Policy and Administration from the University of Maryland University College. She is currently the executive director of Student Services at The College of Southern Maryland in Prince Frederick, Md. Williams received a bachelor’s degree in English from Delaware State College and also holds a master’s degree in Personnel Services from Miami University (Ohio) and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.

1983 Antionette Blake, mid-lifestyle blogger of DeDivahDeals and social media instructor, presented at the B.O.S.S. Brunch #WomensWealth in Dover and at the 10th Anniversary of Purses to Portfolios Conference sponsored by The Money School of Delaware in Wilmington, Del., where she received the 2014 Sandra A. Varano Golden Purse Award. Her husband, Gregory ’81, retired from the State of Delaware after 32 years, and their sons, Malik and Tayair, are now both freshmen in college.

38 The Echo www.desu.edu Winter/Spring 2015

Norman Oliver organized the Stormin’ Norman Turkey Drive for the 32nd year this past Thanksgiving, working with volunteers and organizations to expand turkey donations for needy families statewide in 2014 for the first time. Oliver is a former Delaware State University trustee and a former Wilmington City Council member.

Esther Purnell was promoted to principal of Radnor Middle School in Wayne, Pa., where she previously was an emotional support teacher, assistant principal and interim principal. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Delaware State College and a master’s degree in Educational School Leadership from Wilmington University.

1992 Marc Stevens is the new English/Language Arts Department chair at Randallstown (Md.) High School. Stevens has served in a variety of leadership positions in the school during his 12-year tenure.

1994 Dr. Robin Ann Booth received her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Argosy University in Sarasota, Fla. She is currently principal at All Saints Academy in Breese, Ill. Booth earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Delaware State University.

1995 Cindy Cunningham, a clinical nurse specialist, joined the staff of the La Red Health Center in Seaford, Del. She received a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Delaware State University, master’s degrees in Nursing and Business — Health Care Administration from Wilmington College and post-master’s degrees in Psychiatric Nursing CNS from the University of Delaware and Family Psychiatric NP from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. James L. Moore III, associate provost in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, director of the Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male and College of Education and Human Ecology Distinguished Professor of Urban Education at The Ohio State University, was recently included in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education’s listing of African-Americans Who Hold Endowed and Distinguished Professorships in Education.

LaSean Rinique Shelton recently wrote and compiled a book, Congratulations! You Just Lost Your J.O.B. Shelton has served as a contributing writer for several blogs and online magazines, has hosted and co-hosted over 15 radio shows and five television talk shows, and has been a movie and TV actor.

SAVE THE DATE

1996 Sonya (Malcolm) Hutson married Timothy Hutson on Nov. 29, 2014, in Dover. Mrs. Hutson is currently employed as a human resources manager with Catalent Pharma Solutions in Philadelphia. She received a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Delaware State University.

1999 Norman Barclift has been named the head of marketing for Bayer CropScience LP’s vegetation management business. Barclift previously worked in Bayer’s professional pest management business, where he most recently served as general insect control product manager. Barclift holds a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business from Delaware State University and master’s degrees in Agriculture Extension and Education from Virginia Tech and Business Administration from Wake Forest University.

Kelley Wilson-Everett was a featured guest on the Steve Harvey talk show and was recognized as Philadelphia’s Harvey Hero for the impact she’s made on students nationwide through her tutoring company and her nonprofit organization, Youth Angel Scholars Inc. She is also newly appointed professor of Early Childhood Education with Esperanza College of Eastern University.

2001 Shannon D. Lawson recently joined the law firm of Keating Muething & Klekamp in Cincinnati as an associate in its business representation and transactions group. Lawson earned his law degree from the University of Kentucky in 2014. Also a certified public accountant, he previously worked several years as an internal auditor and a corporate accountant. Lawson earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Delaware State University.

2002/2008

1st Annual DSU Alumni Family Trip Atlanta, GA | August 28 – 30, 2015 Watch for more details online at desu.edu or sign up for DSU’s alumni newsletter, In the Loop, at desu.edu/intheloop-signup.

2006/2009 Franklin Meredith of Dallas, Texas, is general manager of Williams Communications, a sports marketing firm, and director of Enrollment Management for International American University located in St. Lucia and American University of St. Vincent School of Medicine, both medical schools in the Caribbean Islands. He also is an owner and partner of Experience Music, a retail independent music chain with five locations in the Southwest. He received a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management and a master’s degree in Sport Administration from Delaware State University.

1997/2007 Brenda F. Farmer, director of University Events and Ceremonies at Delaware State University with almost 21 years of service, served as the mistress of ceremony for the National Council of Negro Women’s 40th Annual Mid-Atlantic Bethune/Height Recognition Program in November in Washington, D.C., an event honoring the legacy of Dorothy Height and Mary McLeod Bethune. Farmer was also selected to be a presenter at the Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors — International 35th Annual Conference in March.

2011 Hans Reigle was a keynote speaker at the annual University Aviation Association Fall Education Conference held in October in Daytona Beach, Fla. Reigle represents the University Aviation Association on the Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee Airmen Certification Standards Working Group. Reigle received a Master of Business Administration degree from Delaware State University and is an assistant professor in the Aviation Program.

Dr. David Carter was inducted into the Sussex Central High School Hall of Fame Class of 2014. A 1997 alumnus of SCHS, Carter went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education and a master’s degree in Graduate Education from Delaware State University. He currently is a high school principal in the Milford School District.

2004/2007 Dr. Quincy A. Rose has been accepted into the Harvard University Graduate School of Education: Women in Education Leadership Program, which convenes senior leaders from around the world who are interested in strengthening and leveraging their leadership skills to advance education initiatives while driving organizational change.

2005 Emmanuel Lalande was appointed the new dean of student success for Harris-Stowe State University. Lalande previously served as assistant dean/ director of student involvement at Bethune-Cookman University and as director of student activities at Washington College. He holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Delaware State University.

2013 De’Sean Deary recently joined the Delaware Community Foundation as an accounting associate. Deary received a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Delaware State University and is currently a student in the University’s Master of Business Administration program.

Do you have something exciting to report to your fellow alumni?

Share your news in the next issue of The Echo: Email alumni@desu.edu | Visit www.desu.edu/echo-form Winter/Spring 2015 www.desu.edu

The Echo

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PRSRT STD US POSTAGE

PAID WILMINGTON, DE PERMIT #751

the echo Division of Institutional Advancement 1200 North DuPont Highway Dover, DE 19901 Address service requested

DSU, a steward for sustainability

Dr. Harry L. Williams and the Board of Trustees invite you to celebrate our best and brightest — students in the classroom today, leaders in the workforce tomorrow.

EN

TER T O LE

H

Please join us!

ARN

T GO FOR

RSVP online: desu.edu/dsu360

CELEBRATING STUDENT SUCCESS

TO

DSU 360° will bring together education, business and community to recognize exceptional graduating seniors — “entering to learn” from Delaware high schools and “going forth to serve” from Delaware State University.

SERVE

Thursday, April 30, 2015 Chase Center on the Riverfront | 815 Justison St., Wilmington, DE 19801 Reception and College Showcase: 5 – 6 p.m.

Dinner and Program: 6 – 8 p.m. | Musical Performance: 8 p.m.

Performance by renowned singer-songwriter, actress and Grammy Award-winning artist

Regina Belle Presented by:

Admission: $75 per person | $800 per reserved table of 10 More information: 302.857.6055 or dsufoundation@desu.edu

| $1,500 per reserved VIP table of 10