Jackson State University makes history when close to 900 freshmen receive iPads as part of the university’s new iPad initiative.
8) JSU builds around you
To better meet the needs of today’s students, Jackson State University extends its reach into downtown Jackson and plants roots in the metro area’s fastest-growing community –the city of Madison.
16) Meeting of the minds
JSU’s new Academy of Research and Scholarly Engagement brings together scholars to pitch their research proposals. They not only gain valuable insight from those in other fields, but training through the grant-writing process.
11) Dome Sweet Dome
A new, domed stadium for Jackson State University will be more than an edifice for athletic games. More than an entertainment venue, drawing top-tier artists, concerts and exhibitions. And, more than an economic engine for the city of Jackson, Hinds County, the state of Mississippi and the region as a whole. The stadium will be a symbol of dreams fulfilled and a beacon for the university’s continued growth and success as an institution devoted to inspiration and innovation.
18) Successful by design
Jhamasa Noel Lewis-Adams, a 2012 graduate, is well on her way to success in the business world. She’s not only started her own business, she’s in the process of expanding.
25) Words of wisdom
Fans, students and professors pack the Jackson State University College of Liberal Arts lecture hall for a visit from Pulitzer Prize-winner and state and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey.
Dear Jacksonians,
Jackson State University’s success can be attributed to its community of alumni, faculty, staff and students who pursue innovation. Our world changes daily with technological, scientific and educational advances. At Jackson State, we not only keep up, but whenever possible, we set the bar higher. You’ll find examples of our success throughout this issue.
We’re leading the way nationally in utilizing technology in the classroom. Our iPad Technology Advantage Scholarship Initiative was one of the first in the country to award iPads tied to freshman courses to all first-time, full-time freshmen. For his part in the project and other technology-related instruction, Dr. Robert Blaine, interim associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, was named one of 20 Apple Distinguished Educators this year by Apple, Inc.
Innovators think big. The proposed domed stadium for JSU reflects our belief that our opportunities are boundless. The proposed 50,000-seat facility will be the largest collegiate domed stadium in the country and will help transform the economic landscape of not only JSU, but of the city of Jackson, Hinds County and the state of Mississippi. An expansion into the city of Madison gives JSU the opportunity to continue addressing the educational needs in the metro area.
Those are only some of the stories you’ll find in this issue. We also highlight visits from U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey and Reena Evers-Everette, the daughter of civil rights activists Medgar and Myrlie Evers.
Fresh ideas from our students and recent graduates are also on display, along with a feature about an alumnus and faithful donor who’s had a 50-year connection with JSU. Enjoy this issue and be proud you’re a part of this family of innovators and trendsetters.
Sincerely,
Carolyn W. Meyers, Ph.D. President, Jackson State University
‘
Purpose for Life’
Childhood illness sparks business major’s career path
Prisca Patrick learned to walk well before her first birthday. But at 11 months, she started falling down. Her parents took her to see several different doctors, but no one seemed too concerned about the clumsy toddler.
Finally, her brother’s pediatrician conducted two simple tests: He watched the little girl try to walk a straight line, and he put his ear to the right side of her head and tapped her skull. His diagnosis was as immediate as it was terrifying: The toddler either had meningitis or a brain tumor was growing inside her tiny head. The emergency room doctor confirmed the tumor.
“My parents held it together,” says Patrick, a senior business major who will graduate in May. “My dad is the type who’s not always going to express his feelings. My mom is always on top of things and does what needs to get done.”
For Patrick, surviving childhood cancer – and later the loss of her big brother to a drunk driver – fuels her ambition to commit her life to service
At 23, Patrick has launched her own nonprofit, Purpose for Life, which raises awareness and support for the two causes that have shaped her life. Thanks to her professors, Patrick is set to graduate with her business plan and the ability to put her experiences into action.
“I am known mostly for my work with childhood cancer. That is the No.1 cause I am an advocate for because most people don’t know that childhood cancer is the leading cause of death in children,” Patrick says. “I am also very passionate about drunk driving. It’s plain and simple to me. Don’t drink and drive.”
After her freshman year, Patrick started working with children with cancer at Camp Smile-A-Mile,
Senior business major Prisca Patrick launches her own nonprofit, Purpose for Life, which raises awareness about two issues that shaped her life – childhood cancer and the perils of drunk driving.
the Alabama camp she started attending at age 3. The camp offers much the same as other children’s camps – swimming, campfires and talent shows –while a pediatric oncology medical team tends to the children’s health needs.
The camp holds a weekly candlelight service for campers who have passed away. The service gives the children space to express their feelings about their friends who have died. “One girl who was 9 or 10 got up and talked about a friend who had just passed away,” Patrick recalls. “The girl said, ‘Tucker said he was tired. He knew angels were coming down.’ The other counselors and I realized we sounded like that when we were younger. Those are the strongest kids I’ve ever known.”
Patrick is one of those strong kids. She’s had five brain surgeries because of her cancer and its after effects, which includes a chronic condition called hydrocephalus, or water on the brain. A shunt implanted in her brain drains the fluid buildup. She still sleeps sitting up, and had to avoid cheerleading and gymnastics because of the risk of falling. “I still did ballet, basketball, soccer and softball because I was stubborn,” Patrick says.
Patrick’s mother, Etoile Patrick, says being reminded of the meaning of her daughter’s name got her through the toughest times. “Prisca means ‘old lady,’ and her middle name, Naomi, means ‘pleasant, delightful,’ ” Patrick recalls. “I thought no matter what bad news I heard, her name is a promise. She’s going to live to be a pleasant, delightful old lady.”
And there was plenty of bad news. Doctors told Patrick and her husband that Prisca would likely live only five months, and if she survived, she would have brain damage. The same week Prisca’s doctors found three new tumors growing on her spine, her mother learned she was pregnant. The pregnancy was difficult, and while Patrick feared for her daughter’s life, she also feared she’d lose her unborn baby. And she still had to care for her 3-year-old son, John Michael.
Despite complications, she gave birth to a healthy boy, Nicolas, now 20. “Nicolas went through this whole journey with Prisca,” says Patrick.
The Patricks also taught their daughter that she should never limit herself. “We always encouraged her to not lean back on her disability, but use it in a positive way,” Patrick says.
Though she’s faced ongoing health challenges, Prisca Patrick has led a pretty normal life. Still, her cancer treatments have left her with low bone density and a constant ringing in her ear. She suffers from short-term memory loss, chronic migraines and vision problems. Patrick says the most difficult
episode of her medical treatment was when she had to shave part of her head in the eighth grade because of one of her surgeries. “That was my hair!” Patrick says. “I was mad.”
This survivor and her family were dealt another devastating, and permanent, blow when Patrick’s eldest brother, John Michael, was killed with his girlfriend by a drunk driver on U.S. 49 .
Patrick was 17, and her brother was 19. He was studying at Hinds Community College and had earned a full ride to attend the University of Mississippi. “John Michael and my mother were both at Hinds when he was killed,” says Patrick, whose mother was studying to become a registered nurse. “He was supposed to graduate May 2007. He was killed the semester before. During my mom’s graduation, she received his diploma and hers.
“It was a dark time. I was depressed. I hung out with the wrong people; I did whatever I could to not be around the house.”
It was during that dark time that Patrick made the decision to attend Jackson State, though she didn’t have a strong family connection to the school. Her father, a minister, was a Mississippi Valley State University graduate, and her mother graduated from Millsaps College. “At that point, I didn’t want any more change. Change scared me,” says Patrick, who was accepted to Mississippi State University’s Day One Leadership Program for high achievers. “But I wanted to be close to home. Then I got invited to be part of JSU’s Honors College.”
At JSU, Patrick found opportunities to serve the causes she cares about most. She recruited JSU students to her Relay for Life team for the American Cancer Society, created a bumper sticker that raised $700 for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and raised $600 for Camp Smile-A-Mile during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. She credits her boyfriend, senior graphic design major Cedric Colston, with helping her focus on her goals.
“I like the fact that I can raise money for other organizations while starting my own,” she says. “With my organization, I want to be able to raise money and then be able to give a scholarship or two for volunteerism. That’s what got me where I am today.”
Patrick also has thrived academically. She’s earned good grades and took part in JSU’s study abroad programs, traveling to China for an alternative fall break and spending her last semester honing her Spanish in Nicaragua. “I don’t think if I would have been anywhere else, I would have gotten the experience I needed,” Patrick says of her time at JSU. “Everything happens for a reason.”
Everyone has a goal, but those who will succeed have a purpose.
— John Michael Patrick Jr. brother of JSU senior Prisca Patrick
Prisca Patrick has her first surgery at 15 months to remove a brain tumor.
All freshmen in JSU’ s foundation course
University Success pick up their iPads at the start of semester. Each tablet comes equipped with a Bluetooth keyboard and protective cover and loaded with a bundle of student apps.
iPad Initiative
Largest program of its kind in nation puts freshmen on cutting-edge course
Jackson State University made history last September when close to 900 freshmen received iPads as part of the university’s new iPad Technology Advantage Scholarship Initiative. The $700,000+ program, funded through the nonprofit Mississippi e-Center Foundation, not only integrates the device into the curriculum, but tracks learning through an intensive two-year study.
“With Jackson State University implementing the largest mobile learning initiative on a public university campus in the United States,” says Dr. William McHenry, executive director of the Mississippi e-Center, “JSU is providing pioneering global leadership in cyber-learning space, the final academic frontier.”
Freshman Michael Gordon of Stone Mountain, Ga., says he chose to attend JSU, in part, because of the iPad program. It’s a choice that’s proving invaluable in the classroom.
“If I was in class and needed a quick definition of a word, I was able to find it quickly with the iPad,” Gordon says. “Or if I needed a quick reference or to read a certain passage, I could go to it quickly. In my biology class, all our notes and presentations were online; we could go straight to it and follow the teacher.”
He also turns to the iPad to download iBooks for class, take notes, study for tests, and work with other students.
“We’ve used our iPads to have study group meetings on Skype,” he explains.
All freshmen in JSU’s foundation course University Success picked up their iPads at the start of the fall semester. Each tablet came equipped with a Bluetooth keyboard, protective cover, student apps and Airwatch Safeware, which helps recover lost or stolen devices.
Incorporating technology into the classroom is crucial, says Dr. Ingrad Smith, associate dean and professor in the School of Administration Leadership. According to the Pearson Foundation’s Second Annual Survey on Students and Tablets, nearly six in 10 college students prefer digital over print when reading textbooks for class, and 63 percent believe that tablets will effectively replace textbooks within the next five years.
“This generation of students feels like technology is a part of them,” says Smith. “I read that textbooks, chalkboards and handouts are like teaching in slow motion. These students can handle so much
more, so much faster. If we don’t keep up, we are the ones who are going to be left behind.”
Indeed, JSU has taken a proactive approach in what seems to be the inevitable replacement of bulky, pricey textbooks. Faculty members have written 50 iBooks, and 40 more iBooks are pending publication. Students can download iBooks written by JSU professors free of charge.
Smith, who has 30 years of teaching experience, says the iPad program has created a new zest for learning. “They come into class and go straight to turning their iPads on and are ready to learn.”
JSU is using this excitement to help improve critical thinking. Through Global Education Analytical Reasoning courses, faculty are examining the first and second years of the freshman undergraduate core curriculum to determine how basic skills, such as reading, writing, and math, can raise analytical thinking.
Dr. Robert Blaine, interim associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts, calls analytical thinking “the lynchpin for 21st century learners.”
“How do you take existing information, digest it to create new thoughts, new ideas and new knowledge? That creation of new knowledge will be the basis of the cyber-economy,” he says. “We are setting a new standard for the importance of a college education, and teaching with technology across the curriculum is a core pedagogical requirement.”
Although two similar-sized universities – one in Pennsylvania and one in Texas – provide iPads to students, JSU’s iPad study is the largest of its kind in the United States. The only large university to undertake a similar program is the Ohio State University School of Medicine.
“The iPad initiative has the possibility of transforming the intellectual environment here at Jackson State University,” says Dr. James C. Renick, interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. “The idea that we can harness technology for learning can really add significant value to what the students receive.”
Many freshmen say JSU’s iPad program makes the university their top choice for college.
Jsu builds around YOu
University extends reach from 5 to 7 locations
JSU campuses
MaIN CaMPus:
1400 John R. Lynch St., Jackson
Satellite locations:
JaCksON MEdICaL MaLL
350 W. Woodrow Wilson Drive, Jackson – Houses College of Public Service programs
uNIVERsITIEs CENTER
3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson Houses College of Public Service programs
MIssIssIPPI VETERaNs
MEMORIaL sTadIuM
2531 N. State St., Jackson Houses JSU’s football stadium
To better meet the needs of today’s students, Jackson State University is extending its campus into downtown Jackson and planting roots in the metro area’s fastest-growing community – the city of Madison.
The university’s two newest satellite campuses will open later this year. Jackson’s 101 Capitol Centre building, located on Capitol Street just east of JSU’s main campus, will bring together four components of JSU to form a one-of-a-kind public service center for Mississippi’s capital city. JSU Madison will offer 42 courses from each of the university’s five colleges to students balancing work and family responsibilities.
“We’ve looked at the demographics of our area. The fastest-growing segment of learners is the 25- to 35-year-old group. These are the people who work, who have children, but still have edu-
cational aspirations,” says JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers of JSU Madison. “We want to enable them to conveniently have the opportunity to fulfill those aspirations through our programs at Jackson State University. This can be a valuable resource to developing a workforce for the whole state of Mississippi.”
Meyers says JSU’s entire community is excited about the project, as it is an opportunity to continue to address the educational needs of the metro area. The campus will accommodate nontraditional students by offering evening, weekend and online courses.
Some of the programs offered would be selected, in part, based on how they tie into long-term, state economic development plans, such as Blueprint Mississippi.
“As we learn more about the aspirations of the
JSU Madison will offer 42 courses from each of the university’s five colleges to students balancing work and family responsibilities.
students in that area, we will try our best to accommodate them,” Meyers says.
The Madison location fits into the university’s enrollment management plan, which is to increase enrollment to 15,000 by 2021.
The Madison County Board of Supervisors officially welcomed Jackson State University to the community with a resolution that supports JSU’s plans to open a satellite campus in the City of Madison.
The resolution states that JSU’s presence in Madison County and the university’s “concentrated academic offerings will serve to hasten the achievement of the workforce developmental goals of the Madison County Strategic Plan, and as such, are greatly desired.”
The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning approved JSU’s 10-year lease agreement to open the campus and its 42 undergraduate and graduate courses. JSU Madison is located at 382 Galleria Parkway, which is visible and easily accessible from I-55.
Dubbed the “101 Building,” JSU’s downtown campus will house the Community and Alumni Welcome Center, the new Institute of Government, the Mississippi Urban Research Institute and the School of Policy and Planning. Part of
the College of Public Service, the School of Policy and Planning is currently housed in one of JSU’s other satellite campuses – the Universities Center on Ridgewood Road in Jackson.
The concept behind the 101 Building is that it will be an integrated education, research, public service and economic development center dedicated to advancing Mississippi’s urban communities through innovative approaches to public challenges and opportunities. As an extension of JSU, the location places a heavy emphasis on community involvement and public service. The site is expected to enliven the university’s mission using JSU’s resources to respond to the needs of urban communities.
“The location has the potential to become the intellectual core of downtown Jackson,” Meyers says, because it will offer public leaders and institutions the richness of JSU’s academic, research and real-world expertise.
Using a multidisciplinary approach, the 101 Building will pool the talent, creativity and expertise of seasoned professionals, accomplished researchers, public sector leaders and top graduate students to work on initiatives that strengthen public policy and public service at the urban and state levels.
JSU’s 101 Building will bring a one-ofa-kind public service center to Mississippi’s capital city. The site is slated to open in the fall.
Reconnecting
New call center promotes Annual Giving, employs JSU students
Jackson State University’s Department of Development recently opened a new call center as an extension of the Annual Giving program.
Housed inside the Mississippi Urban Research Center at the Jackson Medical Mall, the center is more than a fundraising project; it also provides jobs for students.
“Thirty JSU students call alumni to reconnect them with their university, share new and exciting news and ask for alumni support through a financial gift,” said Tangelia Kelly, associate director of Annual Giving at JSU.
“We raised $25,000 in the first week,” she said. “We’re calling donors and young alumni who have never given. We’re calling friends, faculty and staff.”
The call center’s spring session began Jan. 29 and continues through May 2. The center operates two shifts on Sunday, from 1:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Calls are made from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
The student callers also are gathering up-to-date contact information from alumni for the Department of Development.
“A lot of people appreciate JSU calling them and letting them know about things that are going on. When we call our nondonors, they are excited about a chance to give,” Kelly said.
Donors can give to any fund they choose, but the call center’s focus is the Excellence Fund, which covers scholarships, book awards and university support. It’s an unrestricted account, Kelly said.
RuffaloCODY, a company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which works with universities across the nation, is facilitating the call center. Kelly said the university expects to eventually hire a call center manager.
Lauren Summers, reaching out to alumni for support, is one of 30 JSU students working at the call center.
Tangelia Kelly, associate director of Annual Giving at JSU, helps oversee the call center.
PROPOSED $200M,
50,000-SEAT
FACILITY WOULD END DECADES OF WAITING
by Shelia byrd
new, domed stadium for Jackson State University would be more than an edifice for athletic games. More than an entertainment venue, drawing toptier artists, concerts and exhibitions. And, more than an economic engine for the city of Jackson, Hinds County, the state of Mississippi and the region as a whole.
To hear supporters tell it, the stadium would be a symbol of dreams fulfilled and a beacon for the university’s continued growth and success as an institution devoted to inspiration and innovation.
When the stadium plan was announced during JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers’ spring address in February, the excitement was palpable. The crowd erupted in applause as David Hoard, vice president of Institutional Advancement, reminded faculty, staff, students and supporters that a campus stadium had been a dream for years.
“There are still numerous variables that could
happen, but we’re 90 percent confident the dream will come into reality,” said Hoard.
Meyers said the stadium plan is a reflection of the vision she and JSU supporters have for the university.
“Jackson State University’s impact on Mississippi and the region increases with each new goal we set and project we undertake,” Meyers said.
“There’s a confluence of activity occurring now that makes this the right time to move forward with our stadium plans.”
According to an analysis by the Institutions of Higher Learning, based on data provided by JSU, building a domed stadium would create nearly $65 million in personal income and generate more than $7 million in revenue for the school in its first year.
Jenece McNeal, a 21-year-old JSU junior, said she’s excited about the stadium project.
“It will bring positive attention to our school.
It will help increase money for the state and for the city,” McNeal said.
The stadium would be modeled after Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome in upstate New York. At an estimated cost of $200 million, the facility would be the largest collegiate domed stadium in the nation and the only one south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The stadium would have a seating capacity of 50,000 for football; 23,000 for basketball and 35,000 for major concerts. The design calls for 75 skyboxes and a massive parking garage – large enough for 3,500 vehicles.
Hoard said the project is huge but not oversized. It’s also completely doable, he said.
“I’ve reviewed 48 feasibility studies and analyses of other stadiums in the past five years,” said Hoard. “There are a number of possible funding streams of various dollar amounts for our project. They include personal seat licenses, box rentals, contributions from government entities and New Market Tax Credits. Additional options also are being explored.”
The project has a long list of supporters, including Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. After meeting with university leader-
George Heery, a principal with the Brookwood Group and former owner of Heery International, is the lead architect for the Jackson State University domed stadium project.
An on-campus stadium has been a dream of JSU alumni, students, faculty and supporters for decades.
ship and viewing the renderings, Johnson detailed his reasoning.
“Its uniqueness in this market and the regional market and the flexibility of this type of facility would be unlike anything in the entire state,” Johnson said. “It would bring jobs – both temporary construction jobs and permanent jobs – to the city. And, it has the great potential of adding to my vision of our city becoming a ‘Destination City’ within the region.”
Building an on-campus stadium has been the hope of university supporters for nearly 40 years. Jackson State is the only state-funded university without an on-campus stadium. The university’s Old Alumni Field was demolished in the early 1970s, said Robert Cook, a JSU alumnus and president of the Tiger Fund, a group that supports the athletic department.
“By the time I came to Jackson State as a freshman in 1974, we didn’t have an on-campus stadium,” Cook said. “I think people are excited about a new stadium, but we have striven for a stadium for so long, I think they are cautiously optimistic. To me, it’s not a matter of whether, it’s a matter of when.”
For years, JSU has played its home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, a rugged, but crumbling facility
off West and State streets. Veterans Memorial sits on property across from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. UMMC has indicated it would like to use the area to expand as the state proceeds with plans to establish a medical corridor.
“I think we need to keep in mind that this whole project is a Mississippi project,” Cook said. “I thank God for Carolyn Meyers, for a president with the courage of her vision, who’s shown us how to be committed to dreaming beyond what has been and seeing the unlimited possibilities of what could be, if we just don’t give in to our fears. We can be the flagship of HBCUs and a leader among higher education institutions across this country.”
Cook said the stadium project is unprecedented in Mississippi, “but it’s a plan that’s not totally generated from state and public funds.”
There are four potential sites for the stadium. All would accommodate the stadium design. George Heery, a principal with the Brookwood Group and former owner of Heery International, is the lead architect. Heery has directed or been involved in more than 120 projects around the world, including
the Carrier Dome.
The stadium would belong to a limited liability corporation owned by the Jackson State University Development Foundation. The foundation would contract SMG to manage the facility and book additional activities. SMG is one of the largest and well-regarded stadium management companies in the world.
The university would use the stadium rent-free between 45 and 50 days per year for football and basketball games and other special events. The facility would be rented out an additional 200 days a year. The stadium would be made available for use by various entities, including the city, county, state and other universities, for a fee.
Hoard said the stadium would produce revenue for JSU, the city and state as it draws spectators from inside and outside the region. Those people would spend money on hotels, in restaurants and on retail.
“There’s no doubt it would be a boon to tourism,” Hoard said. “The dome stadium would have a tremendous effect on Jackson State’s economic impact on the region.”
to the test Putting ideas Presidential Creative Awards spur innovation
Courtney Brookins is in search of evidence of the healing power of music, particularly data to reflect how melodious sounds affect the physically disabled who suffer from depression.
Brookins, coordinator of undergraduate advisement, has proposed a study to engage psychology and music majors in a project to monitor how music therapy will impact the vital signs of clients at a specialty care center.
Her proposal is one of 10 selected for the 2013 Presidential Creative Awards of Faculty and Staff. JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers established the awards program to inspire innovative ideas to support and further the mission of the university.
The winning proposals receive $5,000. Meyers plans to make the awards available on an annual basis.
Dr. James C. Renick, interim provost, commended the winning proposals for their potential to engage students in research and to help develop students’ critical-thinking skills.
“We are delighted to provide important support for the creative endeavors of our faculty and staff,” Renick says.
Brookins says her interest in the project grew from her
observation of other programs involving music therapy. She says the students will work with clients at Jackson’s Methodist Specialty Care Center who have suffered from stroke or seizures, resulting in paralysis. Some students will compose music; others will listen and collect data.
“We have an opportunity for our students to have firsthand experience with this type of research. We’re also enhancing the lives of the residents at the Methodist Specialty Care Center,” Brookins says.
About 20 proposals were received from all five of the university’s colleges for this year’s awards. A panel of faculty and staff reviewed the. Meyers also read all the abstracts prior to a final decision. The inclusion of students and the ability to secure additional state or federal funding weighed heavily in the decision-making process.
The winning projects covered a variety of topics, including research to address student underachievement, a study of Shakespeare’s play, “Timon of Athens,” and an assessment of the academic benefits of using an iPad.
Courtney Brookins, coordinator of undergraduate advisement
Rhonda Cooper, clinical assistant professor and pre-law advisor in the Department of Political Science, proposes the Enhanced Law School Readiness Program, which will create a system to engage students from their first year at JSU through timely graduation and successful law school admission.
Dr. Johnnie M. Griffin, assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, proposes a study to raise awareness about abandoned cemeteries and to encourage an increase in the interdisciplinary participation of JSU faculty and students in the growing interest of the sociology of burial grounds.
additional award winners
Dr. Rodney Washington, chair and associate professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, proposes a study to develop strategies to increase black, male retention rates in higher education.
Dr. Nola T. Radford, professor in the Communicative Disorders Program in the School of Health Sciences, and Dr. Robert Blaine, interim associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and director of the Global Inquiry Faculty Teaching Seminar, proposes a research project to evaluate the relationship between stereotype threat and student underachievement.
Dr. Francis Tuluri, associate professor in the Department of Technology, proposes the creation of a cybersystem for education and research that integrates smart devices, such as cell phones, with passive devices capable of collecting data.
Dr. Everett G. Neasman, assistant professor of British Literature in the Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages, proposes a study based on one of William Shakespeare’s plays with the goal of bolstering research skills of Liberal Arts majors.
Dr. Tony Latiker, assistant professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, proposes a pilot program examining whether a traditional or web-based approach to Praxis I preparation is more effective in teacher education programs serving a majority black student population.
Dr. Nicholas J. Hill, assistant professor of economics in the Department of Economics, proposes research to examine how teacher preparation, classroom practices and self-efficacy of high school economics teachers in urban school settings influence student performance on standardized economics tests.
Dr. Robert Luckett, director of the Margaret Walker Center, is awaiting word on three proposals to digitize 2,000 oral histories concerning the African-American experience.
Meeting of the minds
Academy of Research and Scholarly Engagement paying off for faculty, university
The last thing most busy people want to put on their calendars is another meeting, another time-consuming gathering where you end up playing with your smartphone while struggling to stay awake.
But that’s not the case for 40 Jackson State University faculty members who started meeting monthly last fall as part of the newly formed JSU Academy of Research and Scholarly Engagement.
Representing all five colleges at JSU, the Academy brings together scholars who can pitch their research proposals to one another and to grant-writing coaches. They not only gain valuable insight from those in other fields but training through the entire grant-writing process.
“We do a lot of brainstorming,” says Dr. Robert Luckett, director of JSU’S Margaret Walker Center.
“Everyone comes with their ideas for research projects, and we talk about their research and what potential grants are out there. Everyone serves as a sounding board for everyone else,” Luckett says.
“It’s been great meeting with those I otherwise wouldn’t even know. For example, I wouldn’t be collaborating with a physicist on anything if not for this,” Luckett says. “There’d be no reason for me to.”
Dr. Dawn Bishop-McLin, associate professor of psychology and a third-generation JSU graduate, appreciates that the cohorts include junior, mid- and senior-level faculty.
“We’re learning new skills and approaches to acquiring grants, and we have coaches to review what we’ve written to funding agencies,” she says.
Bishop-McLin is awaiting word on a grant proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation. She’s hoping to be awarded $400,000 over three years to establish a program to enhance the academic performance and professional skills of minority students in the behavioral and social sciences.
Part of the funding would help establish what Bishop-McLin calls a state-of-the-art behavioral and social science teaching and research laboratory at JSU.
Dr. Duanjun Lu, a junior faculty member, applied for a $10,000 grant from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Such a grant would underwrite a series of experiments to advance understanding of the impact of mercury disposition in air quality and climate. He expects to learn in May if his grant is approved.
Lu joined Jackson State in 2000 as a research assistant and was named an assistant professor two years ago. The Academy, he says, provides an invaluable avenue to senior faculty and subsequent feedback in grant-writing and the application process.
“I personally like this program very much because it really helps me a lot,” he says. “I truly enjoy meeting with other faculty in school, and this helps me to
identify the areas and people to collaborate with in the future. The Academy expands our horizons for funding opportunities and also provides an area for us to build up collaboration.”
Luckett said he expects to hear late this summer whether his $250,000 grant proposal for a project especially near and dear to his heart is funded. He’s submitted three proposals – two to the National Endowment for the Humanities and one to the Institute of Museum and Library Services – to digitize 2,000 interviews, or oral histories, concerning the AfricanAmerican experience that are on cassette and reel-toreel tapes dating back to the late 1960s.
“Paper is one of the greatest inventions ever created. It can last forever,” Luckett says. Most of the paper–based collections have been transcribed and digitized with help from a Ford Foundation grant a few years ago.
“But those tapes deteriorate over time; they’re not permanent, and if we don’t transcribe them and digitize them, we’re going to lose them,” Luckett says. “If we don’t do this, there will someday be nothing on those tapes. Those voices will be gone forever.”
If by chance the project isn’t funded, Luckett has 39 cohorts standing by to help find and apply to other possible funding sources.
Dr. Dawn Bishop-McLin, associate professor, Department of Psychology, hopes to establish a program to enhance the academic performance and professional skills of minority students in the behavioral and social sciences.
Dr. Duanjun Lu, assistant professor, Department of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences and Geoscience, is focusing his grantwriting efforts on experiments to look at the impact of mercury disposition in air quality and climate.
Entrepreneur BY DESIGN
Study Abro A d progr A m in S pire S l Aunch of A cce SS orie S line
b y b ette Pe A r C e
Jhamasa Noel Lewis-Adams is well on her way to success in the business world. The 2012 graduate has not only launched her own line of handbags, she’s in the process of adding other inventory.
The idea for what would become Lusha Fashion Accessories materialized shortly after high school graduation, she explains.
“When I transitioned to college, I was getting a little older and needed something that allowed me to carry everything I needed with me throughout a long day and into the evening that didn’t look so childish or like a plain, old backpack,” Lewis-Adams says.
Jhamasa Noel Lewis-Adams, a 2012 graduate of Jackson State, is owner, designer and sales chief for Lusha Fashion Accessories. Her path to starting her own business began while still at student when she got involved in the university’s Study Abroad program.
When she couldn’t find anything that suited her, she created her own bag that could hold a laptop, iPod, phone, and even a couple of items of clothing, yet look stylish and sophisticated.
But it wasn’t until spending time in China her junior year — through Jackson State’s Study Abroad program —that she started exploring business options for her design.
“I heard about the program my sophomore year, but my dad wouldn’t let me go. He said I had to get my grades up,” she says, laughing. But she took the challenge seriously. While in China, she developed a relationship with a small factory to manufacture her bags. It was then that she decided what to call her business. Lusha, she says, is the Chinese translation for her name.
The bags, sold at community events, are also available at Royal Bleau Boutique in Jackson. This spring, Lewis-Adams plans to offer hair extensions imported from several countries, including India, Brazil, Malaysia and Peru. They will come in lengths from 10 inches to 40 inches.
Lewis-Adams sees hair extensions as a natural extension to her business — something that appeals to young, professional women.
“I love my hair, but as a young African-American woman it can be a challenge because I can’t do what I want without damaging it. Hair extensions can give you a professional, stylish look without damaging your own hair.”
Lewis-Adams, who spent most of her life in foster care, credits her informally adopted parents, actress Vanessa Bell Calloway and husband, Anthony, for inspiring her can-do business attitude.
A native of Los Angeles, Lewis-Adams was 13 when she met the Calloways’ daughter. They attended the same school and became close friends.
When she turned 18, her foster mother kicked her out, she said, although she was still in high school.
“So many people take kids in just to get money,” she says.
That’s when Vanessa Bell Calloway, familiar with LewisAdams’ struggle, stepped in. She also stepped up, establishing a scholarship fund at Jackson State for emancipated youth. Last year, Calloway was awarded the university’s Presidential Medal for her support of emancipated youth.
While running her business, Lewis-Adams also raises money for the scholarship fund. Her life now is a far cry from what it was years ago.
“I feel like I’m at a point in my life that I realize the good things about life, and I’ve discovered some things coming to Jackson,” she says.
“I was able to culturally gain insight, meet a lot of motivated, ambitious girls, and the school taught me about professionalism and taking my business idea to the next level.
“I have been super, super blessed in life.”
Jhamasa Noel Lewis-Adams designs what she calls fashionable yet functional handbags.
You can’t just expect things to be given to you. You have to work hard to be successful. That’s an aspect of what our society is starting to lack.
Andrell D. Harris JSU graduate
a C asE s T udY IN suCCE ss AnDre LL D. hA rriS
When Andrell D. Harris was a teenager, he mapped out a plan for his life. He wanted to serve his country, be successful in business, and acquire enough wealth to travel the world. Most of all, he wanted to “give back” to his community.
“He had some very lofty goals when I met him,” recalls Al Joyner of Ridgeland, owner of 21 McDonald’s restaurants in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties. He became a friend and mentor in 2005 when Harris was a student at Jackson State University.
Since graduating with a degree in finance in 2008, Harris, 26, can be labeled entrepreneur, financial analyst, investor, former Army intelligence officer, consultant to a global corporation, and donor to his beloved alma mater.
In December, on a return trip home, Harris established an annual $1,000 scholarship fund at JSU. It’s a fund that will grow, he promises. “The values and lessons I learned at Jackson State I hold deeply
to this day,” says Harris, who served as president of JSU’s Student Government Association in 2007. “The leadership that I got from JSU was paramount in my overall progress and mobility in corporate America.” Harris was only 16 when he stepped into the world of business. He bought a gumball vending machine for $75 and put together a “business plan” in his head. He then struck a deal with a high-traffic supermarket. When he accumulated enough money from that first machine, he went shopping. “I found some guy on eBay who had a bunch of machines for sale and offered me a really good price on them if I could drive to Louisiana that same day to get them.”
Harris made the trip but was delayed on his way home. A car driven by a teenager and loaded with about 30 gumball machines caught the eye of law enforcement. “At first, he acted a bit like a jerk and asked me where I was going with all those machines,” Harris says. “I told him what I was doing with them,
Former SGA President Andrell D. Harris, 26, says he dreams of eventually returning to Jackson and investing in the community.
explained how I got them and how I was trying to build a business. His attitude totally shifted from a jerk to telling me how proud my parents must be.”
By the time Harris was a senior at JSU, he had about 60 gumball machines in businesses stretching from Jackson to Magee to Vicksburg. Each week, Harris would spend about four hours on the road, refilling his machines, collecting money and distributing his clients’ share. He sold his business during his senior year. “It was great. I enjoyed it, and it paid for my college,” Harris says.
The seeds of such business acumen and work ethic were planted at home. “My mom and dad are pretty businessminded individuals in how they handle their personal finances,” he says of father Arthur Harris, an electrician, and mother Joyce, a teacher. Both work for Jackson Public Schools. “Ever since I was young, my father encouraged me to reach for the stars. My dad and my mother are my primary cheerleaders. I’m very blessed in that aspect. I always felt that I could do anything I put my mind to.”
The Harrises also have a daughter, Angela Allcock, 32, a teacher in Alabama, and another son, Arkeino, 22, who will graduate this year from JSU with a degree in biology. “Andrell may have required a little more work to raise than the other children,” Joyce Harris says, laughing. “He was a little daredevil. During a kindergarten class trip to the zoo, Andrell slipped away from his teacher and her assistant. They found him in the lion’s den! Thank God the lion wasn’t out at the time. It frightened everybody to death.”
With that one exception, Joyce Harris says, she and her husband have supported their children in whatever they pursued. She confesses, however, she wasn’t happy when her son enlisted in the Army Reserves as a sophomore. But, for Harris, it made perfect sense. Serving country,
after all, was part his plan.
After Harris graduated from JSU, he was commissioned an officer. He worked as a financial analyst with Northrop Grumman in California for about a year before being deployed to Iraq. There he became involved in Army intelligence. After six years in the Army, he joined the intelligence arm of the private corporation he now works for and declines to name due to the nature of his work.
In the five years since graduating, Harris also has consistently invested in the stock market, building a portfolio that will not only secure his future but enable him to benefit his alma mater. “You can’t just expect things to be given to you,” Harris says. “You have to work hard to be successful. That’s an aspect of what our society is starting to lack. People want things given to them, and they have a sense of entitlement, too. I always tell people that I was excited to have my degree, and I loved my university, but I realized that when I got my degree, my work was just really starting,” he says. “Getting an undergraduate degree should be expected. It’s what you do with it that matters. It’s just one step in the direction you’re trying to go, like putting gas in a car is one step in traveling.”
Ivy Williams, JSU instructor in banking and finance, remembers Harris as an involved, forward-looking student. “He looks at wealth-building not just for personal gain but as an opportunity to make a difference,” Williams says. “You have to do well before you can do good, and Andrell’s objective was to do well so that, in turn, he can do good for a lot of people and the university.”
Joyner recalls his introduction to Harris in 2005 was not what he expected, and that they would develop a friendship seemed highly unlikely. “Actually, I’d been avoiding him,” Joyner says. “I was very stressed at the time, trying to get on top of the business.” His daughter, who worked in his office, had been assigned to handle complaints.
After getting several calls from Harris, complaining about the poor service and unfriendly workers he’d encountered, Joyner’s daughter advised her father that he probably needed to talk to the young man. “One day, I finally called him and invited him to spend a day with me,” Joyner says. “We visited the different stores, and I learned he was an entrepreneur and a business major … I saw a lot of myself in him — a lot of his characteristics and his drive and initiative. I had pretty much the same thing at that age. However, Andrell was and is a lot smarter than me. He’s a very impressive young man.”
As for the future, Harris says he’s pondering a new, largescale business venture but isn’t ready to reveal details. His love of Mississippi and JSU, however, is no secret. “I dream of returning to Jackson long-term and doing something in the business community, to come back and invest in the community and the economy,” he says.
He looks at wealthbuilding not just for personal gain but as an opportunity to make a difference.
Ivy Williams JSU instructor
giving Back
77-year-old donates time, money, encourages others to follow suit
At a recent alumni gathering in Los Angeles, Luther Williams scanned the room. The dearth of young people in the crowd was disheartening.
The 77-year-old, active in Jackson State alumni associations for some 50 years, believes broadening the base of JSU supporters is essential. And that, he says, starts with the current crop of students.
“Give something. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but give back,” Williams says. “We want a new generation to take up the mantle.”
Williams’ own altruistic approach began early on, as the son of a woman willing to “share everything she had.” The longtime financial contributor, who established an endowed scholarship with wife Ruth, says supporting JSU is his way of showing gratitude for the kindness and generosity bestowed
on him when he began his college career.
The benefit Williams attended in January — the 24th Anniversary Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast for the Inter-Alumni Council of UNCF (United Negro College Fund) — did give a small group of students who were in attendance a glimpse of how older alumni give back to historically black colleges and universities.
But a glimpse is not enough. That’s why JSU campus officials are using various strategies to light a spark among future alumni, says Tammy Terrell-Brooks, interim director of Alumni and Constituency Relations.
Successful alumni are invited to campus to discuss the reasons they contribute to JSU. Brooks said her office also is establishing an alumni awards program to highlight accomplishments of friends and young alumni.
Give something. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but give back. We want a new generation to take up the mantle.
Luther Williams, JSU alumnus
JSU alum Luther Williams (left), UNCF Western Regional Director Curtis Silvers Jr., actress Vanessa Bell Calloway and entrepreneur Bernard Kinsey attend the UNCF 24th Anniversary Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration in Los Angeles.
Tammy TerrellBrooks is the interim Alumni and Constituency Relations director .
Terrell-Brooks said there are 66 active alumni chapters across the country, and membership is growing.
“We’re trying to engage students in hopes of creating a relationship to keep them involved with JSU,” said Brooks, who is also executive director of the JSU National Alumni Association.
Amber Brown, 19, who is president of the Pre-Alumni Council in the Department of Alumni and Constituency Relations, said she’s working to increase membership for the student organization.
“A lot of the students don’t realize that many of the amenities we have at Jackson State have come from donations made by alumni,” Brown said.
Williams began his decades-long connection to JSU in 1954. That’s when the lanky teenager from Beggs, Okla., headed to Mississippi to attend what was then known as Jackson College.
Williams’ mother took him to the train station in Tulsa, Okla., and gave him $20. His ticket to Jackson cost $18.75. He arrived at the campus with $1.25 in his pocket. Fortunately, his tuition was covered, thanks to the networking of his brother, Tommy Williams, who was coaching and teaching at Jim Hill High School and was also a recent graduate of Jackson College.
“I wanted to go to college. However, I didn’t have any money. My brother asked Coach Harrison B. Wilson if he would give me a (basketball) scholarship. He agreed to do it,” Williams said. “The coach had never met me.”
Williams played ball, maintained a B average and earned spending money through his side gig as the campus barber. He graduated in 1958 with a degree in industrial education and a minor in math. He then worked as a math teacher in Mississippi for a few years. It was during this time he was introduced to the role of JSU alumni.
Employed at Eason High School in Corinth, Williams often was asked by Principal Edward Bishop Sr. to ride to Jackson with him for alumni association meetings.
“He would emphasize how it was important for us to pull together and support each other. It was only through education that we could accomplish this,” Williams said.
Williams eventually made his way to Cali-
fornia. The educator retired there but remains a respected business and community leader. He was first elected to the board of what is now known as LBS Financial Credit Union 25 years ago, serving as the board’s chairman, vice chairman and secretary/treasurer. When he first joined the board, the credit union had assets of $200 million. Today, its assets total more than $1 billion.
Williams serves on the advisory board of the Los Angeles Leadership Council-UNCF and is president of the Inter-Alumni Council of UNCF. He also is a member of the board of directors for the Bouggess-White Scholarship Foundation-Long Beach, which recently awarded 25 scholarships.
Williams gives JSU much of the credit for his success. Four of his siblings also received undergraduate degrees from JSU.
“I could never give back to Jackson State as much as my alma mater has given me,” said Williams.
He makes a great effort, though.
Williams often collaborates with Dr. Hilliard Lackey, immediate past president of the National Alumni Association, on fundraising projects. Lackey said Williams set in motion the events that led to JSU’s partnership with actress Vanessa Bell Calloway. Williams had invited Lackey to a Los Angeles fundraiser in 2008 and seated him next to Calloway and her family.
“I recruited the Calloways’ surrogate daughter, Jhamasa Noel Lewis-Adams, who was aging out of foster care and into the care of the Calloways. That close encounter led to the creation of the JSU Vanessa Bell Calloway Endowed Fund for Emancipated Students,” Lackey said.
The goal of this year’s fundraiser, which benefits former foster care students attending JSU, is $10,000.
“For over 40 years, Luther and I have worked together within the JSU National Alumni Association promoting the university, recruiting students and raising scholarship dollars,” said Lackey.
The two are now working to set up an inter-alumni council organization in the metro Jackson area that would be under Lackey’s leadership.
“The aim is to bring area alumni of HBCUs together to better aid students attending our respective alma maters,” Lackey said.
More than 50 members of Luther Williams’ extended family have graduated from JSU. his closest relatives include:
Siblings: Donald L. Williams, B.S., Physical Education, ’56
Louise E. Williams Epps (deceased)
B.S., Elementary Education, ’62
Ollie Chenita Williams Watis
B.S., Elementary Education, ’66
Daughter: Jacqueline Williams Thomas
Ed.S. degree, ’95
He was very upfront with me. He gave me his word JSU would get accredited. He told me, ‘You get in there and do what you have to do; you do your part and we’ll do ours.’ I took him at his word, and we shook hands. It paid off.
Justin Rice
Call him dr. Rice
Computer engineering grad first in program to earn Ph.D.
Justin Rice says he had only one concern about attending Jackson State University.
The high school honors student from Raymond had his heart set on becoming a computer engineer. But in 2002, JSU’s new computer engineering department wasn’t yet accredited.
Accreditation would be granted only after JSU graduated its first computer engineering class, which would be in 2005. The accreditation, however, would be retroactive for the program and its graduates.
Even though Rice easily qualified for a scholarship, he wasn’t sure he wanted to gamble on going to an unaccredited school until he talked with Dr. Robert Whalin, then associate dean of the JSU College of Engineering.
“He was very up front with me,” Rice says. “He gave me his word JSU would get accredited. He told me, ‘You get in there and do what you have to do; you do your part and we’ll do ours.’ I took him at his word, and we shook hands. It paid off.”
While attending JSU, Rice was awarded internships in 2004 and 2005 at the NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. In 2006, he obtained a bachelor’s degree, and in 2008 he was awarded a master’s in computer engineering
from JSU.
Rice then went on to Louisiana Technical University, but in 2010 he was given an opportunity to work for Goddard in Maryland while continuing his work toward a doctorate.
“I was working 40 hours a week at Goddard and about another 40 hours on research. It was almost like working two jobs,” Rice says. “It was extremely hard, but I had made these promises to people that I would finish. I was determined; that’s just me.”
In March, 28-year-old Rice was awarded a Ph.D., making him the first JSU computer engineering alumnus to obtain a doctorate. He also continues to work for Goddard in Maryland.
Originally from Jackson, Rice is the son of Colette Rice of Raymond and the late William Rice. Older brother William and younger brother Titus are both studying computer engineering at JSU. Another younger brother, Karteous, recently graduated from JSU with a computer engineering degree. His only sister, Praise, is studying nursing at Hinds Community College.
Rice’s youngest brother Timothy also was studying computer engineering at JSU until 2011. He is now battling cancer.
Justin Rice receives his Ph.D. in engineering from Louisiana Technical University in March while working for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
Words of wisdom
Miss., U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey makes big impression
b y M oni CA Atkin S
Fans, students and professors packed the Jackson State University College of Liberal Arts lecture hall Sept. 20 for a visit from Pulitzer Prize-winner and state and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey.
Trethewey is the author of four poetry collections: Domestic Work (2000); b ellocq’s Ophelia (2002), winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry; Native Guard (2006) and Thrall (2012). She is also the author of a nonfiction book, beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (2010).
Through her poetry, Trethewey discusses the history and growing pains of being raised as a biracial child in the Deep South.
Trethewey told the audience that her inspiration as a child came from her mother’s bookshelf, which consisted of The Diary of Anne Frank, James Baldwin novels, mythology stories and a 1966 encyclopedia.
“At its most essential level my work has always concerned the intersections of public and personal history and the contingents and historical memory of our shared past,” the Gulfport, Miss., native said.
English major Ashanti Alexander, 21, attended the reading with her Shakespearean class. “I’ve read a lot of her works, and it’s such an honor to have the opportunity to experience her up close and personal.”
History major Ylani Hayes, 21, of Natchez, who also was in the standing-room-only audience, called Trethewey’s poetry “unconventional” and “progressive.” Her work is so vivid, Hayes explained, “you can practically see what she says through her word.”
There is a reason for that.
“I always think of poems first as a photograph,” said Tretheway, who is the James Weldon Johnson Fellow in African American Studies at the Beinecke Library at Yale University. “The frozen moment of a photograph can give way to the narrative of a film; that’s how I think of poems when I write them.”
The event at Jackson State was sponsored by the Library of Congress, the Margaret Walker Center, the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Library Commission, the Mississippi Center for the Book and the National Center for the Book.
“Natasha is an inspiration to us all, and I encourage everyone to take time to learn why the honor of U.S. Poet Laureate, as well as Mississippi Poet Laureate, was bestowed upon her,” said Malcolm White, director of the Mississippi Arts Commission.
Trethewey is the first person to serve simultaneously as a state and U.S. Poet Laureate. She also serves as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University.
I always think of poems first as a photograph. The frozen moment of a photograph can give way to the narrative of a film; that’s how I think of poems when I write them.
Natasha Trethewey
Mississippi and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey reads from her works at the JSU College of Liberal Arts.
kEEP fIgHTINg MEDGAR EVERS’ DAUGHTER MAKES EMOTIONAL PLEA
The keynote speaker for Jackson State University’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation urged listeners to “embed in their DNA” three words etched on the U.S. naval ship that bears her father’s name: courage, integrity and perseverance.
The words, said Reena Evers-Everette, appropriately describe her father, Medgar Evers, the first NAACP state field secretary in Mississippi. Evers was killed by a sniper in 1963 because of his fight for freedom and equality.
In the years following his slaying, there have been numerous honors added to Evers’ legacy, including the christening of the USNS Medgar Evers in 2011.
In an emotional address, Evers-Everette spoke of personal moments she shared with her father and described vivid memories of living under constant threats from those determined to keep a segregated society alive in America.
The efforts of Evers, King and countless others helped tear down a system that treated black people as secondclass citizens, Evers-Everette said.
“As the children of the civil rights movement, we all understand how important it is to keep the dreams of Dr. King, of my father, of Malcolm X and so many others, alive and forward,” she told the crowd at the Rose Embly McCoy Auditorium.
Evers-Everette is the executive director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute. The institute was established to fulfill the couple’s civil rights vision through education and civic engagement. It was relocated from Oregon to Mississippi in 2012.
Dr. James C. Renick, JSU interim provost, Dr. Robert Luckett, director of JSU’s Margaret Walker Center, SGA President Brian Wilks and Miss JSU Sarah Brown were among those who joined Evers-Everette on stage in the auditorium.
Evers-Everette was an 8-year-old when her father was murdered. Before that fateful night, the family was terrorized with threatening phone calls, bomb threats and a firebombing at their home.
She said her father once told an interviewer that if he died, it was for a good cause because he was “fighting for America.”
Evers-Everette said King’s numerous contributions to the fight against inequality are important and undeniable. She referenced the organization of the March on Washington and the inspirational letters written by King, specifically his 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail.
“Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. That’s why we’re here — to honor the servants,” she said.
As the children of the civil rights movement, we all understand how important it is to keep the dreams of Dr. King, of my father, of Malcolm X and so many others, alive and forward.
Reena Evers-Everette was 8 years old when her father, Medgar Evers, was gunned down in the family’s driveway.
t igers battle for title in tough ot game sWaC swagger
The Jackson State University football team completed another successful season in 2012 by winning its fourth Eastern Division title and its third under head coach Rick Comegy. The Tigers were defeated in the Southwestern Athletics Conference (SWAC) championship game held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., by Western Division champions University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. A 95-yard touchdown pass from Pine Bluff quarterback Benjamin Anderson to Willie Young with two minutes left in regulation forced overtime, and the Lions captured a 24-21 victory over the Tigers.
2. JSU quarterback Clayton Moore ends the SWAC championship game with 211 yards.
1. Tigers running back Rakeem Simms tries to elude Pine Bluff defensive back Gyovanni Harvey. Simms finishes the game with 70 rushing yards and a touchdown.
3. Tiger captains Rico Richardson (from left), Joseph LeBeau, Johnathan Billups and Stephen Capler prepare for the opening coin toss.
5. Tigers defensive tackle Luis McLeod (6’4’’, 330 pounds) sets his sights on Pine Bluff quarterback Benjamin Anderson.
4. Tiger fans pack Legion Field Stadium in Birmingham, Ala., to cheer for JSU.
6. Tigers receiver Rico Richardson snags one of his four caught passes in the SWAC championship game. Prior to the game, Richardson is named the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year.
New Coach Upfront Approach
Play hard, do right, graduate
Wayne Brent knows how to win. He’s been doing it for more than 20 years — on both the high school and college level.
And he intends to keep winning in a very big way.
“There are certain goals that I have set for this program,” Brent said during a March news conference announcing his appointment as Jackson State University’s head basketball coach. “I want to give guys a chance to dream.”
That dream — to reach the NCAA Tournament in the next few years — can become reality, he said, with hard work and the right mindset.
“I tell guys all the time, you have to think you can get there before you get there,” he
said. “But you have to work extremely hard.”
Brent succeeds Tevester Anderson, who retired in March. Anderson was 149-170 in his 10 years at JSU.
One of the most successful basketball coaches in the history of the Jackson Public School system, Brent most recently led JPS’ Callaway High School to the 2013 state championship. During his tenure at Callaway, his teams won five division championships and four state championships. A graduate of JPS’ Provine High, Brent also coached there for six successful years, compiling a 116-65 record and titles along the way.
From 1998 through 2001, Brent served as an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Mississippi. While at Ole Miss, the
Rebels made three NCAA tournament appearances and a post-season NIT appearance. Ole Miss finished with a 27-8 record, won the Southeastern Conference Western Division title and the SEC Tournament, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.
During his first public appearance as JSU’s new coach, Brent received a jacket and shirt bearing the university’s logo from Dr. Vivian Fuller, director of athletics.
Surrounded by his family, the symbolism of the items hit home, as he talked about the long path that led to his new position.
“To my former players, guys who played with me along the way… I thank you because without you I wouldn’t have this opportunity,” he said. “I’m grateful God crossed our paths and gave me the ability to lead you in the right direction.”
A big part of that “right direction” comes into play off the court for Brent, who preaches good citizenship and the importance of getting an education. And, in that regard, Brent also knows of what he speaks.
The 1989 graduate of Northeast Louisiana holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in health and human performance.
Wayne Brent is named the new men’s basketball coach before a packed crowd at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center Hall of Fame room.
CH a MPIONs aga IN
Lady Tigers volleyball team wins SWAC title
The Jackson State University Lady Tigers Volleyball captured their second consecutive Southwestern Athletics Conference (SWAC) Championship in 2012, defeating the Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs in a rematch of the 2011 title contest. The Lady Tigers earned a 3-1 victory, with set scores of 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 and 25-17. Lady Tiger stars Mikayla Rolle and Christine Edwards posted 10 and 28 kills, respectively. Rolle also recorded seven blocks in Jackson State’s victory. Angelica Kelley contributed 11 digs, while Jenna Siddiqui chipped in 44 assists. Edwards, Rolle and Paige Williams were named to the 2012 All-Tournament Team. Edwards also was named Tournament MVP. Head coach Rose Washington received the 2012 SWAC Coach of the Year Award.
‘70s Class Notes
d r. g regory a . a ntoine (’72) chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Boston Medical Center and associate professor of surgery at Boston University School of Medicine, recently was part of the National Medical Association delegation that traveled to Liberia to meet with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Minister of Health Walter T. Gwenigale, M.D.
Antoine, a member of the NMA Board of Trustees, played an integral role as part of the NMA group assisting in the rebuilding of the healthcare system in Liberia after a 14-year civil war.
The mission of the NMA is to advance the art and science of medicine for people of African descent through education, advocacy and health policy and to promote health and wellness, eliminate health disparities and sustain physician viability.
Antoine is the first African-American plastic surgeon to head a division of plastic and reconstructive surgery at a nonhistorically black medical school in the United States.
A veteran of both the Navy and Army, he retired as a decorated colonel. He received his medical degree from the State University of New York School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Buffalo.
Antoine completed his residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Georgetown University Medical Center. He obtained an MBA with a concentration in health care from the University of Tennessee School of Business.
Antoine is an examiner for the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is certified by both the American Board of Otolaryngology and the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. and holds an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.
The National Medical Association represents the interests of more than 30,000 African-American physicians and the patients they serve, with about 130 affiliated societies throughout the nation and U.S. territories.
dr. Mary a. O’Banner (’74, ’75, ’82) was appointed acting president of Florida Memorial University by a unanimous decision of the Florida Memorial University Board of Trustees in November.
O’Banner joined Florida Memorial in 1989, serving in myriad administrative positions. Prior to her recent appointment, she served as the university’s first chief of staff.
The Jackson native holds bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degrees in education and a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
O’Banner also holds a certification from the Institute for Educational Management, Harvard University School of Education. She is a life member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society and Jackson State University National Alumni Association.
Vera Banks Watson (’72, ’76) was named the 2012 Jackson State University National Alumni Association Alumnus of the Year at the Inaugural Black Tie Scholarship and Recognition Gala.
Watson has worked for the Clinton Public School District for 35 years and is the president of the Clinton Association of Educators. She also serves as adjunct professor in the JSU Department of Education and Human Development.
Watson received a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in teaching.
V. Lynn Evans (’75) of Memphis was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors.
Evans has served on the board of commissioners of the Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division and First Alliance Bank in Memphis. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts, the Black Business Association and the National Association of Women Business Owners.
Evans, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in account-
dr. gregory a antoine
Vera Banks Watson
dr. Mary a. O’Banner
V. Lynn Evans
ing, owns V. Lynn Evans CPA of Memphis, a certified public accounting and consulting firm.
‘80s
gwen Caples (’77), director of the Jackson State University Welcome Center, was named one of “Mississippi’s Fifty Leading Business Women” by the Mississippi business Journal. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science.
Rechelle Raxton-siggers (’75) was elected Chancery Court clerk for Tunica County, Miss. She was a guidance counselor in the Tunica County School District for 36 years. She earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Delta State University.
d eJonnette g rantham k ing (’80, ’86), president and chief executive officer of Advanced Environmental Consultants of Jackson, was featured in the September “Powerful Women” issue of Forbes magazine.
It marked her second appearance in Forbes. She was featured in its Jan. 11, 2011, issue as a national environmental leader.
King holds two master’s degrees, one in biochemistry and the other in administration/marketing. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from San Francisco State University. She studied chemical engineering with a minor in thermodynamics at the University of Alabama.
King started her business in 1997 in her dining room. Her commitment to quality work and superior customer service has made the company one of the nation’s top providers of environmental consulting and remediation services.
Cynthia gray McMillian (’86) was named executive director of Delta 180 Degrees. The program’s purpose is to assist disadvantaged youth achieve academic success and to reduce delinquent behavior.
Delta 180 Degrees works with the Greenville Public School District, the Western Line School District, the city of Greenville, community leaders, local businesses and the local arts community.
Originally from Pine Bluff, Ark., McMillian holds a bachelor’s degree in business with a finance concentration.
Previous positions include director of operations for Junior Achievement of Mississippi; vice president of Foundation Programs, Mississippi Economic Council; and organizer for Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith.
‘90s
d r. Theron R. s anders (’98) was named principal of Jefferson Elementary School in the Fayette County (Tenn.) School System. A New Orleans native, he previously worked as a teacher, reading specialist, instructional facilitator and assistant principal. He holds a master’s degree from Union University and a doctorate in education from Cambridge College.
dr. keydron k. guinn (’98) recently was appointed assistant dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, where he also is deputy director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Jackson State and a Ph.D. in 2008 from Wayne State University in Detroit.
d r. Preselfannie Mc d aniels (’92) received the One Jackson State University Excellence Award and was named a cohort in the JSU Academy for Research and Scholarly Engagement.
She is an associate professor of English and former coordinator of freshman English at Jackson State.
McDaniels holds a master’s degree in English from Mississippi College and a Ph.D. in English from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. She has authored numerous professional publications.
gwen Caples
Cynthia gray McMillian
dr. Theron R. sanders
dr. Preselfannie Mcdaniels
dr. keydron k guinn
Rechelle Raxton-siggers
deJonnette grantham king
Johnnie Mc d aniels (’93) is the senior deputy prosecutor for the city of Jackson.
McDaniels holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and earned his juris doctor degree from the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, La., while also taking graduate courses in Middle East politics at Louisiana State University.
McDaniels practiced with the Law Offices of Carroll Rhodes in Hazlehurst, Miss., and has his own private practice, Law Offices of Johnnie McDaniels, LLC, in Port Gibson and Jackson.
He also served as legislative correspondent for former U.S. Rep. Mike Espy (Mississippi). While working on Capitol Hill, McDaniels was featured in the 1990 August article “50 Leaders of the Future” in Ebony magazine.
He is married to Dr. Preselfannie Whitfield McDaniels, associate professor of English at Jackson State.
Matthew Bradford (’95) of Coral Springs, Fla., was elected to a four-year term as director of the Florida District of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the first black, intercollegiate Greek-lettered fraternity.
The federation is one of the fraternity’s largest with 40 chapters and more than 3,000 members across Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.
Bradford, also the fraternity’s South Florida area director, oversees operations of 10 undergraduate and alumni chapters. The Laurel, Miss., native is an information technology manager with Sheridan Healthcare.
Reginald Barnes (’95, ’01) is serving his second year as principal at Yazoo City High School while working on a Ph.D. in educational leadership at Jackson State.
He received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics education and a master’s degree in educational administration. He previously served as principal of Velma Jackson High School in Madison County and S.V. Marshall High School in Holmes County.
dr. Tanisha Westerfield smith (’96) is the assistant superintendent for the Natchez-Adams School District.
Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a master’s degree in education from Mississippi College and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Mississippi State University.
‘00s
She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and was initiated into Gamma Rho in 1996.
Will smith (’07, ’10) an assistant principal at Canton High School in Canton, Miss., recently earned a Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi. He earned a bachelor’s degree in social science at age 20 and a master’s degree in educational leadership.
Smith’s many honors include the 2010 John Ladner Student Government Association Advisor of the Year award, the 2011 Metro Jackson Teacher of the Year Award and Tom Joyner’s Hardest Working Educator Award.
Also a member of numerous professional organizations, Smith has been featured in several newscasts addressing the dropout crisis and the creation of freshman academies at Jackson’s Callaway and Wingfield high schools. He also has served as a political analyst for WAPT television.
In 2008, Smith served as an international delegate to South Africa, where he gained insight into the institutions and influences that changed the country from one riddled with conflict to a democratic superpower of the African continent.
Smith began his teaching career at Callaway, following a group of ninth-graders to their senior year. Subsequently, Callaway saw a 9.3 percent increase in the graduation rate.
Clinton Johnson, former Callaway principal, calls Smith “a rising star in the educational arena.”
a ntoinette a nderson s ilas (’09) and Johnathan B. s ilas (’09), husband and wife, are employed as engineers by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, Miss. Both received engineering degrees. Antoinette is a computer engineer and Johnathan is a civil engineer.
Jasmin s searcy (’08), Miss Jackson State University 2007-08, is pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Jackson State.
Searcy earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 2010.
Johnnie Mcdaniels
dr. Tanisha Westerfield smith
Will smith
Mr. and Mrs. silas
Matthew Bradford
Reginald Barnes
Searcy gives motivational and mental health seminars to community and social groups. She also serves as a guest writer for the Jackson Free Press newspaper and VIP magazine.
Searcy is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the American Psychological Association. She was inducted into Who’s Who in black Mississippi in 2010. Her goal is to establish a private practice in psychology in Mississippi.
Christopher W. Robinson (’06) recently was appointed South Campus diversity officer and Social Work program coordinator for the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh.
He also was appointed coordinator of Signature Programming for the Community College of Allegheny County Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and was named a board member of the City of Pittsburgh HIV/ AIDS Commission.
Robinson holds a bachelor’s degree in social work. He received both a master’s degree in social work and a graduate certificate in human service management from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007. He now is pursuing a doctor of education degree in higher education administration and leadership studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
James H. Hughes (’06, ’08) of Memphis, Tenn., received the 2012 Professional of the Year Award from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District.
A certified Department of Defense mediator, he recently was promoted to Equal Employment Opportunity specialist with the Corps of Engineers, Memphis District. In this role, he serves as complaints manager, minority colleges relations coordinator, Management Directive 715 manager and Affirmative Employment Program manager.
Hughes holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology.
dr. Jomella Watson-Thompson (’01 ) was a finalist for the 2012 Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement for Early Career Faculty. The award recognizes a faculty
member who connects his or her teaching, research and service to community engagement.
She received a bachelor’s degree in urban studies/community development. She holds master’s degrees in urban planning and applied behavioral science, and a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology from the University of Kansas.
Thompson is an assistant pro -
fessor in the University of Kansas Department of Applied Behavioral Science and associate director of the Work Group for Community Health and Development.
dr. Earnest Brothers (’06) was named associate director of diversity enhancement for the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis. He is an assistant dean in the Graduate School of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, overseeing the Office of Graduate Training and Mentorship.
Brothers holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Jackson State, a master’s degree in natural science from Delta State University, a master’s in public policy and administration from Mississippi State University, and an Executive Ph.D. in urban higher education from Jackson State.
Morgan R. davis (’06), a fifthgrade teacher at Pecan Park Elementary School in the Jackson Public School District, mentors and tutors students at several inner-city schools.
She also volunteers with The Learning Curve, a nonprofit that helps schools improve state test scores, and works with many service organizations, including United Way and Make-A-Wish Foundation. She recently was recognized by Make-A-Wish for the role she played in fulfilling a child’s wish.
Davis received a bachelor’s degree in education with a concentration in music. She began her teaching career at Jackson’s Poindexter Elementary School.
Davis is a member of the Jackson Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Jasmin s searcy
dr. Jomella WatsonThompson
dr. Earnest Brothers
Morgan R. davis
Christopher W. Robinson
James H. Hughes
damian d. Thomas (’03, ’10) is the director of Alternative Education and GED Option at the Mississippi Department of Education in the Office of Dropout Prevention and Compulsory School Attendance.
He also facilitates discussions about alternative education programs with school districts and public agencies.
Thomas, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, is an adjunct professor of English at Hinds Community College.
The Jackson native is a member of the Mississippi Mass Choir Ministries, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, West Jackson Community Club, Hinds County Black Legislators community/ advisory board and the M.W. King Hiram Grand Lodge.
Graduate School of Journalism.
While at Jackson State, she was a member of Sonic Boom of the South Prancing J-Settes, the JSU Dance Ensemble, Outspoken Poetry Club, National Association of Black Journalists, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Delta Pi Chapter), Sigma Alpha Pi Leadership and Success Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and the Alpha Chi Honor Society.
Her goals are to become a news reporter/anchor and a nationally known motivational speaker.
Levertis L. Meeks (’10, ’12), an associate professor of English at Tougaloo College, was named director of the John U. Monro Writing Center on the Tougaloo campus.
Meeks received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. this fall. ‘10s
deandre gates (’12) employed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Baltimore, has been accepted into the University of Baltimore master of public administration program. While attending Jackson State, he served as Mr. Senior and founded The Gentleman’s Academy.
katurah Hughes (’12), who recently received a bachelor’s degree in English, is a recruiter and representative for the master of arts in teaching program at Brandeis University.
Hughes travels throughout the Boston area hosting luncheons and presentation programs and networking with students interested in teaching.
She is featured on the Brandeis University school website and in the MAT program brochure.
Mea E. ashley (’12), Miss Jackson State University 2011-12, was featured in the September edition of Ebony magazine.
During her reign, she established the JSU Queen’s Campaign, setting out to raise $10,000 for an endowed scholarship. She ultimately raised $12,500.
Ashley graduated with a degree in mass communications and attends the Columbia University
THE Jacksonian WaNTs TO HEaR
PLEASE SEND YOUR SUBMISSIONS for the Class Notes section to: The Jacksonian, Jackson State University University Communications, P.O. Box 17490, Jackson, MS 39217, or email them to publicrelations@jsums.edu. Digital pictures are welcome.
damian T. Thomas
deandre gates
Mea E. ashley
Levertis L. Meeks
University Highlights
‘Breakfast of Champions’ honors scholar-athletes
The Division of Athletics holds its first “Breakfast of Champions” to honor scholar-athletes who earned between a 3.0 and 4.0 grade point average through the summer of 2012. A total of 82 Tigers and Lady Tigers are recognized during a morning ceremony Feb. 14 in the Student Center Ballroom. Each scholar-athlete receives a commemorative Wheaties – Breakfast of Champions cereal box featuring a photo of the group, which includes members from each of JSU’s 18 sports teams.
aaC&u selects Jsu for faculty development initiative
Jackson State University is among 10 colleges and universities selected by the Association of American Colleges and Universities to participate in the third cohort of Preparing Critical Faculty for the Future. The project supports women of color faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines in becoming strong academic and administrative leaders, both on campus and within their respective disciplines. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Historically Black Colleges and UniversitiesUndergraduate Program.
Jsu and MPB unveil early childhood teacher resource center
Jackson State University and Mississippi Public Broadcasting unveils the new Mississippi Learning Institute Early Childhood Resource and Training Center Oct. 2 on JSU’s main campus. Through a grant from the James and Madeleine McMullan Family Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the center provides professional development and technical assistance to Mississippi educators, college students, child care providers, and participants in the MLI Parents as First Teachers Program.
first online degree program enrollment reaches 300
The College of Education and Human Development’s first online degree program reaches an enrollment of 300 students. The program launched in 2009 as a collaborative with Education Online Services Corp. The bachelor of science degree in Childcare and Family Education prepares students for careers in early childhood education without having to commute to campus. A Master of Arts in Teaching (elementary and secondary) Alternate Route Programs was started in October 2012.
state farm’s $50k grant funds Jsu mobile application lab
State Farm presents a $50,000 check to the Jackson State University Department of Computer Science Oct. 1 at the JSU School of Engineering to set up a mobile application development lab equipped with Apple equipment. State Farm’s support of JSU is part of the company’s effort to help lure more students into high-tech careers.
Jsu performs in 105 Voices of History National Choir
Director of Choral Services Willenham Cortez Castilla, along with three students, Jerome Wilson, a senior music education major, LeBethani May, a sophomore piano performance major, and Mary Thompson, a sophomore education major, travels to Washington, D.C., to perform a concert with the 105 Voices of History National Choir. The 105 Voices of History National Choir features students who represent the nation’s best choral singers from the ranks of the respective 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
College of Business names auditorium for Pittmans
Jackson State University names the auditorium of its College of Business for Winston R. Pittman Sr. and Alma Dent Pittman during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October. The Pittmans, firsttime donors to the university, contribute a $250,000 match for a total of $500,000.
The Pittmans own Pittman Enterprises with Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Nissan, CDAC, Lexus, Toyota, Ford, Lincoln Mercury, Scion, and Subaru auto dealerships in Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia.
Jsu’s ken south wins soul Bowl giving Challenge
Jackson State University alumnus and WJTV meteorologist Ken South outlasts Alcorn State University alumnus and WJTV news anchor Melissa Faith Payne in a fierce competition to raise the most money for their respective institutions in the Soul Bowl Giving Challenge.
The final totals: JSU$25,890, ASU – $21, 662 . The funds provide scholarship support for current and future students at both universities.
alumni association President Woodard receives national honor
Terry L. Woodard, Jackson State University National Alumni Association president, receives the inaugural Legacy of Leaders National Alumni President of the Year Award from the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. He is a 1988 graduate of Jackson State.
Jsu lands $900k NCaa grant
The NCAA awards Jackson State University $900,000 to help enhance the academic outcomes of JSU student-athletes.
The funds, which will be dispersed over three years, are part of the NCAA’s Limited-Resource Institutions Grant Program Pilot. “We are committed to ensuring that our student-athletes are just as successful in the classroom as they are in their athletic competitions,” JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers said. “This grant will help us build upon the great progress we’ve been making in ensuring academic excellence for all students.”
The NCAA-funded pilot program at Jackson State enhances academic support programs for student-athletes and builds upon the system of accountability.
Faculty/Staff Notes
Political science professor joins regional, national committees
Political science professor Dr. D’Andra Orey, is appointed to the Committee on the Status of Blacks in the Profession for the American Political Science Association for the 2012-2014 term and the Committee on the Status of African Americans in the South for the Southern Political Science Association. Orey’s research focuses heavily on racial attitudes and legislative behavior.
Mumford gets Jsu Humanities Teacher award
Jimmy Mumford, associate professor of graphic design, receives JSU’s Humanities Teacher Award for 2012.
As the recipient, Mumford presents “Perspectives of Empowerment: How Graphic Design Affects Black America,” in the Dollye M.E. Robinson Liberal Arts Building on JSU’s main campus.
sociology professor speaks at national meeting
Dr. Thomas Kersen, is an invited speaker at the New Fellow Orientation for the American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program at the ASA
Annual Meeting Aug. 16 in Denver. Kersen is an assistant professor of sociology in the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology.
Tchounwou becomes member of fulbright specialist Program peer review committee
Dr. Paul Tchounwou, Jackson State University Presidential Distinguished Professor in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, is selected by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars to serve on the 2012-13 Engineering Education Peer Review Committee for the Fulbright Specialist Program.
National association elects technology professor president of student division
Dr. Jessica L. Buck, associate professor in the Department of Technology in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, is elected to a two-year term as president of the Student Division for
alum assumes executive director of university Communications title
Eric Stringfellow, a former reporter, editor and columnist for The Clarion-Ledger, is named executive director of University Communications at Jackson State University. Stringfellow received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mass communications from JSU. He is founding chair of the Tougaloo College Department of Mass Communications and has taught journalism for more than two decades at Tougaloo, Jackson State and the University of Mississippi. As executive director of University Communications, Stringfellow leads JSU’s marketing, public relations and athletic media relations strategies as well as the university’s website and Digital Media Center, which includes JSUTV, WJSU 88.5 FM and the Tiger Sports Network. A former JSU football player, Stringfellow serves as secretary of both the JSU Alumni Football Players Association and the Tiger Fund. He is a past president of 100 Black Men of Jackson, a board member for Mission Mississippi and an advisory board member for the Margaret Walker Center. He is also a board member of the JSU Sports Hall of Fame.
the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering.
ATMAE sets national standards for academic program accreditation, personal certification and professional development for educators and industry professionals involved in integrating technology, leadership and design.
Odunsi among top ‘african-centered scholars of the decade’
Dr. Bennett Odunsi, an associate professor of public policy and administration, is one of 10 recipients of the 2012 Topp’s Africancentered Scholars of the Decade Award.
The awards are given to researchers who have built, nurtured and inspired communities of scholars to investigate African issues. The award is named after the Egyptologist, Pan-Africanist and Mau Mau activist Mwalimu Baba Joseph “Topp” Wallace. The 2012 awards are given out at the 30th Annual Conference of the Association of Third World Studies convened at Berry College in Rome, Ga.
Odunsi’s research interests are in human resources, public policy and criminal justice. He has presented papers in Asia, Europe, Africa and several other major national conferences in the U.S. He has published in the Journal of Third World Studies, Journal of Asia and African Studies and Journal of Global Awareness. Other scholarly endeavors include publication in conference compendiums, several book chapters and a book. His current work is on comparative administrative law systems.
Biology professor among National academy of Inventors charter fellow
Biology professor Dr. Ernest B. Izevbigie is a charter fellow of the
National Academy of Inventors. Election to NAI Fellow status is a peer-nomicated highly professional distinction. It is accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.
The 98 innovators elected to NAI Fellow status represent 54 universities and nonprofit research institutes. Together, they hold more than 3,200 U.S. patents.
Included in the charter class are eight Nobel Laureates, two fellows of the Royal Society, and 12 presidents of research universities and nonprofit research institutes.
Izevbigie has earned two patents, including one for a formula he created from a Nigerian herbal shrub called Veronica amygdalina, or bitter leaf. Izevbigie’s research led to the formation of the JSU-initiated company EdoBotanics, which sells dietary supplements to boost the immune system and help with the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. The government of Nigeria gave the company its approval to manufacture and sell the dietary capsules in the country.
associate dean joins elite group of apple distinguished Educators
Dr. Robert Blaine, interim associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and director of the Global Inquiry Faculty Teaching Seminar, now has a new credential: Apple Distinguished Educator. As an ADE, Blaine joins a select group of about 2,000 education professionals worldwide who are committed to the promise of educational technology
to improve teaching and learning. He is one of 20 higher education professionals chosen for the Class of 2013, which represents a talented crosssection of educators.
former College of Business dean becomes Tennessee state university’s eighth president
Dr. Glenda Glover, former dean of the Jackson State University College of Business, is unanimously chosen to serve as president of Tennessee State University.
Highlights of her 18 years at Jackson State include obtaining the university’s first endowed chair, leading a successful $5 million fundraising initiative, spearheading the implementation of online learning programs, developing a cost reduction plan and implementing internal fiscal accountability measures.
Taylor new director of bands
Jackson State University names Dowell Taylor its new director of bands. Taylor, a 1976 alumnus and former member of the Sonic Boom of the South marching band, had served as interim band director since April.
The Jackson native holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music education from Jackson State and studied wind conducting at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Taylor is familiar with his new role. He was JSU’s director of bands from 1984 to 1992, leading the Sonic Boom to nationally televised performances at Motown’s 30th Anniversary Celebration and the NBA All-Star Basketball game.
Okojie on National academy of Inventors Board of directors
Professor of Public Health and Education Dr. Felix Okojie is named to the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Inventors.
Jackson State is a charter member institution of the NAI, which was founded at the University of South Florida to recognize inventors who have a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Five JSU researchers were among the first inventors to be inducted into the academy.
The academy works to enhance the visibility of university technology and academic innovation, mentors innovative students, and translates the inventions of its members to benefit society.
goodwin assumes presidency of regional facilities association Wayne Goodwin, assistant vice president for Facilities and Construction Management at Jackson State University, is been named president of the Southeastern Regional Association of Physical Plant Administrators.
SRAPPA is one of seven regional organizations dedicated to the operation of buildings on campuses of higher education.
Contracts compliance specialist receives third consecutive sMa award
Kamesha Hill, contracts compliance specialist in the Jackson State University Department of Contractual Services, receives a third consecutive Strategic Marketing Affiliates Top Artwork Reviewer award. SMA is a collegiate licensing company that partners with Jackson State to generate revenue from the licensing of the university’s logo, image and brand. For more information on the JSU licensing program, visit smaworks.com.
Recent books by faculty
Encyclopedia of sustainability
Dr. Evandro Santos, assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the School of Policy and Planning, is a contributing author for the berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability Three articles appear in Volume 8: The Americas and Oceania: Assessing Sustainability, and one is featured in Volume 10: The Future of Sustainability
Energy Resources utilization and Technologies
Professors Dr. Anjaneyulu Yerramilli and Dr. Francis Tuluri publish the book, Energy Resources Utilization and Technologies (2012, BS Publications). The book, which is intended for university students with various backgrounds, provides a broad introduction to energy in all of its aspects, from issues to potential solutions. The text explains the fundamentals of current energy resources and energy solutions including fossil fuel, solar, biomass, wind, ocean, geothermal, hydrogen and nuclear as well as nanotechnology concepts to generate clean energy.
anarchy for the Quest for Political stability in sierra Leone
Associate political science professor Dr. Emmanuel C. Nwagboso publishes the book, Anarchy and the Quest for Political Stability in Sierra Leone (2012, The Edwin Mellon Press). The book is an examination of past and future challenges facing Sierra Leone, a small West African country that is one of the world’s largest diamond exporters. The book evaluates the contemporary political economy of the nation and explores such issues as political corruption, mismanagement of the diamond industry, corruption by government officials, and the unequal distribution of resources that led to anarchy and civil unrest.
Jackson State University
Honor Roll of Donors
July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012
Alumni, friends, corporations, foundations and organizations continue to provide invaluable support for scholarships, academic programs, facility upgrades and other needs.
Indeed, it is our donors who help maintain the foundation on which great futures for Jackson State students are built.
We thank you for your loyalty and generosity.
The Department of Development makes every effort to verify the accuracy of our Honor Roll of Donors. If your name does not appear, is listed in the incorrect category or is misspelled, please contact us at 601-979-0418 or oia@jsums.edu so that we can correct our database.
jackson state university honor roll of donors - july 1, 2011 -
$100,000 and above
Cortez D. Bryant
Bryant Management, LLC
Entergy Charitable Foundation
Paul T. Hemphill
Lumina Foundation
Robert M. Hearin Foundation
$50,000-$99,999
Aramark
BankPlus
JSU National Alumni Association, Inc.
Mississippi Manufacturers Association
Alma Pittman
Winston R. Pittman
Southern Beverage Company
State Farm Insurance Companies
$25,000-$49,999
AMIE
Blue Bengal Athletic Association
Ernst & Young Foundation
John W. McGowan
$10,000-$24,999
AT&T Corporation
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, Inc.
Cellular South
CSpire Foundation
Noble Endicott
Gateway Tire & Service Center
Jackson Municipal Airport Authority
Joseph C. Bancroft Charitable and Educational Fund
JSU Alumni J-Settes
JSU Chicago Alumni Chapter
JSU Jackson-Hinds Alumni Chapter
Carolyn W. Meyers
Julie L. Miller
My Joy, Inc.
Bob Owens
Josephine O. Paige
Walter Rayford
Regions Bank
Dollye M. E. Robinson
Saatchi and Saatchi
North America
Lou H. Sanders
Leland R. Speed
Worth Thomas Union Pacific Foundation
Union Pacific Railroad
Robert W. Whalin
Luther W. Williams
Ruth G. Williams
$5,000-$9,999
Abbott Laboratories Foundation
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Darsene Baggett
Geraldine Barnes
Brandeis University
Brown Bottling Group, Inc.
Connie M. Brown
Donald Causey
Anne Cooper
Meredith W. Creekmore
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Jabberwock
Donald Causey State Farm Insurance
Fellows Alumni Foundation of JSU, Inc.
Follett Higher Education Group
Foundation for Education & Economic Development, Inc.
