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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.
alumni in action
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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
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