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Lillian Lowery Leads FutureReady Columbus NCCU graduate LILLIAN LOWERY has been appointed to lead FutureReady Columbus as president and chief executive officer. FutureReady Columbus is a non-profit organization that focuses on early childhood education, public policy and community engagement. Prior to joining FutureReady, Lowery was superintendent of education for the state of Maryland and previously served as secretary of education in Delaware. Lowery holds a bachelor's in English from NCCU, a master's in curriculum and instruction from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a doctorate in education and educational leadership and policy studies from Virginia Technical University.
2004
EAGLE INFLUENCER ON SOCIAL MEDIA SIMONE SHEPHERD, a 2004 graduate, has taken social media by storm. Shepherd began her career as an actress on a Black Entertainment Television reality show in 2007. She worked with entrepreneur and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons to write and produce the YouTube series “All Def Digital.” Shepherd also has produced projects for comedian and actor Marlon Wayans. As of spring 2016, she had 23,000 followers on Twitter, 412,000 followers on Instagram and an astounding three million followers on Vine. With her extensive social media following, Shepherd produces digital content for major brands such as Trident, Wendy’s and Toyota that she shares on her social media pages. Shepherd currently stars in the YouTube series “Hood Central,” which has more than 50,000 subscribers.
1978
Assistant Director for NCCU Alumni Relations Retires Joan Morrision, a 1978 graduate of NCCU, retired as assistant director for NCCU Office of Alumni Relations on Dec. 31, 2015. Morrison has been a longtime contributor and supporter of NCCU, and she served in various positions at the university for 36 years, most recently as assistant director in the NCCU Office of Alumni Relations where she oversaw volunteer engagement, class reunion celebrations, homecoming events and alumni-based fundraising programs for NCCU. 42
NCCU NOW SUMMER 2016