NASHVILLE (TSU News Service) – The 2014 awards presentation for the best journalism in broadcast and print was held Saturday, March 22, at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown.
Dr. Terry Likes, professor and chair of the Department of Communications, captured three first-place awards and one-second place. His reports aired on the Tennessee Radio Network with a variety of topics ranging from the music, news and sports industries.
ikes’ report on the Beatles also won 1st place in the Best of Competition category, from the Broadcast Education Association Faculty Audio Competition.
“It is an honor to represent TSU in this regard and to continue to enhance my reporting skills for the benefit of our students,” said Likes. “Evidence of current professional success helps in the classroom when students can see professors remain active in the industry, achieve at a high level, while professors can encourage students to seek excellence in their own student competitions.”
This is the 14th Tennessee Associated Press award for Likes. He has also won six regional Edward R. Murrow awards, is the recipient of 50 awards during his career including honors from the Broadcast Education Association, Kentucky Associated Press, National Broadcasting Society, and the National Press Club. Since joining TSU in 2008, Likes has won 34 awards while his students have won 50 awards from the TN Associated Press, Southeast Journalism Conference, Society of Professional Journalists and National Broadcasting Society.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
Address officially Kicks off 36th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium
Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The John S. Toll Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland – College Park, Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr., will be the featured keynote speaker officially opening the University-Wide Research Symposium Monday, March 31 beginning at 2 p.m. The keynote address is free and open to the public, and will take place in the E.T. Goins Recital Hall, located in the Performing Arts Center on the main campus.
Every year, the Research Symposium serves as a foundation to provide students with authentic experiences in presenting their research before advancing to regional, national and international research symposia; and prior to professional careers. Now in its 36th year, the symposium will take place at the University March 31-April 4.
Sylvester James Gates Jr. Ph.D. is an American theoretical physicist. He is currently a University System Regents Professor, the John S. Toll Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland – College Park, and the Center for String and Particle Theory Director. He serves on President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the Maryland State Board of Education.
Gates received the B.S. degree in Physics (1973), the B.S. degree in Mathematics (1973), and Ph.D. in Physics (1977), all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His doctoral thesis was the first thesis at MIT to investigate supersymmetry.
He is nationally and internationally known for his research on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory. In 1984, working with M.T. Grisaru, M. Rocek, W. Siegel, Gates co-authored Superspace, the first comprehensive book on the topic of supersymmetry. He is a former member of the board of trustees of the Society for Science and the Public.
NOVA PBS has featured Gates extensively on programs on physics, notably “The Elegant Universe” in 2003, and ‘‘The Fabric of the Cosmos’’ in 2011. In 2006, Gates completed a DVD series, titled Superstring Theory: The DNA of Reality for The Teaching Company composed of 24 half-hour lectures to make the complexities of unification theory comprehensible to non-physicists.
In 2012, Gates was named a University System of Maryland Regents Professor, only the sixth person to be so recognized since 1992. He is past president of the National Society of Black Physicists, and is a NSBP Fellow, as well as a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Institute of Physics in the U.K. He also is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
He was recently elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, the first African American so recognized in their 150-year history. Professor Gates was awarded the Medal of Science presented by President Obama, the highest award given to scientists in the U.S., at a White House ceremony in 2013. In November of 2013, he was awarded the Mendel Medal by Villanova University for “having demonstrated, by his life and his standing before the world as a scientist, that there is no intrinsic conflict between science and religion.”
Dr. Gates currently continues his research in supersymmetry in systems of particles, fields, and strings. This month, Gates will be honored as the Harvard University 2014 Scientist of the Year.
For more information on the Research Symposium, visit http://www.tnstate.edu/research/or contact Nannette Carter Martin, co-chair at 615.963.5827, or Tamara Rogers, co-chair at 615.963.1520.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
Former CNN anchor and now Al Jazeera America special correspondent Soledad O’Brien, addresses the student body and faculty March 26 during the University Honors Convocation in Kean Hall. Earlier in the day, O’Brien was the featured speaker at the Honors Program 50th Anniversary Luncheon honoring Dr. McDonald Williams, the first Director of the Honors Program. (photo by Rick DelaHaya, TSU Media Relations)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Saying that the pursuit of excellence requires the desire to forge ahead in the face of obstacles, a prominent American journalist has told students at Tennessee State University that success comes with “finding out what you are best suited for” and going after it.
“Decide what success would look like for you and pursue it, but always with the thought to say, ‘what can this do for me,’” multiple award winning documentarian, news anchor and producer Soledad O’Brien, said Wednesday at a convocation in Kean Hall marking the 50th anniversary celebration of the TSU Honors Program.
Drawing from her own experience as a reporter earlier in her career, O’Brian, known for such documentaries as Black in America and Latino in America, said becoming a journalist after a Harvard education was not the route her parents expected her to go after paying so much to educate her.
“My first job was at a TV station, where not only was the pay small, but I was assigned to proofing copies and removing staples,” she said. “Eventually I got assignments doing sound, and in the process, I would include myself in the story, something that helped get me extra pay once the story was aired.”
This is where the woman who would become an anchor for NBC and CNN, two of the nation’s leading news organization, found her niche, she said.
“I love being part of the story that would help enhance someone’s life, and knowing that I have influenced something spectacular,” she said.
Telling the students that nothing good comes easy, O’Brien talked about the struggles of her own parents as mixed couple in America when interracial marriage was illegal in many parts of the nation including Baltimore where they lived.
“My father, a white Australian, and my mother, a black woman from Cuba, faced discrimination on all fronts, with my mother at times trying to hide her Hispanic identity because she wanted to blend in. To get married they had to go to the District of Columbia but came back to Baltimore and kept their marriage a secret,” she said. “When my mother had her sixth child in 1967 that’s when the Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage. That means that we were all illegal children until 1967.”
Driving home her story of perseverance in the face of opposition, O’Brien told the students that had her parents given up, lots of dreams, including hers, would probably have been lost.
“They did not give up; they understood the importance of moving ahead because they believed in what they wanted, and that’s leadership,” she added.
O’Brien, now a special correspondent for Al Jazeera’s America Tonight, has won multiple Emmy and Tony awards for her reporting on issues in America. She was part of the CNN team that won an Emmy for the 2012 Election Coverage, and another Emmy for her special report Kids on Race.
She urged the students to emulate examples from people who did not give up but showed true leadership to accomplish what they set out for.
“Martin Luther King Jr. was a regular person who stayed when others ran. He decided that he would use his voice to lead …that’s leadership. What are you going to do to leverage what your parents have invested in you,” she added.
O’Brien, who earlier joined TSU President Glenda Glover, alumni, special guests, faculty and students at an Honors Luncheon in the Gentry Center, congratulated the University for celebrating 50 years of recognizing the achievement of the best and brightest of the institution.
“We thank you for coming to join us for this very special celebration in the institution and for inspiring our students and all of us today,” Dr. Glover told O’Brien. “We wish you all the best as you continue your journey of excellence.”
Dr. Coreen Jackson, director of the University Honors Program, who also thanked O’Brien for accepting their invitation to speak at the 50th anniversary celebration, followed the President.
In addition to recognizing the year’s top honor students, the University paid tribute to the former Director of the University Honors Program, Dr. McDonald Williams and his wife, Dr. Jayme Coleman Williams, former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The tribute included the presentation of the Dr. McDonald Williams Scholarship to Laurena Thomas, a junior Mass Communication major from Memphis with a 3.65 GPA.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – A trio of students from Tennessee State University’s Department of Communications were the recipients of the top Tennessee Associated Press awards recently, capturing nine awards in the student competition, up from six the previous years.
The Tennessee AP Broadcasters and Tennessee APME Best of College awards were announced on Saturday, March 22, and recognized Tennessee student journalists for outstanding performance in college journalism.
Students receiving awards included:
1st place, Best Radio Reporter, Chantell Copeland, senior Mass Communication major from Atlanta
1st place, Best Radio Newscast, Chantell Copeland
1st place, Best News Story, Brandi Giles, senior Mass Communication major from Nashville, Tenn.
2nd place, Best Use of Sound, Brandi Giles
2nd place, Best Radio Reporter, Miya Jefferson, 2013 graduate, Mass Communication major, Lansing, Mich.
2nd place, Best Newscast, Brandi Giles
3rd place, Best Feature Story, Chantell Copeland
3rd place, Best Radio Reporter, Brandi Giles
3rd place, Best Use of Sound, Miya Jefferson
According to Dr. Terry Likes, Chair of the Department of Communications, students excelled in reports aired on the campus radio station, WTST.
“Our new Center for Media Arts and Production houses WTST and our other media outlets in a converged media environment. The dedicated faculty teach committed students who are learning across media platforms to best prepare themselves for real-world opportunities.”
This is the third year the Associated Press has conducted a competition for college students in the state of Tennessee. The students from TSU competed in more than 12 different categories in the college contest against entrants from MTSU, Vanderbilt University, Lipscomb, UT-Chattanooga, UT-Martin, UT-Knoxville, Austin Peay State University, and Southern Adventist.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
Students from Tennessee State University plant a red maple tree Sunday, October 6, 2013, on campus as part of a celebration recognizing the University as a leader in conservation and sustainability. TSU received the Tree Campus USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation, and just recently received the Tree Campus USA Award. (photo by Rick DelaHaya, TSU Media Relations)
Nashville, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – On Thursday, March 20, Tennessee State University and Trevecca Nazarene University were recognized as the city’s first recipients of the Tree Campus USA award during Nashville’s Annual Arbor Day Celebration.
Each university was honored for having earned this designation by showcasing their dedication to the campus environment and efforts to create green forests within the city.
Tennessee State University College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences’ Dr. Latif Lighari, associate dean for Extension, and Dr. De’Etra Young, assistant professor and Extension Specialist in Urban Forestry, were on hand to accept the recognition.
“This [recognition] is a great honor for TSU and the College,” Lighari said. “It speaks for our environmental sensitivity and concern for campus beautification. This would not have been possible without the hard work of Dr. Young.”
In October 2013, the University received the Tree Campus USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation, a national program created in 2008 to honor colleges and universities for effective forest management and engaging staff and students in conservation goals. At that time, TSU joined 194 institutions across the country taking part in the national program.
TSU achieved the designation by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards, which include creating a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures toward trees, an Arbor Day observance, and student service-learning projects.
Nashville celebrates Arbor Day annually to promote the proper planting and preservation of trees for environmental enhancement. During this year’s Arbor Day ceremony, local Nashvillians were honored for their service and commitment to the city, trees were planted in honor and memory of five local citizens, and local fifth grade students from Harding Academy and Two Rivers Middle School were awarded for their “My Favorite Tree” student essays. Additionally, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean was presented the Alice Ann Barge Award for Urban Forestry Excellence for his commitment to making Nashville one of the South’s greenest cities.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
TSU Diversity and Inclusion Summit Brings Together Three HBCU Presidents
Dr. Kevin D. Rome, of Lincoln University, left; Dr. William B. Bynum, of Mississippi Valley State University; and Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover say non-minority institutions should take a lesson from HBCUs on how they are coping in the face of limited resources. The university presidents joined forces to discuss the question of relevancy of HBCUs and whether they can embrace the culture of diversity and continue to play a key role in the nation’s higher education landscape. (photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – In spite of fewer resources compared to the nation’s other majority institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities graduate impressive number of majors in education and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Responding to critics who question the relevancy of HBCUs and whether they can embrace the culture of diversity they have demanded of others, a panel of HBCU presidents meeting at Tennessee State University Monday said HBCUs continue to play a key role in the nation’s higher education landscape and have become more diverse in student population, faculty and staff.
“Those raising questions about the relevancy of HBCUs have no case to back their claim,” said President Glenda Baskin Glover, of TSU, in an opening statement, adding that the question should be about how HBCUs have survived with limited resources and yet produce outstanding graduates.
“How can HBCU’s become a model for other institutions by operating with limited resources and yet we have survived with a high level of performance by putting out more than 5 percent of all graduates in the nation annually? That should be the question,” Dr. Glover asserted.
Attending a three-day “Diversity and Inclusion Summit on HBCU’s,” Dr. Glover, Dr. William B. Bynum, of Mississippi Valley State University; and Dr. Kevin D. Rome, of Lincoln University Missouri, answered questions about HBCU mission, good governance, customer service, and a culture of openness that embraces all without regard to race, sexual preference or heritage.
The summit brought together participants from institutions and organizations across the country including the Association of Public Land Grant Universities, Clark Atlanta University, Indiana University, Alcorn State University, Xavier University, Prairie View A&M University, Alabama A&M University, Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, and Florida A&M University.
On the issue of limited resources with high return, Bynum and Rome agreed with Glover that instead of questioning HBCU’s relevancy, critics should be asking how non-minority institutions could learn from HBCUs.
“Not only are our institutions diverse, HBCUs are relevant to those students who are there,” said Dr. Rome, at whose Lincoln University blacks are now in the minority at 40 percent, a shift seen in the last six years. “HBCUs give opportunities to those who would not have had those same opportunities at other institutions. Their graduates are making great difference as doctors, engineers and educators.”
“Are we still true to the HBCU mission,” Reese asked.
“We should be true to our mission, focus on what we are about, and continue to do what we do well,” said Dr. Bynum, warning that HBCUs should not try to take on the mantle of being everything to everyone. “This is not a one-size fits all business. Role models and mentorships are the backbone of what we are about.”
On the broader issues of diversity and inclusion, especially dealing with lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender, the presidents said their institutions have exercised complete openness on “individual” free expression, and have instituted policies that put no barriers to individual practices.
“It is an asset that we can do things that embrace everyone,” Dr. Rome said. “If we are in the business of teaching, then we must be ready to embrace and allow people to speak out and not be faced with questioning who they are.”
Presidents Bynum and Glover agreed that universities should be a place where people can be who they are.
Drawing from his background as a sociologist, Bynum said he was dismissive of the long-held belief by “religious conservatives” that being gay is a lifestyle choice.
“For those in the black community who say being gay is a choice, science has proven them wrong,” said the MVSU president. “And the comparison of gay rights to civil rights has great merit because it all comes down to a mater of individual right.”
Dr. Glover, the longtime educator and trained lawyer, sees the issue as a matter of constitutional right.
“I am a strong supporter of the Constitution that tells one to be what they want,” Dr. Glover said. “We can’t close the doors on some and say we are diverse. Allowing people to be what they are is what diversity is.”
Among other issues, the presidents said resources, especially funding, was one of the main problems facing HBCUs. For instance, in Tennessee, it is not how many students you recruit but how many you graduate that determine funding level, Dr. Glover told her colleagues.
“So why we try to go the traditional recruitment route, we have to recruit in a certain way to carry out the mandate of the state, and remember to recruit students who can help us get funding,” Glover said.
On the question of how HBCUs can be a model for other institutions, the TSU president repeated her assertion that non-minority institutions should learn how HBCUs have remained successful in the face of limited resources.
The summit, which started Sunday, ends Tuesday.
Break-out sessions discussed topics including “The New HBCU: Does Diversity and Inclusion Impact the Relevance of HBCUs?”; “Beyond the Choir: Developing a Culture of Inclusion and Excellence”; “Repositioning HBCUs for the Future”; “Student Leadership Apprentices: Whose Mentor are You”; “Renovating Academy: Challenges Associated with a Diverse Faculty”; and “Exploring the Chemical Dynamics of an HBCU to the Global marketplace: A Possible Plausible STEM Transition.”
At a reception Monday night for summit participants in the Holiday Inn Express Downtown Nashville, Dr. Dennis Rahiim, CEO of the Center for Black Student Achievement, wowed the gathering with words of inspiration.
He was followed by Freedom Rider and Civil Rights Activist Dr. Ernest “Rip” Patton, who spoke about his role in organizing the first lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville in the early 1960s.
Later, President Glover, along with summit Chair, Dr. Jewell Winn, presented awards and gifts to sponsors and supporters including AT&T, NADOHE, HCA, AGB, APLU and the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
Al Jazeera America special correspondent featured speaker during Honors Program Convocation
Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien will be the featured speaker March 26 during the Honors program Convocation.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Award winning journalist, documentarian, news anchor and producer Soledad O’Brien will the featured keynote speaker Wednesday, March 26 during the Honors Convocation celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Honors Program at Tennessee State University.
The convocation is part of the Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and will take place in Kean Hall located in the Floyd Payne Campus Center beginning at 1 p.m. The convocation is free and open to the public.
O’Brien will also be the featured speaker at the Honors Program anniversary luncheon honoring Dr. McDonald Williams, the first Director of the Honors Program. The luncheon is $50 per person and begins at 11 a.m. in the Gentry Complex.
Soledad O’Brien joined Al Jazeera America in 2013 as part of a deal with her new production company, Starfish Media Group. She will contribute short-form segments as Special Correspondent to Al Jazeera America’s primetime current affairs magazine program “America Tonight,” and Starfish will produce hour-long documentary specials.
O’Brien most recently served as an anchor and special correspondent for CNN. She joined CNN in 2003 and was the co-anchor of CNN’s flagship morning program, “American Morning,” and then the anchor of “Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien.”
O’Brien distinguished herself at CNN by reporting from the scene of such stories as the London terrorism attacks in 2005, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011. In December 2004, O’Brien was among a handful of CNN anchors sent to Thailand to cover the disaster and aftermath of the tsunami. O’Brien also produced and hosted the widely acclaimed “In America” documentary series, including “Black in America” and “Latino in America.”
Soledad went to CNN from NBC News where she had anchored the network’s Weekend Today starting in July 1999. Prior to that, she had anchored MSNBC’s award-winning technology program The Site and the MSNBC weekend morning show. O’Brien had originally joined NBC News in 1991 and was based in New York as a field producer for Nightly News and Today.
In 2011, O’Brien won her first Emmy Award for “Crisis in Haiti” (on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360) in the category of Outstanding Live Coverage of a Current News Story – Long Form. She was also a member of the teams that earned CNN a George Foster Peabody award for coverage of the British Petroleum oil spill and of Katrina, and an Alfred I. du Pont Award for its reporting on the Southeast Asia tsunami.
In 2010, the National Association of Black Journalists named O’Brien its Journalist of the Year, and the Edward R. Murrow Awards recognized her with the RTDNA/UNITY award for Latino in America. She received the 2009 Medallion of Excellence for Leadership and Community Service Award from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
In 2008, O’Brien was the first recipient of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Goodermote Humanitarian Award for her efforts while reporting on the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asia tsunami.
O’Brien was awarded the NAACP President’s Award in 2007 in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and journalistic excellence.
For more information on the anniversary luncheon or Honors Convocation, contact the Honors Program at 615.963.5731.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – On Friday, March 28, the College of Engineering at Tennessee State will host on-campus tours and lunch for more than 100 pre-college students attending the National Society of Black Engineers’ (NSBE) 2014 National Conference. The conference is being held this week at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville.
The students, who are select members of NSBE’s Pre-College Initiative outreach program, will be exposed to possible career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
According to Dr. S. Keith Hargrove, dean of the College of Engineering, tour facilitators will emphasize some of the successes of the college since its inception in 1950, such as providing accredited world-class technical education to thousands of students, such as Dr. Jesse Russell, acknowledged as one of the fathers of today’s digital communications and cell phone technology.
Those facilitating the tour will include Dean Hargrove (615-320-5401), skhargrove@tnstate.edu); and the University’s student NSBE chapter, led by its president, Jonathan Clark (256-604-3056), jonathanclark1992@gmail.com). The TSU Engineering Alumni Association (www.tsueaa.org) is supporting this event by providing transportation to TSU for the students, and also with an alumni panel presentation to the tour participants during lunch on Friday.
Inquiries about this event can be directed to TSUEAA President George L. Davis (818-645-3187); george@ultimateprogress.com).
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Presidents from three major Historically Black College and Universities will join Tennessee State University president, Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover, for the Presidents’ Panel during the Diversity and Inclusion Summit on HBCUs March 23-25.
Speaking on Repositioning HBCUs for the Future, university presidents Dr. Carlton E. Brown from Clark Atlanta; Dr. William Bynum Jr., from Mississippi Valley State; Dr. Kevin D. Rome, from Lincoln University of Missouri; and Dr. Glover will lead a panel discussion on the relevancy of HBCUs in today’s rapid pace of change in higher education. The discussion takes place on Monday, March 24 beginning at 8:45 a.m. at the Avon Williams campus downtown.
The Summit, sponsored by the Office of Diversity and International Affairs, will provide diversity professionals, key institutional partners and students the opportunity to hear from national leaders who have made significant inroads in the area of diversity and inclusion in the HBCU college and university environment, according to Dr. Jewell Winn, Chief Diversity Officer at the University.
“Attendees will have the opportunity to share ideas and advance what diversity looks like across HBCUs around the nation,” said Winn. “We will share information on not only diversity, but also inclusion and campus retention. As HBCUs move forward we need to address the relevancy of the institutions and figure out how to hold on to the history, but also on how to diversify institutions to better meet the needs of all students.”
The three-day conference takes place at the Avon Williams campus auditorium and officially kicks off Monday, March 24 beginning at 8:30 a.m. with welcoming remarks followed by the President’s Panel.
Classroom Strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion
Campus programming for various populations
Effective leadership models and approaches for diversity at HBCUs
Social justice service-learning approaches
Building internal and external partnerships to support diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion in policy development
Utilizing and leveraging research and data for diversity and inclusion
A student’s perspective of Diversity at HBCUs
According to Winn, the student perspective on diversity and inclusion at HBCUs will be a “major component” of this years’ summit. Students from Vanderbilt, Fisk and Tennessee State Universities will prepare responses to the presentation and deliver them on the final day of the event.
“We need to be mindful of the student’s perspective as HBCUs move into the future,” added Winn. “The students need to be a part of the inclusion conversation to see what they think HBCUs need to be in the future and how they transition to an all-inclusive environment.”
For more information on the summit, contact the Office of Diversity and International Affairs at TSU at 615.963.5640 or email dish.summit@gmail.com.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
Dr. Jason de Koff’s Mobile Biodiesel Education Demonstration lab will be on display at the “Ag Day on the Hill” celebration on March 24-25. (courtesy photo)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences at Tennessee State University will be a prominent player in this year’s “Ag Day on the Hill” celebration Monday, March 24 and Tuesday, March 25.
The celebration at Legislative Plaza, which coincides with what Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has proclaimed “Agriculture Day” in Tennessee, is part of the annual national observance to recognize the important contributions of farmers and forestland owners to the state and nation.
According to a Tennessee Department of Agriculture release, on Monday at 5 p.m., the official start of the celebration, two General Assembly joint resolutions will be presented to honor Dr. George Washington Carver, and the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act, which established the Cooperative Extension Service. Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean of the CAHNS, and other prominent TSU representatives are expected to speak.
Festivities on Tuesday will begin at 8 a.m. with a silent auction, to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee and Tennessee’s Ag in the Classroom educational program. This will be followed by the traditional cow-milking contest between the House and the Senate.
Festivities will also include displays and expositions by various agricultural institutions, farmers and other stakeholders from across the state and the nation, the release said.
Several TSU entities, projects and representatives will be on hand to provide educational materials and demonstrations. They include the Otis L. Floyd Research Center in McMinnville, Cooperative Extension, Dr. Suping Zhou’s Pathogen-free Organic Strawberry project, Dr. Dharma Pitchay’s Hydroponic Production method, and Dr. Jason de Koff’s Mobile Biodiesel Education Demonstration.
The event will also feature for the first time the Drive to Feed the World Tour, a unique, interactive road show traveling the nation to heighten awareness about world hunger and sustainable food production.
Tennessee has 76,000 farms representing 10.8 million acres in production. More than half of the state, 14 million acres, is in mostly privately owned hardwood forests. Tennessee’s top agricultural commodities include cattle, soybeans, corn, poultry, cotton, timber, greenhouse and nursery products, dairy products, wheat, tobacco and hay. The industry has a $66 billion a year impact on the state’s economy and supports nearly 337,900 jobs.
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About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
