Tag Archives: Distinguished Lecture Series

Multimillionaire Entrepreneur Lectures TSU Students on Success, Establishes Endowed Scholarship

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Multimillionaire entrepreneur Dr. Bill Pickard has a message for TSU students: “Anybody, from anywhere, can accomplish anything.”

“But to do so, ‘you gotta put the work in,’” Pickard said, quoting a line from Grammy-Award winning singer Drake.

Pickard, chairman of Global Automotive Alliance and co-managing partner of MGM Grand Detroit Casino, was the guest lecturer at the Distinguished Lecture Series in the Forum on Monday, April 10.

Following his lecture, the LaGrange, Georgia, native, who is also CEO of Bearwood Management Company and co-owner of five Black-owned newspapers, established an endowed scholarship in the name of Kevin Williams, a TSU alumnus, Foundation Board member and retired president of General Motors of Canada.

He said the endowment was in appreciation of a long friendship, and credited Williams with helping to expand his (Pickard) GAA conglomerate of logistics and manufacturing companies with more than $1.5 billion in sales.

“When I met Kevin we were doing about $100 million, and when he left, we were doing about half a billion, that’s relationship,” Pickard told the packed auditorium with mostly students from the College of Business.

On his own life story, Pickard, who earned a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, said he started off at a community college after high school, because of poor grades. Many did not give him much chance for success, he said.

“I completed college, earned a master’s degree, became a social worker, and life was good,” said Pickard, who credits a “strong” faith in God for his success “I had an opportunity to earn my Ph.D. and I did.”

According to his bio, Pickard’s entrepreneurial career began with a McDonald’s franchisee in Detroit, becoming one of the top-10 Blacks in America to have a McDonald’s franchise.

“It is not where you start but where you go,” said Pickard, reminding the students of his “Seven Proven Principles of Entrepreneurship,” outlined in his book Millionaire Moves – vision, opportunity, finance, relationships, talent and skillset, failure, faith.

“To be successful you must have vision. Your vision must be greater than the window you are looking through. What that means is that you will never be what you cannot see,” Pickard said.

Williams, in whose name Pickard established the scholarship endowment, said he is glad many will benefit from Pickard’s gift.

“This recognition goes to a lot of people beyond myself,” he said, as he recognized his wife, Arlene, who “makes the machine go.”

Maya Moore, a junior finance major, was part of a panel of Business College students who listened to Pickard. She was very impressed by the speaker’s very simple and encouraging presentation.

“I encourage students to read his book, because just as he spoke, the book lays it down in layman terms for our generation to understand,” Moore said. “Like he said, if you put the work in, with a clear vision, you can accomplish anything.”

Earlier, Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young, vice president for Research and Institutional Advancement, welcomed Pickard on behalf of President Glenda Glover, who was traveling on business.

“President Glover and the entire TSU family are glad and honored to welcome Dr. Pickard.” Crumpton-Young said. “Certainly, we are excited to hear him and learn from his great wealth of knowledge.”

The Dean of the College of Business, Dr. Millicent Lownes-Jackson, thanked Dr. Pickard for the scholarship endowment.

“This is a very, very special day for the College of Business and for me particularly, since Kevin was my former student,” Lownes-Jackson said. “The College of Business is just so thankful for this donation, and everyone who receives that scholarship will have the challenge to emulate the character and success of two phenomenal business icons – Kevin Williams and Dr. Bill Pickard.”

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

With more than 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, 25 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.

Taraji P. Henson to Share HBCU Experience with Students, Community March 24

Taraji P. Henson PhotoNASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Academy Award-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson will visit the Tennessee State University campus, Tuesday, March 24 to speak to students, faculty, staff and the community about the HBCU experience and how the HBCU journey shaped her life and prepared her for her future acting career.

Henson showed her love for the performing arts while still at a young age and tried unsuccessfully to apply to a performing arts high school. Instead she attended Oxon High School, graduating in 1988.

She spent her first year in college studying electrical engineering at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. After failing pre-calculus, Henson transferred to Howard University, where she studied theater. At the same time, Henson was working two jobs—one as a secretary at the Pentagon and another as a cruise-ship entertainer. At Howard, she honed her singing, dancing and acting skills, proudly earning herself a “Triple Threat Scholarship.”

Henson is one of many celebrities who attended an HBCU who are now discussing the importance of Historically Black Universities and Colleges. Celebrities who have attended HBCUs include filmmaker Will Packer, who attended Florida A&M University, R&B singer Erykah Badu, who attended Grambling University, Hip-Hop performer Common, who attended Florida A&M, and Oprah Winfrey, who graduated from Tennessee State University.

Henson will address the student body and community in Kean Hall beginning at 1 p.m. followed by a master-level class in the Forum beginning at 2 p.m.

 

 

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 42 undergraduate, 24 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 Distinguished Lecture Series Welcomes Marc Lamont Hill to Campus April 2

Marc Lamont Hill
Marc Lamont Hill

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The Division of Student Affairs at Tennessee State University welcomes journalist, author, political activist and television personality Marc Lamont Hill to campus Wednesday, April 2.

The event, part of the Distinguished Lecture Series, will take place in Kean Hall beginning at 1 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Hill has been a political analyst for CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and BET News correspondent; and host of HuffPost Live. He is also one of the leading hip-hop generation intellectuals in the country. Hill is the author of two books: Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and the Politics of Identity, and The Classroom and the Cell: Conversations on Black life in America.

Since 2009, he has been on the faculty of Columbia University as associate professor of Education at Teachers College. He also holds an affiliated faculty appointment in African American Studies at the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University. In 2005, Ebony Magazine named Hill one of America’s top 30 Black leaders under 30 years old. In 2011, Ebony named him one of America’s 100 most influential Black leaders.

Hill holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, with research focusing on the intersections between culture, politics and education. He is particularly interested in locating various sites of possibility for political resistance, identity work and knowledge production outside of formal schooling contexts. Particular sites of inquiry include prisons, black bookstores, and youth cultural production.

Former Lecture Series guests have included award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, political commentator Keith Boykin, actress Tasha Smith, actor and author Hill Harper, and four-time Olympic athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

For more information on the Distinguished Lecture Series, contact the Office of Student Affairs at 615.963.5621 or the Office of Media Relations at 615.963.5331.

 

 

 

 

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.

Distinguished Lecture Series Welcomes Keith Boykin to Campus October 9

Keith Boykin
Keith Boykin

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Fighting Words will be the topic of discussion, Wednesday, Oct. 9 when Tennessee State University welcomes Keith Boykin to campus.

The event, part of the Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs, will take place in Kean Hall beginning at 1 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Boykin is a CNBC contributor, MSNBC commentator, BET columnist, and New York Times best-selling author. Each of Boykin’s four books has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, including his most recent book, For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough, which also won the American Library Association Stonewall Award for Nonfiction in 2013.

Educated at Dartmouth and Harvard, Boykin attended law school with President Barack Obama, and served in the White House as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, where he was once the highest-ranking openly gay person in the Clinton White House. He also helped organize and participated in the nation’s first ever meeting between a sitting president and leaders of the LGBT community.

Boykin has been actively involved in progressive causes since he worked on his first congressional campaign while still a student in high school. He is a veteran of six political campaigns, including two presidential campaigns, and was named one of the top instructors when he taught political science at American University in Washington, D.C.

He has traveled extensively across four continents, and in 1997, was appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. presidential trade delegation to Zimbabwe, along with Coretta Scott King and the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

After starring on the 2004 Showtime television series American Candidate, Boykin has since appeared on numerous national media programs, including Anderson Cooper 360, The O’Reilly Factor, The Tyra Banks Show, The Montel Williams Show, Judge Hatchett and The Tom Joyner Morning Show.

A founder and first board president of the National Black Justice Coalition, Boykin has spoken to audiences, large and small, across the world. He delivered a landmark speech to more than 200,000 people at the Millennium March on Washington, and gave a stirring speech about the AIDS epidemic in front of 40,000 people in Chicago’s Soldier Field in July 2006.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Boykin lives in New York City and Miami.

Former Lecture Series guests have included actress Tasha Smith, actor and author Hill Harper, actress Robin Givens, and four-time Olympic athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

For more information on the Distinguished Lecture Series, contact the Office of Student Affairs at 615.963.5621 or the Office of Media Relations at 615.963.5331.

 

Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John A. 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, coeducational, 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 celebrates 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu