TSU Students Honor President Glenda Glover for Receiving HBCU President of the Year Award

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) - Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover is HBCU President of the Year, and TSU students are letting everyone know they are proud of her.

The students celebrated Dr. Glover’s accomplishment in a party-like atmosphere on Wednesday in the Floyd-Payne Campus Center with hundreds of faculty, staff and students watching. There was a cake decorated with an image of Dr. Glover, balloons, music, cheerleaders, and even Aristocrat the Tiger made a special appearance. The New Direction Choir, the University’s flagship gospel group, also joined in with a selection to honor the president.

Representatives from campus organizations, including Mr. and Miss TSU, and the student government association president, took turns congratulating the president for receiving the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Education Leadership Award.

Campus organization and student leaders take turn to congratulate President during a ceremony in the Floyd-Payne Campus Center. (Photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)

The award was presented to Glover at the TMCF’s 31st Anniversary Awards Gala in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 29. It recognizes Dr. Glover’s commitment to historically black colleges and universities, and her bold leadership and achievements in higher education.

Glover described the students’ “surprise” party in her honor as one of the happiest moments of her life.

“I have been fortunate to receive many accolades and recognitions in my career and life, but this is perhaps one of the best coming from my students,” she said. “My students are always first on my mind. At the banquet when I received the award, the first thing I did was give recognition to the talented students here at TSU, and what it means to be the president of such hard-working students. From the student leaders to the New Direction Choir and to all the organizations, I want you to know I deeply appreciate this. This means so much to me. Thank you for all you do to make my day special.”

Kayla McCrary, the SGA president, said the students are honored to be a part of Dr. Glover’s legacy of excellence.

“We just want to show that we’re proud of her and that we are honored to be a part of the legacy that she's leaving at TSU,” McCrary said.

Tasha Andrews is the director of Student Activities. She said the preparation, promotion and the honoring ceremony were all the students' idea.

A cake decorate with an image of Dr. Glover was among items students presented the President for her accomplishment.

“As soon as the press release went out that Dr. Glover was named the HBCU President of the Year, the students – the SGA, the Royal Court – were all excited and wanted to do something about it,” Andrews said. “I said, if you are this excited about it, then let’s put together resources and energy to give you guys the opportunity to celebrate her. And they jumped right on it.  They pulled together their teams; they took care of the promotion on social media and everywhere. They are just super, super happy to take pride in our president.”

The Dean of Students, Frank Stevenson, called the evening “a tremendous opportunity to honor our president” for her achievement.

“We are so excited to celebrate her,” Stevenson said. “Out of all the more than 100 HBCU presidents, she was selected as President of the Year because of her leadership. It is just fitting that the student body elected to pause to honor and salute her leadership.”

The President of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry Williams, congratulates five of the TSU students who attended the TMCF Leadership Institute, and Tina Reed, Associate Director of the TSU Career Development Center. Pictured, from left, are Robert Turner, Giordan Rose, Hailee Roye, Reed, Dr. Williams, Tiara Hudson and Tarence Rice. (Submitted Photo)

At the gala in Washington, seven top TSU students who participated in the Thurgood Marshall College Fund's 18th Annual Leadership Institute, a four-day award-winning conference that culminates with the gala ceremony, joined President Glover. The students were among 400 scholars selected from across the nation to learn leadership skills, as well as help them make meaningful connections that will hopefully lead to successful internships, fellowships, and careers at Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.

One of the highlights of the conference was the recruitment fair, where major companies, government agencies, and graduate program representatives identify top talent and offer jobs, internships and continuing education opportunities.

The TSU students were: Robert Turner, Detroit; Giordan Rose, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Hailee Roye, Pittsburgh; Tiara Hudson, Knoxville, Tennessee; Tarence Rice, Detroit; Ryan Smith, Atlanta; and Kristin Day, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Tina Reed, associate director of the Career Development Center, accompanied the students.