Campus News - Page 429

First Boulevard partners with Terrence J to launch Project Tassels

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First Boulevard announced that Academy Award-nominated executive producer, actor, author and entertainment reporter, Terrence J, will be its new Strategic Advisor of the digital neobank. Together they have launched Project Tassels: 1,000 students, 1,000 degrees, 1,000 new outlooks on life. Terrence J will also spearhead the Financial Education initiative to promote financial literacy among HBCU students through a video series created by First Boulevard in which Terrence J will educate HBCU students about credit scores, student loans, credit cards, life off-campus and the importance of budgeting and savings. The goal of Project Tassels is to help 1,000 Black students reclaim

Expanded defense funding available for HBCU STEM programs

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have a significant opportunity to develop their STEM programs while boosting national defense. In February the U.S. Army hosted a virtual conference centered on stronger research ties with HBCUs. 48 of the 101 HBCUs registered, a good sign. It will be mutually beneficial. Historically, the military has reaped great benefits from Black soldiers. Research-wise, however, HBCUs have been largely untapped while defense funding has bolstered STEM departments elsewhere for generations. This is changing. Including acting Secretary of the Army John E. Whitley, Army officers detailed several opportunities. These include faculty immersion, a prize competition

Fashion brands support and celebrate HBCUs

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Spike Lee’s 2000 movie “Bamboozled” scorched white-owned fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger for targeting Black markets. Black fashion responded. Led by HBCU alumni, that response is now flourishing. Black designers have dovetailed a sense for flair with an urge to promote HBCUs. Support Black Colleges puts that right in its name. “A lot of people don’t talk about HBCUs, especially big businesses,” said Corey Arvinger, co-founder of Support Black Colleges, to CBS News. “They don’t want to highlight something they don’t know about. That’s where we come in.” HBCU apparel was featured in 90’s sitcoms like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Milton Jones Jr. named first Black chairman of UNCF board of directors

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Milton H. Jones Jr. is making history as the first Black man to be elected as chair of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Board of Directors. Jones succeeds William F. Stasior Sr., retired Chairman and CEO of Booz Allen Hamilton, who served as UNCF’s Chair for 11 years. A business and civic leader, Jones held several senior executive positions throughout his 32-year career at Bank of America. He is also a founding member of Peachtree Providence Partners Holding Company LLC, an Atlanta-based private investment and consulting firm specializing in providing income for small and mid-level businesses. As a founding member,

Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering aims to strengthen ties with HBCUs through Gradpath Collaborative

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Recently, Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering took a major step towards strengthening their connection with HBCUs. On March 25, their Gradpath event brought together faculty, senior leaders and administrators to kickoff the Gradpath Collaborative. Attendees exchanged ideas and strategies aimed at facilitating recruitment of underrepresented students into graduate programs. The initiative will also serve as a platform to expand research opportunities for HBCU scholars in science and engineering. James West, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Hopkins, known worldwide as the inventor of the electret microphone said, “Being inspired and mentored by people [at Morgan] that looked

Fisk Jubilee Singers win first-ever Grammy Award for 150th Anniversary Album

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Patience and great performance are their own rewards, but in the Fisk Jubilee Singers case, a first-ever Grammy Award came with it. “Celebrating Fisk!,” the 150th Anniversary Album, won the 2021 Grammy for Best Roots Gospel Album. “I thank the Fisk University family,” said Dr. Paul Kwami, musical director since 1994. “And all the fans around the world. Thank you so much, hallelujah.” Started in Nashville in 1871 by Fisk University treasurer George Leonard White, the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ purpose was to raise much-needed funds for the 5-year-old school. Soon after, however, they were forerunners in bringing, what for better

Virtual marching band competition honors Aretha Franklin, awards University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff $5,000

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Today would be the legendary Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin’s 79th birthday. National Geographic’s “GENIUS: ARETHA” and Watch The Bands, an online platform that focuses on preserving and promoting the marching band and dance culture of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), announced the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Marching Band as the winner of “All Hail The Queen: HBCU Band Tribute.” The competition showcased four different HBCU bands from Alabama A & M University, Alabama State University, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Kentucky State University, all of whom performed Franklin’s greatest hits. The bands were

Nation’s largest Black mortgage lender, Legacy Home Loans, partners with HBCU Career Marketplace

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As the first Black realtor with 55 years of experience, LEGACY Home Loans’ Founder & CEO Ben Slayton is all too familiar with the challenges African Americans face while working in mortgage and real estate.  Slayton and other leaders at LEGACY are determined to open the door for future generations by equipping them with the tools needed to succeed. LEGACY Home Loans is the nation’s largest Black mortgage lender, and it has partnered with the HBCU Career Development Marketplace to increase the representation of African Americans in the mortgage industry. Currently, only 3% of the mortgage industry’s loan originators are

Documentary Shaw Rising wins Emmy Award

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The inspiring story of Shaw University, the first historically black college in the South, is told in “Shaw Rising.” Founded in North Carolina in 1865 by Dr. Henry Martin Tupper who served as a chaplain in the Union Army during the Civil War, the school has a tumultuous story. Durham, NC studio responsible for the film, Horizon Productions, has received the prestigious Midsouth Regional Emmy Award for the documentary. The announcement came at the 35th annual Midsouth Regional Emmy Award ceremony on February 27. “Shaw Rising” tells Shaw’s story from the beginning. The HBCU has faced many challenges including Jim

Prairie View A&M University launches writing program to honor Toni Morrison

A Toni Morrison Writing Program will be established at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) in honor of the writer and her former student, MacKenzie Scott. The announcement came from PVAMU President Ruth J. Simmons. $3 million in donations will be designated to endow the Morrison Writing Program. A Toni Morrison Writer-in-Residence will be part of the program. Whoever is selected as the Writer-in-Residence will have a one-year visiting appointment at PVAMU and will offer a seminar in writing. He/She will also hold public readings of his/her work and that of other writers in an effort to bring visibility to the importance

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