2019 We Are Southern University

WE ARE

SOUTHERN.

2019

Across the country, Southern University alumni fill courtrooms and boardrooms. They run businesses and nonprofits. They shape minds and save lives. They are living proof of a dream realized.

The Southern University System has a pathway to excellence for everyone. With five campuses in the three largest cities in Louisiana and a growing online portfolio, we offer diverse academic programs that lead to associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and professional degrees. For nearly 140 years, our alumni continuously impact the state, nation and world. We are Southern. Learn more about us at www.sus.edu.

A snapshot of excellence Dear Reader, Since 1880, Southern University has cultivated the dreams of countless students from all over the world.

With five campuses in three of the largest cities in Louisiana—Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport— our reach is tremendous. As we prepare to celebrate our 139th Founders’ Day, we invite you to take a look at the people and programs that make Southern the jewel it is for this state, nation and world.

Throughout these pages, you will learn about our promise of accessibility being fulfilled at the Southern University Law Center, which has the only part-time law program in the state. The Law Center allowed a sitting governor, attorney general and thousands more to earn their degrees on their own time. You will see our commitment to community in the feature about Southern University Shreveport’s dental program. Each year, students and faculty partner with a local nonprofit to offer free services to residents.

Student success is key at all of our locations. A prime example is the student-athlete academic center at Southern University Baton Rouge. Prioritizing studies has led to an average 3.5 GPA amongst all studentathletes. Our contributions to innovation and industry are showcased in the feature about Southern University Agricultural and Research Extension Center’s role in medical marijuana being cultivated in Louisiana. This will allow our students and faculty groundbreaking research opportunities while also providing much-needed aid to patients in our state. And, our resilience and spirit are displayed beautifully as the campus of Southern University New Orleans rebuilds and expands in the wake of catastrophic circumstances. New academic buildings add to an improved infrastructure for employees and students on new Lakefront Campus in the Crescent City.

As the only system of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the nation, we have much to be proud of already, but we dare not be complacent. We have a promise to keep to thousands more that step upon the sacred grounds of the dreams of our founders. Our new strategic plan, “Fulfilling the Promise: A Pathway to Success” is our roadmap. We invite you, our supporters and neighbors, to view this working plan and provide your input at www.sus.edu/strategicplan. After all, we are all Southern.

We do hope that this publication provides you a snapshot of the excellence that we live every day while encouraging you to learn more. Check out our campuses online at www.sus.edu. Better yet, visit one of our beautiful campuses here in our great state. You are always welcome.

Sincerely,

Ray L. Belton, Ph.D. President-Chancellor Southern University System

S o uthe r n Uni ve rsi t y • 2019

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CONTENTS 3 8 14 16 22

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Introduction We Are Academic Excellence We Are Workforce Readiness We Are Innovation We Are Community

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“The Cyber Security Center of Excellence is partnering with a private company called X Corp Solutions in Quantico, Virginia—an area awash in leading national defense and technology companies.”

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“The Innovation Center is a onestop shop that supports the growth and stability of small businesses, while bringing opportunities for students and entrepreneurs to shape their business ideas.”

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“The Milam Street Kitchen Incubator is a place where culinary entrepreneurs can refine their formulas for products they hope to bring to the marketplace.”

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WE ARE Academic Excellence.

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I AM SOUTHERN

A national treasure ACROSS THE COUNTRY,

Southern University alumni fill courtrooms and boardrooms.

They run businesses and nonprofits. They shape minds and save lives. They are living proof of a dream realized.

Southern was born in 1880 to bring academic equity to Louisiana’s minority population, and through its continued commitment to excellence, it has grown from a single institution to a statewide system.

Comprised of campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport, the Southern University Law Center and the Southern University Agriculture Land Grant Campus, the Southern University System is the only historically black university system in the United States.

To its network of nationwide alumni, Southern is a place defined by lasting friendships, personal achievement and self-discovery. Alumni remember it as a place that pushed them to be their best, while still feeling like home.

Today, a low faculty-student

ratio, excellent programs and strong community partnerships continue to help Southern create a culture of student success.

For decades, its curriculum programs have mirrored workforce opportunities across the region, making it possible for graduates to enter fields with promising career paths. One of its best-known is the widely respected School of Nursing, which offers four nursing degrees.

Its many STEM-centered programs include engineering and computer science. Its social work programs, which prepare students in several sub-disciplines, produce more graduates than any other institution in Louisiana.

The Southern University Law Center, which boasts more than 4,100 alumni across the country, provides excellent legal education in the classroom and in 10 different legal aid clinics that serve the community while sharpening students’ skills.

And because the Law Center is built on the notion of creating

greater student access, it offers a part-time option for working professionals.

Southern’s faculty continue to innovate in their fields, contributing significant scholarship and unearthing answers to puzzling research questions, all while exposing students to the power of inquiry.

Students and graduates enjoy a lifelong connection not only to Southern’s national alumni network, but to that of other Historically Black Colleges and Universities nationwide. Like Southern, these institutions are built on a legacy of tenacity, resilience and hope.

Southern is also about making lasting memories. In Baton Rouge, students gather on Scott’s Bluff, a campus spot considered the most beautiful Mississippi River view in the region.

Spending time here with close friends, wearing Columbia blue and gold, and attending the annual Bayou Classic will bond them to each other, to current and future alumni and to the institution forever.

The band, the faculty, and the staff consistently show their investment in my future.

Southern University is my family and they care.

—Trevon Ceasar Drum Major, Human Jukebox

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WE ARE Academic Excellence.

Cybersecurity and SUCCESS:

Southern’s Centers of Excellence

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BUILDING ON A legacy of partnerships between higher education and the public and private sectors, Southern University has announced the creation of two new Centers of Excellence: one in the growing field of cybersecurity; the other in federal procurement services.

The Southern University System and the Southern University System Foundation Enterprise Partners will develop, operate and manage the two programs under the organization name, Southern University Center for Corporate Strategy Solutions, or SUCCESS. The project will bring the research capabilities of the university system to the marketplace, while furthering academic research opportunities and enhancing student engagement, says James Ammons, executive vice

president of the Southern University System and vice chancellor of Southern University.

“We see this project as a winwin,” Ammons says. “We will create more streams of revenue for the five-campus university system while partnering with the business community and giving students unique opportunities to experience highgrowth career paths.”

The Cyber Security Center of Excellence is partnering with a private company called X Corp Solutions located in Quantico, Virginia, an area awash in leading national defense and technology companies.

Southern University is poised to become X Corp’s higher education partner as the company moves into new space in 2019 in the Quantico Corporate Center.

I AM SOUTHERN

Southern University Law Center saw something in me that other institutions may have overlooked.

They refine all of your skills and qualities and give you the best opportunity for success.

—Sherrie Rhodes, Esq. Alumna and Director of External Affairs, Southern University Law Center

The center provides stateof-the-art classrooms and conference rooms where Southern will install faculty and select students as they work on cybersecurity research projects and collaborate on contract proposals with X Corp.

Classroom lectures taking place at the Quantico Corporate Center can be beamed back to classrooms on Southern’s campuses. Additionally, Southern will assist X Corp in creating certification programs for professionals already working in the cybersecurity field, or those hoping to enter it.

“There is a huge demand for trained people in the field of cybersecurity in the area of defense but also in a number

of different fields, including utilities, banking, and our food and warehouse systems,” Ammons says. “Our goal is to help create the next generation of cybersecurity experts. We get an opportunity to do it in a region of the country where the demand is so strong that jobs by the thousands are going unfilled.”

Southern University will serve as a subcontractor for X Corp in providing training and certifications. Back home in Louisiana, Southern computer science and engineering students will have the opportunity to complete certifications in cybersecurity that will make them more competitive in the job market.

Ammons adds that Southern

University will begin offering a concentration in cybersecurity in its Master of Computer Science degree in January 2019, and will soon offer an undergraduate degree program in cybersecurity.

The second Center of Excellence expands an already robust area of work at Southern: contracting and procurement. The university has spent years building a multidisciplinary platform that offers technical and research services to the public and private sector, including state and federal agencies.

“There aren’t many HBCUs that are engaged in contract administration,” says Samuel Washington, director of the Center for Energy and Environ-

mental Studies, and a veteran of both academia and industry.

“Our plan is to build an infrastructure to allow us to go out and pursue other contracts, but to also manage and administer contracts for other entities.”

Southern has been awarded a number of grants from high profile government agencies to advance research for the public good. It has secured $25 million in federal contracts since 1999.

“This is a really important capability that very few schools our size can manage,” says Washington. “We want to continue to grow our work in this area to help diversify our revenue stream and provide research opportunities for faculty and students.”

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WE ARE Academic Excellence.

Law after hours Southern University Law Center’s part-time option.

LOUISIANA RESIDENTS MAY

recall when Governor Murphy J. Mike Foster enrolled in law school while in office. The governor’s institution of choice was the Southern University Law Center (SULC), which had recently added a part-time option for working students.

The institution was at the beginning of a trailblazing trend: Louisiana’s current Attorney General Jeff Landry would also enroll in the part-time program, along with hundreds of other men and women in the ensuing years.

Today, it’s one of the many

features that sets SULC apart from its national peers, says Chancellor John Pierre.

“We have always promoted ourselves as a school of access and opportunity,” Pierre says. “This has really added to the strength of the overall program.”

One of biggest challenges of law education today is its price tag, says Pierre. Many students find the cost of tuition daunting and can’t afford to quit work while in school.

Others want to pay as they go to avoid accumulating additional student loans.

Students take classes Monday

through Thursday evenings from 6 p..m to 9 p.m. through the Parttime Evening Program. These students graduate in four years rather than three. They have the option to complete summer courses, accelerating the pace to three and a half years.

The Law Center also offers a Part-time Day Program for those who prefer daytime classes. About 160 students are currently enrolled in both part-time programs.

“The part-time option adds a richness of diversity across racial lines, as well as age, gender and professional experiences,” says

A Southern specialty:

Tribal law

IN 2018, THE Southern University Law Center added new curriculum programs and seminars on tribal law, which prepare graduates to work with sovereign Native American nations across the country. There are four federally recognized tribes in Louisiana, and they are among the state’s largest private employers.

“Most tribal law programs are located in the American southwest or mountain region,” says Southern University Law Center Chancellor John Pierre. “We saw this as a unique opportunity to train our students in an important field.”

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SULC’s tribal law programs include a new course on the law of indigenous peoples and a Tribal Law and Tribal Sovereignty Symposium, which will be held annually. Pierre and his team are also creating internships for law students in Louisiana tribal courts and governments and are working closely with tribes on how to structure contracts that build sustained economic development opportunities.

Pierre. “It’s allowed us to draw students from all walks of life, including current teachers, entrepreneurs, health care workers and younger students and retirees. I like to say we have students from 22 to 62.”

The Southern Law Center boasts 4,000 alumni nationwide, many of whom have risen to positions of prominence across the legal spectrum. Regional alumni working in the judiciary, private practice or in specialized fields serve as adjunct professors, bringing a wealth of experience to the classroom.

These kinds of programs and partnerships allow our students to see what the new world of law practice looks like. It’s another way to increase our competitiveness.

— SULC CHANCELLOR JOHN PIERRE

At the top of its game SUNO’s School of Social Work works for the greater good.

SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY NEW Orleans has long been known for its flagship School of Social Work, a nationally accredited program that offers both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. The university produces more MSW graduates than any other university in Louisiana.

Students are drawn to social work for a variety of reasons, says SUNO School of Social Work Dean Rebecca Chaisson.

“Some are inspired by the lack of services they see in schools for our young people, while others are concerned about the criminal justice system,” says Chaisson, who has worked in several areas of social work, including private practice, as a death penalty advocate and in public schools and hospitals.

“Some will come at it from housing inequities, and some will be inspired by what they can do in the health care systems,” Chaisson continues. “It’s a huge field with lots of opportunity for growth.”

The SUNO School of Social Work was founded in 1983 by Millie M. Charles, a pioneering social worker, educator and social justice activist.

Charles served as the School of Social Work dean until her retirement in 2006.

Earlier this year, the school moved into the new Millie M. Charles School of Social Work building, a $10.2 million, 40,000-square-foot facility with state-of-the-art classrooms, lecture halls and mock interview spaces.

The program is known for empowering students while also creating a nurturing environment that sets them up for success.

“We’ve asked students in focus groups, ‘Why did you choose to study at SUNO?’” Chaisson says. “They tell us it's because they know the professors truly care about their success.”

Undergraduate social work students who have earned a 3.0 grade point average or higher can opt into an accelerated MSW program, completing it in one year. Currently, more than 400 students are enrolled in the combined BSW and MSW programs.

CSI New Orleans SUNO offers Louisiana’s only forensic science degree.

FROM CRIME SCENES

and DNA, to splatter patterns and fingerprints, the world of forensic science is an essential part of the American judicial system, and Southern University of New Orleans is filling this important field with trained professionals.

It is the only university in Louisiana to offer a forensic science bachelor’s degree.

Launched in 2013, SUNO’s Forensic Science program offers a balanced curriculum that prepares its majors in both hard and social sciences.

Students delve into biology, chemistry, physics and toxicology, while also exploring evidence collection, proper expert witness testimony, law and ethics.

“Students are introduced to a variety of disciplines,” says Department Chair Paris Favorite.

“This field is about thinking on your feet and using science to help solve crimes. We want graduates to leave with excellent problem-solving capacity.”

In addition to completing coursework, junior

and senior forensic science majors are required to fulfill an internship with a related professional organization, such as a regional coroner’s office or crime lab.

Favorite herself brings an important scholarly perspective to the department. She earned a doctorate in urban forestry, and is exposing students to international research in how botany and forestry awareness can help solve crimes.

Wooded areas are often primary, secondary or tertiary crime scenes, and learning to read the signs that a crime may have occurred is key to victim recovery, she says. Moreover, tracing the provenance of plant matter on a victim can also be an important part of a forensic scientist’s job.

As an HBCU, SUNO is helping to build diversity in the field of forensic science, where only 8 percent of current forensic science majors are African-American.

“Forensic science has all sorts of professional applications,” Favorite says. “We are really pleased to be able to add talent to the field.”

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WE ARE Academic Excellence.

Exhibiting excellence:

Museum studies at Southern University New Orleans

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TO MILLIONS OF visitors around the world, touring a museum is a powerful experience. Works of visual art help us to see the world through a new perspective, while historic objects anchor us to the past. Without museums—and the professionals who run them—our connection to culture and history would be significantly compromised.

Southern University New Orleans is one of the few programs in the country, and the only one in Louisiana to offer a master of arts in museum studies that can be completed either in person or online.

“This an amazing and unique program,” says Department Chair Haitham Eid. “Students graduate with an intense understanding of how museums can best serve visitors and communities.”

Eid says the program prepares graduates for work in “GLAM” jobs, or those with galleries, libraries, archives and museums. SUNO’s program draws students from New Orleans, and because of its online option, from around the country. Many are current professionals in the field who want to add to their credentials.

Students complete courses on a variety of topics, including museology, collections management, museum governance, museum design and museum education. Each student is also required to complete a 100-hour internship with a cultural organization.

Students based in New Orleans have access to a wide variety of museums that reflect the region’s rich culture, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the National World War II Museum, the New Orleans Jazz Museum, the McKenna Museum of AfricanAmerican Art, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum and others.

The program culminates in students creating their own museum experience.

They take over a public or museum space, and design a temporary exhibit complete with a catalogue and educational programs.

“They are in charge of everything, from the research and opening, down to the labels on the exhibits,” Eid says.

SUNO’s Museum Studies program is co-located with the university’s wellknown collection of African art, which includes significant holdings from west and central Africa.

Students first Southern’s athletes aim for academic excellence in a new Academic Advisement Center.

STUDENT ATHLETES HAVE a completely different daily routine from other college students.

Most get up at 5 a.m. for early morning practices. They have to watch what they eat and get plenty of rest. They must balance away game travel with a full load of courses. They carry the hopes and dreams of fans on their shoulders while trying to chart a course for their future.

Only a small percentage will go on to become professional athletes—the vast majority play because of their love for the game.

To better support its student athletes, Southern University has unveiled a new Academic Advisement Center.

A $900,000 NCAA matching grant helped the university complete the center, a state-of-the-art building that features quiet study and discussion areas, tutorial support for groups and individuals and a fueling station with healthy snacks.

The grant, part of an NCAA program for low-resourced institutions, enabled Southern to convert an existing campus building into a high-quality space for

its 375 student athletes.

“Academic success is a high priority for our student athletes, and we want to do everything we can to help them succeed,” Athletic Director Roman Banks says.

“They give a lot of themselves to the university.”

The first-class building has become a go-to haven for student athletes from Southern’s 13 men’s and women’s sport teams.

Between classes, they stop in to work on homework or meet with one of eight full-time staff advisors and tutors.

The goal of the center is to ensure that student athletes excel in the classroom, get the support they need and stay on track to graduate in a degree program of their choice.

More than 50 percent­­­­of Southern’s student athletes carried a 3.0 grade point average last year.

That rate is expected to grow now that the Academic Advisement Center is fully operational.

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WE ARE Workforce Readiness.

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Saving lives and changing communities Southern’s nurse practitioner degrees are helping to close the nation’s health care gap.

THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

School of Nursing has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the most respected nursing schools in the Gulf South.

Its faculty members are highly credentialed, and its classroom and clinical curricula yield job-ready nurses who are both quick-thinking and caring.

The program offers four different degrees: a Bachelor of Science in nursing, which produces registered nurses (RN); a Master of Science in nursing, which offers concentrations in either nursing practice or nursing education; a PhD program in nursing; and, the most recent addition, a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP).

Across the board, Southern’s nursing school graduates have

made significant contributions to regional health care, particularly in the number of nurse practitioners it produces.

In fact, the school is the largest producer of African-American nurse practitioners in the nation.

Nurse practitioners offer a high level of patient care that includes prescribing medication, diagnosing conditions, interpreting test results and creating treatment plans.

America’s well-documented primary care doctor shortage has led to an increased demand for nurse practitioners, especially in rural areas. Here, nurse practitioners can make a big difference in closing the health care gap.

In 2012, Southern added a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP),

the highest-level degree possible in the nurse practitioner field.

“This stemmed from a movement in the medical community that suggested programs should offer a doctoral degree for nurse practitioners, especially as demand for this field was increasing,” says Sandra Brown, Southern University School of Nursing professor and an education fellow in the National League for Nursing.

“Nurse practitioners are capable of directly addressing the primary care shortage, and we want to make sure graduates are equipped to make important decisions.”

Brown says the DNP program is aimed at current board-certified nurse practitioners who have already earned an MSN. The program builds on existing clinical

skills with coursework focused on health care leadership: management, health care policy and interdisciplinary collaboration.

“These graduates are in a position to influence policy and healthcare delivery at a systems level,” Brown says.

In addition to coursework, the DNP program requires graduates to complete a capstone project and a practicum during which they shadow hospital executives, health care public policy experts, nurse leaders, nonprofit executive directors and others in the community.

The program draws participants from all over the state. It is completed through a combination of online and traditional classroom courses.

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WE ARE Innovation.

The epicenter of economic development Walk into the Southern University Innovation Center and feel the palpable buzz of entrepreneurial energy.

SOUTHERN HAS LONG been

an advocate for small businesses, serving as home to the Louisiana Small Business Development Center since 1986. But in 2017, the university deepened its commitment to fostering new ideas when it opened the Southern University Innovation Center.

The Innovation Center is a collaboration between the SU System Foundation and the Southern University Baton Rouge campus. Its construction was funded through a $1.2 million grant from the United States Economic Development Administration.

The Innovation Center is comprised of the Louisiana Small Business Development Center, the Student Idea Village, the Southern University Business Incubator and the Disaster Recovery Center.

It’s a one-stop shop that supports the growth and stability of small businesses, while bringing opportunities for students and entrepreneurs to shape their business ideas.

The Innovation Center also provides incubator space and offers training and outreach services to small businesses

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throughout the region. Its programs are directed at students, start-ups, investors and corporate partners.

“With so many services under one roof, the Innovation Center allows us to inspire collaborations across disciplines, provide small business training and show students what it means to start a business,” says Michael Stubblefield, Southern University vice chancellor for research and strategic initiatives.

“It’s a collaborative space where students and start-up entrepreneurs can work with experienced mentors and business experts to launch new ideas.”

The Innovation Center is a thriving, welcoming hub where students and entrepreneurs can advance new business ideas in a supportive environment.

Faculty members and students from the Southern University College of Business and the Law Center are on call to lend a hand with accounting, marketing and management, and legal matters including trademark and copyright issues and contracts.

In the Innovation Center’s Stu-

dent Idea Village, young men and women with fresh concepts learn how to write business plans, study target markets and pitch banks and investors.

Each year, some of those startup ideas are entered into the Bayou Classic BizTech Challenge, a business plan competition held during the annual Bayou Classic in New Orleans.

The weekend isn’t just about football bragging rights. It’s also a battle for a $10,000 prize for the top business idea.

In 2018, a team of four Southern University students won with their business idea, Our Glass, a 3-D printable and portable insulated bottle that brews tea on the go without need for a heating element.

The Innovation Center also houses the Baton Rouge North Economic Development District, which is working to build the economic development capacity of north Baton Rouge, an area of historic importance that has faced disinvestment and high crime.

Baton Rouge North is working with Louisiana Economic Development, the Baton Rouge Area

Chamber, the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority and other partners to recruit and retain more businesses in north Baton Rouge and to address the impediments that have made investment in the area challenging.

Elsewhere in the Innovation Center is Steel Point Solutions, a Washington, D.C.-based information technology company that is working with Southern University faculty members on government contracts and pioneering research.

Students have the opportunity to intern with Steel Point Solutions where they can experience the fast-moving world of systems engineering and cyber technology.

Finally, the Innovation Center features a Disaster Recovery Center to ensure that businesses facing closures as a result of forces beyond their control, like hurricanes or floods, can reopen with as little interruption as possible.

“The goal is to not only help businesses get off the ground,” Stubblefield says, “but to build and strengthen those businesses so that they continue to grow and prosper over the long term.”

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WE ARE Innovation.

Seeding hope Southern’s innovative medical marijuana project can make a difference for many.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS bringing hope to a growing number of patients around the country suffering from a range of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and others.

In Louisiana, Southern University is leading the way to grow and produce medical marijuana while also researching the medicinal application of cannabis and other plants.

“The project is on track and we’re encouraged about what the future holds,” says Janana Snowden, director of the Southern Institute for Medicinal Plants at the SU Agricultural Land-Grant Campus.

The Louisiana Legislature named the agricultural centers at both Southern University and LSU as the state’s only legal growers of marijuana plants from which medicines will be extracted.

Each university is working on its own separate project in order to produce as much research as possible, says Snowden, who specializes in the medicinal use of plants in cancer. Her previous research has involved how hibiscus extract can mitigate cancer cells migrating throughout the body.

Southern’s Institute for Medicinal Plants is overseeing the growth and

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production of medical marijuana, which will be carried out by a third party, Advanced Biomedics. Its majority owner, Ilara Holistic Healthcare, recently paid Southern $2.15 million toward the project.

The company has secured a location where the growth and manufacture will take place and should actively be producing in late 2019.

“We want to be able to make quality medical marijuana available to patients who need it at an affordable price,” Snowden says. “This is especially important for the large number of African American cancer patients in the region.”

While undergraduate students will not be able to research the cannabis plants directly, they will study plants with similar characteristics in order to learn how the process works.

Graduates students will be part of the research.

The SU Agricultural Land-Grant Campus has a long history of programs for the public good. In addition to conducting ongoing, relevant research, the Southern University AgCenter supports small farmers, backyard growers, community gardeners and youth interested in learning more about agriculture.

Growing STEM

I AM SOUTHERN

Southern University New Orleans is leading the way in solutions.

IT’S NO SECRET that the United

States is behind other countries in graduating talent in the science, technology, engineering and methematics fields, and a major emphasis in recent years has been improving STEM learning in high school.

But what happens to underresourced public schools, which already face teacher deficits?

Where will they find qualified men and women to educate young people in the STEM fields?

Southern University New Orleans has an answer. In April 2018, the university was awarded a fiveyear, $1.5 million Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant for a project that directly addresses the shortage of STEM teachers in high-need public schools.

Led by Professor of Mathematics Cynthia Singleton, Professor of Mathematics and Physics Joe Omojola and a team of others, the project will recruit, train and certify 22 new teachers who can be immediately placed in greater

New Orleans STEM classrooms.

The project is a collaboration with John Ehret High School, the Jefferson Parish School System and Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York.

It takes a certain kind of teaching to bring math and science to life, particularly for students who have had little academic success.

“Children will say things like ‘I hate science,’ or ‘I’ll never use math,’ but if they are given the chance to do their own research, and learn how math and science are used in the real world, they will become much more confident,” Omojola says.

The program is available to select participants already enrolled in SUNO’s Department of Natural Sciences, and from STEM professions in the community. “It’s a great way to match individuals who have already shown talent and interest in STEM careers, with the field of teaching,” Singleton says.

The grant’s program activities

include a seminar series on the characteristics of highly effective STEM teachers, which demonstrates top methods for engaging students in STEM learning.

Not only is it open to the Robert Noyce Scholars, but to the community at large. The program also includes a coaching component to support teachers through the Praxis certification exams. And after they’re placed in classrooms, the program helps them succeed by pairing them with a teacher-mentor.

Meanwhile, the program also aims to make STEM learning more engaging for current students. It will hold a science fair for high school students as well as a summer enrichment program that includes hands-on research opportunities.

Top students will be selected to participate in SUNO’s annual summer program with Brookhaven National Laboratory.

I am an athlete, an engineering student, and the list goes on. I am being pushed and molded into the best version of myself because of Southern University.

—Paige Hall Student

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WE ARE Community.

RISING in triumph

Barnes Media LLC

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SINCE LATE 2015, Southern University New Orleans has built three new buildings on campus—a new Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Building, the Millie M. Charles School of Social Work Building and the Natural Sciences Building. A new Education Building is also slated for construction. The Federal Emergency Management Agency allocated $82 million to cover the construction costs.

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WE ARE Community.

r a u g a J TH I S I S

N O I T A N

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TITANS CLASH AND sweat flies across the gridiron of A.W. Mumford Stadium. Players sprint, their shoes screeching, across the hardwood floor of the F.G. Clark Center.

Bats crack and balls soar over Lee-Hines Field. In these arenas and other fields of play, loyal fans dressed in Columbia blue and gold cheer passionately for Southern University’s 13 men’s and women’s athletic teams.

Welcome to Jaguar Nation.

For decades, Southern University athletics have shaped the school’s culture and placed its talented players and coaches onto the national stage.

Among its notable alumni are Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Mel Blount, Major League Baseball left fielder Lou Brock and second baseman Rickie Weeks and NBA player and coach Avery Johnson.

Motivated by deep rivalries across the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Southern has accumulated numerous conference titles and achievements.

The university is part of the NCAA Division I, where top rivals include

Jackson State, Texas Southern and, of course, Grambling State University.

The Bayou Classic, the annual faceoff between Southern and Grambling in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, is one of the most anticipated events of the year, drawing fans, students and alumni from around the country. And it’s not just for football bragging rights.

There’s also the Battle of the Bands, with Southern’s Human Jukebox displaying its talent in song and dance against the Grambling Tigers Marching Band.

Over the course of its history, the Southern Jags football team has won 19 conference titles, winning the Western Division and finishing second in the conference in 2018 under head coach Dawson Odum. The Lady Jaguars basketball team won or shared seven SWAC titles in 18 seasons under former head coach Sandy Pugh and top assistant coach Carlos Funchess, who now leads the team.

Southern’s men’s teams include football, basketball and baseball, and

its women’s teams feature basketball, bowling, soccer, tennis, softball and volleyball. Both men and women run cross country as well as track and field.

Athletic Director Roman Banks says the university’s spirit of never giving up shines through its athletic teams.

In 2016, the NCAA placed Southern’s teams on probation because of administrative errors concerning student eligibility.

The university has worked hard across all departments to install better record keeping systems, enabling nearly all of the teams to fully compete for conference championships this year.

“We have been working hard to rebuild our programs and position them for success now and in the future,” Banks says. “Enthusiasm is high, fans are in the seats and our players are working hard in the classroom and on the field—like they always have.”

Banks has overseen the hire of several new coaches and has worked with university officials to create a modern

administrative infrastructure. He’s also held frequent development meetings with the Jaguar Nation fan base both in Baton Rouge and on the road.

“Athletics is the ‘front porch’ to the campus,” Banks says. “You can see the return of the spirit of Southern sports in the air, with alumni, students and fans excited to wear our mascot, LaCumba, on their chests, and willing to lend a hand with development.”

Exciting new changes are afoot across several sports. New men’s basketball coach, Sean Woods, is expected to introduce a fast-paced style of play during his inaugural 2018-2019 season.

The Lady Jags soccer team, a new sport for Southern, made it to the finals of conference play this year. And the women’s softball team will play in the newly renovated Jaguar Field this spring.

“There’s a real excitement in the air about our Jags,” Banks says. “There’s no limit to what we can accomplish.”

S o uthe r n Uni ve rsi t y • 2019

23

WE ARE Community.

The American Dream From start-up to expansion, Southern’s Small Business Development Center is there to guide.

ROBYN SELDERS TURNED a

passion for baking into a thriving cupcake business called Cupcake Junkie. Former New England Patriots defensive lineman and Donaldsonville native Jarvis Green traded his love for Louisiana cuisine into a prepared frozen gourmet shrimp dinner business called Oceans 97.

Merrick Young turned his experience in the construction industry into Baker-based Living Solutions Construction Company.

These small business owner— and hundreds of others—have benefitted from the free services of the Louisiana Small Business Development Center at Southern University.

One of 10 centers across Louisiana, the LSBDC is part of the national Small Business

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Development Center network, the largest provider of management and technical assistance for small businesses in the United States.

The LSBDC was first established on Southern’s campus in 1986, and for the last 42 years, it has helped small businesses across seven parishes: East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Ascension, Pointe Coupee, East Feliciana and West Feliciana.

“We provide countless resources to both start-up and existing businesses,” says LSBDC Director Ada Womack-Bell. “We give them the strategic blueprint for what to do and support them at every stage in the life of their business. We’re ‘business builders.’”

Clients reach out to the center for assistance through an online portal, or simply by calling.

Start-up company founders might need help with writing a business plan, learning about basic accounting or getting access to capital. Existing business owners might request technical assistance for confronting a particular business challenge, like increasing sales or developing an expansion plan.

The center helps businesses across a variety of sectors address a multitude of issues. “No matter what stage they’re in, we’re prepared to help,” Womack-Bell says.

“I’m absolutely passionate about helping small businesses.”

The LSBDC provides private counseling services and hosts monthly workshops on relevant topics.

Clients can also take advantage of other services at Southern University, including the Southern University Law Center Technology and Entrepreneurship Clinic, which provides free legal services to entrepreneurs and inventors on patenting, licensing and other intellectual property issues.

Immediately next door to the LSBDC is the Southern University Innovation Center (see story, page 16), home to the Southern University Student Idea Village

and the Southern University Business Incubator, which provides space to start-up companies.

The LSBDC also helps small business learn to become state and federal contractors, which can play a major role in determining their future success. Some companies can become certified as minority- or women-owned businesses, an important move in making their applications in state and federal procurement more competitive.

The center also features plenty of free training on that all-important topic: money. Regular workshops are offered on lending, financial management, angel investing and more.

The center is intent on helping people convert their business ideas into reality. Womack-Bell likes to say that being able to step out on a limb and take a calculated risk is what separates successful business people from the pack.

“After you’ve done your research and done your due diligence, just being able to finally do it makes the difference,” she says. “And we’re here to make sure you have the tools to do it.”

AN IMPRESSIVE IMPACT:

Louisiana Small Business Development Center 2017-2018 service year

195

110

individuals counseled

Jobs created

22

+$3 million

new businesses launched

in client sales growth

$6.3 million

1,032

individuals reached through technical assistance workshops

in capital secured

S o uthe r n Uni ve rsi t y • 2019

25

WE ARE Community.

COMMUNITY IMPACT Southern University Law Center Law Clinic assistance, August 2016 to February 2018

450 $263,394 Clients served

Economic impact in client assistance

A force for good Pro bono clinics help the community and provide real-life experience for law students.

WHEN A 94-YEAR-OLD woman with Alzheimer’s Disease lost her nursing home benefits, the Southern University Law Clinic stepped in to help.

Led by a Southern Law Center faculty member, third year law students helped correct a technical error stemming back to 1970, when the client sold her home, but used the wrong property description. With the property still included among her assets, she was at risk of losing Medicare benefits.

The team worked diligently to file a new appeal based on the property description error and won the case. The client was allowed to remain in the nursing home, and received back pay for lost benefits.

Stories like this are common at the Southern University Law Center Law Clinics, which provide free or reduced cost legal aid to low-income individuals. Ten clinics provide services in the following practice areas: family, civil and administrative law, juvenile law, divorce and domestic

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violence, low-income taxpayer issues, elder and succession issues, mediation, criminal law, workers compensation, bankruptcy and disaster relief.

“The clinics tap into two primary concerns,” says Director of Clinical Legal Education Virginia Listach. “They fill a void in the community for legal aid, while also enhancing student learning.

Students combine experiential learning in the community with theoretical learning in the classroom, and it really helps them build the skills necessary to practice.”

Southern’s Law Clinic program was founded in 1974 and has expanded steadily ever since.

When Listach arrived as director in 1997, there were three clinics.

Today, 10 clinics cover 15 different practice areas.

Clients access clinics in two ways. Those with either criminal or juvenile offenses can be assigned to a clinic through a public defender. Other clients reach out to clinics directly. They might have a custody issue, property

dispute or need to file for divorce.

Eligibility is based on income requirements. Every year, between 700 and 800 clients ask the clinics for help.

Second- and third-year Law Center students can take up to 12 credit hours of clinic work.

“Every clinic is an opportunity for a student to enhance learning,” Listach says. “They experience client interaction, drafting, negotiating and preparing for and interacting with the court. Clinics prepare students for a many different kinds of legal interactions.”

Experiential legal education is required by the American Bar Association. It ensures new lawyers enter the profession practice-ready. Each clinic is directed by a Law Center professor, who oversees and signs off on all student activities.

The types of clinics offered reflect the evolving needs of the community.

Several years ago, Listach developed a stand-alone Divorce Clinic, because it was such a

big part of the Family, Civil and Administrative Law Clinic. And because domestic abuse issues were a prevailing factor in some divorce cases, a domestic abuse component was added to the clinic.

Elder Law was created to support families as they worked through issues related to older family members, including wills, property succession and custody of grandchildren.

A new clinic addressing housing and real estate issues is in formation, since many abandoned or blighted houses in the community can’t be cleaned up without a clear title.

The Disaster Relief Clinic was created after the 2016 flood and remains in place to capture future disaster relief work.

Shortly after the flood, a flurry of local residents appealed to the clinic for help with landlord/ tenant issues, successions, title issues, contractor issues, insurance issues, evictions, legal housing issues with hotels/motels, flood insurance and mortgages.

Guardians of ideas Southern provides certified intellectual property protection and advice.

IT HAPPENS ALL the time: An entrepreneur has the perfect idea for a new, life-changing product. He has a gut-sense of the marketplace, and a solid plan for the product’s manufacture and distribution. And because he’s a great marketer, he’s sure that sales will soar and that the company will be profitable in no time.

But while our hopeful entrepreneur understands consumer behavior, he is clueless about things like trademark and patent issues, entity formation and licensing. And since he has limited financial resources, he can’t afford to hire a lawyer to help him navigate this new world.

That’s where the Southern Law Center Technology and Entrepreneurship Clinic comes in. The clinic provides free legal services that help entrepreneurs and inventors who meet certain income requirements start a business or launch a product.

Like the Law Center’s other law clinics, the Technology and Entrepreneurship Clinic is staffed by students working under the close supervision of a law professor.

In 2017, the Technology and Entrepreneurship Clinic became one of about 25 legal clinics in the country to earn certification through a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office program that allows students to file patent and trademark applications under an attorney’s supervision.

The clinic is a win-win for start-up business owners and law students to gain practical experience.

They provide clients a range of services including assisting with the formation of corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships, helping businesses obtain professional and business licenses, adding legal protections to product development, filing for patents and trademarks and other services directed at small and emerging businesses.

Southern’s dental hygiene program in Shreveport is shaping lives and giving back LAST FEBRUARY, MORE than 220 people dropped by the Southern University Shreveport (SUSLA) Dentistry from the Heart Day for free dental care. Those 18 and older had their teeth cleaned and gums checked, or received other routine dental services, such as fillings or extractions.

The event was part of a national program that encourages local dental providers to offer free dental care to community members on one special day.

“It’s a great way to bring awareness to dental care in a way that is accessible to the community,” says Shreveport dentist and SUSLA adjunct professor Jeremy Alexander, the supervising dentist for SUSLA’s Dental Hygiene Program. “It was a big success and we plan to do it again.”

Students from the dental hygiene program helped the day run smoothly, processing patients, checking blood pressure and observing procedures. The dental hygiene program is part of SUSLA’s Division of Allied Health, one of the only accredited dental hygiene programs in Louisiana.

The annual Dentistry from the Heart Day takes place at the SUSLA dental hygiene clinic, sponsored by the university and Alexander’s mobile pediatric dental clinic, Miles for Smiles.

Dentistry from the Heart Day accomplishes two important objectivesr. First, it brings free dental care to underserved members of the community, a critical need that can make a big difference in overall health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 91 percent of Americans over the age of 20 have had cavities at some point in their lives, and 27 percent of all adults over 20 have untreated tooth decay.

Moreover, there is a disproportionately higher rate of untreated tooth decay and periodontal disease among African-Americans (42 percent) and Hispanics (36 percent), according to the American Dental Association.

When left untreated, these conditions can lead to other health concerns and become very expensive to reverse.

In addition, Dentistry from the Heart Day boosts awareness of the SUSLA dental hygiene program.

Students who meet certain requirements can apply to the program, where they are trained in both classroom and clinical settings. They graduate with an associate of applied science degree in dental hygiene and the skills required to go straight to work.

“We want to see our graduates enter the workforce here in the Shreveport area, or around the country,” Alexander says. “It’s a great career.”

Indeed, the field is robust.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median pay nationwide for dental hygienists with an associate’s degree in dental hygiene is $74,070, and job growth is expected to increase 20 percent between 2016 and 2026.

Students at SUSLA’s program also have the opportunity to sharpen their skills with real patients who use the clinic’s services. The dental clinic offers care on a sliding scale to the community two days a week.

With Alexander as their supervising dentist, students practice the tasks they’ll soon perform on the job, including taking a patient’s history, cleaning teeth, taking and developing X-rays, placing sealants and fluorides, and teaching proper brushing and flossing techniques.

“It’s a great way to give our students practical experience,” Alexander says. “But more importantly, it’s a way to give back to the community.”

S o uthe r n Uni ve rsi t y • 2019

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WE ARE Community.

I AM SOUTHERN

Southern University isn’t just the place where the Mississippi River bends in Baton Rouge. It’s a feeling of warmth, acceptance and comfort that you carry with you for life.

I am Southern and Southern is home.

Taste the opportunities

—Marcelle Fontenot Ashley

Alumna, Southern University News anchor

Southern University Shreveport’s new kitchen incubator builds businesses and community.

FOOD IS ONE of Louisiana’s greatest cultural assets. It’s at the heart of who we are, how we celebrate, and for many of us, how we make a living. Now food is the centerpiece of an innovative new venture launched by Southern University Shreveport and several community partners.

The recently open Milam Street Kitchen Incubator and Community Kitchen, or MS Kick for short, is a multifaceted facility designed to support culinary micro-enterprises, train new workers in culinary and hospitality careers and bring opportunities to Shreveport’s Allendale and Ledbetter Heights neighborhoods.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation is investing $300,000 in the initiative, which will bring health education and a healthy restaurant to those communities.

MS Kick was developed by SUSLA, the City of Shreveport, the Office of Community Development and others. The new building is situated on Milam Street, a once thriving street in an area of Shreveport that has

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suffered decades of disinvestment and decay.

MS Kick officially opened in fall 2018 and includes two initial components: the Kitchen Incubator and the Community Kitchen. The Kitchen Incubator is a place where culinary entrepreneurs can refine their formulas for products they hope to bring to the marketplace. It’s the right spot for home cooks who believe they have that perfect barbecue sauce, salad dressing or spice mixture for commercial application.

But having a winning recipe is only part of it. Entrepreneurs need lots of other resources to be successful, so the Kitchen Incubator will also provide assistance with writing a business plan, marketing a product and distributing it to retailers.

And because businesses are built on partnerships, the Kitchen Incubator will also offer wireless collaborative workspace to culinary entrepreneurs. It gives them a place to work and a chance to bounce ideas off experts and fellow business owners.

MS Kick’s second component is the Community Kitchen, the outreach arm of the project. The Community Kitchen provides education, training and community engagement opportunities to residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. SUSLA and other partners will offer job training in the culinary and hospitality fields, including customer service and front-of-the-house management.

Case managers will help those who complete the training find work.

The Community Kitchen will also include a Community Café, an exciting national model that’s widely recognized as a way to improve neighborhoods. The Community Café will host community dinners for neighborhood residents during which meaningful conversations take place over a healthy meal.

Community Café is meant to nourish neighbors with great food, while also giving them the tools and resources to build community capacity and social cohesion.

Another component of the Community Kitchen is the Culinary Medicine Center, a model

adopted from the Tulane School of Medicine Teaching Kitchen at the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine. Eating well, exercising and incorporating other forms of wellness are widely recognized as tools for reducing the disease burden on communities.

The goal of the Goldring Center, and now, the Culinary Medicine Center, is to bring nutrition education to health care professionals, so they can pass this information to their patients. For example, health care professionals who attend a class on eating mindfully or cooking with fresh produce, which they will then share with patients.

Finally, the Community Kitchen will also feature the Coffee Café, a coffee stand operated by youth between the ages of 16 and 20.

The Coffee Café is situated in the flexible event space portion of the Community Kitchen and will be run by the Housing Authority of the City of Shreveport. Residents can enjoy a cup of coffee, as young people gain skills in customer service, cashiering and management.

Onward and Upward The Veterans Upward Bound Program provides a fresh start for those who served in the military.

U.S. VETERANS SPEND their military careers facing down all sorts of challenges, from active duty combat to providing humanitarian assistance. But for some, the real challenge is coming home.

Transitioning from the military to civilian life can be difficult for many veterans, especially those who don’t have a college degree or a clear career path.

Southern University Shreveport’s Veterans Upward Bound Program was designed to help.

In 2017, the university received a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help struggling veterans in the region convert their military experience to a new civilian career.

The program supports about 125 veterans a year through one-on-one career and academic counseling. It’s one of 49 programs across the country and in Puerto Rico.

“We’re a mediator,” says Shreveport Veterans Upward Bound Program Director Urina Holt, a Marine Corps veteran.

“For many veterans, it’s hard to know where to start when you get out of the military. We’re here to provide direction and support.”

The program is available to veterans from Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Webster Parishes. They must have served at least 181 days in the military and cannot have been dishonorably discharged.

They must also meet low income requirements or demonstrate academic need.

Many of Southern’s Veterans Upward Bound Program participants were affiliated with Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport—an Air Force Global Strike Command Base—or Fort Polk in Leesville, which is home to the Army’s Joint Readiness Training Center. The two major military installations are among the country’s most significant, and their presence in Louisiana means a large number of veterans must integrate into civilian life each year.

“Our applicants represent a wide variety of ages, life experiences and ethnicities,” Holt says.

“Some are even homeless. What they all have in common is a need and desire to start a new life for themselves.”

Veterans who are accepted into the program begin by sitting down with a counselor to discuss their educational and career goals. Some may still need to complete a High School Equivalency Degree, while others may have some college credits under their belts.

Some may need refresher courses in English, math, foreign language, reading comprehension, computer literacy and other topics they’ll need as first-year college students. The program provides such courses, and an ACT prep component to get them ready for standardized testing.

“We recognize that what each person needs is not a cookie cutter approach,” Holt says. “We create a strategy based on each veteran’s particular needs.”

The program also assists veterans with the process of enrolling in college as well as applying for financial aid. Holt and her team take participants on college visits to institutions in north Louisiana and around the state.

Southern University Shreveport is the natural choice for many of them, but some opt for other institutions.

Once they’re ready to apply for college or for certification programs, they meet with a financial counselor, who brings each participant up to speed on applying for financial aid. While the process can seem overwhelming, it can yield fruitful results for veterans through Pell Grants, subsidized student loans, the Montgomery G.I. Bill and federal work-study programs.

Counselors help veterans complete school-specific documentation for financial aid and also retrieve financial aid transcripts from previous institutions.

Converting military jobs to civilian positions can seem daunting to returning veterans, and the Veterans Upward Bound Program addresses this through a career exploration component.

Veterans undergo a career

assessment, which helps counselors match the skills and talents they’ve acquired in the military to their personal goals. All the while, the program is also keeping an eye on job trends in the state.

“It’s really an incredible program,” Holt says. “This is a group of people who have given so much to our country, and we don’t want them to be left behind.”

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WE ARE Community.

Building a new future Southern University’s YouthBuild Shreveport is transforming lives one by one.

ON THE CONSTRUCTION site, hammers swing, table saws buzz and measuring tapes snap into place.

Shiny new affordable housing units for local residents are underway, and the workers helping to complete them are members of YouthBuild Shreveport, a pioneering program that builds the job skills of high school dropouts while contributing to the public good.

YouthBuild Shreveport, hosted by Southern University Shreveport, recruits young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who demonstrate potential, but whose lives are adrift. They come from broken families and have dropped out of high school.

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Some have served prison time.

The program provides them with hard skills in construction, counseling and life skills and a classroom setting where they can complete their High School Equivalency Diploma, with oneon-one support.

“We give young people a chance to start over in a setting where they receive help and encouragement,” says YouthBuild Shreveport Program Manager Shanace Robinson. “We’re able to help them get back on track and move into the workforce or enroll in college.”

The program has operated through Southern University Shreveport since 2014, when the university received a grant for

more than $1 million to become a YouthBuild Site. YouthBuild Shreveport is part of the YouthBuild USA program, a network of more than 270 sites across the country. SUSLA's grant was renewed in 2016 for $989,000.

About 25 young people are selected for the program each year. Many are referred by the Caddo Parish School System and local community organizations.

Before participants are fully accepted, they must pass a “mental toughness” orientation that reveals their ability to complete the program.

“About 30 to 40 kids will start the program, but after the mental toughness orientation, we only keep about half,” Robinson says.

“It means a lot to the participants who are accepted that everyone here really wants to stick with it and turn their lives around.”

Participants are paid minimum wage while working, which enables them to maintain their financial obligations. They spend half their time in the program in construction training and work, and the other half completing their HSED and in training sessions on life skills, resume writing and financial literacy.

Program graduates leave not only with an HSED but with a certification by the National Center for Construction Education and Research, the industry leader in construction skills certification and training.

MISSION The Valdry Center for Philanthropy is an academically based center focused on philanthropic studies and nonprofit management. VCP seeks to educate the socially conscious student, volunteer, and practitioner in the emerging field of philanthropic studies, through exploring the economic, historical, and philosophical rationales for voluntary action in the local, national, and international arenas.

MISSIon

he valdry center for philanthropy is an academically based center focused on philanthropic studies

nd nonprofit management. vcp seeks to educate the socially conscious student, volunteer, and

VCP IS GUIDED BY FOCUSING ON ITS SEVEN STRANDS OF WORK:

ractitioner in the emerging field of philanthropic studies, through exploring the economic, historical,

Degree Programs • Social Entrepreneurship • Faith Programming • Seminar and Certificate Programs • Customized Nonprofit Capacity Building • Educational Initiatives • Research

nd philosophical rationales for voluntary action in the local, national, and international arenas.

CP is guided by focusing on its seven strands of work: degree programs social entrepreneurship Faith programming seminar and certificate programs customized Nonprofit capacity Building educational Initiatives Research

VISIT uS onlIne @ vcp.sus.edu oR scan the QR code to leARn or GIVe ToDAY!

VISIT US ONLINE AT VCP.SUS.EDU

OR SCAN THE QR CODE TO LEARN OR GIVE TODAY!