Greg Coleman

FORMER RATTLER PUNTER COLEMAN, FIRST NFL AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUNTER,

HAS KICKED HIS WAY INTO 2021 BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

BY [ Brian J. HOWARD ]

Florida A&M University (FAMU) former punter GREG COLEMAN was among six inductees named in November to the 12th class of the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

Coleman, who played for the Rattlers from 1972 to 1975, will be enshrined with Coy Bacon (Jackson State), Jimmie Giles (Alcorn State), Winston Hill (Texas Southern), Roynell Young (Alcorn State), and coach Willard Bailey (Virginia Union, Norfolk State, St. Paul’s, and Virginia-Lynchburg) as members of the 2021 Black College Football Hall of Fame class.

“On behalf of the board of trustees, congratulations to the Class of 2021,” said Doug Williams, Black College Football Hall of Fame co-founder and 2011 inductee. “It is a significant achievement to be considered one of the best to ever play or coach football at a Historically Black College and University.”

Coleman, who earned the nickname “coffin corner,” was the first African-American punter in NFL history. He was selected in the 14th round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals and had a career that spanned 12 years. Coleman spent the 1977 season with the Cleveland Browns and played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1978-1987, before ending his career with the Washington Football Team (formerly the Washington Redskins) in 1988. He was selected by the fans to the Vikings 40th Anniversary Team.

Votes were tallied from the 11-member selection committee, comprising prominent journalists, commentators, and historians; former NFL general managers and executives; and members of the Black College Football Hall of Fame to determine the inductees.

The Class of 2021 will be honored at the 2021 Black College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony and Juneteenth Celebration, presented by the Atlanta Falcons on June 19, 2021. The induction ceremony will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

ALUMNI APPLAUSE BY [ Véronique GEORGE ]

ABC News Names FAMU Journalism Alumna Network’s New President

Florida A&M University (FAMU) alumna Kimberly Godwin is the new president of ABC News, a Disney company. Her hiring, announced in April, makes Godwin one of the most powerful African American women in broadcast media. Godwin now oversees ABC’s editorial and business operations for broadcast, digital, streaming and audio news across the network, which includes iconic franchises “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight,” “20/20,” “Nightline,” “The View,” “This Week, ” and FiveThirtyEight.

“The FAMU community is immensely proud of her accomplishment,” said FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “Her hard work and excellence have carried her to the pinnacle of her profession. This reinforces what we always tell our students: You can get anywhere from FAMU. ABC News will be in good hands.”

“I have immense respect and admiration for ABC News,” Godwin said. “As the most trusted brand in news, they are to be commended for the extraordinary work and dedication of the journalists, producers, executives and their teams across the organization. I am honored to take on this stewardship.”

Godwin was previously executive vice president of CBS News, where she had top editorial oversight of newsgathering worldwide, including the national desks, foreign desks, and bureaus. At CBS News for 14 years, Godwin served in such top positions as CBS News executive director for development and diversity and as senior broadcast producer of the CBS Evening News. She was recognized in November 2020 by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University for her work.

“Kim is an instinctive and admired executive whose unique experiences, strengths and strategic vision made her the ideal choice to lead the outstanding team at ABC News and build on their incredible success,” said Disney General Entertainment Content Chairman Peter Rice. “Throughout Kim’s career in global news organizations and local newsrooms, she has distinguished herself as a fierce advocate for excellence, collaboration, inclusion and the vital role of accurate and transparent news reporting.”

Before she joined CBS News in 2007, the Panama City, Florida, native spent more than two decades as a leader at some of the nation’s top stations. Godwin has also spent time as a journalism educator. She was the interim director for journalism at the FAMU School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (SJGC) from 2004 to 2005 and an adjunct faculty member. She currently chairs the FAMU SJGC Board of Visitors.

Former TCC instructor Named President of New York’s Stella and Charles Guttman Community College

Larry D. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D., will be the next president of Stella and Charles Guttman Community College, the newest school in the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Johnson’s hiring was announced in February by the CUNY Board of Trustees on Feb. 1.

Johnson, who is now president of Phoenix College, a public community college in Maricopa County, Arizona, will take office at Guttman on July 1.

Johnson earned his undergraduate degree in English literature from FAMU before pursuing a master’s in humanities from Florida State University (Tallahassee). He holds a doctorate in humanities from Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta, Ga.). Johnson began his career at Tallahassee Community College, where he taught developmental English and reading.

Wayne Township New Jersey has a New Business Administrator

Florida A&M University (FAMU) alumnus D. Talib Aquil was named Wayne Township (N.J.) business administrator last summer.

The Newark, N. J. native’s rise to the municipal government’s top non-elected position marks his latest achievement in a journey of overcoming a learning disability.

Aquil took over as business administrator in the community of more than 55,000 people following an almost two-decade career with the City of Newark. In 2003, he was hired as an aide to a Newark city council member. He then rose through the ranks before serving four years as director of public works for Newark, the largest city in the state.

As the business administrator, Aquil’s primary role is that of a liaison between the administration and governing body, making sure the Township runs efficiently, delivers quality services in a timely manner, and within the budget.

“My goal is to be a difference maker and inspire my team to be difference makers,” he said. “I want to be known for always giving maximum effort. “I may disappoint someone because they do not agree with my idea or because they do not believe my position is right, but I will never disappoint in my presentation, my sincerity, or the energy I inject into anything I attach my name to. My legacy in Public Administration will be in every life I have touched.”

Aquil credits the leadership and staff of what is now the FAMU Center for Disability Access and Resources (CeDAR) for transforming the prospects of a student for whom academic success seemed unlikely. Early on, Aquil was diagnosed with a form of dyslexia. He had to read schoolwork three, four, and five times to grasp the material.

“I was about 11 years old before I really knew how to read. I didn’t really become a decent student until I got into college,” he said in an interview.

Aquil graduated last in his eighthgrade class. He attended three different high schools and took five years to graduate; then, things

changed, he said. He managed to raise his GPA to 2.5.

Despite his struggles, Aquil possessed advantages most of his peers did not. He lived with both of his parents who were college educated. His mother graduated from Seton Hall University (South Orange, N.J.), his father Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.). His parents knew about the FAMU Learning Development and Evaluation Center program for students with learning disabilities.

“There’s no way I would have made it to where I am right now without the Learning Center,” Aquil said. After his FAMU admission application was initially denied, he applied to the center’s two-week summer program where he proved he could thrive in college.

“That’s how I got in, and I flourished from there. I didn’t have much confidence in my academic abilities, but it was one of the things they helped with,” said Aquil, who credits then-director Sharon Wooten, Ph.D., and assistant director Annette Oliver of the Learning Development and Evaluation Center for their efforts. “They stressed we are not dumb or stupid,” Aquil said of the staff’s approach, “we just learned differently; focus on your strengths. Whatever resources we needed, they made sure we got.

“They taught us how to advocate for ourselves, the importance of having accountability partners, that you’re entitled to reasonable accommodations so that you can succeed, and it helped me tremendously in life,” said Aquil, who attended FAMU from 1995 to 2000. “If I could redo those five years, I would do it in a heartbeat. It was absolutely wonderful.”

Pharmacy Grad Promoted to the Front as Rear Admiral, Becoming Assistant U.S. Surgeon General in Nation’s Capital

Rear Adm. Cedric Guyton was promoted Feb. 1 to assistant surgeon general in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). Guyton was deputy director, Division of Commissioned Corps Services, before his promotion.

As the deputy director Guyton was responsible for providing leadership and oversight of the development and implementation of officer recruitment, readiness, and deployment; career management, including assignments, separations, and promotions; and training services necessary to successfully manage the 6,100 active-duty officers of the USPHS Commissioned Corps.

Guyton said his promotion is an important lesson that it “does not matter where you start your journey.”

“My promotion is a great reflection of the dedication and hard work of my village – my mother, my father, and my family,” Guyton said. “My family ensured that, as an African-American male, I made it out of the backwoods of Thomasville, Georgia.”

In his new role, Guyton is in charge of four senior leaders, and 30 officers and civilian employees. He is also responsible for advising the director of Commissioned Corps Headquarters on the annual $28-million budgetary development process.

A two-time graduate of the FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, (COPPS), he received a doctorate (PharmD) in 1998 and a master’s in public health in 2004.

“FAMU instilled in me the confidence, determination, and educational tools to survive and thrive in any professional environment. My experiences in the COPPS while obtaining my doctorate and eventually MPH, prepared me to sit in the Pentagon to present IT budgets and project plans, fill prescriptions in underserved communities, and manage and lead public-health programs within many divisions of Health and Human Services,” said Guyton, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Albany State University (Albany, Ga.).

“I was raised to never make an excuse about where you come from, but to focus on where you want to go,” Guyton added. “My promotion was proof that the experiences and expertise I obtained at the highest of seven hills propelled me to the top of my career within the United States Public Health Service. I have been truly blessed with a great family, mentors, and professors.”

Guyton’s earlier assignments as a Public Health Service officer included serving as the lead project officer within the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Policy and Programs Group and CMMI liaison to the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator (ONC). Prior to serving in the Center, Guyton served as Defense Health Information Management Systems director of interagency and imaging, where he was responsible for management of a $120-million budget in Health IT development, integration, and sustainment contracts.

In his first Corps assignment, Guyton served as clinical staff pharmacist in Whiteriver, Ariz., and Tucson Area Indian Health Service (IHS) in 2007 as chief pharmacist of the San Xavier Indian Health Center. He also served as a Tucson Area IHS clinical applications coordinator and teleradiology program project officer during his tour.

Clyde Perry Brown, D.Ph., a professor in the Institute of Public Health, was Guyton’s adviser in the master’s program.

“He consistently, as his schedule allowed, came back to the Institute of Public Health. On several occasions, he gave seminars on opportunities in the Public Health Service and the Indian Health Service,” Brown said. “Dr. Guyton was always looking back over his shoulder to see who he could pull forward. He is truly a great public health professional and public servant. His humility, above all, sets him apart from others with similar achievements.”

“I was raised to never make an excuse about where you come from, but to focus on where you want to go.”

—Rear Admiral Cedric Guyton

OTHER NOTABLES

■ Vivian Bradley Johnson,

PharmD, was nominated for membership on the White

House COVID-19 Health Equity

Task Force ■ Will Packer and Chris Gees play key roles in the Wendy Williams Biopic, a made-for-television movie on Lifetime.