A&M Magazine Summer 2020

Summer 2020

Mentors at the FAMU International Day of Women and Girls in Science in Gaither Gymnasium in February 2020.

INSIDE SPECIAL SECTION: FAMU Battles COVID-19

6 SUMMER 2020 UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT Larry Robinson, Ph.D.

FIRST LADY SHARON ROBINSON A dynamic leader steps into the light

ERICA HILL Repaying A Debt

WOMEN OF STEM Changing the color and gender of science, technology, engineering and math education

NATALIE WHITE From the hardwood to the executive suite

President’s Message 2 Editors’ Letter 3 Applause 42 Fallen Rattlers 48

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INTERIM DIRECTOR OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS Keith Miles PROJECT MANAGER Britney Smith

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EDITORS LaNedra Carroll Paul Jerome Andrew J. Skerritt ART DIRECTION/LAYOUT DESIGN Brion Eason WRITERS Olivia Abney Cyrena Allen Curtis Bataille LaNedra Carroll Asari Fletcher Véronique George Heather Johnson Joseph Maleszewski Kamryn Marshall Pamela Moore Kimberly Brown Pellum, Ph.D. Andrew J. Skerritt Simone Williams Vaughn Wilson PHOTOGRAPHY Adam Taylor Nallah Brown COMMUNICATIONS STAFF Britney Smith, publications director Andrew J. Skerritt, media relations director Vernon Bryant, special events Brion Eason, senior graphic designer Véronique George, social media Adam Ramgeet, marketing coordinator Tawanda Finley, executive assistant Lawana Clark, administrative assistant Nallah Brown, photographer/videographer FOR MORE INFORMATION (850) 599-3413 Twitter: twitter.com/FAMU_1887 Facebook Search: Florida A&M University YouTube: YouTube.com/FAMUTube1887

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE This is a seminal moment in the history of Florida A&M University. It is a time when the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused major challenges to our families and communities and has sown the seeds of uncertainty in the minds of some surrounding the future of our extraordinary institution.

Make no mistake. Florida A&M University will survive the threat posed by this invisible affliction as we have withstood many other challenges throughout our history. The key questions are how we address the challenges as a family, and whether we are nimble and flexible enough to adjust to a rapidly changing landscape.

Based upon the commitment, ingenuity and generosity of current employees, students, alumni, friends and supporters, I am confident that we have the right answers to these questions and many more.

Collectively, we recognize the serious and broad-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to work collaboratively in the weeks and months ahead to preserve our legacy of “love and charity.” Using recent history as a guide, we have reason for optimism.

As you will read in this special issue of A&M Magazine, FAMU has not been paralyzed during this time of crisis. Since April 25, Bragg Memorial Stadium has played host to a COVID-19 testing site.

This operation, in partnership with the Bond Community Health Center, the Florida Department of Emergency Management and the Leon County Health Department, has been integral to FAMU’s forward-leaning posture in the face of this once-in-a-lifetime challenge. As of August 20, more than 35,000 people had visited the site to be tested -- and, yes, on Tallahassee’s “southside.”

Despite the odds, FAMU faculty, students and staff have met this challenge head- on. Since the outbreak began, FAMU has shared our supplies of personal protective equipment with state agencies. Our Institute of Public Health faculty, students and alumni have been on the frontlines of state and national efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The pandemic necessitated a major change in our mode of operation. Most of our staff, faculty and administrators worked remotely from March 18 until June 15. Faculty provided instruction remotely since mid-March and continue to do so.

We expect to see students on campus again this fall as we

offer a hybrid of in-person and remote instruction. The daily and weekend class schedule is being expanded to accommodate the new reality: classes will have fewer students to ensure social distancing.

In anticipation of the return of staff, faculty and students, the University disinfected buildings. We have established safety, testing and monitoring protocols for the University.

Our reopening plan should result in about 1,300 students living in residence halls. Students will be educated on social distancing and other safety guidelines.

We hope these measures will inspire trust in our most valued stakeholders.

The FAMU experience cannot be duplicated. What sets us apart is the vibrance and vitality of this campus on one of the “highest of seven hills,” and the inculcation of the spirit of “Excellence with Caring” to those who don the orange and green.

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested us, but we remain as committed as ever to providing a quality education in a safe environment to the students entrusted to us.

Future generations will look back at 2020 as the year COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill. They will search for lessons we have left behind on how we coped with the deadliest global pandemic in more than a century. Within the pages of this magazine, we will inform them through an expansive look at our efforts. They will also find stories of several notable women of FAMU who had their own struggles and historic victories, as well.

Finally, they will read about university women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). We hope that future Rattlers will be inspired by their example.

We want all who love this institution to be proud of and inspired by the actions we took to safeguard the integrity of this great institution, and our efforts to serve the larger community beyond this hallowed campus.

Larry Robinson, Ph.D., is the 12th president of Florida A&M University.

Letter from the EDITORS

Last fall, our team of writers, photographers, graphic artists and editors conceived of a plan to pay homage to “the women of Florida A&M University.”

That idea soon evolved into a more focused goal for an A&M Magazine issue that would introduce our readers to the FAMU women of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

These women are breaking barriers and making seismic shifts in their fields by creating opportunities and pathways for their students to follow.

As we all know, life changed. The world changed. Plans changed.

Andrew J. Skerritt

Executive Editor

Yet, at FAMU, like the rest of the globe, the A&M team labored on. Through the uncertainty brought on by the Novel Coronavirus pandemic and the explosion of protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, the team has worked to create a publication that captures the moment and will stand the test of time.

Our search for inspirational stories about FAMU women unearthed narratives from the Northeast to the West Coast. Alumni, faculty, students and staff continue to take their place in history in ways that continue to say: We are here, and we are making a difference. We continue to seek new ground in excellent ascension. And, yes, in the words of Maya Angelou, “We Still Rise.”

In this magazine, you will find stories about Black beauty and Black pageants by faculty member and former Miss FAMU Kimberly Brown Pellum, Ph.D. No publication about the women of FAMU would be complete without us calling the names of groundbreaking School of Business and Industry Dean Sybil Mobley, Ph.D., former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, and Florida state legislator and history-making litigator Arthenia Joyner.

A profile of first lady Sharon Robinson shines light on her family’s journey to FAMU. Women in sports are also in the spotlight. Former basketball standout Natalie White has taken her talents to the executive suite, while coach Veronica Wiggins is stepping away from the softball diamond after 30 seasons in the dugout.

L.A. Carroll

Editor

Did we say the world changed? This issue would have been incomplete without acknowledging the impact of COVID-19 on the University and FAMU’s response to the pandemic. We are proud to introduce readers to Student Health Services Director Tanya Tatum, Institute of Public Health epidemiologist C. Perry Brown, Ph.D., Cynthia Harris, Ph.D., associate dean and director of the Institute of Public Health and the others who are leading FAMU’s efforts against the global pandemic.

Finally, look for our regular features such as Applause and Happening on the Hill. The message from President Larry Robinson outlines his vision and road map for the way ahead during these perilous times.

Despite the turmoil and uncertainty, we urge you, dear reader, to breathe, listen. Grasp the “phenomenal” words of Maya Angelou: “You may write me down in history, with your bitter twisted lies . . . You may trod me in the very dirt, but still I rise.”

At Florida A&M University, that is what we have done for 133 years. It is what we continue to do, despite the dark clouds on the horizon. It’s a challenge for which we enlisted, a race we must run . . . and finish in winning fashion.

Britney Smith

Project Manager/Editor

Andrew J. Skerritt

On theHill HAPPENING

BY [ Véronique GEORGE, Pamela MOORE, Cyrena ALLEN ]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looks at new construction

F

lorida A&M University (FAMU) President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., staff, and faculty welcomed Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials in February to preview the new Center for Access and Student Success (CASS) Building.

Gov. DeSantis greeted the crowd while touring the campus.

“This roof dedication is a major milestone in the completion of this facility,” said DeSantis, “and it solidifies the goal of consolidating student services to one location, to provide positive student-success outcomes such as enhanced retention and graduation rates.”

When he signed the state’s $91billion spending budget, it included

about $24 million (in continuation funds) for FAMU’s ultramodern CASS building. With an overall estimate of $40.7 million in costs for the CASS building, FAMU received $16.1 million to construct the project.

“This building is more than just a building for us,” said Robinson.

“It is something that is essential to us, something that we talk about all the time in Florida A&M University’s student success.”

“The Center for Access and Student Success will streamline student services and provide a onestop-shop for student success. We would like to thank Gov. DeSantis and the Florida Legislators for investing in the students of FAMU,” said William Hudson, Jr., Ph.D., vice president of Student Affairs.

“We think that our students deserve a lot more, and this new facility is going to allow us to provide services that will be essential for us to maintain the ranking as one of the topranked historically black colleges in the nation,” he added.

The building on Wahnish Way will house several different departments that are currently spread across campus — such services as student affairs, financial aid, undergraduate admissions, the health center, and counseling services — all under the same roof.

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The new CASS building is scheduled to open in fall 2020.

The Hub Is Expected To Be Completed By November The south end of the main campus is buzzing with the construction of several new buildings, one of which is The Hub auxiliary building. The 10,872-square-foot structure is

in this August. The new 700-bed upperclassman residence hall will feature a gaming room, television room, computer lab, dining hall, collaboration space, laundry room and more modern amenities.

The brand new 700-bed FAMU Towers residence hall on Osceola Street welcomed students to campus on Aug.20.

taking shape next to the 700-bed FAMU Towers residential housing.

The Hub will house several units for Business and Auxiliary Services and its partners. Services will include a 330-seat main dining hall with an outside seating area, a satellite business center, and a convenience store. The Hub will also feature a private room for special events.

“There are presently no food options convenient to the south end of campus; print and mail services are quite a distance away and students do not have

access to an on-campus convenience store,” said Rebecca Brown, assistant vice president for finance and administration.

“Given these factors, along with the new residential housing being built on the south end of campus, The Hub was certainly justified.”

Construction began on The Hub in November 2019 and is scheduled for completion in November.

FAMU Towers construction takes on new heights FAMU’s newest addition to the campus, FAMU Towers, is on schedule and is also set to open when students move

“We are always looking to improve the student experience and by establishing some new facilities with updated amenities, I think that this is going to help with student retention, student progression, graduation and also improve our performance funding metrics, which is what our aim is as a university,” said William Hudson, Jr., Ph.D., vice president of Student affairs.

The four-story building will have north and south towers with east and west wings. Although the new residence hall is intended for upperclassman currently living in different on-campus housing, sophomores who have successfully completed 30 hours are eligible to live in FAMU Towers.

“We strongly encourage students who lived in Gibbs, Sampson, Truth and Young to consider moving to FAMU Towers,” said Housing Director Jennifer Wilder, Ed.D.

Head Rattler Football Coach Simmons Named Person of the Year

Willie Simmons, the university’s head football coach

has been named “2019 Person of the Year.”

Simmons, a 39-year-old Quincy native, was selected by the Tallahassee Democrat for his efforts to better FAMU’S athletic department and the surrounding community. From raising more than $60,000 for the Rattler football program to speaking with

inmates at the Gadsden County Jail, Simmons has embraced his role model status within the community.

“He wants us to be more than football players, he wants us to be the next Barack Obama, the next businessman, or the next lawyer,” said Nick Dixon, tight end. “He wants to prepare us for life after football. He understands that everyone has dreams.”

Kortne Gosha, vice president and athletics director, said Simmons’ recognition is no surprise.

“Not only is he a championship coach, but he is a champion in our community. We are excited to celebrate [him] and what he has been able to accomplish off the field while personally taking on the fight against gun violence in our community and creating access and opportunities for others.”

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Bragg Memorial Stadium COVID-19 Testing Site flourishes to help thousands from Tallahassee and beyond

President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., (left) speaks to Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott A. Rivkees and Student Health Services Director Tanya Tatum at the Bragg Memorial Stadium COVID-19 testing site.

Photo By: Nallah Brown

BY [ Andrew J. SKERRITT ]

Even

as a heavy morning fog hung over Tallahassee on Saturday, April 25, a stream of motorists drove into Florida A&M University’s Bragg Memorial Stadium for the first day of walk-up COVID-19 testing.

“People arrived as early as 7:30,” said Cynthia Harris, Ph.D., director of the FAMU Public Health Institute, and one of the testing site’s organizers.

“There was enthusiasm about the testing. People were resolute. People were practicing social distancing.

They had on their masks. Once they got the test, they realized it wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be.”

The testing site was organized in partnership with the Bond Community Health Center, Leon County Health Department, and Florida Division of Emergency Management. National Guard members were onsite to secure the swabs to be shipped to the testing labs.

Initially, the only Southside site in the city was set up for those who thought they may have been exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms — fever, loss of smell, dry cough, for example.

Later, however, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reopened businesses throughout the state, the site’s organizers encouraged everyone to get tested.

No physician referral was required for the free test. A drive-up site at the Northwood Center required a doctor’s note, while a private practice charged $170 per test.

A visit to the Bragg site not only resulted in a quick and acceptable specimen collection for a COVID-19 test but also provided an opportunity for staff to educate residents about how to stay safe and prevent the spread of the disease, said Leon County Health Officer Claudia Blackburn.

“The Bragg Memorial Stadium testing site has demonstrated how state and community partners can quickly come together to create a welcoming and efficient,effective venue for COVID-19 testing,” Blackburn said. “The results of these tests give us valuable information about the symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 infection rate in Leon County.”

Originally opened to operate for a few weeks, testing at the site was repeatedly extended and expanded because of the high demand. During the opening weeks, the site staff reached their daily maximum limit as early as 2 p.m. In the first month, daily testing capacity increased from 200 tests to 300 — then, 400 then to 500 in July as cases spiked.

Operations had been extended indefinitely to cope with the

rising demand. As of July 24, more than 25,000 people had been tested at the location.

“We are trying to reach as many residents as possible,” said Dr. Temple Robinson, the CEO of Bond Community Health Center. “We are trying to give an opportunity [to be tested] to as many residents as possible.”

birth and contact information.

Once inside, each person was accompanied by a National Guard member wearing gloves, a mask and a face shield to begin the protocol for taking the specimen. At various times during the site’s operation, nurses on duty swabbed the individual’s nose or throat to collect the specimen.

Opening Day On the first day of operation, individuals and couples started lining up at 8 a.m., an hour before the site was scheduled to open. By 10 a.m., 40 people had been tested. The final test, No. 199, was administered at 2:40 p.m. One late appointment was a no-show.

Only two of the 63 people who scheduled appointments failed to show up.

“Today was a grand success,” Dr. Robinson said. “We didn’t have any catastrophes or emergencies.”

During the ensuing days, Dr. Robinson was at the welcoming table as people walked up. On most days, motorists pulled into the Bragg Stadium East (main campus side) parking lot. After they stepped out of their vehicle, a security guard supplied a mask, if needed. Then, they walked up to the check-in table outside the stadium north gate to provide their name, date of

The Leon County Health Department notified those whose tests were positive for COVID-19, while the Bond Community Health Center staff told those whose tests proved negative for the virus.

While the site was set up to cater to the underserved areas of Tallahassee, people crossed state lines to come to the FAMU campus to get tested.

“It’s designed to make it convenient for all individuals.” said FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “We have a diverse group of individuals here — from Tallahassee, from Georgia. We also have people who signed up from Alabama.

It’s really huge for the community that we are here in the Southside of Tallahassee offering this opportunity to get tested for COVID-19.”

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COVIDTIMELINE 7 China identifies a new coronavirus as the cause of a mystery illness

21 The first cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the U.S (onset is estimated at January 14)

23 Student Health Services Director Tanya Tatum made a report to the FAMU Safety Committee about the coronavirus outbreak in China and noted that we would be monitoring the situation. Attendees were provided a handout about coronaviruses.

30 Tatum asks Police Chief Terence Calloway to schedule an Emergency Management conference call about the outbreak. Participants were informed that we would need to monitor the situation closely as all the signs showed that the virus was easily spread and could result in a major outbreak in the U.S. 31 The U.S. declares the novel coronavirus outbreak a national health emergency

31 Provost Maurice Edington, Ph.D., holds noon emergency meeting to discuss travel bans related to COVID-19 and their impacts on FAMU.

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FEBRUARY

JANUARY

21 The World Health Organization (WHO) confirms first hman-tohuman transmission of the novel coronavirus

11 China reports first linked death to the new strain of the novel coronavirus 11 The WHO designates novel coronavirus “COVID-19” 25 The CDC warns Americans of the likely spread of COVID-19 28 Emergency Management Team meets with Chief Calloway and VP Finance and Administration Alan Robertson, Ed.D., to discuss emergency preparedness and COVID-19 29 The U.S. reports its first death attributed to COVID-19; The U.S. expands travel restrictions to include travelers from Iran and parts of South Korea and Italy

MARCH 1 Sunday Emergency 2 Management Call to Emergency 9 a.m. discuss next steps for meeting called by Provost management oversight Edington to gather related to COVID-19. information and determine next steps Florida announces the first confirmed case.

Discussed COVID. 3 Senior Leadership Team Meeting (SLT) to discuss COVID-19

Provost Edington established the Incident Response Team.

6 The first two deaths in Florida attributed to COVID-19 are reported

11 The WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic.

University announces 13 shift to remote FAMU Telecommuting instruction upon return Policy approved from Spring Break, and posted. which ends March 20.

14 16 President Robinson Coronavirus declares FAMU State of Webpage goes live Emergency 17 FAMU announces temporary move to remote work beginning March 18 Announcement to move to online instruction though the end of the semester students who can return home should do so.

18 President Robinson issues communication to FAMU Community about COVID-19

25 FAMU COVID-19 Grading Policy Modification for Spring Semester Courses

FAMU Cares is launched 23 FAMU Begins Online and Remote Instruction.

-Leon County Issues Stay-atHome Order.

30 FAMU extends telecommuting rules through April 30, on the heels of the White House announcement to stem the spread of the COVID-19.

APRIL 1 The governor implements “Safer At Home” (effective April 3 through April 30) shelter in place restrictions except for essential personnel and services 2 Tatum (Incident Commander) presents DRAFT COVID-19 Incident Management Team, including identified command and operations staff members 3:30 p.m. BOT Meeting Call – including COVID -19 update from President Robinson and SLT and IRT members 3 Medical clearance and fit testing for use of N95 respirators completed for FAMU law enforcement officers.

8 The CDC issues recommendations regarding the use of cloth face coverings in public.

16 Virtual Town Hall.

President Robinson, Ph.D. and FAMU administrators answer questions about commencement, refunds, summer school and the grading policy.

22 FAMU receives first portion of approximately $6.5 million in federal assistance

MAY 9 First Virtual FAMU Commencement held for more than 1,000 graduates.

JUNE 15 The University reopens to the Leadership Team.

Other staff are being phased in 25 The BOG approves FAMU’s September reopening plans, which include a hybrid offering of online and in-person instruction

FAMU applied for second portion of 23 $6.5 million FAMU establishes to cover the “Back to Work institutions’ Task Force” support costs

President Robinson 25 and Provost FAMU begins Edington host a COVID-19 virtual “ConverTesting at Bragg sation with the Stadium.

Faculty.”

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‘Leading FAMU through the COVID-19 pandemic’ BY [ Andrew J. SKERRITT ]

The email to members of the

“ I wanted to give you notice about the

Florida A&M University Emergency Management team arrived at 7:03 p.m. Tuesday, January 21, 2020.

coronavirus that is causing problemsin China (Wuhan, Hubei Province),” wrote Tanya Tatum, director of FAMU Student Health Services.

Subject: Coronavirus Importance: High.

One case had been identified in the U.S. in Seattle, Washington, in a person who recently traveled in Wuhan province.

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A university-sponsored Spring Break trip to China was in the works.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting that the virus is now showing sustained and person-to-person transmission, Tatum added with words underlined for emphasis.

Student Health Services Director Tanya Tatum talks to members of the Florida National Guard the COVID-19 Testing Site. Photo By: Nallah Brown

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has set up expanded traveler health screening for passengers arriving from Wuhan in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, she informed the group.

In her 13 years at FAMU, Tatum has been a vigilant, medical sentinel on the alert for the next health threat. Not surprisingly, she has been at the heart of the University’s response to this unprecedented pandemic.

“This is a new virus, similar to SARS that causes a pneumonia,” wrote Tatum, who runs the on-campus clinic.

“She is our campus heroine for safety and wellness,” said Joyce Ingram, chief of staff for the Division of Finance and Administration and associate vice president for Human Resources. “Tanya Tatum has been at the forefront of emergency management, leading FAMU through the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Columbus, Ohio native studied biology at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg before earning a master’s at Ohio University. She trained in medical microbiology and immunology. Infectious diseases are her area of interest. In her present role, she has dealt with other epidemics such as H1N1. Tatum knew for decades that scientists had been predicting some type of influenza virus pandemic.

Most of the coronavirus cases have been in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, but there are now reported cases in multiple provinces in China, in Taiwan, Thailand, Republic of Korea, Japan, and now the U.S., Tatum warned.

“It is not a major issue for us right now, but I wanted to put it on your radar,” the email concluded.

Five months later, Tatum’s email seems prescient. The blip on the radar has become deadly. As of July 24, the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) had claimed more than 144,000 American lives and infected upwards of 4 million more. Florida has reported more than 400,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,600 deaths.

As incident commander for the pandemic, Tatum also serves as the University’s liaison with the Florida Department of Health. She has kept the University informed of CDC guidelines, the evolution of the COVID-19 landscape, nationally and locally, and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive orders focused on protecting the well-being and safety of Floridians, Ingram said.

Tatum also oversaw the development of the University’s Workplace Readiness plan to prepare facilities and employees for their return to campus; developed policies and procedures; and, designedcommunication plans regarding expectations and shared responsibilities of all to ensure a safe and sanitized work environment. She has worked daily at the Bragg Memorial Stadium COVID-19 Testing Site since its inception while preparing the Student Health Center for the reopening of the University.

“Ms. Tatum has co-led the efforts at FAMU to ensure we are updated on the

impact of COVID-19 nationally, statewide, and locally,” said William E. Hudson, Jr., Ph.D., vice president for Student Affairs.

“Through her many connections with health organizations nationwide, we receive data to help the university develop short-term and long-term strategies to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff.”

Tatum was tracking the spread of the disease overseas for weeks before she sent that January 21 email.It took a while for many people in Tallahassee and nationwide to realize the COVID-19 threat.

“I don’t think the general public recognizes how easy it is for unknown communicable diseases to spread,” she said. “We are such a mobile and transient society.”

FAMU has been on an emergency footing since mid-March. A phased reopening began with the June 15 return to campus of President Larry Robinson and the Senior Leadership Team. Social distancing and face masks are mandatory.

After Florida reopened, it was followed by record daily spikes of COVID-19 cases.

Without an effective vaccine and any proven treatment, Tatum fears the battle against COVID-19 has only just begun.

“This is a virus we’ve not seen before, and we’re literally learning about it as we go along,” Tatum said. “It so important that everybody does their part with wearing face coverings and avoiding the parties and all the social gatherings as much as possible, because that’s the only protection we have at this point.”

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ALUMNI WARRIORS

fight back on COVID-19 frontlines with courage, commitment, skills and hope

A

s the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues its deadly attack across the globe, Florida A&M University graduates are fully engaged in the furious battle to save lives.

Alumni from the FAMU School of Health and Allied Health Sciences (Division of Cardiopulmonary Science) are working as registered respiratory therapists in hospital critical-care units. They are on the frontlines.

“Our graduates have been [on] the first line of intubating patients, placing them on ventilators, ensuring patients can breathe, clearing their lungs. They are working hand-in-hand with doctors and nurses during this pandemic,” said Mary Simmons, Ph.D., division director.

She said alumni are working in Atlanta, Orlando, New York City, Tallahassee, Gainesville and elsewhere as the pandemic rages on.

“They are very well prepared to take on this COVID-19 crisis,” Simmons said.

As of publication time, nearly 15 million Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases were reported worldwide by Johns Hopkins University; more than 3.8 million cases were cited in the U.S, with more than 615,700 deaths.

With no vaccine in hand yet and no definite end in sight for this crisis, a few FAMU alumni warriors stepped away from their work to share glimpses of their lives in their own words: Alumni from the FAMU School Allied Health Sciences

‘New York, New York’ is on fire with the Coronavirus By [Sonjii SIMMONS, B.S., CPR]

Wow, where do I begin? Before coming to New York, I was very skeptical due to the tragic stories I heard from the news and social media outlets. I was even afraid to tell my parents I considered going. When even mentioning New York,

their responses were “DO NOT GO.” As a respiratory therapist, there was no way I could just stand by and watch my fellow colleagues drown. I followed my heart, put my fears aside and was recruited [by] an agency that deployed me immediately. My experience in New York was literally that of a war zone. I have never fought in war, but I imagine it being similar to this. Supplies were low and the numbers of deaths were high. No one was exempted. The elderly were high in the numbers of deaths, but I found myself treating patients from all age ranges.

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The virus moved quick. Nothing like the common cold or flu. It appeared to me as a mix between tuberculosis and pneumonia.

Treatment for my patients as a respiratory therapist involved three options: nasal cannula for the mild, non-rebreather for the moderate and intubation for those severe. Although I was in the large number of those deployed to help, it still seemed as though we were overworked and drowning; but we will remain strong and continue to work together to diffuse COVID-19.

Riding the pandemic in Orlando has become a way of life – and death – for many By [Christopher NORMANN, B.S., RRT]

I am seeing all the disciplines of my team working together to make sure we can safely take care of both potential patients and positive patients with COVID-19. At times, it can feel like a roller coaster as more information pours in on what the best and safest practices are when caring for these patients.

In our facility, we are currently treating all code blues (cardiac-arrest patients), trauma alerts, strict respiratory precautions (patients whose symptoms and/or vitas correlate with those of COVID-19 patients), intubations, and anyone who shows flags on their prescreening (on entry) to the hospital. All elective surgeries and non-emergent surgeries are canceled.

We are discharging patients who don’t need continuous medical care to free up beds for the pending influx of COVID-19 patients. We have started converting otherwise used areas to be able to handle an influx such as our ancillary care center, where it is being retrofitted with equipment to make it negative-airflow capable; [the area] can house potentially 30-plus patients at a time.

Certain general floor areas are being converted to all negative airflow rooms to handle the non-ventilated patients. Our department is in the process of training general floor therapists on ventilators so, should the need arise, they can be moved to an ICU area.

We have limited any intubation or special procedure such as bedside bronchoscopy to only one respiratory therapist in the room. This wrinkle has challenged us to make sure that we bring all the supplies we will need into the room while making sure we don’t bring in anything we don’t need since everything we bring into the room will be thrown out.

So, careful planning prior to entering the

room must be done.

Last week, I worked with one of our critical care (CCM) attendings on making a “go bag,” which is an organized bag with the necessary supplies for intubation plus some moderately necessary supplies to avoid multiple times of opening the room and potentially flooding the hallway with any virus particles.

While this pandemic can be stressful at times, I am certainly glad I’m able to work with such a great team of practitioners from multiple disciplines to care for these patients who are experiencing breathing and system complications due to COVID-19.

I will continue to serve on the front line. Saving lives is what respiratory therapists do. I am glad to have received the great training I received at Florida A&M University, under the leadership of Dr. Simmons and Professor Woods. #FAMUSTRONG #FAMURRT

Days and nights of countless tests for positives, rule outs’ and endurance

That’s all I have for right now. I will keep you posted. Please keep me and my fellow colleagues in your prayers as I will do the same. Thank you.

School of Allied Health Sciences Dean Cynthia Hughes Harris lauded the work of alumni during the pandemic. “Our graduates are so well-prepared to meet the demands of their profession. We are so proud of all that they are doing during these critical times,” she said.

About the School of Allied Health Sciences, Division of Cardiopulmonary Science: The Division of Respiratory Therapy was established in 1982 by the Board of Regents of the State University System of Florida; its first class graduated in April 1985. The program is the only four-year and only HBCU program in the state of Florida.

The Cardiopulmonary Science (CPS) Program changed its name from Respiratory Care in 1998. The name change more accurately reflects the physical systems now taught in the classroom and practiced in the clinical setting. The CPS program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.

By [Jeanelle JAMES, B.S. RRT]

Hey, I don’t really have any stories to share due to my hospital census being currently low. However, I have a picture of me in the greatest and latest CAPR helmet that we wear for airborne patients .

I have had at least two positive COVID-19 patients assigned to me and many patients that we “rule out’ and treat like positive while they are awaiting their test results. One night in the medical ICU that is now better known as the COVID-19 unit, I had to constantly transfer patients from one room to the next. As our “ruleout patients” test negative, we quickly transfer them to a different room to open up more space for possible COVID-19 patients.

That night, I barely got to sit down.

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C. Perry Brown, front with the initial group of Institute of Public Health faculty and students who worked with the Florida Department of Health. By Alicia Devine, Tallahassee Democrat, USA Today Network.

BY [ Andrew J. SKERRITT ]

Faculty, students and Florida Department of Health work together to combat Coronavirus More

than two dozen Florida A&M University (FAMU) public health professors and students were recruited by the Florida Department of Health (DOH) to help fight the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The contingent of 26 professors and students from the FAMU College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health is an outgrowth of a collaboration that began in March 2020 with four faculty and four students.

“This experience provides an excellent learning platform. The various mechanisms of public health and epidemiology are made real by working in the various venues around the state.

All of the didactic knowledge is enhanced exponentially by the real-world, onsite experience,” said C. Perry Brown, Ph.D., team leader and epidemiologist in the FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health. “I am so proud of the members of this team. They are trained and prepared for this moment … this time.”

Soon after the outbreak erupted, DOH reached out to public-health epidemiology programs across the state to provide support to state and local health departments in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. FAMU administrators then joined their counterparts from publichealth programs and schools of public health on a conference call with the department and Surgeon General Scott Rivkees, M.D., and Deputy Health Secretary Shamarial Roberson, Ph.D., a FAMU Institute of Public Health graduate; the call was to identify and hire faculty and student epidemiologists as well as some health educators to assist county health departments.

“Our public health faculty, students and alumni are trained and prepared for moments such as this. They are also culturally competent and have a passion for addressing the public health needs of the most vulnerable of populations,” said Cynthia M. Harris, Ph.D., director of the Institute of Public Health and associate dean College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health. “This is consistent with

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the mission of the program, college and University. They are ready and I am very proud of them.”

Brown was among the initial “FAMU 8 Strike COVID-19 Team.” Seven of the FAMU team members were assigned to Tallahassee DOH and one member was in South Florida. Members of the expanded team were deployed to Jackson, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Leon counties.

The team members conducted contact tracing, chart audits and interacted with the general population answering calls for information about COVID-19 testing.

Often these calls were for interpretation of the testing results, Brown said.

“In many ways, we all were called upon to join the campaign against COVID-19,” he said. “It is an experience that everyone will look back upon as one of the defining intervals in our professional lives. It is comforting to know that we will have played significant roles in bringing this COVID-19 epidemic under control.”

‘A Dynamic Leader’ in her Own Right BY [Andrew J. SKERRITT]

Jian Jones recalls the day she got to work late.

While walking into the building at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH), Jones, an occupational therapist, stopped to help a patient who was being discharged but seemed to be in danger of falling. After ensuring the patient was taken care of, Jones clocked in 30 minutes late.

Worried about being tardy, Jones nervously explained what happened to her boss, Sharon Robinson, wife of Florida A&M University (FAMU) President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “She said ‘calm down, breathe. You were doing your job even before you clocked in.’”

Robinson even nominated Jones for TMH’s ICARE award, which reflects the values of integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence. Jones won.

“I have never worked with

anyone like Miss Sharon or Mama Sharon before. She’s such a dynamic leader,” said Jones, an assistant professor in the FAMU School of Allied Health Sciences. “The way she communicates and the compassion she naturally has, it is very much so needed in a leadership position, especially in health care.”

As FAMU’s first lady, Robinson mirrors her husband’s no-fuss, understated style.

But that belies her passion for family, her own career and the institution that brought her family from her native Tennessee more than two decades ago.

Family Ties Any conversation with or about Robinson eventually tends toward family. The one that raised her; AND her own.

“I have a profound sense of the beauty of having an extended family. We are very close,” said Robinson, who is Memphis born and raised.

“I am surprised some people only know their nuclear family. They just know that one unit. That’s how they function. I spent time with my grandparents. My mom had five sisters. They all had a role in raising me.”

When she was three, her mother sent her to live with her grandparents in the homestead in Somerville, a small town about 45 miles east of Memphis. That was an idyllic time. Her grandfather owned a farm. He raised hogs, cattle, chickens, guineas, cows, a few mules and a few horses. Growing up, she spent long summers with different aunts. The only one of her five aunts to attend college was a school teacher.

“She was very attentive in sharing everything she had learned with the family members who didn’t go to college,” Robinson said. When Sharon spent the summers with that aunt, it was like being in a fun classroom.

Robinson recalled the aunt using Diahann Carroll’s children’s album, “A” You’re Adorable, to teach her son and young Sharon.

“That was quite fun,” she recalled fondly. “She stayed on me with my enunciation. Each of her sisters had different gifts and they would share the best of themselves with all the children. They wanted us to have a better life than they had.”

Sharon played volleyball in junior high. After a growth spurt stretched her to 6-1 in high school, she was recruited to play basketball, even though she had never played the game.

In high school, most of Robinson’s African-American teachers had attended historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

She never felt pressured to follow their example. They wanted Sharon and her classmates to explore all their academic options.

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“There wasn’t a lot of talk about HBCUs in high school in the mid-70’s,” she said. “It was a turbulent time. People were about proving that you could go to any school and do well.”

In the fall of 1977, Robinson headed off to Washington University (WU) on full scholarship. She wasn’t alone.

She went along with two of her classmates.

One of those was her best friend, Marjorie Johnson. At WU, the two roommates were inseparable. Johnson, a clinical

and to see things in a positive light.”

And that’s not just for when things are sailing smoothly.

“Even in difficult situations and even when I knew I was doing stuff or saying things that I shouldn’t have been saying, Sharon always kept that positivity,” said Johnson, who runs a consulting firm.

“She’s not afraid to tell you when she thinks you’re wrong.

I love that. She does it in a loving and caring kind of way.”

that coming up, I’d go the coach and say, ‘hey I’m not going to be available.’” That year, there was another newcomer on campus. Graduate student Larry Robinson had come to WU to earn his doctorate in nuclear chemistry. Mutual friends introduced them.

During that first meeting, the two sat next to each other at a football game. They discovered they were from the same Memphis neighborhood. They went to the same high school.

They knew some of the same people.

“But we just didn’t know each other,” she recalled.

Although the two didn’t start dating until years later, Mrs. Robinson remembers that the young man made quite an impression on her during that first conversation.

“He never said anything about money. He never said anything about he wanted to be a CEO. He said he wanted to be of service. He wanted to be an example for young people in an area where we are underrepresented,”she continued. “We were from the same place and I had never met a young man who was so unselfish. He knew his purpose. He had a purpose that was worthy and profound, and from the moment that I met him I was moved. It was important to me that he was successful.”

Sharon Robinson with members of her Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare staff.

psychologist in Atlanta, said Robinson remains one of the indispensable people in her life.

“Sharon is the kind of friend who has always been true to the core of who she is,”Johnson said. “She’s always doing the right thing and trying to get you to do the right thing

Something About Larry In 1979, things were changing at WU. The Bears reintroduced women’s basketball. Robinson hadn’t played since high school, but she returned to the court. But basketball was a distant second to her academics. “If I had a big test or something like

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On their first real date, she discovered that Larry was skilled in the kitchen as well as the chemistry lab.

“He’s a great cook,” she said.

“That was very impressive.”

The two celebrated her graduation from physical therapy school and their

nuptials the same October weekend in 1984. He was the only family member to attend her Friday commencement in St. Louis, while her relatives remained behind in Memphis to prepare for the couple’s Saturday wedding.

They held the ceremony at her parents’ house then had an evening celebration at a local hotel.

“We had our honeymoon at The Peabody (Memphis) hotel and then we drove back to Oak Ridge because Larry had to get back to work Monday morning,” she said. “We were being frugal and being very practical. We didn’t get to go on a big honeymoon because just being new graduates; we were just trying to set up things.”

FAMU Calls Larry Robinson worked at the high-powered Oak Ridge National Laboratory, while Mrs. Robinson began her career in physical therapy. The couple adopted and raised his niece and nephew before they had three daughters of their own. Even though Oak Ridge lacked Memphis’ cultural vibrancy, the family thrived.

Schools were good. Her husband was excelling in his career as a scientist.

“The kids got a great education and a great start on their education. We would have been fine there,” Robinson said.

Over the years, she noticed how excited her husband became when he returned home following a day of working with the FAMU students who visited his Oak Ridge Lab.

“I knew that’s the type of environment he wanted to be in,” she said.

By the mid-90s, he was an adjunct professor at FAMU. “When he started flying to Tallahassee to teach every other week, I said ‘we’re going to Tallahassee,’” she said. “He found the place that made him happy.”

A place that would allow him to fulfill the goals of increasing the number of underrepresented students in the sciences and being of service to empower individuals and communities.

Since the family moved to Tallahassee in 1997, Mr. Robinson has climbed the

administrative ladder from director of FAMU’s Environmental Sciences Institute to the presidential suite.

During that time, they raised their now grown three daughters. She has deftly juggled her unofficial role as first lady. It means being co-chair of the increasingly popular annual Grape Harvest Festival each summer — she usually attends the committee’s monthly meetings in Lee Hall dressed in her TMH scrubs; hosting a women’s health event each spring; being on the road for football games in the fall; being an ever-present partner as President Robinson carries out his official duties whether it’s in California or in Tallahassee.

All the while, she remains a fixture at TMH, where she has been employed for the past two decades. As a rehabilitation clinical coordinator, she manages a team of rehab staffers. Her care and compassion aren’t just professional, friends say. It’s who she is.

Lenita Joe is a retired media specialist at Sealey Elementary, where Robinson’s daughters attended after they relocated to Tallahassee. Joe was reminded of her longtime friend’s personal touch when she was hospitalized at TMH. “She was one of the first people at the hospital to come and check on me to make sure that everything was OK,” Joe said. “She’s very personable.”

Sharon Robinson and President Robinson at inauguration.

Photo by: Adam Taylor

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Crowning GLORY

One of FAMU’s own takes a historical look at African American pageant tradition, heritage in ‘Black Beauties’

BY [Kimberly Brown PELLUM, Ph.D. ]

I have always been intrigued by the way my mother

and grandmother, and other church women in my life adorned themselves. My mother, although a conservative woman, always smells of fine perfume, her lips painted in a deep rouge. She and my grandmother wore furs regularly, despite living in the warm South. When I was a child in Montgomery, Alabama, they took me to parades, to see Miss Alabama State and Miss Tuskegee University. The young campus queens were perched on floats and draped in mink stoles, pearls and satin gloves.

I was fascinated by the glamour, the pomp and circumstance, and the sense of community, especially against the sad framework of all that was usually taught about Black history. I sought to research those experiences more deeply and investigate the politics of beauty within our own communities and institutions. That exploration became the book, Black Beauties.

Although actress Vanessa Williams’s 1984 Miss America victory is an important moment by which African American participation in beauty contests is often framed, Black people in America have long lauded women of color with their own pageant productions. Similarly, Jackie Robinson’s Major League career did not mark the beginning of Blacks in baseball. Suggesting otherwise is a Eurocentric and distorted view that disregards life and culture when not framed within the context of white society.

Black Beauties documents the role of Black churches, colleges, social clubs, charitable groups, sororities and fraternal organizations fashioning beauty competitions for more than a century. While slavery and the eras that followed presented awful traumas to African American life, inequality failed to erase Black culture, imagination and productivity. During bondage and after, Black people created active and fascinating lives for themselves, despite their circumstances.

Kimberly Brown Pellum, Ph.D., next to Rosa Parks statue in Montgomery, Ala., for which she served as a model.

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Segregation helped sustain the continuity of allBlack societies, which included worship centers,

philosophical and artistic circles, educational institutions, political groups, sports and leisure organizations. Galas, balls and pageants, too, were common in certain Black social sets before and after integration. Within that cultural history, it is important to acknowledge the long record of events produced by African Americans in honor of Black women.

Black Beauties showcases Black pageants as having blended gender-based expectations with race work and glamour. Since the turn of the twentieth century, African American educational institutions, especially, delivered remedies for American society’s persistent assault on and erasure of African American women as worthy and attractive. Research for the book, grounded in oral histories, provides a retrospective for how Black society responded to beauty-centric racism during and after segregation. The interviews reveal early examples of body positivity,complexion exclusivity and inclusivity, as well as the cultural and institutional factors that shaped African American contests.

Research for the book and related projects led me to sit with some of FAMU’s own griots. I am particularly fond of Mrs. Jaqueline (Nixon) Cotman, Miss Florida A&M University 1966, whose knowledge of institutional protocol and personal memories have reinforced my appreciation for Black women as agents of history and archival voices

of humanity. She discussed many things, including the expectation that girls not take taxis off campus, her chance encounter with Malcolm X before his assassination and the assumption her peers held that she would not be interested in hearing activist Stokley Carmichael speak at Lee Hall because she wore straight hair.

Cotman also recalled the rules concerning how Miss FAMU and Court should dress during official University events.

Beautifully tailored suits were the standard. Aside from her memories underscoring the many ways in which gender and refinement were regarded on a Black campus during the late 1960s, they also spoke to the national transformations in which many young people found themselves. She left high school and became Miss Freshman at FAMU in 1964 when the Civil Rights bill outlawed discrimination in public accommodations across the United States. She remembered her role in making the new federal legislation real for African American citizens in Florida:

white gowns, white rabbit fur stoles, and smiles in preparation to leave for the big Orange Blossom Classic parade in Miami. The following year, the queens were registered to stay the weekend of the Classic in a downtown hotel in Miami. In 1966, again, the university queens were registered to stay at another beautiful boutique hotel on South Beach. It is safe to say that, without incident, but with motorcycle police escorts, we played a big part in the successful desegregation of hotels. Our Miss FAMU in 1964-65, Geneva Knowles, was a Deerfield Beach native.

The successful desegregation of the South Beach Hotels was especially meaningful!

Today, many FAMU students frequent South Beach without a second thought. The reality is most African American women who found themselves in ritzy Miami hotels during that era were employed as maids, laundresses and cooks. I am inspired by the ways in which young Black women, dressed like superstars, helped activate major shifts for how life is lived.

Black Beauties is a celebration of everyday African Americans who, regardless of racial climate, thought Black women were important enough to be crowned.

Shown below: Kimberly Brown Pellum,Miss FAMU in 2005, is a FAMU assistant professor of history. “Black Beauties: African American Pageants

in the Segregated South” is published by The History Press.

All of the university’s main queens, which included the four class queens and Miss FAMU and her two attendants, were registered to stay in The Royal Palm, a boutique hotel on Collins Avenue on South Beach, the area of the swankiest resorts in America.

It was a first for all of us. A photograph was made outside of the hotel’s front entrance with the queens wearing long

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W O M E N

I N

BUSINESS

QA &

with Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D. BY [ Heather JOHNSON ]

Winning Moves Land This Administrator In a Trifecta of Top Jobs

You can hear a smile in her voice as she thinks back to her days as a student.

She was social. “When I first came to FAMU, I partied. I was serious about my studies, but I am telling you. I had a good time.�

came to be a student at the beloved Florida A&M University. Friday-Stroud credits legendary School of Business and Industry (SBI) Dean Sybil Collins Mobley, Ph.D., with paving her trajectory and inspiring and motivating her during her early years at the University.

As Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D., emphasized her distinctive dancing and love for music, she recalled how she

Friday-Stroud serves in three distinct roles for FAMU. Yet, as the vice president for University Advancement, executive

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director of the FAMU Foundation, and the dean of SBI, she manages to be in the community, raise a 12-year-old honor student, build a successful marriage, and still make time for some partying.

Heather Johnson, senior director of marketing and communications for the Office of the Provost, recently spoke with Friday-Stroud.

Q: WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO FAMU? A: Dean Mobley. I had been accepted and had paid my deposit at Hampton. I went to a FAMU reception in Miami that Dean Mobley was hosting, and she offered me a scholarship.

Q: WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU WERE INVOLVED IN AS A STUDENT AT FAMU?

Q: WHAT DID SHE SAY TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO GO TO HAMPTON?

A: Socializing. I wasn’t in any sororities. I hung with people from Miami. SBI was so demanding … I’m telling you, I partied for five and a half years (laughing). I [also] did four internships and left with my bachelor’s and an MBA.

A: She made FAMU sound like family … like a perfect fit for me.

Q: WHAT DID YOU DO AFTER YOU GRADUATED FROM FAMU?

Q: WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR?

A: I worked for Electronic Data Systems as a system engineer and I worked as a pharmaceutical sales rep.

It was a very technical position in Atlanta and the industry was not very diverse; I didn’t stay in it long.

A: I was a business major. I had planned to be a corporate lawyer and to go to law school.

Junior year I decided I wanted a Ph.D. My father has a Ph.D. in business from Florida International University (FIU) and my mom was a teacher for Dade County Public Schools.

Q: WERE YOU BORN IN MIAMI? A: I was born in the Delta in Cleveland, Miss. My family moved to Cincinnati for my father. He got his MBA from the University of Cincinnati; we moved to Miami when I was about 4 or 5 years old. My dad was among the first black employees at FIU and that’s how we ended up in Miami.

Q: WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOUR FATHER AT FIU DURING THAT TIME? A: My father was a founding member of the black employee association at FIU. When I entered FIU’s Ph.D. program, they had no idea my father was also at FIU and they thought about rescinding my offer.

Q: WHAT BROUGHT YOU BACK TO FAMU? A: I wanted to teach at an HBCU and Dean Mobley made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. She brought me back as an assistant professor in SBI. When I was eventually promoted to full professor, I was relatively young. I started my career at FAMU at 29 anda-half-years-old. Tallahassee is a great place to raise a family.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OF SERVING AS A DEAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FAMU FOUNDATION AND AS VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT? A: Effectively managing the demands of faculty, staff, students, career partners, Foundation Board members, Board of Trustee members and other stakeholders.

There’s a lot of synergy

between the dean of SBI and University advancement, and I am blessed to work with some highly effective individuals.

Q: HOW DO YOU MANAGE WORK-LIFE BALANCE? A: Balance assumes a 50/50 split. It’s more like a work/life alignment. I have an awesome family structure and awesome teams of people I work with.

I’m always working, but if you love what you do, it’s not like torturous work. I love what I do, and I like trying to help people succeed in solving problems and issues.

Q: HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SERVE YOUR ALMA MATER IN THESE CAPACITIES? A: I am honored, privileged, and thankful that Dr. (Larry) Robinson has granted me the opportunity to serve in these capacities to help move my alma mater forward and help our students prepare.

My family is at FAMU. I have a 12-year-old and I want this to be the place she wants to come.

Q: WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER ENTRYLEVEL AND SEASONED PROFESSIONALS? A: Work hard, always study, remain open to learning and receiving feedback or criticism, observe and listen to others whether you agree with them or not, ask why things are done the way they are done, think before speaking and making changes, and treat people fairly regardless of the situation and how they may treat you. Learn all aspects of the University environment, get to know people and leverage relationships.

Q: ARE THERE WOMEN WHO HAVE MENTORED OR CONTINUE TO MENTOR YOU IN YOUR CAREER? A: Yes, there are several women who have mentored me since childhood and several who continue to mentor me now. I am thankful to each and every one of them and for the lessons they have taught me along the way, even when I did not want to listen. Two of the women mentors who have been with me throughout my life and my professional career are my mom, Mildred Friday, and my sister, Natasha Friday.

Q: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER PROFESSIONALLY? A: It is important for women to support each other and not see or treat each other as enemies because it is hard enough working and excelling in what have historically been male-dominated roles.

Women tend to understand, appreciate and help other women manage the many roles that we tend to juggle as professionals inside and outside the workplace.

Q: WHY DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR ROLES AT FAMU? A: I’ve always been vocal, and I think because my father being a professor and watching him navigate the doctoral process, I became a student of the academic profession. I try to be genuine. I love sharing the stories of FAMU and our students. Our students do most of the selling, so I try to be honest, personable, transparent … and I still love to party.

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BY [ Andrew J. SKERRITT ]

‘ FA M U T O O K A C H A N C E O N M E ’

On a cold February night, a small group of Florida A&M University alumni hosted then newly hired Vice President and Athletic Director Kortne Gosha at a Boston restaurant.

Among the small group that met Gosha was Erica Hill, a 1994 graduate of the School of Business and Industry (SBI). A member of the FAMU Foundation Board of Directors, Hill wanted the group to hear the excitement coming after a successful football season while raising money at the same time.

“Engagement is important.

We don’t get very many university officials this far north,” said Hill, managing director, division supply chain leader for Fortune 500 company CBRE in Nashua, New Hampshire. “It was an opportunity for him to meet and energize the base. And he did. It’s critical for the sustainability of the University that everyone, that all of our

70,000 alumni are engaged.”

Hill is an example of a FAMU alumna who has made engagement and giving back a personal mission. At an event last November in the MeeksEaton Black Archives, the Erica D. Hill Endowed Scholarship was recognized with a plaque at the Eternal Flame.

Hill’s major giving to FAMU began with a book scholarship for SBI students then grew to a more than $100,000 endowed scholarship for nontraditional students and updating the baseball program with the Hill-Brinson clubhouse, among other gifts. She was also part of the inaugural group of Legacy Donors, who named FAMU as a beneficiary on some of her investment vehicles.

“We are so grateful that Erica Hill has allowed her scholarship funds to be used to provide financial support to students similar to

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her that may not have been considered high-performing students coming in the door, but that have demonstrated that they are determined and committed to their academic endeavors in the School of Business and Industry,” said SBI Dean Shawnta FridayStroud, Ph.D., vice president of University Advancement. Hill didn’t always give back.

“I graduated and I never looked back from a support perspective,” she recalls. She often visited Tallahassee — her paternal grandparents and extended family live in the capital city — but she wasn’t engaged with the University. “I didn’t go to Homecoming and do that sort of thing.”

In 2010, Hill moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after she was hired as the vice president of procurement for a Fortune 500 shoe company. There she had an epiphany.

“I had a moment of deep

reflection relative to giving back. I realize I was not fulfilling my obligation to FAMU, and or my broader community,” Hill said.

“I certainly benefited greatly from my FAMU education. I was not settling that debt, if you will.”

Road to FAMU To understand the size of Hill’s “debt” you must hear her story.

Hill grew up middle class in Detroit. Her mother earned a graduate degree from the University of Michigan. She tested as gifted at a young age. But Erica didn’t always do what was expected. “I made some poor choices,” she said.

“I was rebellious.”

After dropping out of several schools, Hill boarded a Greyhound bus to Cleveland to enroll in Job Corps, a free

education and vocational training program.

“I was a gifted student. I was on the math team. I had exceptional test scores. Now I am in Job Corps with a very different part of society, but even that didn’t wake me up,” she said from her New England office. “I was always AWOL. I was a problem.”

After the Job Corps staff asked her to leave, Hill returned home to Detroit, a high school dropout. Soon afterward, though, she had another of those defining moments.

She encountered a former high school mentor, who was attending Prairie View A&M University.

“He talked about how wonderful life in college was,” she said. “I was so embarrassed. The look on his face. I was doing nothing.”

The next day, Hill went to find out how she could register at Wayne County Community College. Since she was only 17, she had to get permission from her mother.

A friend paid her tuition.

Soon afterward, she stumbled on an Ebony magazine that featured Sybil Mobley, the legendary founding dean of FAMU’s SBI. “When I saw that cover, I said I wanted to be on the cover of Ebony,” she said.

“The way to do that was to attend FAMU.” When Hill called FAMU, she told the counselor she had neither a high school transcript nor a GED. When she called inquiring about

taking the GED test, they wanted her to enroll to take the class in preparation for the test. She didn’t have time to waste. She took the test and aced it.

“I needed to take the GED I wanted to go to FAMU,” she said. “I wanted to be on the cover of Ebony.”

That fall, the Job Corp flameout enrolled in Mobley’s SBI. “FAMU took a chance on me. FAMU made a bet that I could do it,” Hill said. “I could have gone to (University of) Michigan, but what I needed, given my track record, was an institution that was not going to give up on me.”

Making the climb to the top After FAMU, Hill rose quickly in corporate America, working in supply chain management. She worked for Ernst & Young, Deloitte Consulting, Georgia Pacific, and MeadWestvaco, now WestRock.

Along the way, Hill earned a master’s in manufacturing technology and operations management from Purdue University. In 2010, she was named vice president of Indirect Procurement for Brown Shoe Co., now Caleres, in Clayton, Missouri.

It was then she had another moment of reflection.

“I don’t become vice president of procurement without FAMU,” Hill said. “I had to rethink and recalibrate how I was going to honor the institution that made all these things possible.

How was I going to honor Florida A&M University?” Her answer was to get involved in the alumni association.

She immediately became a life member. She started attending national and regional conferences to get involved, to make a difference.

Her financial support is unstinting, said Athletic Director Gosha.

“Erica has been phenomenal to us. Even in my short tenure here, Erica has been our No. 1 donor. Her level of giving is unmatched,” he said. In January, the Athletics Department launched the Rattler Athletic Fund, a campaign to boost finances. The highest level of giving was the Gaither Society — $25,000 or more.

“She was the first one in,” Gosha added.

Gosha said Hill’s direct giving is responsible for the football team having travel suits last season.The softball scoreboard destroyed by lightning in January is being replaced. This summer, the baseball program is finally getting a locker room.

“All of those things would not have been possible without the contributions of Erica Hill,” Gosha continued.

For Hill, giving and serving are her gifts of gratitude to her alma mater.

“FAMU made it possible for me to develop the confidence to succeed in this world,” Hill said. “It bolstered what was within me. It gave me the opportunity to understand how the world works. Anything was possible.”

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Changing the color and gender of STEM Education

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FEATURE STORY BY [ OLIVIA ABNEY ]

P

rofessor Marcia Owens, J.D., Ph.D., stood at the podium before hundreds of elementary and middle-school girls in Gaither Gymnasium. It was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Owens, associate professor of Environmental Science & Policy, is a missionary for increasing the number of women among the ranks of students and faculty in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

“We haven’t taken traditional routes,” Owens said in her introduction of Allyson Watson, Ph.D., dean of the FAMU College of Education.

“I am a biology major who went to law school and then became an environmental scientist. I met Watson a year ago and bonded immediately.

Being a woman in STEM will take you across the country and across the world.”

Also in the audience of women role models on that February morning was Charmane Caldwell, Ph.D., of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.

Together, Watson, Owens, Caldwell, and Edith Davis, Ed.D., a professor in the College of Education, have secured almost $7 million in National Science Foundation (NSF) grants to promote STEM. Together, these FAMU women of STEM are at the vanguard of the University’s movement to change the face of STEM education and careers by adding more women and people of color to STEM faculty, corporations and classrooms and boardrooms.

“We need AfricanAmerican girls to see role models who look like them and represent history- making in their own presence. We have more Katherine Johnsons, Mae Jemisons, and Patricia Bathes right before our eyes and in our K-12 classrooms,” Watson said. “I didn’t see any African-American female doctors during my entire childhood. I was greatly influenced by my own reality.

I want to encourage women and girls, like me, to know that STEM and STEM education provide a tremendous amount of opportunities.”

At FAMU, women make up 65 percent of the student population, but only represent 22 percent of STEM students, according to the Registrar’s Office. Women represent 40 percent of the 538 full-time faculty. However, of those 245 female faculty members, 51 are full-time STEM faculty.

Thirty-six percent of the 142 total STEM faculty are female.

“Faculty statistics at FAMU show that women are not represented equitably at all faculty ranks,” Owens said.

“I hope that we are able to transform FAMU’s culture, policies and practices so that women faculty are recruited, welcomed and promoted.”

‘Never underestimate the power of a girl’ Watson, from Oxon Hill, Maryland, started her college career as a freshman biology pre-med student at her family alma mater, BethuneCookman University. Before that, she attended a science and technology high school.

She dreamed of becoming a doctor. She eventually received her doctorate in Educational Administration and Curriculum

and Supervision from the University of Oklahoma.

“Someone somewhere told me I couldn’t do it,” continued Watson, who as a 25-yearold was the youngest person to earn her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Oklahoma.

When doing a fourth-grade science project, a teacher told her that mold on bread was not considered science.

“I never underestimate the power of a girl who knows what she wants to do,” said Watson, who was College of Education dean at the University of South FloridaSt.Petersburg before coming to FAMU in 2019.

In her service to education, Watson founded the Teaching & Urban Reform Network (TURN), which helped teachers in urban education and encouraged effective teaching practices. In 2015, she coordinated a team of U.S educators to establish a robotics lab to support girls in STEM in Haiti. That resulted in the country’s first all-girl team to ever compete in the VEX World Championship Robotics

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Competition in Louisville, Kentucky.

She encourages future FAMU students to think about careers in STEM and STEM education. “If you have a passion for STEM, innovation, creativity, and education, picture yourself here and imagine the possibilities you can experience on ‘the Hill’.”

incorporates her work as an environmental attorney into her ministry. Through her dedication to environmental justice and policy, she has served on the boards of the North American Association for Environmental Education, Sustainable Tallahassee and the FAMU Environment and Sustainability Council.

Owens is a trailblazer in the School of the Environment.

Her new $2.97 million grant is about female representation among the faculty.

“Admittedly, my experience as the first and only Black woman faculty member to earn tenure in the School of Environment has been both inspirational and instructive in seeking gender equity,” Owens said. “Representation does matter. It helps to see yourself in your professors.

In 2019, Watson secured a $2.4-million grant distributed over a four-year period, to be shared among five Florida universities; the grant was designed to identify ways to increase the number of women of color teaching at universities in STEM. While she was still faculty at USF-St. Petersburg, Watson’s grant application was denied; the universities choices lacked diversity in the northern region of the state, and the school was encouraged to include another school, FAMU. Coincidentally, after Watson was named the new dean of FAMU’s College of Education, the grant became a reality.

“My hope would be that our work will continue to impact our state and region by assisting faculty members in the STEM pipeline,” said Watson, “and that they be supported and encouraged to be successfully grounded in their career.”

Taking the non-traditional STEM Journey As an undergraduate at Jackson State University, Owens studied biology. Immediately after pursuing her master’s degree in biology at Atlanta University, she went on to earn her law degree, the first of her four degrees from Emory University in Atlanta. After practicing environmental law for nearly a decade, Owens returned to Emory and later earned a doctorate in educational studies, with a concentration in science and environmental education, followed by a Master of Divinity of degree.

In 2008, she trained under former Vice President Al Gore in the first-ever Faith Community Training presented by the Nashville, Tenn.-based non-profit organization, The Climate Project (TCP).

In her time as a faculty member in the FAMU Environmental Sciences Institute, the ordained African Methodist Episcopal Church minister often 26 // FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY // A&M MAGAZINE

“A friend told me a while ago that trailblazers don’t have mentors. This project seeks to remedy that by creating a formal mentoring system for women in STEM,” Owens added. “The majority of FAMU’s students are Black women, but when it comes to STEM, there are few professors who mirror the majority of our students.”

She’s taking the students’ temperature to determine their altitude As one of first Black female geophysicists in the nation, Edith Davis benefited from mentors in her journey from high school in Pensacola to her bachelor’s degree at the University of Miami, to a master’s in geophysics from Stanford University (California). She received an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, before completing a doctorate in curriculum and instruction education with an emphasis in science and research in 2007.

While Owens and Watson’s grants focus on faculty, Davis’ is about K-12 students, aspiring teachers and teachers in the classroom. As a doctoral candidate, she completed a three-month study with fifth-grade students at a Title 1 elementary school in Waco, Texas, where she investigated the effectiveness of Micro-Spiral Method (MSM) on science curriculum.

Her research proved effective, as it led to a drastic increase in the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test scores - a 45 percent and 30 percent jump in state

science scores for African American and Hispanic students respectively in the 2005-2006 school year. As a result of her research, Baylor University procured an $11.8-million grant that funded further education research. She was named the 2008 Black History Difference Maker.

Today, as a tenured assistant professor and coordinator of science education, Davis focuses on deploying the MSM to improve the STEM scores of students from underrepresented groups. In this teaching approach, topics or themes in the course are revisited so there are more opportunities for students to acquire the knowledge and learn skills and concepts.

She begins class with a “temperature check” to see where her students are mentally.

“Some professors don’t evaluate where the students are,” said Davis, who is the recipient of more than $570,000 in NSF grants to promote her teaching methods. “I am trying to prepare them to receive knowledge and teach them how to control themselves. If you can control yourself, you can control your destiny.”

have been a compilation of things people have done for me in my journey.”

Caldwell created the EESI, which implemented a track system as a direct response to some students not wanting to participate or having a few positions for undergraduate research available. The system allows students to tailor their desired area of interest: Entrepreneurship and innovation, industry, research or community engagement.

“I wanted to create a space where students were comfortable to be themselves, at the same time, challenging them, while giving them the support they needed to be successful,” she said. “The students in my programs have a different experience than other students who enter FAMUFSU College of Engineering.”

The Jacksonville native emphasizes the technology available that the new generation of students embrace, all while still staying open to the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering traditional learning styles, which she hopes her EESI program will aid in.

“For prospective students, they want to make sure they sign up for the Engineering Living Learning Community freshman support program,” Caldwell said. “This is the main path to be eligible to participate in the EESI program their sophomore and junior year.”

When students are more actively involved in their academic planning, there is more of an incentive to retain them. Caldwell recognizes Reginald Perry, Ph. D., and Clayton Clark, Ph.D., as allies during her time in the College of Engineering, sharing in her efforts to support students.

Creating the space to persevere In STEM As director of Student Access at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Charmane Caldwell is focused on helping undergraduate engineering students, who become overwhelmed with the demands of their college education, before they drop out. Caldwell knows what it takes to succeed. She received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.

To support students, she received a $1 million grant from the NSF geared to specifically retain sophomore and junior undergraduate engineering students with scholarships awarded over five years.

Nearly 50 percent of the students enrolled in her Educating Engineering Students Innovatively (EESI) program are female, as a result of her influence.

“Throughout my life, I have had some amazing family members, role models and allies that have guided my path,” she said. “So, the things I do with and for my students

Next Generation Scientist Jazmine Alexander, a second-year environmental sciences: environmental policy doctoral student, received her bachelor’s degree from Hampton University and her master’s from FAMU. In February, she presented her research detailing results specifically relevant to Black women in STEM who

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are graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) at the Emerging Researchers National Conference (ERNC) in Washington D.C. The judges asked, how does Florida A&M University plan to implement cultural humility.

“I went on to affirm that the work being done at FAMU’s Center for Faculty Advancement and by the center’s director and principal investigator, Dr. Marcia Allen Owens, will result in an institutional transformation,” Alexander said. “This work evaluates policies and practices at FAMU that may have placed Black women at a disadvantage when it pertains to hiring and promotion.”

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The goal of the FAMU ADVANCE grant is to create equity for all.

“We are what scientists look like,” Owens said. “We have to continue to combat the subtle messages that tell us who can and should excel in STEM. These messages begin as early as elementary school and contribute to the fact that Black and Latino girls are less likely to take advanced STEM classes or pursue STEM careers. Everyone belongs. [We] shouldn’t have to work harder to prove that we belong.”

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CAPPING

HALL

of FAME CAREER

at FAMU

Coach Wiggins leaves it on the field BY [Vaughn WILSON ]

W

hen FAMU head softball coach Veronica Wiggins put down her clipboard at the end of the 2020 softball season, it was the closing play of a women’s softball legacy like no other. The records, the accolades, and the championships tell the story. She left nothing on the field but respect.

“For me, personally, I looked at Coach Wiggins as a mother figure,” said Miesha McBride, who played catcher and first base on Wiggins’ 2018 Championship Team. McBride, a 2017 alumna from Fort Pierce, Florida, is now pursuing a master’s degree in occupational therapy at Howard University (Washington, D.C.).

“The lessons that I learned from Coach Wiggins and the softball field I can use in the professional field: work hard, work as a team.

“She is also a strong woman of faith, and she is very big about service. I still call her to talk about what is going on in my life. No matter the time, she is always there for all my sisters and me,” McBride said, “It is because of her that I wanted to play, earn my degree and go out and help the rest of my people.”

‘Little ones,’ older brothers and a Divine plan led the way to her red-clay field of dreams Wiggins was the oldest daughter of nine children, which meant she had to toughen up quickly and take charge of her brothers. “I was like the mother in our house in Miami,” Wiggins said.

“You have to realize that, at about 12 years old, I had a lot of responsibilities put on me. I had to clean, cook, whatever.

I had to take care of the little ones,” she remembered. “Baseball was my escape when I could just be me. I could be who I wanted to be.”

At an early age, she developed the ability to lead. Meanwhile, young Veronica also learned how to follow her three older brothers, right into her destiny: One of them, Willie Whiting, who loved the game of baseball, drove her hard during their childhood play. Wiggins picked up the skills and translated them to softball, where she became a standout player. It was the beginning of a love affair with the game where she was also destined to become a stellar coach — the first HBCU softball coach to win more than 700 games.

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“We’ve got to realize God led me to where he wanted me to be,” said Wiggins, the mother of three adult children, who speaks freely about her faith and her first love, her Savior.

Once Wiggins had earned her associate degree from Miami Dade Community College, she was Tallahasseebound.

Her storied life in college sports began in 1985, not long after she packed up her dog, a trailer and her belongings at the recommendation of friends. She headed north from the heart of Miami to Florida’s capital city, “where there were good state jobs available.”

It was not long before Wiggins began working, not at FAMU but at the Koger Center, in one of those “state jobs.”

“God put me around some FAMU college students in my department,” she said. She noticed them filling out college applications and financial aid papers one day and asked what they were doing. They encouraged her to apply, as well.

“My head started spinning once I was

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notified that I was eligible. I took one class, advanced English.” With a passing grade on the books, she was hooked. She gave her employers two weeks’ notice and announced she was going to go to college full time.

“When I got to this school, it was something special,” said Wiggins, who earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees at FAMU. “There was a feeling of home in being around students who were here to improve their lives and the awesome teachers and administrators who knew what we needed to get our education. What really got me was how the teachers cared about us. That is what made us have pride in FAMU.” Mentors like Edwina Martin, Sarah Hill Yates, Robert Mungen and Bobby Lang — all professors in the physical education program — latched on to her, Wiggins recalled. She has been a proud “Rattler” ever since.

Pitching a new way of doing things made her a hit off the field Wiggins had played slow-pitch softball her whole life. She was a part of FAMU’s transition to fast pitch. It was not an easy transition for any of the colleges in the state of Florida, Wiggins remembers. It took a unified lobbying and petition effort from the state’s coaches to convince legislators that the change was necessary; fast pitch was steamrolling in popularity, and the whole country was moving in that direction. Wiggins was called to testify at the Florida Legislature for funding to help the women’s sport.

“When we first started playing fast pitch, we recruited slow-pitch players,” Wiggins said.

“All they could do was bunt and run and play defense. Eventually, we would get the roster fully-staffed in fast pitch players.”

In 1992, FAMU Director of Athletics Nelson Townsend offered Wiggins the reins of the softball program. She and her teams rolled over the competition with 13 conference championships and 11 NCAA appearances.

She never let up.

from 2009 to 2011. She said Wiggins was big on “us stepping out of our comfort zone.”

“Coach Wiggins was more than a coach for most of us. She provided wisdom, comfort and accountability in everyone’s lives who stepped on that field,” Dixon said.

“Her drive to make sure that every young lady understood the importance of giving all you have all the time became the status quo when it came to Florida A&M softball.”

In 2017, Wiggins became the first HBCU coach to win 700 games.

Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) coach Laura Watten has 723 wins overall, but nine of those seasons were at the University of Maryland.

Only 443 of her wins are among HBCUs coaching Bethune-Cookman University. The margin in HBCU softball is tremendous.

Coach moves away from the familiar home plate Wiggins’ contributions to women’s sports are not limited to FAMU. She served on the NCAA Rules Committee and Selection Committee for years and is no stranger to coaches from all levels of NCAA competition.

A rewind of her life in college sports shows an even more focused dream that was realized along the way.

“My plan was to have the first HBCU go to the World Series. We did not quite get to do that, but I took the opportunity to showcase African American females in Division I,” Wiggins said. “I wanted to make sure that African American female players got exposed.”

Editor’s note: Wiggins has been appointed director of player development and alumni affairs in the Athletics Department.

Tenisha Dixon, who studied broadcast journalism, played outfield for Coach Wiggins

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BY [ Simone WILLIAMS ]

White

NATALIE

From the FAMU Hardwood to the WNBA Executive Suite

A

“ lways do what makes you happy.” This was the early advice from Natalie White’s late grandmother, Dorothy White, that guided a lifelong decision to stay true to her passion. Now, White says she wakes up every day, excited to go to work as the senior vice president of Business Operations for three-time WNBA champions, the Los Angeles Sparks.

White’s success in the WNBA earned her a “Distinguished Alumni” award in June 2019 from her alma mater, Florida A&M University, another prize to add to her long list of lifetime accolades. Moreover, her fierce daily dedication and unwavering determination to her passion honors her inner child, who fell in love with the game of basketball at age 5.

White’s aunt and first basketball coach, Maxine Cherry, recallswatching her niece go toe-to-toe against her older family members in backyard basketball games at their home in 32 // FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY // A&M MAGAZINE

Fort Valley, Ga. Cherry realized early that White would become a force to be reckoned with after she saw her niece voluntarily taking part in her family’s basketball workouts, as well.

By fifth grade, White had her sights set on earning a basketball scholarship to college. Eight short years later, she was a Lady Rattler at FAMU and an NCAA record holder for most steals as a freshman (a record yet to be broken).

White went on to make NCAA records three more times before graduating in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Then, in 1997, the WNBA was founded. White was determined to be a major player in the league. She would succeed in her goal — just not in the way that she thought.

That same year, after an unsuccessful attempt to be drafted into the WNBA,

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White began her pursuit of a master’s degree in sports management at FAMU. As an undergrad, White had made an impression on FAMU’s then-sports information director, Michelle Jinks. According to Jinks, White’s talent and humility made her “the model studentathlete.” For this reason, Jinks regularly called on White to speak to the press. Ever the team player, White always agreed, quickly becoming a master of media relations.

Jinks had witnessed White’s long-standing love for the Nike brand and knew she would be a perfect fit for the company’s Adrenaline Internship. At the time, the program was run by Felecia Hall-Allen, manager of Nike’s women’s basketball sports marketing. Already having a personal relationship with Hall-Allen, Jinks saw an opportunity to help another young black woman move one step closer to her dreams.

Jinks recalls telling Hall-Allen: “I’m not telling you to give her a job; I’m telling you to give her an interview — and, if you give her an interview, she’s going to be your best person.” Hall-Allen did give her the interview and, to this day, says that White’s passion and potential were undeniable — and unforgettable.

That year, White served as Nike’s WNBA representative for the Phoenix Mercury and fell in love with the business side of basketball. She spent the next nine years at Nike, working her way up from an awarded EKIN technical representative to a sales executive managing $24 million in accounts.

“I tell people that you can never accomplish your goals alone,” White says, explaining that you always need a mentor, sponsor, encourager, or motivator to help push you to your highest heights.

She decided it was time for her to fulfill her dream of mentoring young athletes and creating opportunities for the next generation and started Natalie White Basketball LLC, a program that has provided annual basketball camps and academic mentoring; it has reached well over 1,500 children.

White maintained her same unstoppable trajectory when she was hired as an account executive with the Atlanta Dream.

Once again, White rose through the ranks to become the team’s vice president of Basketball Operations. She soon founded the A10tion (pronounced “attention”) foundation, with the mission to renovate her old high-school gym in Fort Valley.

Grandma Dorothy’s advice is ever-present in A10tion’s motto: “Work hard and have fun.”

“I think that one of the reasons Natalie has been so successful is because she has never been afraid to serve,” Hall-Allen said.

“She is a servant leader — and, because of that, she continues to be blessed. ... God will meet you where you are, and I think that he’s taken Natalie to places where she can be of most assistance.”

Natalie White at the Staples Center court, home of the LA Sparks.(Courtesy Natalie White)

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WOMEN IN S C I E N C E

A Researcher’s Passionate Quest For Breast Cancer Treatments BY [ Asari FLETCHER ]

Syreeta

L. Tilghman, Ph.D., (pronounced sa-REE- tuh TIL-mun) is an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, Institute of Public Health, and a researcher determined to remain laser-focused on breast cancer.

After earning her bachelor’s at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the Philadelphia native completed graduate work at the University of Maryland - Baltimore. She then had a postdoctoral fellowship at Tulane University in New Orleans. Her first faculty position was at Xavier University, where she worked in the College of Pharmacy before she was recruited to FAMU in 2015.

The award-winning researcher hopes her work will lead to the development of new strategies, using FDA-approved natural compounds and compounds to prevent cancer from spreading to other parts of the body.

Q: Can you discuss your breast cancer research?

A: Tilghman: While currently there are no cures for women diagnosed with

metastatic breast cancer, also called advanced, stage IV breast cancer, several targeted treatment options are available based on the presence or absence of specific tumor markers.

cancer growth and development could be preferentially made and lead to more aggressive, metastatic cancers.

Postmenopausal women with metastatic breast cancers that are hormone receptor positive - require estrogens for growth- are treated with drugs like letrozole or tamoxifen.

A: Our research focuses on undestanding how and why breast tumors stop responding to therapy and develop treatments to stop tumor growth and spread. Specifically, we are studying the response of resistant breast tumors to treatment with novel soy-derived compounds in combined with targeted chemotherapy agents.

Unfortunately, while these treatments are initially effective and reduce tumor growth, after five years of use, some women stop responding to the therapy and the breast tumors continue to grow, spread, and ultimately lead to death.

For many years it has been known that when a normal cell transforms into a cancer cell, normal cellular functions such as the formation of proteins protein synthesis - can be hijacked by the cancer cell and utilized for tumor growth and tumor spread.

Ribosomes are the central structures of protein synthesis and they bring all the components needed to build proteins in the cytoplasm of the cell.

When normal protein synthesis is altered, many proteins involved in

Q: What is your focus?

Our research is significant because it is expected to be the first critical step in a series of studies potentially leading to the development of new drugs to be used clinically in the treatment of stage IV metastatic letrozolerefractory breast cancer. Ultimately, such knowledge has the potential to decrease death rates by broadly impacting treatments of additional diseases associated with unregulated cell growth and metastasis.

Q: Why breast cancer?

A: My interest in breast cancer grew from an endocrinology course that I enrolled in as an undergraduate

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student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. As a student, I learned all about hormones, such as estrogen, and how they controlled the menstrual cycle, development, growth, and female secondary sex characteristics.

I was fascinated to learn the dramatic effects that hormones had on the human body. As I began to learn more about estrogen, I was shocked to learn that the same hormone that caused beneficial changes to the body was also the culprit that caused cancer cells to grow. How could this be? How could something so critical for life also lead to uncontrolled cancer cell growth?

As I began to ponder this question, I sought opportunities to learn more about the dichotomous role of estrogen.

At this juncture, I enrolled in graduate school at the University of Maryland -Baltimore and joined the laboratory of Angela Brodie (a premier scientist who developed the first FDA approved agent that selectively targeted estrogen synthesis for the treatment of breast cancer).

Q: Did you have any key mentors who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in, and what you are committed to in your work and life?

A: One of my early mentors was FAMU alum, Leonard Johnson. Dr. Johnson was a church member who was a physician in our community.

He used to always tell me about how great FAMU was. He was one of the biggest proponents of health science.

He would push us.

He would expose us to different things, and I worked for him for a while as a receptionist. He was the early person in my life who even opened up that

science is a possibility. One of my greatest mentors was my graduate advisor, Dr. Angela Brodie. She was like a rock star in the field.

When I was a graduate student, I didn’t even know that she was popular, and she was making strides in the field. She was very unassuming but extremely hardworking. I think what inspired me was that, as a minority in a majority institution, we often felt isolated; but I thought about [Dr. Brodie’s] career trajectory. If she were still living, she would be 85 years old. She died in 2017. For a woman from the United Kingdom to come to the United States all those years ago and be so dedicated and hardworking with her work ethic... it inspired me.

Q: Being a woman in STEM, are there any challenges?

A: I will say that some of the challenges are still being a minority and a female. For example, every time you submit a research application, the applications must be reviewed by panels of scientists from all over who look at your applications and critique them. These panels are called study sections.

So, every time I go to a study section, I am generally the only African American and the only one from an HBCU.Sometimes, it is overwhelming.

The way I overcome that is by just being confident. Knowing that my training is just as good, if not better than some of the people in the room.

Also, knowing that I have the same level of funding as the person sitting next to me. It may be a different grant mechanism, but it is the same amount of money, if not more.

Q: What motivates you to do what you do?

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A: I am passionate about discovery, being in the lab and generating new knowledge. It was always interesting to me as a graduate student when you are reading textbooks. You see these references at the end and knowing that someone actually worked to get that information that you are teaching to the students. Another motivator was, again, that, as a graduate student, I worked in Dr. Brodie’s lab.

She was the person who developed the class of drugs that we study in our lab. Being a part of that research inspired me. Often, you see drug commercials, and you see these new drugs out. While I was a graduate student, flipping through an Essence magazine, I saw the drug that had just been approved. We were working on it in Dr. Brodie’s lab before it was FDA approved –that is before the drug even got a name with letters and numbers.

We were working on it, seeing something that you do in the lab having a real-life impact and saving lives. That was huge for me.

Asari Fletcher works in the FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, Institute of Public Health.

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Professor develops students’ eye for architecture, innovation through centuries-old art of quilting.

BY [ Kamryn MARSHALL ]

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On

the third floor of the Florida A&M University School of Architecture, Professor Valerie Goodwin’s desk sits in the middle of her corner office. At first glance, you notice the threedimensional architectural designs surrounding it.

Goodwin - who wears many hats as a professor, artist, author, architect and fiber artist - is proud of her students’ work and the creativity she can use to teach architectural designs by using fabric, paint and thread.

African Burial Grounds, which shows the map of a graveyard where remains of free and enslaved Africans were buried.

The graveyard was found in New York City, two levels below, as developers were building a skyscraper. A lawsuit was filed to stop construction, and an archaeologist found the remains of nearly 400 Africans, dating back to the 18th Century.

Carolyn

Ducey,

curator

Ducey said. “Goodwin elevates the age-old practice of mapmaking to a very expressive and artistic medium.”

Goodwin grew up in Connecticut and studied at Yale University. After earning her master’s degree at Washington University in St. Louis, she moved with her family to Tallahassee. Years later, Goodwin is teaching college students how to learn the fundamentals of

Juried and invitational international shows confirmed for her that quilting was worth doing. A publisher contacted her and asked if she wanted to author a book, “Art Quilt Maps: Capture a Sense of Place with Fiber Collage.” The visual guide, now in bookstores and libraries, allows readers to find inspiration in their places of interest, and use it to design art quilts. Goodwin, who plans to retire after 26 years, then began teaching other quilters at workshops in such places as Australia, Switzerland, and Canada.

Goodwin discovered quilting and fiber art through architecture. After reading the Journal of Architectural Education, she was intrigued by an article where the professor described using traditional quilt blocks as a starting point for architectural design.

That journal led to Goodwin developing student projects that used quilting blocks as a way of teaching architectural design fundamentals.

Goodwin’s pieces were chosen for their unique use of maps as a means of expression.

One of those selected is called

She tried traditional quilting techniques but found that these techniques were too rigid. Goodwin wanted to do something more expressive and incorporate her architectural background.

Fabric collage and mixed media became her new technique, which brought innovation to her quilt making.

“I discovered I was interested in aerial views and its patterns and the connections of networks you can see from above,” Goodwin said. “It just started from there and I just knew I wanted to do something that related to what I do in my architectural interests.”

“I tell my students that they don’t have to think; they have to start out being original,” Goodwin said. “They need to understand the traditions and architectural concepts that came before and only then can they develop their own voice.”

Three of Goodwin’s art quilts have been added to the permanent collection at the International Quilt Museum (IQM) in Lincoln, Nebraska.

It is one of the largest quilt collections in the world, filled with the creation of a textile tradition dating back to the early 1700s. More than 50 countries are represented.

Community College, where she learned to make a quilt completely by hand.

Cartographic Collage by Valerie Goodwin

of collections at IQM, was drawn to Goodwin’s work after recommending her pieces to their acquisition committee.

She describes her quilts as having a linear quality, with designs that function as a literal map.

“Valerie Goodwin has a unique way of looking at our world and the physical and social ramifications of lives lived primarily in urban settings,”

architectural design to create their own mediums of artistic expression.

Goodwin took many trips to Alabama to visit her grandmother, a homeeconomics teacher who taught her to sew at an early age.

She began making clothes for herself and her three sisters.

Her interest in quilting led her back to sewing by taking a sixweek course at Tallahassee

FAMU Architecture Dean Rodner Wright encourages professors to find different ways to express architectural intent.

“Valerie is one of the more respected faculty,” Wright said. “Not only because of her creativity, but also because of her warm character and ability to explain principles of architecture on so many different levels.”

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NEW FACES NEW PLACES Miles moves to top spot in University Communications Keith Miles, former FAMU Alumni Affairs director and the longtime voice of Rattler football, is now the interim director of the Office of Communications.

President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., tapped Miles in February to lead the University’s internal and external communications operations. Miles manages the University’s marketing,

New CFO is ready to go with his eyes on the money, his mind on construction and facilities Alan Robertson, Ed.D., is a certified public accountant with more than 30 years of senior and professional leadership experience. Robertson is the University’s new CFO and vice president of Finance and Administration. He counts among his career highlights reengineering the budget processes at all of the institutions he has served, “focusing on performance, accountability, transparency and shared governance to ensure

The colors remain the same, though his playbook is sporting a few critical new moves FAMU’s new athletics administrator has traded in one world of orangeand-green for another. Kortne Gosha is the new vice president and director of FAMU Athletics. A native of Birmingham, Ala., Gosha was most recently at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, where he was the associate athletic director

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creative services, president’s communications, media relations, publications, and special events.

Miles is not a new face at the University or in the capital city. He is the former general manager of WANM 90.5 Radio and, from 1991 to 1998, he led the university’s Office of Alumni Affairs. He has also been a deputy athletic director and instructor at the University’s

balanced budgets.”

In his new post, Robertson oversees several vital operations including information technology, human resources, facilities planning and construction, the budget office, controller’s office, and facilities planning and construction. Prior to his January appointment at FAMU, Robertson served as the senior vice president and CFO of Morehouse College, and in a similar position at Chicago State University.

“I thank Dr. Robinson for this opportunity,” said Robertson. “I was very impressed with the FAMU campus and facilities. My experience

for Facilities and Operations.

At Florida A&M, Gosha ovesees day-to-day facility and event operations, grounds, information technology, access control and capital projects. Shortly after his arrival, he embarked on several major fundraising projects, the “ALL IN” campaign to renovate the operations and field house at Bragg Stadium. The Board of Trustees has also approved FAMU Football’s move, under Gosha’s leadership,

School of Journalism and Graphic Arts. While away from the University from 1988 to 1991, he was a legislative liaison and a spokesperson for the Governor’s Energy Office.

“It’s an honor to serve in this role and ... It is a privilege to be given the opportunity to help my alma mater move forward,” Miles said.

leading the design, funding, and construction of over $200 million in new construction projects will serve the University well with the seven building projects currently in progress.”

“Dr. Robertson’s record of success in higher education, and the public and private sectors are impressive,” said President Robinson. “His familiarity with aligning the budget process with strategic priorities and experience managing all aspects of university-related finance and administration are critical to ensuring the University’s continuous success.”

from the MEAC conference to the SWAC by 2021.

At UM, Gosha led the efforts to raise more than $50 million in capitalimprovement projects, including the funds for completion of the Carrol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility. He also served on the transition team during the hiring of University of Miami Head Football Coach Manny Diaz. Gosha is noted for his working relationships and operational efficiencies.

Alumna now directs legislative affairs at her alma mater Danielle McBeth, a former Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist, has been hired to direct the University’s legislative affairs efforts. She will serve as director of Government Relations.

New academic success framework for new students results in new role for Collins Jennifer Collins, Ph.D., has been named assistant provost for freshmen studies in the division

New facilities, construction head takes on a host of projects planned for fall completion Chris Hessel, is the new associate vice president of Facilities, Planning, Construction and Safety. He brings extensive experience in facility operations, campus master planning and construction administration.

Stepping away from trustees’ post, Grable takes the helm as acting journalism dean Professor Bettye Grable, Ph.D., has been named acting dean of the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (SJGC). Grable has been a public-relations professor

McBeth graduated from FAMU with a bachelor’s in journalism in 1991; in 2003, she earned a law degree from the American University, Washington College of Law.

Accountability. While in the nation’s capital, McBeth, a seasoned professional, was a partner with Alcalde & Fay, a government and public-affairs firm in Arlington, Va.

She worked in Tallahassee from 1992 to 1994 as press secretary for the Florida Commission on Education Reform and

McBeth’s return to FAMU came after the retirement of Barbara Cohen-Pippin who directed legislative affairs for three years.

of Academic Affairs. Previously, she was the assistant dean for assessment and accreditation for the university’s School of Business and Industry (SBI ).

part of a new integrated studentsuccess framework to increase student success at FAMU. She will coordinate efforts to provide freshmen with deliberate, focused support as they navigate their first year at the university.

Collins’ role was created as a

He comes to the University from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he was the associate director of Facilities Planning & Management.

His primary role included managing the supervision of preventative management, improvement, and repairs of all operational and auxiliary facilities; and supervising the Central Heating Plant, the ground crews and sustainability efforts.

in the SJGC Division of Journalism since 2006. She also served two terms as president of the Faculty Senate. In that capacity, she represented the faculty on the FAMU Board of Trustees.

Grable earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Florida

At FAMU, his duties are similar to those at his former post. He has already taken on such construction projects as the new CASS (Center for Access and Student Success) Building, senior living quarters and The Hub. Hessel said he is passionate about process improvement, staff development, student engagement and sustainability.

(Gainesville) and a master’s degree from FAMU. She earned her doctorate in Public Affairs and Mass Communication from Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge). Grable taught at Boston University before she joined the FAMU faculty as an associate professor.

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Alumni Applause BY [ Véronique GEORGE ]

She is the founder of the Central Ohio FAMU Alumni Chapter.

Harper is the author of Love’s Resurrection: A Spiritual Journey through Marriage, Divorce and Remarrying the Same Man. Her second book, The Heart of a Leader: 52 Emotional Intelligence Insights to Advance Your Career, is available on Amazon.com.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ profile on the rise at home, globally Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has another accomplishment under her belt. Georgia Trend magazine named Bottoms the 2020 Georgian of the Year. Since taking office, Lance Bottoms has established the City’s first fully staffed Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the closure of the Atlanta City Detention Center to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detainees and the successful staging of Super Bowl LIII. Bottoms is a 1991 graduate of the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. She became a frequent voice and face in recent months when protests in Atlanta and throughout the world thrust her into the spotlight in the fight against injustice, systemic racism and police brutality.

Engineering Alumnus Named Vanderbilt Provost A 1996 engineering graduate, William H. Robinson, Ph.D., has been named Vanderbilt University’s vice provost for academic advancement and executive director of the Provost’s Office for Inclusive Excellence.

Robinson, who joined Vanderbilt University in 2003 as an assistant professor, became the first African American to earn promotion with tenure in the School of Engineering’s history in 2010.

Designer, self-taught artist goes worldwide with her colorful Spanx collection C

Chief artistic designer of Abeille Creations and self-taught artist, Melissa Mitchell, landed a global deal with Spanx, which is headquartered in Atlanta. Winner of the Spanx Illuminate-Her contest, Mitchell’s collection includes the Bra-llelujah!® IlluminateHer™ Bralette (also known as “Colorful Harmony).”

Since opening in 2016, Mitchell has celebrated other milestones to include being featured in Vogue and Essence magazines, and partnerships with Ford.

In 2018, he became the first African American to earn promotion to professor of engineering. A professor of electrical engineering and computer engineering, Robinson formerly served as associate dean for academic success for the School of Engineering.

New Trustee is also an author with new book on leadership Kristin Harper, founder and chief executive officer of Driven to Succeed, has been appointed to the FAMU Board of Trustees. She has also worked for Proctor & Gamble, The Hershey Company and Cardinal Health.

Harper earned an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from FAMU.

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Oprah pops in on Prince’s pharmacy Martez Prince, PharmD, 2010 graduate and owner of Premier Pharmacy and Wellness Center in Charlotte, N.C., was paid a surprise visit by media mogul Oprah Winfrey. The visit was a part of Winfrey’s “2020 Vision Tour: Your Life in Focus,” which is presented in partnership with WW (formerly Weight Watchers).

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O F

BY [ L.A. CARROLL ]

L E G A C Y

A historical look at three FAMU women whose historic careers continue to shine of excellence and exemplary leadership

Congresswoman CARRIE S. MEEK

Any

represent Florida in Congress since Reconstruction. Soon after she helped her district recover from Hurricane Andrew’sdevastation, with efforts to provide $100 million in federal assistance to rebuild MiamiDade County after the hurricane.

Meek led legislation that resulted in improvements of Miami-Dade County’s transit system, airport and seaport.

Meek, who is also recognized for her advocacy for Haitian immigrants, was a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

collection of stories about the Women of FAMU would be incomplete without a backward glance at some of the women whose legacy of service, innovation, leadership and impact still ripples throughout this generation.

Such names

as retired U.S. Congresswoman Carrie Meek, former Florida State Senator Arthenia Joyner, and renowned School of Business & Industry (SBI) dean Sybil Mobley, Ph.D., have resonated with the University community and its stakeholders for decades.

Undeniably, FAMU can boast of a host of other such women who have also made their alma mater proud through the years.

To name a precious few: Wimbledon Tennis Champion Althea Gibson, whose first court to conquer was on the FAMC campus, where she enrolled in 1951. President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., traveled in 2019 to New York where a statue, honoring Gibson, was unveiled to recognize her contributions to tennis.

She was the first African American to win Wimbledon (1957).

More than 100 years ago, Jennie Virginia Hilyer became the first registered nurse at the Florida A&M hospital, the only hospital to treat blacks throughout North Florida. The current administration building bears her name.

Here is A&M magazine’s abbreviated look at Meek, Joyner and Mobley.

She also introduced legislation toprovide retirement security for such household workers as gardeners, nannies, and cleaning personnel.

Former Congresswoman Carrie Meek, 94, was born the granddaughter of a slave and the daughter of former sharecroppers. A student-athlete, Meek graduated in 1946. She continued her studies at the University of Michigan, earning a master’s degree in 1948.

Meek became a teacher a Bethune-Cookman College (Daytona Beach, Florida) and, later, at Florida A&M. She moved to Miami in 1961 to serve as special assistant to the vice president of Miami-Dade Community College. In 1963, Meek played a central role in the school’s integration.

Elected as a Florida state representative in 1979, Meek was the first African American female elected to the state Senate in 1982. In 1992, Meek was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida’s 17th Congressional District, which made her the first black lawmaker to

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“Congresswoman Meek has never been comfortable reacting to things.

She always thinks about making things happen,” once said former Chief of Staff John Schelble.

An advocate for the elderly, the poor, the downtrodden, minorities and young people, Meek still helps others through the Carrie Meek Foundation in Miami.

The Carrie Meek Foundation Scholarship Program reflected her recognition of education’s critical role in transforming impoverished urban neighborhoods.

Her longtime commitment to Miami-Dade College (formerly Miami-Dade Community College) is where the Carrie Meek Entrepreneurial Education Center was established to build partnerships that expand educational opportunities for its students. The campus now offers a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science in Public Safety through its School of Justice.

Florida Senator A RT H E N I A J OY N E R

Arthenia Joyner is a 1964 FAMU political-science graduate, who earned a law degree in 1968 from the original FAMU law school.

She was only an 11th-grader in Lakeland, Florida, when she participated in her first civil-rights protest. In 1963, while a FAMU student, she was arrested twice, spending 14 days in jail for civil disobedience; she had joined other students in protests against racial discrimination.

“Little did I know then that this journey ... would one day lead me from the concrete floor of the Leon County Jail to the floor of the Florida Senate,” she once said. It was the beginning of her battle against injustice: Joyner was arrested again in Washington, D.C., following a 1985 apartheid protest.

Joyner, 77, served in the Florida Legislature, first as a three-term state representative for ten years, representing the Tampa Bay area, and, later, as a state senator. She rose to the ranks of Senate Minority Leader (two years). She was the first black female attorney in Polk and Hillsborough County.

The former president of the National Bar Association later joined Vanguard Attorneys in Tampa.

Renowned famu sbi dean S Y B I L C . M O B L E Y , P H . D .

Sybil Collins Mobley, who died in 2015, began at Florida A&M in the early 1960s as a secretary. She earned an MBA from the Wharton School, and her Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Illinois. From her secretarial duties, the Shreveport, Louisiana, native began a legendary journey that resulted in her name becoming synonymous with “business.”

In 1974, she created FAMU’s School of Business and Industry (SBI), which grew to become one of FAMU’s largest and most acclaimed schools before Mobley retired in 2003.

Mobley served on more than a dozen corporate boards, including Anheuser-Busch, Delta Airlines, and Hershey’s.

“If you have worked in corporate leadership or business education anytime in the last four decades, you have heard of Sybil Collins Mobley and her School of Business & Industry.

“The intricacies of building a premier business school for blacks on the heels of Jim Crow were not seen as an obstacle

by Dean Mobley and [her faculty]. They were seen as an inherent opportunity,” wrote Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D., SBI dean, in the foreword to the book The Sybil C. Mobley Years, by former student and SBI instructor Annette Jackson and Leedell Neyland, Ph.D. *Wire service reports were used in compiling this article.

FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY // A&M MAGAZINE//45

COVID-19 HITS CLOSE TO HOME

WHITE, HALL OF FAMER, ENTREPRENEUR, ACTIVIST AND WIFE LOST ONLY TWO MONTHS APART Andre Moses White, a former NFL player, community activist, entrepreneur, and musical artist died June 12 in Atlanta – only two months after Joyce White, wife of 55 years. In March, both Whites were diagnosed with the Coronavirus three days apart. Mrs. White died April 2.

Daughter Madelyn White said her father – whom doctors allowed to be with her mother at the end of her life – was later released, but never fully recovered from the virus, which had damaged his lungs.

At the end of life in June, he was at home, surrounded by his family. “He told us he didn’t want to die in the hospital alone,” she said.

“Dad was always a-larger-than-life character with a heart of gold and adventurous spirit.

Somehow, he was always prepared for whatever might come along.”

Lucky White said: “My father was a force of nature. . . No one could tell a story like him. He was my hero and lived up to that vision every day. He enriched the lives of so many in his 75 years. He was a great father and teacher.”

White attended the local schools of Hillsborough County, including Middleton High School. He relocated to Tallahassee

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with his brother, Alton, where he graduated from (the original) Lincoln High School. After graduation, he enrolled at FAMU, where he earned his degree in physical education and health education. Later, White was drafted by the Denver Broncos; he also played for the San Diego Chargers. White became one of the first African American players to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was inducted into the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

During his lifetime, White wore many hats. He returned to Tampa and served as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Officer of Hillsborough County.

While there, he launched a battle to remove the Confederate Flag from the County Seal, which happened in 2016. He was an entrepreneur who owned and operated a barbecue restaurant in West Tampa for several years. He also once served as the road manager for the late singer Marvin Gaye, and longtime confidant and business colleague of the legendary James Brown.

In the 1980s, the Whites relocated to Atlanta and started the Georgia Sentinel newspaper.

He is survived by his children, Andre White (Denise), Richard Feacher (Sharon), Raulnina Uzzle Harris (Rodney), and Andrea Racquel White; and, grandchildren and siblings.

Troy Sneed Jr., a Grammy-nominated gospel singer, played football at Florida A&M before joining the university’s gospel choir. He traveled throughout the nation as a singer with the Georgia Mass Choir. While a member, he appeared with the choir in the 1996 film The Preacher’s Wife, starring actors Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington. Sneed also released seven albums and several hit singles including Work It Out and My Heart Says Yes, which both peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s gospel chart. Sneed and his wife, Emily, later started Emtro Gospel (Emtro is a combination of their first names).

Rowena Anastania Daniels, Esq., a native of Doerun, Ga., dedicated her life and legal career to the service of others. In 1993, she earned her in 1995 bachelor’s degree from Albany (Ga.) State University (ASU); a master’s in social work from Florida State University; an MBA from ASU; and, in 2013, the Juris Doctorate from Florida A&M University College of Law (Orlando). Daniels, a member of the Florida and Georgia bar, worked for Phoebe Putney Hospital (Albany) as the director of Behavioral Health, for ASU as the chief legal affairs officer; and, most recently, at Georgia Legal Services as a staff attorney, representing the underprivileged and the elderly.

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THE FALLEN RATTLERS October 2019 Larzett Carrietta Rembert attended Lakewood High School, where she was a majorette.

Rembert was a graduate of the University’s College of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities (CSSAH). This role model and mentor to many worked for the Pinellas County School Board for 16 years.

November 2019 Eva B. Manning earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 1946 before earning her master’s in education in 1958 at what was then Florida A&M College (FAMC). She was employed by the Leon County School District for 38 years. She was also the first black editor of the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper. Manning was a member of Delta Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; she remained active for decades.

November 2019 Willie George Allen, Esq. was a distinguished alumnus of Florida A&M University and a former member of the FAMU Board of Trustees. He attended FAMU before becoming the first black student to earn a law degree from the University of Florida and one of the state’s most prominent civil-rights attorneys who led battles to integrate beach access in Fort Lauderdale; he also played a

prominent role in integrating the Broward County school district.

December 2019 Imogene

Cook

Conyers

graduated from Florida A&M University in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. She returned to FAMU to earn a master’s in early childhood education. Conyers worked throughout Georgia as an elementary school teacher. She was active in many organizations, including the Silhouettes (former president) of Kappa Alpha Psi, the Thomasville-Thomas County FAMU Alumni Association, and the Lambda Xi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

December 2019 Garth C. Reeves Sr., a native of Nassau, Bahamas, and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame, inherited the Miami Times from his father in 1970.

Reeves made a donation, which with matching state funds, led to the establishment of the Garth C. Reeves Eminent Scholars Chair in the FAMU School of Journalism and Graphic Communications (SJGC). The Reeves Chair was the first endowed chair in the SJGC, and the first at FAMU endowed by an alumnus.

December 2019 Harvey L. Wilson Jr., a Tallahassee native, graduated

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from Florida A&M University in 1981 as a pre-med/ biology major.

Immediately after graduation, he became an employee of Florida A&M University’s Computer Information Sciences Department (CIS). Wilson, the computer system control coordinator, was the longestserving member of the CIS department.

December 2019 Amos Gaines Jr. was a U.S. Army veteran who received a National Defense Service Medal, Army Occupation Medal (Germany), and Good Conduct Medal. He attended Florida A&M University, where he later spent 31 years as a custodial worker for FAMU. Gaines was inducted into the National Negro High School Basketball Hall of Fame for his performance as a student at then-Griffin High School in Tallahassee.

January 2020 Audrey Galimore graduated from FAMU High and Florida A&M University. She later worked at FAMU in the Office of Student Activities before moving to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Galimore was the wife of FAMU football legend and Chicago Bears star running back, the late Willie Galimore; mother of 1980 U. S. Olympic gymnast Ron Galimore, 1970s FAMU Rattlers Basketball star

Marlon Galimore and daughter Fawndreta Galimore.

January 2020 Jamee Christopher Deonte Johnson, a graduate of Flagler Palm Coast High School, was a business- administration student at Florida A&M University. He was a member of FAMU’s chapter of Progressive Black Men, the Wolfpak Marketing Club and he was an intern for the Office of Student Activities.

Johnson planned to use his degree to open his own shoe company and give back to his community.

January 2020 Tiffany Renay Davis was born and raised in Miami, where she graduated from Miami Jackson Senior High School. She later attended Florida A&M University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Health Science in 2010, and a master’s in health care administration/management in 2013. Davis will be remembered for her love of fashion and music, often being compared to a “human jukebox.”

February 2020 Alberta Love Sparks attended Florida A&M College. She was in the inaugural graduating class at Florida A&M University.

She earned her Master of Arts degree from the University of Colorado. Sparks spent 35 years as an educator and was

recognized for her excellence when she was named Teacher of the Year by the students, faculty, and Dade County Teachers of Mathematics. Sparks was also a life member of the FAMU National Alumni Association; she has a commemorative brick on campus in her name.

February 2020 Charles Cleaver Hayling Jr. was born in Tallahassee, where he grew up. Upon graduation from Florida A&M College, he soon joined the U. S. Air Force.

Upon returning home, Hayling gave back to his community by becoming an educator in Leon County and participating in marches for racial equality in St. Augustine, Fla. in the 1960s. Hayling later relocated to Fort Pierce, Fla., where he worked for many years as a highschool head basketball coach, elementary school principal, and vice principal. He later served until his retirement in 2005 as the administrator and director of the Bethune-Cookman University satellite campus in Fort Pierce.

February 2020 Frank Parrish Jr. was a Tallahassee native and a dedicated University employee.

Parrish spent miles on the road for and with FAMU, from 1985 to 2007 as a senior motor coach operation specialist in the athletics department. Parrish was also a dedicated Christian and worker who touched many with his gentle soul.

February 2020 Gwendolyn Turner Vann was a 1968 graduate of Florida A&M University, where she met her college sweetheart, John Ruben Vann. The Vanns were married for 54 years. She was a junior high teacher in Ohio for two years, an employee of IBM and Hewlett Packard, an office manager for a forensic psychologist and a licensed real-

estate professional, where she adopted the professional and spiritual motto, “helping people find their way home.”

February 2020 Richard

Harold

Anders

attended Florida A&M University on an athletic scholarship; he played one year of varsity basketball and four years of varsity football, all while staying active in music, drama, and intramural sports.

Anders became a successful high school football coach, winning multiple championships for his alma mater, Richardson High School.

Anders was a life member of the NAACP, polemarch (president) of the Gainesville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and a member of many local and state committees for education and athletics.

March 2020 Flossie

M.

Byrd,

Ph.D.,

graduated FAMU with a Bachelor of Science degree. She later earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree at Cornell University, becoming the first person from her hometown in Jefferson County to do so. Byrd spent five years teaching at FAMU. She ended her 32-year tenure at Prairie View A&M University (Texas) as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.

March 2020 Eddie Lydell Frasier enrolled at FAMU in 2003 and studied education. Frasier was employed

by Broward County Public Schools (Dillard High School), where he served for 11 years as an instructor and football coach and led the Panthers to an undefeated regular season in 2019. He was recognized for awards, including Head Football Coach of the Year and the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year.

March 2020

April 2020

Zoe Winifred Allen Bennett

Amos Hill, a Jacksonville, Fla,

was born in the Florida A&M University Hospital.

She graduated from the FAMU School of Business and Industry (SBI) in 1978 and began her career as an accountant for General Motors. She later started her own construction business while also renovating homes and creating inventions, with 10 publications in the Library of Congress.

native, was a 2010 Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame inductee. He was instrumental in the success of the FAMU Football team in the late ‘70s and ‘80s as a defensive line coach under Head Coach Rudy Hubbard. Hill was on the coaching staff for some of the most memorable seasons in FAMU history, including the 1977 Rattlers Football Team, which became the last FAMU squad to go undefeated (11-0) and win the Black College Football National Championship.

April 2020 Te-Andre Anthony Brown, a native of St. Ann, Jamaica, graduated in 2016 from Stranahan High School in Fort Lauderdale. He will be remembered as an “SBI Superstar” as a senior businessadministration student while also a member of the Army ROTC. Brown was a member of the National Society of Pershing Rifles, the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Omega Xi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, Inc. April 2020 Charlie

E. Brown, a Jacksonville, Fla., native attended Florida A&M College and earned her two-year degree before moving in 1942 to New York, where she earned a bachelor’s in business administration and real-estate management from New York University. Brown remained in New York where she worked for the U.S. Department of Housing (HUD) and managed residential properties throughout the state. Brown was a life member of the FAMU National Alumni Association (NAA); she faithfully served as the first female regional vice president of the FAMU NAA Northeast Region, and served as the first female president of the FAMU NAA New York Chapter.

May 2020 William Alexander Morris III, M.D. graduated Florida A&M College in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree and from Meharry Medical School.

In 1959, he was one of only two African Americans to pass the Florida Medical Licensure Exam. After practicing at The Old Provident Hospital, Morris filed a lawsuit, thereby winning a major civil-rights victory resulting in African American doctors gaining the right to practice medicine at Broward General Hospital.

June 2020 Bennie W. Samuels received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from FAMU, a Master of Science, Chemistry, from North Carolina A&T State University, and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from American University, Washington, D.C. He later worked for Florida A&M University as an associate professor of chemistry and director of the Office of Engineering and Science Support. Samuels was a life member of the FAMU National Alumni Association, Inc., served as a former president of the Washington, D.C. chapter, and was a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

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