A Quarterly Newsletter for Faculty, Staff, and Friends of Fayetteville State University Vol. IV. Issue Two. Jan/Feb/March 2010
names Fayetteville State University School of the Month The Tom Joyner Foundation is a charitable organization that began in 1998. The Foundation assists African American students in financial need at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the nation. The Tom Joyner Foundation’s School of the Month program has raised more than $25 million to date for this single cause.
The Tom Joyner Foundation does only one thing: it helps students continue their education at Black colleges. All too often a student will get into college, and then encounter financial difficulties that force them to drop out. The Foundation provides
money directly to the HBCU’s for the purpose of helping these students complete their education. Each month the Tom Joyner Foundation designates an HBCU to receive its support. During February 2010, scholarship support money will be sent directly to Fayetteville State University for students. The scholarships are awarded to FSU students through the Office of Financial Aid based on financial need and other requirements. Funds are raised through Tom Joyner’s national partners and the Tom Joyner Morning Show.
The radio show will feature FSU and broadcast our highlights, accomplishments, conduct live interviews with Chancellor James A. Anderson, spotlight major national and local FSU donors, and profile many of our scholarship recipients. Throughout the month of February, Tom Joyner will ask his listening audience to call in donations or to go online to blackamericaweb.com to donate to FSU, the “School of the Month”. The Tom Joyner Morning Show can be heard locally on WUKS 107.7 FM. You can also log onto blackamericaweb.com and click on the radio show icon to hear the show live.
Being a Tom Joyner School of the Month helps FSU by forging partnerships with its national sponsors, encouraging them to make gifts to FSU’s scholarship program. Participation in the School of the Month program raises funds and heightens awareness of FSU both nationally and locally through the Tom Joyner Morning Show. We’re challenging all FSU alumni, friends, and supporters to join us by making a contribution of any amount to our Tom Joyner Campaign. All funds raised will support scholarships at FSU.
MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY! Make your check payable to Fayetteville State University and mail to: Fayetteville State University Institutional Advancement 1200 Murchison Rd. Fayetteville, NC 28301 Be sure to write Tom Joyner in the memo line. For more information, call (910) 672-1729.
Winter Graduates Become Part of FSU History The 20th Winter Commencement of Fayetteville State University (FSU) will not only be remembered for its pomp and circumstance, but it also will be noted for making a place in the institution’s illustrious history. With 472 graduates, this exercise was the largest winter commencement since the first one was held in 1989. Of the total number of graduates, 321 were from the College of Arts and Sciences, 70 came from the School of Business and Economics, and 81 were from the School of Education, including three doctoral graduates. There was a total of 131 honor candidates. Chancellor James A. Anderson, the 11th chief executive officer of FSU, presided. Commencement speaker was Congressman George Kenneth Butterfield. Prior to being elected to Congress in a special election on July 24, 2004, Butterfield had a distinguished legal career. After working in private practice, he was elected as Superior Court Judge in 1988 and appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2001. After an election defeat, he was again appointed as Superior Court Judge, where he served until his retirement in 2004. Butterfield serves on the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee, and serves
as Vice Chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee. He is serving his second term as Chief Deputy Whip after being appointed to the leadership post by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the 110th Congress. Butterfield also serves as a member of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and as a member of the Helsinki Committee. Butterfield spoke to the graduates on faith and the role it plays in achieving one’s goals in life. He used various biblical references and analogies to convey his message. At the conclusion of his speech, he received a thunderous round of applause from the audience and graduates. Butterfield was also presented the Chancellor’s Medallion, the highest award Chancellor Anderson can bestow on an individual. On the medallion are representations of FSU’s earliest leaders, Robert Harris, Charles W. Chesnutt, and Dr. E.E. Smith. Before the graduates were awarded their degrees, Chancellor Anderson introduced the valedictorian and salutatorian. Devoshia L. Mason was honored as the valedictorian. Mason received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology with
a concentration in biopsychology. Salutatorian honors went to Ennis C. Wallace. She was the recipient of a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication. These young scholars were not strangers to each other. Both Mason and Wallace were high school classmates at Reid Ross Classical High School in Fayetteville. University officials believe this is the first time both the valedictorian and salutatorian graduated from the same high school.