DELTA SIGMA THETA’S $200,000 ENDOWED CHAIR

DELTA SIGMA THETA’S $200,000 ENDOWED CHAIR BY ERICKA BLOUNT DANOIS

The original mission of HBCU’s focused on educating black students who came to college from a variety of educational backgrounds. Because of the priority to teach students, many of whom were first generation college students, sometimes the time allotted for research for professors became secondary.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has been changing that dynamic with their Distinguished Professor Endowed Chair award (DPEC). The award was established in 1977 by then Delta president Dr. Thelma Thomas Daly, and is a traveling endowed Chair that resides at a 4-year degree granting HBCU. The HBCU is a recipient of the Chair for a two-year period and the scholar-in-residence is noted as the Distinguished Professor for that biennium.

“We have really tried to meet a void and a need,” said Delta Sigma Theta National President & CEO, Beverly Evans-Smith.”

The DPEC award was established at the sorority’s 34th National Convention as a perpetual trust fund to continue the group’s longstanding commitment to educational excellence through quality instruction at HBCUs.

Over 19 institutions have been awarded the chair and conducted innovative research, including studying dementia in African Americans, breast cancer research, research that established a history department at an HBCU, and research on non-invasive techniques to address uterine fibroids that received a patent.

“Many of the awardees have come up with areas of research that we would not have thought of,” said Smith. “One of my favorites was on the role of grandparents in the lives of children. She had done extensive work and had a wonderful national convening of experts in that area. The community was so involved in it.”

The Chair receives monetary support of $200,000 a biennium which affords the opportunity to support HBCUs by funding programs, initiatives and research projects to improve the lives of African Americans. Over the years the sorority has awarded almost $3 million in support. The research project must also involve the community.

“When you look at research overall, its usually done by large white institutions or by medical companies and pharmaceuticals and their focus on average and especially in the healthcare field is a 60-year-old white male and all of our medications and drugs are driven by that population,” said Smith. “We really have not had the opportunity to have research focused on African Americans or given the opportunity for our faculty and staff to do the kind of research that they would like to do, nor have we

had the opportunities to have endowed chairs be able to take on a pipeline of scholars that can move the research forward.”

All HBCU’s are allowed to apply for the chair. The award allows for smaller institutions like Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma - both whom have been recipients - to be able to conduct extensive research they may not have been able to afford otherwise.

DST National President and CEO, Beverly Evans-Smith

The most recent awardee is Dr. Ruby Broadway, Associate Professor and Professor of Biology at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Broadway’s research serves to examine culture and foodways in the South and will include work with youth focused centers around the issue of food choices and obesity and working with parents and guardians around food choices and health nutrition.

DST The prevalence of obesity in African American youth in New Orleans is excessive. Louisiana has the highest adult and child obesity rate in the country. Broadway will assess the relationship between ethnic foods (creole/soul food) self-identity, acculturation and food choices, and the overall association between food choices and obesity, and obesity-related conditions in African American youth. Broadway, students at Dillard, and the community will work in partnership with the Ray Charles Program in African American Material. Post doctorate fellows will also be a part of the research design as well as a visiting fellow from Harvard University’s Medical School and School of Public Health. Delta Sigma Theta’s commitment to HBCU’s has extended beyond the DPEC award over the years, including scholarships and donations to Xavier University and Dillard University of $150,000 combined for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina, raising money for Bennett College to stay afloat, and the presidential youth academy where high school students are taken to HBCU’s to talk with faculty members and to get a feel for what it’s like on campus.

The DPEC award helps HBCUs and their professors and students and the community at large in equally dramatic ways by supporting and sustaining these historical institutions, providing assistance to expand educational opportunities, and to give long-overdue recognition to distinguished black instructors and professors.

“The mission of this award is clearly linked to community,” said Dr. Joan Prince, Chair of the DPEC Committee. “The research that is being supported by this award must affect those of the African Diaspora. That’s a critical link between the research being done and the community that it’s serving. We need to do more in our institutions to research for us. It won’t get done unless we do it.” Dr. Joan Prince

BY KIMBERLEI DAVIS THE COMMISSIONER FELICIA W. JOHNSON

12 | HBCU Times 2020 Winter Issue

JOHNSON South Carolina State University alumna, Felicia W. Johnson has invested decades working to improve the quality of life of South Carolinians living with disABILITIES. Felicia is the first African American to serve as Commissioner for the South Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. Johnson, also a graduate of the University of South Carolina is respected by her peers as a well-rounded licensed professional counselor with a history of assisting youth with disabilities transitioning from school to work and serving individuals referred by the correctional system. HBCU Times recently spoke with the Commissioner of the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department (VR), to learn what she would’ve told a 13-year-old Felicia and why she believes HBCUs could benefit from partnerships with the Boys and Girls Club and Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated. HBCU Times: It’s been just over a year since you were appointed as Commissioner of the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department after having served in the interim position. What have you learned about yourself and the department during that time? Felicia Johnson: I have learned so much since being appointed to serve as interim Commissioner. I have grown and developed professionally more within the last two years than I have in my entire career. I have learned that our department is filled with individuals who are dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of others and all of the work that is required to realize that impact. I have learned that the most important part of leadership is being a servant. In order for me to effectively lead, I have to focus on serving our consumers, the employees of the agency and the business community. Ensuring that our consumers are receiving quality rehabilitation services, our employees have the training and resources to be experts in the field of vocational rehabilitation, and that our business partners received talented employees. HBCU Times: You have a long history with the VR with over two decades of service throughout the state, what do you think are the most common misconceptions about people with physical, emotional, intellectual and/or cognitive disabilities and how are you leading the charge to dispel this? Felicia Johnson: The most common misconception about people with disabilities is that they are unable to work, and those who