Campus News

campus News

(Above, below) NCCU Student Center

Photo by Jim Sink Photography

NCCU Student Center

Photo by Jim Sink Photography

g RESIDENTIAL HALLS

Lawson Street Residential Complex

NCCU CELEBRATES OPENINGS OF A NEW STUDENT CENTER AND THREE NEW RESIDENTIAL HALLS

ON APRIL 26, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY commemorated the grand opening of three state-of-the-art buildings — George Street Residential Complex, Lawson Street Residential Complex and Alston Avenue Apartments.

T

he $55.4 million NCCU Student Center officially opened in January and replaces the Alfonso Elder Student Union, which was built in 1968. The new student center is a 100,230-square-foot building and sits on the corner of Nelson and Fayetteville streets. The building seats up to 750 people for banquets and 1,100 people for a lecture setup.

RESIDENCE HALLS

NCCU also has three new residential halls: Lawson Street Residential Complex, Alston Avenue Apartments and George Street Residential Complex.

The public-private partnership with Provident Resources Group Inc. has added a total of 1,274 new beds in semi-suite and apartment-style units. The Alston Avenue Apartments and George Street Residential Apartments opened in late 2020. The Lawson Street Residential Complex opened in January 2022.

Alston Avenue Apartments George Street Residential Complex

Three new residential halls ADDED A TOTAL OF 1,274 NEW BEDS in semi-suite and apartment-style units.

campus News board of trustees

Kevin M. Holloway Chairman

Michael Johnson Vice Chairman

Oita C. Coleman Secretary Roderick G. Allison William V. Bell G. Keith Chadwell Emily M. Dickens

James Mitchell Cornell Slade Hellena H. Tidwell James S. Walker

New Members Named to the NCCU Board of Trustees

Appointed by the University of North Carolina (UNC) Board of Governors, ALEXANDRA VALLADARES, director of Community Collaboration, East Coast Migrant Head Start Program, will serve the balance of the four-year term of former trustee John Herrera, who resigned June 2022. Her partial term will end on June 30, 2025.

Valladares is a double Eagle, having earned her bachelor’s degree in 2010 and master’s degree in 2014 from NCCU.

MANUHE ABEBE, 2022-2023 president of the NCCU Student Government Association, joins the Board of Trustees for a one-year term. Abebe, from Apex, N.C., is a junior majoring in mass communications with a concentration in public relations at NCCU.

Current board members reappointed to the Board of Trustees include KEVIN M. HOLLOWAY, MICHAEL JOHNSON, OITA C. COLEMAN, RODERICK G. ALLISON, WILLIAM V. BELL, G. KEITH CHADWELL, EMILY M. DICKENS, JAMES MITCHELL, CORNELL SLADE, HELLENA H. TIDWELL and JAMES S. WALKER.

2022-2023

Alexandra Valladares

Manuhe Abebe

TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, PLEASE CONTACT:

NCCU Board of Trustees Office of the Chancellor Email: kmax1@nccu.edu

Meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of the meeting months: Sept., Nov., 2022; Feb., April, June, Sept. and Nov. in 2023 NCCU Department of Mass Communication orth Carolina Central University welcomes AERIAL ELLIS, ED.D., as its Wells Fargo Endowed Chair and Names Wells Fargo Distinguished Professor for the NCCU DeEndowed Chair and Distinguished partment of Mass Communication. A public relations industry leader, Ellis joins NCCU faculty from Lipscomb UniProfessor versity in Nashville, Tenn., where she taught courses in public relations, cross-cultural communication, organizational communication and leadership for 10 years. She also lectured in Nepal, London and South Africa as an expert in intercultural communication and competence. In her new role, Ellis will support the strategic vision of the department while bolstering visibility and growth of the public relations concentration through teaching, research and thought leadership. “When we have opportunities to hire new professors, our department looks to add colleagues who contribute to the engaged learning that our instructors provide and provide connections to professional practice opportunities for our students,” says Calvin Hall, Ph.D., department chair. “So, we are excited about the professional expertise and energy that Dr. Aerial Ellis will add to our faculty and look forward to her contributions in helping us continue to foster student success.” Ellis is managing principal of Advisory 83, a consultancy committed to strategic planning, communication and education in the space of diversity, equity and inclusion. Her work has been enlisted by the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, AIG, Asurion,

Learfield, Microsoft, National Urban League, Starbucks, Teach for America, and US Army Corps of Engineers, among others. In 2021, Ellis was appointed president of the Public Relations Society of America Foundation Board of Directors, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion within the communications profession through scholarships and educational resources. The Memphis, Tenn., native obtained a bachelor’s in speech communication from

Tennessee State University and a master's in mass communication from Middle

Tennessee State University. Ellis also earned a global executive doctoral degree from the

University of Southern California.