NCCU Now Alumni Magazine Spring 2024

NCCU now

A MAGAZINE FOR NCCU ALUMNI, FRIENDS, FACULTY AND STAFF

CRYSTAL TAYLOR

PROMOTES HIP-HOP, GETTING HAPPY AND FARMING

NCCU TEACHES THE TEACHERS OF THE BLIND

EXPLOSIVE SNIFFING DOG JOINS CAMPUS POLICE

ALUMNA

now

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

50 Alumni News

Alumna Helps Single Parents

Taraza Tyler ’10, helps single parents improve their lives through Parents Owning Wealth Through Education and Resiliency (P.O.W.E.R., Inc. Community), a nonprofit she organized in 2018.

Crystal Taylor ’05

Alumna Taylor helps hip-hop musicians gain attention, communities of color find happiness and is a fourth-generation farmer.

04 Message from the Chancellor DEPARTMENTS

06 Transformation Construction on Campus

The $39 million School of Business building goes up while Baynes Residence Hall goes down.

14 Innovation

The Cutting Edge NCCU starts pre-architecture program, employs a bomb-sniffing dog, conducts research by drone and teaches the teachers of the blind.

27 Leadership

40 Years of Service

Roger Collins retires – sort of – from real teaching in a simulated hospital.

40 Resilience

Never Too Late

First-generation students can have challenges. Student Access & Success helps.

48 Alumni News

Black on Black Project

Michael S. Williams ’03, presents art, short films and events aimed at encouraging dialogue in communities – particularly among the least heard.

60 Giving

What’s Up, Doc?

Dr. Harry Stafford keeps student-athletes healthy and playing their best.

62 Athletics

Sports Highlights from 2023

Football, women’s tennis and golf teams do well in competition, awards and helping others.

Photo by DeAndres Royal ’10

Message from the Chancellor

Greetings,

In the vibrant tapestry of our academic landscape, NCCU Now stands as a beacon of inspiration and celebration. It serves as a testament to the diversity of talent, the depth of knowledge and the boundless creativity that touches every corner of North Carolina Central University (NCCU). With each issue, we showcase the remarkable achievements of our students, faculty, staff and alumni, while also highlighting the innovative research and transformative endeavors that define our institution’s identity.

Within these pages, you will find stories of perseverance, ingenuity and collaboration that illustrate the breadth and depth of our collective achievements. For instance, the perseverance of Gigi, part of our esteemed K-9 unit, ensures the safety and security of the Eagle community, while the entrepreneurial spirit of alumna Crystal Taylor, recognizes opportunities for creative expression and social impact within hip-hop and Black culture.

Moreover, our commitment to infrastructure development ensures that our buildings’ design and functionality align with the needs and aspirations of our students, maximizing their potential to serve as dynamic hubs for learning, research and collaboration.

Over the past two years, we’ve made significant strides in fulfilling the ‘Eagle Promise,’ ensuring timely degree completion, fostering socially and globally engaged initiatives, nurturing proven leadership skills and preparing our students to be job-market ready. These accomplishments underscore our commitment to excellence and our dedication to equipping our students with the skills and experiences they need to succeed in an ever-changing world.

The spirit of innovation, collaboration and excellence that permeates the sloping hills and verdant green of our university fills me with confidence in the bright future that lies ahead for NCCU. With each new generation of scholars and leaders, our legacy grows stronger, ensuring that the spirit of North Carolina Central University will continue to thrive for years to come. Together, we have built a community that embraces diversity, fosters innovation and inspires change. That is NCCU Now.

In Truth and Service,

Johnson O. Akinleye, Ph.D. Chancellor

Johnson OAkinleye

NCCU NOW MAGAZINE

is published by North Carolina Central University’s Office of Communications and Marketing, 1801 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707.

View the Spring 2024 digital version and past issues at issuu.com/nccentraluniv

NCCU NOW CONTRIBUTORS

CHIEF BRAND OFFICER Stephen W. Fusi

EDITOR Mark Lawton

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Pandora Frazier ’82

WEB CONTENT MANAGER Jay Morrow ’95

WRITERS Kelvin Allen, Brielle Barrow, Laurie Willis Davis, Attiyya Dunn ’16, Stephen W. Fusi, Ariel Germain ’06, ’17, Nicole Hodges, Terri Hyman, Mark Lawton, Quiana Shepard, Chance Thweatt

COPY EDITOR Cassandra Harper

PHOTOGRAPHY

DeAndres Royal ’10, Kelly Starbuck

NCCU BOARD OF TRUSTEES

CHAIR Kevin M. Holloway '75

MEMBERS

David Alexander ’94, ’99

Roderick G. Allison ’95

William V. Bell

G. Keith Chadwell

Emily M. Dickens ’95, ’99, ’02

Cameron Emery ’24

Lisa F. Martinez

James Mitchell ’85

Cornell Slade ’75

Antwan Thornton ’15

Alexandra Valladares ’10, ’14

James S. Walker

ADMINISTRATION

CHANCELLOR Johnson O. Akinleye, Ph.D.

PROVOST AND VICE CHANCELLOR OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

David H. Jackson Jr., Ph.D.

VICE CHANCELLOR OF ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Akua J. Matherson, M.Ed.

VICE CHANCELLOR OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

Angela Alvarado Coleman, Ed.D.

VICE CHANCELLOR OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

Susan Hester

CHIEF OF STAFF Catherine Edmonds, Ed.D.

Please send address corrections to Advancement Services, Phone: 919-530-7399 / E-mail: rgallow7@nccu.edu or mail to 1801 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707. At a cost of $2.30 each, 8,300 copies of this public document was printed for a total of $19,106 in the Spring of 2024 and distributed to NCCU supporters and donors. NCCU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, master’s, education specialist and doctoral degrees. Contact the SACSCOC at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of NCCU. Copyright 2024, North Carolina Central University.

Photographer: Tony Cunningham Jr. Photography

Everything is up at North Carolina Central University

DEEPAK KUMAR, PH.D. associate provost and dean BBRI

CAESAR JACKSON, PH.D. professor Mathematics and Physics

Sponsored research at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has increased 97.4% to $53.1 million for the 2022-2023 school year, up from $26.9 million in the prior school year.

The reasons are many, said Deepak Kumar, Ph.D., associate provost and dean of sponsored research, and director of the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute (BBRI).

Most of the funding is through federal grants. For example, both the White House and National Institutes of Health have issued grants to research inequities that became apparent during the COVID pandemic.

“Health equity has been front and center,” Kumar said. “It has really taken off. Workforce development and diversifying the workforce. Getting students into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers has helped a lot. Also, [there were] a couple [of] opportunities around digital and data equity.”

The five largest grants this year:

Hernan Navarro, Ph.D., past director of the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), received a $6.19 MILLION GRANT from the U.S. Department of Commerce to study workforce equity in biomanufacturing.

_______ Kumar received a $3.33 MILLION GRANT from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to boost primary health care access for underserved, uninsured and underinsured communities throughout North Carolina. He also received a $1.99 MILLION GRANT from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study COVID and long-COVID infections.

_______

Jon Gant, Ph.D., library and information science professor, received $2.92 MILLION from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Digital Equity Leadership Program, an effort to bridge the digital divide (Siobahn Day Grady, Ph.D., assistant professor and program director of information science/systems has since taken over as principal investigator.)

Caesar Jackson, Ph.D., professor of physics in the department of mathematics and physics, received a $1.19 MILLION GRANT from the National Science Foundation for the DREAM STEM Project which aims to advance research, academics and entrepreneurship in STEM student success.

Other factors include messaging that sponsored research is important from the chancellor, provost, chairs, deans and faculty senate, new faculty who already have grants joining the university and joint efforts between NCCU and other universities and community-based entities including nonprofits, public health departments, medical clinics and faith-based organizations, Kumar said.

“The bulk of the credit goes to the faculty for writing more proposals,” said Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs David H. Jackson Jr. Jackson also credits Kumar for making sure proposals were processed in a timely fashion.

$6.19M Grant

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE $1.19M Grant

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

The dollar amounts come with two caveats, Kumar notes. First, some of the money arrives in the form of multi-year grants. All the money for a three-year grant, for example, might be paid to the university up front. That could make the first year look richer than the next two.

Second, some grants are not renewable. That could mean a drop in funding while new grants are applied for.

Even with those caveats, however, “Our numbers are significantly up,” Kumar said. “We are on a good trend.”

Sponsored research money tends to have a multiplier effect. Faculty conducting sponsored research take their new knowledge into the classroom, which benefits students, while also increasing the visibility of NCCU.

’BY MARK LAWTON

JON GANT, PH.D. professor Library and Information Sciences

SIOBAHN

DAY GRADY, PH.D. program director Library and Information Sciences

Study All Night at New Learning & Research Center

round was broken on a 24/7 Collaborative Learning and Research Center on Nov. 21, 2023. Located on the northwest corner of Fayetteville and Lawson streets, the center will

include multipurpose rooms, study areas, retail and event space.

A flexible design allows the interior to be converted into individual or smaller learning spaces. An open, collaborative lounge will flow into an outdoor plaza along Fayetteville Street.

The 5,000 square-foot building was designed by Evoke Studio Architecture of Durham, North Carolina. Its budget is $7.2 million. The new building will be open 24 hours a day.

The project was featured in Architect Magazine. Upon completion, which is scheduled for mid-October 2024 NCCU will have a presence on all four corners of the historic intersection of Fayetteville and Lawson streets.

Enrollment, Housing and Scholarship Donations are up at NCCU

Provost David H. Jackson Jr. credits rebuilding the admissions team – in particular appointing Sharon Oliver, Ph.D., to lead the enrollment effort – along with efforts to increase retention through University College and an overall enrollment effort that was more organized and aggressive.

While some of the enrollment increase might be due to the COVID pandemic being under control, NCCU also saw an increase in applicants, said Oliver, who serves as interim associate vice chancellor.

Undergraduate Admissions worked with high school guidance counselors, community partners, alumni, faculty and staff on recruiting. Chancellor Akinleye made time to participate in recruitment activities, including speaking with prospective students and parents and creating videos.

Enrollment also benefited from increased attention gained by the football and softball teams’ winning seasons, and the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship brought home by the NCCU Jazz Ensemble.

OLIVER, PH.D. director Scholarship and Student Aid

L. HESTER vice chancellor Institutional Advancement

“NCCU has more students living on campus than ever before. There are now 3,235 students on campus, an increase from 3,144 students in fall 2022.”

— ANGELA COLEMAN, ED.D., vice chancellor for student affairs

Jackson is also pleased that NCCU did not go over its cap – no more than 35% of enrolled first-year students with out-of-state residency.

RESIDENCE HALLS ARE FULL NCCU has more students living on campus than ever before. There are now 3,235 students on campus, an increase from 3,144 students in fall 2022.

That number is not just impressive at NCCU but by any standards, said Angela Coleman, Ed.D., vice chancellor for student affairs.

“That’s about 40% of our student population that we house,” Coleman said. “Most universities are at 25 – 35%.”

Living on campus has positive benefits.

“Forty-plus years of research shows students who live on campus are more engaged,” Coleman said. “That contributes to student retention and leads to positive student experience which [results in] happy alums who give to the campus.”

Some of the housing increase is due to new residence halls that were completed during the COVID pandemic. Another factor is diversifying the housing stock on campus.

“Now our inventory is mixed,” Coleman said. “There are [fewer] community-style bathrooms. Now it is more semi-suites, suites and apartment-style [units]. We also house some graduate students and law school students. The new types of housing have attracted those populations.”

SUSAN

SHARON

ALSTON AVENUE APARTMENTS

In 2022, NCCU Residential Life switched to a new housing management system called Mercury which made it easier to communicate with students, see housing availability and work with special populations such as athletics, Cheatham-White Scholars, the African American Male Initiative, University Honors program, etc.

The Division of Student Affairs also expanded the time period to apply for housing, opening housing applications in January rather than April.

INCREASE IN SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS

Finally, the university has raised $16.4 million. That is up 8.6% from $15.1 million during the 2021-2022 school year.

“This is the most we’ve raised in the last ten years,” said Susan L. Hester, vice chancellor for institutional advancement.

The increase was partly due to university gift officers contacting more alumni, who gave generously. The majority of those alumni donated money to support scholarships, particularly to the schools or colleges that they graduated from. Among those were the School of Business, Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), School of Education and School of Law.

It wasn’t easy. There was a decrease in staffing and Institutional Advancement onboarded new staff in the middle of its fundraising campaign.

“We were getting them accustomed to NCCU and learning the culture of NCCU while calling on donors,” Hester said.

INTERNSHIP AT DUKE MEDICAL TO BENEFIT NCCU UNDERGRADUATES

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and Duke University jointly developed the Mentored Internship Program. Starting in September 2023, an undergraduate from NCCU began as an intern in the division of nephrology (kidney) at Duke University School of Medicine for one year.

Gentzon Hall, MD, Ph.D., of Duke University, who came up with the idea, said increasing the number of African American physicians is a challenge.

“People in underrepresented groups don’t see African American physicians or they don’t see themselves fitting into elite institutions,” said Hall, vice chief of diversity, equity and inclusion in the division of nephrology at Duke University School of Medicine.

“The motivation to pursue it, to stay engaged once they have made it into medical school, these are areas of significant weakness.”

The original idea for the Duke/NCCU Mentored Internship Program came from Hall, who wanted to honor his mentor, Dr. Michelle Winn, who died in 2014. The idea then expanded to include honoring Dr. Charles Johnson, the first African American member of the medical faculty at Duke School of Medicine, who influenced Winn in her career, Hall said.

While the 2023-2024 internship is for one undergraduate, we plan to have two interns –each with a stipend of $25,000 –in future years.

— Charles D. Johnson, Ph.D.

Statistics show a definite shortage. In 2021, only 5.7% of doctors in the United States were African American, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. In the area of nephrology, it is 6%. Meanwhile, in 2022, 13.6% of the U.S. population is African American, according to the U.S. Census.

Dr. Johnson, an endocrinologist, was also the father of Charles D. Johnson, Ph.D., chair of the history department at NCCU. Hall reached out to department chair Johnson who in turn reached out to Nina Smith, Ph.D., associate dean in the NCCU College of Health and Sciences (CHAS).

The three worked as a team to plan the internship.

“We wanted to make sure that the experience is immersive,” Smith said.

Hall agreed. “The goal is not for her to be another pair of hands in the lab.”

Smith pitched the internship to Dean Mohammad Ahmed, Ph.D., of CHAS and disseminated information about the internship to faculty and departments, who in turn helped recruit student applicants. She arranged for the

(continues on page 10)

A new internship program aims to alleviate a shortage of African American physicians.

(continued from page 9)

intern to gain school credits, reviewed applications, took part in interviewing candidates and arranged meetings of the three organizers to discuss what the internship would look like.

Department Chair Johnson offered his insights on developing the internship. “I gave a sense of who my father was so we could be true to what his mission was as a physician,” Johnson said.

The inaugural intern is Monique Armelle Dacanay, an NCCU junior in biomedical sciences.

For 12 hours a week, Dacanay worked in a lab researching apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1)mediated kidney disease.

She will also shadow researchers, network, attend research conferences, learn about research and visit clinics to learn how to interact with patients. A $25,000 stipend will accompany her experience.

Perhaps most important is an emphasis on mentoring.

“How woefully deficient mentoring is in medicine, particularly for underrepresented students,” Hall said. “What we lack is a sherpa. We don’t have anyone to help us climb this mountain. I wanted this to be a yearlong process because I want the intern to develop relationships with the people mentoring.”

Mentoring is part of the attraction for Dacanay. A Cheatham-White Scholar, honor student and member of the Phi Beta Honor Society, Dacanay says that “throughout the year, I wouldn’t have made it without mentors.”

While the 2023-2024 internship is for one undergraduate, Johnson said that they plan to have two interns – each with a stipend of $25,000 – in future years.

’BY MARK LAWTON

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

New School of Business building offers space for business innovation, cybersecurity, focus group research and more.

In February, North Carolina Central University (NCCU) opened its new School of Business facility. The 76,000-square-foot building located on 4.58 acres is a state-of-the-art establishment that symbolizes NCCU’s dedication to equip students with everything needed to guarantee success in their education and careers.

One of the key focus points in the new facility is the Business Innovation Lab. In this area, students will be able to develop their entrepreneurial concepts from idea to commercialization. Students will have access to resources necessary for turning their emerging thoughts into scalable products or services. Those resources include 3-D printers, reality software, AI technology and research data platforms.

Another outstanding element of NCCU’s new business school is Lowe's Auditorium. With high-end audiovisual tools, the 200-seat auditorium will offer vibrant speaker series for the campus and community.

“It has a dedicated space for organizations like the Entrepreneurship Club to meet and plan, allowing us as students a space to relax, more opportunity to get to know the staff in the business building and network with each other more effectively,” said Mahagany Barber, a business administration major with a concentration in marketing.

An upgraded Culinary Lab features cameras on top of the ranges so students can watch a chef from a different angle and cooking features to provide hands-on training for aspiring hospitality professionals. It is conjoined to a dining room, a versatile space intended for hosting events that will enhance the hospitality experience.

Supporting one of the School of Business’ most rapidly growing concentrations, the new Cybersecurity Lab is an advanced space for students to engage in application-based learning and excel in a high-demand field.

Other features include the Behavioral Research Classroom that includes a double-sided mirror to use for conducting focus group evaluations and the Trading Room for finance students that offers Bloomberg terminals with access to real-time financial data, news and analytics.

“It will serve as a hub for fostering creativity, entrepreneurship, and academic achievement, providing our students and faculty with stateof-the-art facilities to propel them towards future success,” said Anthony Nelson, Ph.D., dean, NCCU School of Business.

Several programmatic changes will be instituted, including the expanded MBA program which has seen more than 100% growth in the last four years. That growth is due to establishing new concentrations including cybersecurity, information systems management, commercial real estate and wealth management – making NCCU the first historically Black university to hold these concentrations on an MBA level.

The Business Incubator Suite will house the Center of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, a program that fosters innovation and support for student, faculty, staff and community entrepreneurs.

The Business Incubator Suite will house the Center of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, a program that fosters innovation and support for student, faculty, staff and community entrepreneurs. The suite also features the Peggy Ward Financial Education Center, which will serve as an academic landscape for students, high school teachers and community members through an array of financial resources and courses.

Beginning in June 2024, the building will also serve as a gateway for the next generation of leaders, hosting five or more summer camps.

’BY ATTIYYA DUNN ’16

Bye-Bye to Baynes Residence Hall

fter 58 years, Baynes Residence Hall has been torn down.

Built in 1966, Baynes was 82,000 square feet with space for 400 students. The nine-story building originally housed female students, although it became co-ed in 1988. There were study rooms and restrooms on each floor and a kitchenette, lounges and concessions areas on the ground level.

In early years, each residence hall would vote for a person to represent it. Starting in 1971, a Miss Baynes was involved in homecoming parades, dances and had her picture in the yearbook. After the residence hall became co-ed, a Mr. Baynes was added.

A Baynes Hall Club planned events for residents and advocated for resident interests to management. In 1970, students and faculty formed a Baynes Hall Council, which focused on issues of safety and enrichment.

Baynes Residence Hall was named after Bascom Baynes

(1892–1978). Baynes was educated at Oak Ridge Military Institute and served in World War 1.

Originally from Caswell, North Carolina, he settled in Durham in the 1940s, where he was president of the Home Security Life Insurance Company. Baynes was active in community organizations and served as a Durham city council member.

Baynes, a friend of university founder Dr. James Shepard, was a member of the NCCU Board of Trustees from 1947–1957 and then became its chairman, a position he held until 1970.

While chairman, he oversaw the construction of several buildings including the cafeteria, chemistry building and Baynes Residence Hall.

In its last years, Baynes Residence Hall had structural issues. Baynes also lagged behind newer residence halls that had air conditioning. By late 2018 the university decided to demolish the building.

In July 2023, an ice cream social was held to commemorate Baynes Residence Hall. In October 2023, workers began to remove interior elements.

Around Jan. 16, a machine that resembles a crane began at the top of the building, tearing off pieces and dropping them to the ground, said Keith Alston, project manager in NCCU Capital Projects Management.

The site will be turned into a grass-covered space.

’BY MARK LAWTON

In its last years, Baynes Residence Hall had structural issues. Baynes also lagged behind newer residence halls that had air conditioning. By late 2018, the university decided to demolish the building.

Pre-Architecture Design Program Developed at NCCU

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has introduced a pre-architecture degree program, Bachelor of Art in Art: Pre-Architecture concentration, the first at a historically Black university in North Carolina.

“It is the mother of all arts and allows students to do a myriad of professions and careers,” said Associate Professor Scott Singeisen, M.Arch., NCCU’s first hire in architecture. Singeisen is a former architect and was chair of the architecture department at Savannah College of Art and Design.

The idea for a degree program came from Brenda Faison, Ph.D., chair of the department of art and design and director of the NCCU Art Museum. About two years ago, the department was revising its curriculum and sought to introduce architecture.

“In the state of North Carolina, there is no way for those who want to study at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to study architectural design,” Faison said. “The goal is to bring in students who may not typically contemplate attending NCCU.”

African American architects are underrepresented in the profession. As of 2022, there were 121,603 architects working in the United States. Of those, only 2% are African American, according to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. And fewer than one half of one percent of all U.S. architects are African American women.

In fall 2022, the university's Academic Planning Committee approved a four-year Pre-Architecture concentration.

Associate Professor Scott Singeisen coaching student, Makyia Edwards.

In fall 2023, Singeisen began teaching architecture to three students on an independent study basis, which centered on the foundations of visualization for architecture.

Among them is sophomore Zamir Vazquez. In his independent study with Singeisen, he recently studied Louis Kahn and recreated floor plans, elevations and facades of the Fisher Residence. Vazquez said he would “undoubtedly major” in a bachelor’s degree program in architecture.

During spring 2024 semester, the university will offer two courses: ARTA 2440: Digital representation for architecture and ARTA 2445: Fundamentals of structures and materials.

To build student enrollment, Faison plans to reach out to high schools and community colleges in North Carolina that offer art, design and architecture courses.

Architecture firms are looking for African American architects in their businesses.”

— Carlton Wilson, Ph.D. dean

She would also like to create dual-degree programs with accredited schools of architecture in the region where NCCU graduates can complete a fifth year or a master’s degree.

Carlton Wilson, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, thinks the degree program has potential.

“Graduate schools in architecture around the country are looking for African American students for their programs,” said Wilson. “Architecture firms are looking for African American architects in their businesses.”

’BY MARK LAWTON

PAWS ON NCCU PATROL

S THE SUN PREPARES

to set over the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) campus, Officer Kerry Thompson and his new K-9 partner, an explosive-detection Black Labrador named Gigi, embark on their nightly routine, ensuring the safety and security of the Eagle community.

Thompson and Gigi are the second set of partners to join the campus police department’s K-9 unit, which also includes Officer Shelton-Lee Harris and his narcotics-detection partner Shiba.

Thompson’s path to becoming a K-9 handler was driven by a strong desire for innovation within his law enforcement career. Conversations with NCCU Police Chief Damon Williams and a keen awareness of the need for an explosive-detection canine at NCCU following the series of bomb threats at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in early 2022 also sparked his interest. NCCU was one of 57 HBCUs that received a threat in January and February of that year.

“We worked closely with the University of North Carolina System to lobby the North Carolina General Assembly to fund NCCU’s explosive-detection canine,” said Williams. “The $20,000 program was approved in August 2022.”

Law enforcement agencies nationwide use around 15,000 dogs, as reported by the U.S. Police Canine Association. The majority (80%-90%) of these working dogs are sourced from Europe. Presently, a shortage of bomb-sniffing canines is clear

across the country due to increased demand and a diminished supply, a consequence of the ongoing effects of COVID-19. Gigi is one of only two bomb-sniffing dogs in Durham County.

The process to become a handler was lengthy for Thompson, with three to five years of patrol duty needed

Kerry Thompson and partner Gigi protecting the NCCU campus, one paw at a time.

to apply. He also had to write an essay on why he would be a good fit for the program and a home visit was conducted to ensure he had proper space for his canine partner.

“I was excited, Thompson said, when I found out that I had been accepted to the program but anxious at the same time.”

The first encounter between Thompson and Gigi was marked by mutual nervousness at the six-week International Police Work Dog Association certification training in Jackson Springs, North Carolina, in the spring of 2023.

“In the beginning, she wouldn't eat from me at all. I also had a travel kennel in the hotel room, and she just wouldn't stay in it. I would let her out, and 30 minutes into me falling asleep every night, she just hopped into bed and began sleeping next to me. When that started, I knew we were attached.”

(continues on page 16)

We worked closely with the University of North Carolina System to lobby the North Carolina General Assembly to fund NCCU’s explosive-detection canine. The $20,000 program was approved in August 2022.”

— Damon Williams, NCCU Police Chief

Officer

The bond between them blossomed, with Gigi displaying not just her exceptional work ethic but also a warm and affectionate personality. As they navigated training challenges, Gigi's love for tennis balls appeared as a key motivator, creating a unique dynamic between her and Thompson.

Thompson and Gigi train together 20 hours a month. Gigi is certified in finding 30 types of explosives, including black powder, TNT and dynamite. The duo has trained in various locations, ranging from shopping retail locations and sports complexes to vehicles and luggage searches. They must also undergo annual recertification.

“Gigi has done well in her training, and we have been called on to assist other K-9 units in sweeping venues,” said Thompson. “In addition to the NCCU campus for various events, we have swept the Raleigh-Durham International Airport in preparation for a visit from government officials. She works well alongside other canine teams and stays focus.”

She also provided service at the 2023 Aggie-Eagle Classic football game in Greensboro.

As a K-9 officer, Thompson emphasizes the need for patience, firmness and a clear understanding of the distinction between a working dog and a pet. Gigi's discipline ensures she maintains her drive for work, a crucial element in their daily operations.

“I observed some officers struggle because they could not differentiate their partner from a pet,” he said. “The dogs became too much like a pet, so they lost their drive to work. With Gigi, we play when it’s time to play. But when it's time to work, she works.”

The duo starts their day at 4 p.m., combining exercise and rounds in various buildings and across campus. Gigi's schedule includes playtime, work and walks, with an impressive level of engagement even during extended hours. Their nightly routine involves ensuring the safety of the NCCU community until they head home around midnight.

When asked about any memorable experiences that he has shared with Gigi, Thompson noted the 2023 Ultimate Homecoming Experience is where her dedication shone. Working tirelessly alongside the

Gigi is certified in finding 30 types of explosives, including black powder, TNT and dynamite. The duo has trained in various locations, ranging from shopping retail locations and sports complexes to vehicles and luggage searches.

As a K-9 officer, Thompson emphasizes the need for patience, firmness and a clear understanding of the distinction between a working dog and a pet.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport K-9 team, Gigi displayed remarkable drive and focus throughout the day, leaving a lasting impression on him.

“This was our first homecoming together, and we did a lot of sweeps, especially on gameday,” he said. “It was a long day for her. We arrived by 10 a.m. and didn't leave until 1 a.m. the next morning. I was surprised that she still had a lot of drive to work at the end of our shift.”

Gigi’s presence has become a beloved part of the NCCU community. Students approach Thompson to interact with her, making her a true ambassador for the university.

“Gigi loves the students, and the students love her. When they see the car, they run up to see if she is inside,” said Thompson. “They ask, ‘Can I see Gigi?’ And I reply, ‘You absolutely can.’”

So, what does Gigi have to say about her job so far at NCCU? “Arf, Arf, Arrrrf!”

That means ‘Eagle Pride!’

’BY QUIANA SHEPARD

Flying High: NCCU Uses Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Research

BARRON ALLISON, a senior majoring in environmental and geographic sciences, goes to the west side of campus once a month to record images of the parking lot behind the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) building.

“We’re looking at how active it is during the year,” Allison said. “How the parking lot is being used, how it might be affected by weather, where runoff might be.”

In past decades, such overhead images would require renting a helicopter or airplane or even booking satellite time. Today, it cost NCCU about $2,000 to buy an unmanned aerial vehicle, better known as a drone.

Drones are being used to conduct all types of research around the world that were formerly costs prohibitive. A professor at the University of California-Davis is using drones to detect wildfires in high-risk areas. A researcher at the University of Tokyo is using drones to determine the perfect day to pick a harvest of Brussels sprouts.

At North Carolina Central University (NCCU), the department of environmental, earth and geographic sciences (DEEGS) has used drones to record images of a 170-acre position of campus to determine the impact of cutting down trees in a flood plain, said Associate Professor Tim Mulrooney, Ph.D. A few years ago, DEEGS partnered with the history department to take drone photos of the homes of famous people in the College Heights neighborhood of Durham. In the spring semester, DEEGS plans to team up with the department of criminal justice to teach crime scene analysis using a drone.

NCCU offers a course aimed at preparing students for the Federal Aviation Administration licensing test for drones, called a Part 107 remote pilot exam.

With the appropriate attachments and software, drones can also measure wavelengths that the eye cannot see such as ultraviolet, infrared and microwave.

“Two plants might look green but the one that gives off more infrared is healthier than the other one,” said Associate Professor Rakesh Malhotra, Ph.D.

There are minor challenges. Battery life on the drone Allison is using is short, requiring him to alternate four batteries. Lighting is occasionally an issue.

Overall, Allison finds it a simple process.

“Flying a drone is pretty easy,” Allison said. “It’s like a video game.”

Theo Noussi, Ph.D., an assistant professor in DEEGS, said that drones are an effective and safer way to look for fallen power lines or view the consequences of an earthquake.

“Drones are very good at dull jobs, dirty jobs or dangerous jobs,” Noussi said.

Michael Berryann, a student of Malhotra’s, is using a drone to monitor High Rock Lake in Randleman, North Carolina, for chlorophyll levels.

“It basically takes an image of 200 to 300 square feet (about the area of a parking space) of water,” Berryann said. The process is straightforward, although Berryann says that he does have to watch for birds.

“Certain birds in the area are territorial and may try to attack the drone,” he said.

’

BY MARK LAWTON

Michael Berryann (right), a student in Environmental, Earth and Geographic Sciences, works on a drone.

TIM MULROONEY, PH.D. associate professor DEEGS

THEO NOUSSI, PH.D. assistant professor DEEGS

TEACHING THE TEACHERS OF THE BLIND

Using Technology to Assist the Visually Impaired

EAN TIKKUN, PH.D., attaches a device about the size and shape of a forefinger to the right arm of his glasses. He picks up a brochure, presses a button on the device – known as a MyEye – which then begins reading the brochure aloud.

Frequently,

when something looks different, our human nature is to say it is wrong. We do not do well with different

— Sean Tikkun, Ph.D.

Tikkun, an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the School of Education, has two main responsibilities. He trains teachers who will instruct people who are blind and visually impaired. He also investigates assistive technology for people who are blind and visually impaired.

“The last 10 years have been amazing,” Tikkun said. “It’s been an amazing renaissance since Apple introduced their screen reader.”

What employers in particular and the public in general don’t seem to know is that many blind and visually impaired people can do many of the same activities as sighted people.

“That stems from not knowing what a blind person could do to engage in a job, such as technologies, techniques or skills,” Tikkun said. “Frequently, when something looks different, our human nature is to say it is wrong. We do not do well with different.”

Tikkun’s position is a bit different from his colleagues at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). While other faculty go off to hear talks by other academics, Tikkun spends his conference budget each January on a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

“I walk the show for three days and see how new technology will impact people who are blind and visually impaired,” Tikkun said.

He then presents his impressions at the Assistive Technology Industry Association in Florida, where he also can question manufacturers and criticize entire industries.

Back on the second floor of the H.M. Michaux Jr. School of Education Building, Tikkun introduces his graduate students to the recent technology as well as familiarizes them with older assistive technology such as magnifying devices, enlarged computer keyboards and printers that produce Braille.

“It is not just about the technology,” Tikkun said. “It is also about the person’s ability to effectively use the technology.”

A graduate student works on a device to assist blind people.

Dogs and Blindfolds

In the office next door to Tikkun is assistant clinical professor JENNIFER THURMAN, an orientation and mobility specialist and trainer of guide dogs.

On weekends, Thurman can be found in Raleigh, where she follows around graduate students who wear blindfolds. “All our students have to spend a total of 160 hours under the blindfold,” Thurman said.

Students pair up and practice navigating a residential neighborhood, then later a part of downtown Raleigh.

The students can use a long cane, a guide dog in training, sound, smell and landmarks, but are not allowed to ask directions. “That’s cheating,” Thurman said.

For the final exam, students put on blindfolds before getting in Thurman’s car. She drives around until students are disoriented, then drops them off with directions to get to a specific destination.

The graduate degree program is designed for people who are already employed – also known as nontraditional students – with weekday classes done over video after 5 p.m. and in-person components on weekends.

“There is a huge shortfall of orientation and mobility specialists,” Thurman said. “I get calls

from school districts who haven’t have a specialist in two to three years.”

There are currently 117 teachers in North Carolina who are trained to instruct blind people, but the need is for somewhere between 200 and 250, Tikkun says.

Thurman is also a guide dog mobility instructor. It is a position she has desired since age 13.

“My dad ran schools for the blind,” Thurman said. “I’ve known about orientation and mobility specialists and guide dog trainers my whole life.”

She has trained more than 200 guide dogs, a task that takes about four months for each dog. That includes time spent training the client and dog to work together.

Guide dogs are bred for such qualities as being able to handle stress and not being distracted or frightened by their noise in the environment, such as ambulance sirens or subway trains.

“It’s a unique dog we are looking for, a dog that has real inner strength,” Thurman said.

’BY MARK LAWTON

There is a huge shortfall of orientation and mobility specialists. I get calls from school districts who haven't had a specialist in two to three years."

— Jennifer Thurman

Training Students in Environmental Sustainability

While developing the skills and knowledge to find employment is essential, it is also important for students to learn the most environmentally sustainable way to live in the world.

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) offers two courses in what is sometimes called ‘environmental literacy,’ a term first published in an issue of Massachusetts Audubon in 1968.

Associate Professor Rakesh Malhotra, Ph.D., who teaches ENSC 1000: Introduction to the Sustainable Planet, defines environmental literacy as “living within our resources. Resources are limited.”

Introduction to the Sustainable Planet, which is for non-science majors, is a mix of classroom lectures and projects. On a recent Friday, students had to trace the path of electricity. “They had to walk back from the power plug to coal,” Malhotra said. “This electricity is coming from somewhere. It’s limited.”

And that, says Malhotra, can be the most difficult concept to get across to students.

“Everyone assumes you plug it in, and it works,” he said. “You start the car, and it works.”

Haven Norfleet, a sophomore majoring in political science, said she learned about the impact of global warming and its interconnectedness in Dr. Malhotra’s Introduction to the Sustainable Planet course. “The icebergs are melting into the ocean, which is causing sea levels to rise and also interfering with water chemistry,” Norfleet said. “Icebergs don’t have salt, but the ocean does. Being warmer also effects animals.”

would enjoy the Introduction to the Sustainable Planet course. “It’s given me a deeper understanding of what sustainability really is,” Artola said.

For instance, she learned that building a hydroelectric plant is more likely to pay back the investment more quickly than investing in nonrenewable sources of energy.

Assistant Professor Carresse Gerald, Ph.D., who teaches ENSC 2100: Global Environmental Sustainability for both science and non-science majors, defines environmental literacy as “the understanding of the environment and becoming a little more knowledgeable about the environment.”

The Global Environmental Sustainability course starts with basic science. The world is made up of atoms and matter. Ecosystems and their components. Earth, weather and sun.

Gerald also teaches about microorganisms and the nutrient cycle – even the less pleasant parts such as mosquitos.

Students in ENSC 2100: Global Environmental Sustanability.

of the food chain, though mosquitos can be vectors for diseases such as malaria.”

Other topics include food production, water quality, toxicology and hazards, urbanization and industrialization.

“We touch on policy a good bit throughout the course: the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and Super Fund. Population control, which really drives a lot of the issues we see.”

Global Environmental Sustainability includes laboratory research, guest speakers and projects, such as creating a poster of an eco-friendly home. Students maintain a food diary for three days with the aim of learning how they eat and how they could eat more sustainably.

Vy Nguyen, a graduate student in environmental earth and geospatial sciences, enrolled in Global Environmental Sustainability two years ago and is now a teaching assistant in the course. She describes learning about how human interactions effect nature as “eye opening.”

“We learned about the dustbowl in class from the overused of soil, which created a lot of dust going into the atmosphere which spreads from the middle of the United State to the East Coast,” Nguyen said.

Sara Rugama Artola, a freshman who plans to major in political science, said she originally did not think she ’BY MARK LAWTON

“Mosquitos are needed,” Gerald said. “They are part

Hog Dust and Human Health

ARRESSE

GERALD, PH.D., IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR in the department of environmental, earth and geospatial sciences. Originally, she intended to become a veterinarian and studied animal science at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T). While earning her master’s degree in animal health sciences at N.C. A&T, however, she researched animal husbandry facilities where hogs are raised and how the dust that accumulates there would affect the breathing of both pigs and workers. Gerald earned her doctorate in energy and environmental systems and later conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the study of environmental pollutants on the respiratory system.

What is hog dust composed of?

Feed particles, skin, feces, urine bacteria, insects and arachnids. Anything that has been kind of floating in the air and settles on a raised or elevated surface.

Where is this dust generated?

I study confinement operations, the poor ventilation and increased animals, feces, grain, etc. that contribute to the generation of dust. An enclosed facility (for pigs) from birth to finishing and going to market.

Where are these pig processing facilities located?

The top 10 hog producing counties in North Carolina are in the southeast. They are in rural counties with cheaper property and in locations where many minorities don’t have access to healthcare facilities.

How many people work in pig processing facilities in North Carolina?

About 20,000 jobs in the hog industry. That’s probably elevated since I last checked.

Could breathing in this dust negatively impact workers?

It could impact workers negatively. There are reports of occupational asthma, organic dust toxic syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and inflammation of the nasal area in agricultural workers. My research studies how respiratory cells respond to hog barn dust extract exposures with emphasis on inflammation.

Do the lung diseases impact only human workers or also pigs?

The pigs have a natural adaptation to it. The hogs raised indoors have more mucus cells. It indicates the hog’s respiratory system are trying to defend themselves.

What, if anything, can be done to reduce illness in the meat producing workers?

It boils down to some really simple stuff:

■ Personal protective equipment including masks.

■ Increasing awareness and education. Make sure farm and agricultural workers know this is a risk.

■ Increase medical facilities and attention.

■ Increased cleaning and increase ventilation.

What are the challenges of instituting these changes?

Trying to find a way to make sure everyone understands what this means so they understand what the value is. Because you would have to spend money to clean or install ventilation.

Where does North Carolina rank in hog production?

North Carolina is third in the United States for hog production, following Iowa and Minnesota. Globally, the United States is third in the world for hog production, following China and the European Union.

How does hog dust in North Carolina facilities compare to Iowa and Minnesota?

Iowa and Minnesota have more distinct winters. The dust down here causes more adverse reactions. We have hotter summers and winters. The colder weather would help to reduce bacteria growth. Also, warmer weather could lead to an increase of dust aerosolized in contrast to cooler weather.

’BY MARK LAWTON

Computer Science Professor Leads Data Science & Social Justice Research

ORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

(NCCU) is leading the effort to study the effectiveness of using data science for social justice as a tool to broaden participation of historically marginalized communities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). In 2023, NCCU received four federal grants to investigate this research. This effort is led by Ravanasamudram Uma, Ph.D., a professor of computer science in the department of mathematics and physics, and her collaborators.

For a National Science Foundation grant, Uma and her collaborators will work closely with students from non-computing majors; at NCCU, these include criminal justice, nutrition and dietetics, and art.

Uma is perhaps most excited about a four-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to encourage non-computing majors to earn a certificate in data analytics. In addition to the certificate, the participating students will also be able to earn digital badges for the individual data science skills acquired, which they can display in their professional social networks to improve their employability. This is a collaborative grant with two other public historically Black colleges and universities in North Carolina: Fayetteville State University and Winston-Salem State University.

For this grant, Uma and her collaborators will work closely with students from non-computing majors; at NCCU, these include criminal justice, nutrition and dietetics, and art.

The grant grew out of a smaller effort, also funded by NSF from 2019–2023, where students in select sections of the First Year Seminar course (UNIV1100) used data science to advance their social justice projects,

with an aim to getting more students interested in STEM in general and data science in particular.

“We then decided to broaden participation to nonSTEM disciplines where there are a large number of minority populations,” Uma said. “It’s more challenging to get students into STEM disciplines. Instead of attracting those students to [STEM], we decided to take the program to those disciplines.”

As lead principal investigator for the collaborative $2 million grant, Uma will work with Alade Tokuta Ph.D., NCCU professor of mathematics and physics; Debzani Deb, Ph.D., Endowed Professor of Computer Science/Founding Director, Center for Applied Data Science (CADS), and her team from Winston-Salem State University; Sambit Bhattacharya, Ph.D., director of the Intelligent Systems Lab, and his team from Fayetteville State University; and educational and social science researchers, Adrienne Smith and Rebecca Zulli Lowe, both of Cynosure Consulting.

Additionally, at NCCU, Jessica Davis-Ganao, Ph.D., criminal justice department chair and associate professor; Jason O’Briant, Ph.D., director of the didactic program in dietetics; and Kwame Hawkins, M.F.A., associate professor of art, will work closely with the team in implementing the data analytics certificate program in their respective disciplines.

A second grant from the NSF, a three-year grant for about $350,000, aims to increase participation of students from historically marginalized communities in environmental sciences, the least diverse of the STEM fields.

“Why? One of the reasons cited is non-inclusive culture, and one solution suggested was to connect what the students are experiencing in real-life with their curriculum,” Uma said. “We try to present the problems that are of importance to them in that domain so they become interested in solving them. That way, we hope to increase their representation in the field.”

Students in the environmental science course (ENSC1000), which attracts both science and nonscience majors, will take part. Projects on environmental justice that evolve from topics in the syllabus will be used.

Uma will work with Tokuta and Rakesh Malhotra, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental, earth and

geospatial sciences from NCCU; Smith and Zulli Lowe of Cynosure Consulting; and Elisabeth Stoddard, Ph.D., associate professor of teaching in environmental and sustainability studies, and Marja Bakermans, Ph.D., associate teaching professor in biology and biotechnology, of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.

A third grant that has been recommended by the NSF will be led by Renata Rawlings-Goss, Ph.D., IDEaS director of industry engagement at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where the focus will be on providing faculty training to scale up the number of students reached. Additional collaborators on this project are Marc Boumedine, Ph.D., chair of computer and computational sciences at the University of the Virgin Islands, and Earvin Balderama, Ph.D, assistant professor of mathematics at California State University, Fresno.

LENORA HELM HAMMONDS, PH.D.

The fourth grant, this one from NASA for $1.33 million, is a repeat partnership with Fayetteville State University (Sambit Bhattacharya), which is the lead, and Winston-Salem State University (Debzani Deb).

At NCCU, Uma will build on her existing research in using data science to address social inequities with artificial intelligence and machine learning. The grant, which runs from 2023–2026, will offer NCCU students an opportunity to work with NASA scientists in using data science to solve problems of interest to NASA such as improving life on earth and searching for life elsewhere. This grant will potentially increase students’ marketability and career options after graduation.

’BY MARK LAWTON

From Composition to Release: New Album a Decades-long Effort

IN 2003, LENORA HELM HAMMONDS, D.M.A., received a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grant which she used to compose a jazz suite, Journeywoman. She performed it at the Schomburg Center in Harlem and later at Merkin Hall, both in New York City, where she then lived.

“Live performances were required to get the grant,” said Hammonds. “They didn’t require that you recorded.”

Years passed. In 2005, Hammonds began working at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and in 2007 moved to the area. She taught, composed, coordinated community engagement, conducted research, presented papers, served on boards, developed a certificate program, performed, wrote lyrics for well-known jazz musicians, won awards and otherwise developed a resume long enough to choke a hiring manager.

Still, she never forgot about the 12 songs she had composed.

“The stories and music were deep, and I had to live some more life and grow into the stories,” Hammonds said.

The album, titled “Journeywoman,” concerns the odyssey of an archetypal woman who struggles with birth, death and

self-definition, and experiences victories gained through self-love, perseverance and affirmation. It covers a variety of jazz styles including ballad, swing, waltz, Latin and tone poem settings.

Nineteen years later, she decided it was time to record. She gathered a mix of nine area musicians and NCCU colleagues –a nonet in musical terms – and recorded it in April 2022. It was a challenging time.

“I was just going into the role of interim department chair in the fall and was finishing the post production as I went into that new role,” Hammonds recalls. “Two of the faculty members had passed away, and I was learning the ropes of an interim department chair while trying to synthesize and put together the package and hire a creative team.”

Hammonds, who performs and records as Lenora Zenzalai Helm, succeeded with mentoring by her dean and department faculty who rallied around her.

Journeywoman by Lenora Zenzalai Helm & Tribe Jazz Orchestra Nonet was released on Sept. 8, 2023.

In other news, Jazz Roads Creatives awarded Hammonds a $40,000 grant in July 2023. She was one of 20 winners out of more than 220 applicants, according to a press release.

“I was really stunned I got it,” Hammonds said. “It’s a really competitive grant.”

Hammonds plans to use the grant to teach young musicians of color in Michigan who are emerging artists how to compose music, particularly telling stories.

“Jazz is the kind of music where your technical prowess is often what’s on stage,” Hammonds said. “Thus, young composers can benefit from thinking about both, the story and the music.”

’BY MARK LAWTON

Lenora Helm Hammonds’ album “Journeywoman” covers a variety of jazz styles including ballad, swing, waltz, Latin and tone poem settings.

THE NCCU JAZZ COMBO 1 PERFORMED AT THE MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL

The NCCU Jazz Combo 1 performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 2023 after winning the festival’s first ever HBCU Jazz Combo Challenge in May. The Monterey Jazz Festival is the world’s longest continually running jazz festival in the world.

Interview with a Cancer Expert about Pancreatic Cancer

ntonio Baines, Ph.D., is a cancer pharmacologist at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). He is an associate professor in the department of biological and biomedical sciences with a joint appointment in the cancer research program in the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute (JLC-BBRI). He began working at NCCU in 2006.

What is the pancreas and what does it do?

The pancreas is a gastrointestinal tract organ that has two main functions. It makes various hormones such as insulin that help to control blood sugar levels in your body. It also makes numerous digestive enzymes that get carried into the small intestine to aid in digestion.

Is it difficult to detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages?

Yes. There is no cancer biomarker to detect pancreatic cancer. A biomarker is a biological molecule, such as a protein, that can be detected and be an indication of the presence of cancer. A big area of research is to try to find a specific biomarker to detect pancreatic cancer early. This cancer is usually found by accident. When it is found by accident, the cancer is usually at a late stage and has progressed far enough along that it is causing issues, such as pain.

Is pancreatic cancer difficult to treat?

Yes. Surgery is the primary way to treat cancer, especially if it is in the early stage. But when it is found, it has usually already spread or metastasized to other parts of the body and surgery is not an option. Chemotherapy is the next step.

The problem with chemotherapy is many pancreatic cancers are resistant to or develop drug resistance to chemotherapy.

What percentage of cancer cases in the United States are from pancreatic cancer?

3% of all cancers in the United States.

That seems like a small percentage? It is also the third most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States. It is believed it will become the second most common between 2025 and 2030.

There is no cancer biomarker to detect pancreatic cancer. A biomarker is a biological molecule, such as a protein, that can be detected and be an indication of the presence of cancer.

—ANTONIO BAINES, PH.D.

What is the survival rate for someone with pancreatic cancer?

The five-year survival rate of patients with pancreatic cancer is 12%. When I started over 15 years ago it was 6%. It has become better, but it still has one of the lowest survival rates of most major cancers. If you catch cancer early, your survival rate is much greater.

What is your goal as a cancer pharmacologist?

[We] try to find potential new drug targets that we can make drugs against: a protein, an enzyme, one or more cells signaling

pathways. [Our approach is to] stimulate the cancer cell to die or prevent it from growing or to sensitize it to drugs. Drug resistance is the biggest problem.

Is pancreatic cancer more common among African American people?

Unfortunately, it is. There is a huge health disparity with pancreatic cancer in African Americans. They have a 50-90% higher incidence of pancreatic cancer compared to Caucasians. It is usually diagnosed at a much later stage in African Americans than other groups. Also, African Americans have fewer surgeries performed for the disease than other groups.

What, if anything, can the public do to decrease its risk of pancreatic cancer?

For cancer in general, try to live as healthy a lifestyle as you can. Avoid smoking and being excessively overweight, eat more fruits and vegetables and less processed meats and red meat. Physical activity is important. Try to reduce stress. Stay on top of medical check-ups. If anything seems weird with your body, get checked out as soon as possible.

It is important to make sure you trust your physicians. If you feel you are not getting the best care, try to find another one. Not all physicians are the same. Studies have shown there can be some implicit bias with how some physicians treat their patients.

What should a person do if they contract cancer?

If you find yourself with cancer, I encourage trying to get connected to a cancer center known for performing surgeries and treating pancreatic cancer. Go to someone with a track record of treating pancreatic cancer.

Additionally, consider reaching out to advocacy groups such as PanCan (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network). They are great resources for patients, survivors and family members.

’BY MARK LAWTON

NURSING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR MOTIVATES ADULT LEARNERS

MARQUITA LYONS-SMITH, DNP, is a clinical assistant professor in the NCCU Department of Nursing and the director of Project Kitty Hawk.

What inspired you to become a nurse?

Well, there are a number of unintentional happenings that inspired me to become a nurse. First, my mother was a nurse. I have fond memories of her coming home wearing her cute white uniform. She worked for the Department of Veteran Affairs Health Care System, and I loved listening to her talk about her experiences there. A little later, when I was around 14 years old, my mother gave birth to my little brother, and because we were so far apart in age, I became somewhat of a second mother to him. I enjoyed caring for him.

The third thing that I believe helped me along this path occurred when I was in high school. I completed most of my core classes during my sophomore and junior years in high school. So, in my senior year, during the second half of the day, I would leave school early and work part-time at a daycare center. I really started to develop a love for working with kids. However, I did not see myself working in the daycare setting as my end career path. So, that’s where the healthcare background in my family and my love and passion for kids meshed. It was at this time that I decided to go to school, become a nurse and strictly work in pediatric nursing because that is where my passion lies.

In fact, I still practice one day a week as a pediatric nurse practitioner in a primary care setting and I still love it.

What do you think makes North Carolina Central University (NCCU) a unique experience for students seeking a career in nursing?

We provide students with a demographically diverse setting in which to learn, coupled with the academic rigor that is necessary to compete in today’s highly competitive healthcare industry. I believe students that graduate from our nursing program gain the necessary skills to adapt to different environments and be quality professionals no matter where they practice.

You are the director of Project Kitty Hawk, NCCU’s Online RN to BSN option. What is Project Kitty Hawk?

Project Kitty Hawk is a state-funded, non-profit initiative. The primary goal of Project Kitty Hawk is to help universities within the University of North Carolina System design workforce aligned online programs, as well as attract, enroll, and support adult learners through graduation.

We collaborate with Project Kitty Hawk to enhance and redesign some of our courses that we offer to our RN-BSN students. With its assistance, we can more readily cater to the needs of adult learners, providing the resources they need to support their learning styles.

Project Kitty Hawk assists us with marketing, which in turn, helps to increase our enrollment. So, with this increase in enrollment, we need to be able to sustain that growth and the quality of the courses we offer.

When we consider the adult learner, we try our best to implement the adult learner principles of Malcolm Knowles, Ph.D. Knowles, was a renowned adult learner education expert, whose theory puts forth the idea that adults are not going to be motivated by the same things that children are motivated by.

In short, according to Knowles, adults tend to be motivated by their livelihood, their ability to improve outcomes, to be able to problem-solve and to take life experiences and implement those experiences into their learning. Most adult learners, according to Knowles, don’t want to waste their time. They’re not interested in coming into an academic environment and learning something that’s not going to be useful to them right now.

When a student graduates from the NCCU nursing program, what do you want them to remember most about their experience here?

I really want them to remember how much we cared about them. I want them to remember their professors. I want them to be able to say that their professors really inspired them. I want them to say their professors were the reason they decided to go further in their nursing careers or why they decided to implement a certain practice into their work setting.

’BY KEVIN DE'MARCUS ALLEN

NCCU Named Fulbright HBCU

Institutional Leader by the U.S. Department of State

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) was named a Fulbright Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Institutional Leader for 2023. Each year, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) recognizes the strong engagement of select HBCUs with the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship international academic exchange program.

Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders demonstrate noteworthy support for Fulbright exchange participants and promote Fulbright program opportunities on campus. The initiative encourages administrators, faculty and students at HBCUs to engage with Fulbright. It also highlights the strength of HBCUs as a destination for international students and scholars and highlights their deep intellectual traditions and proud history to audiences abroad. This year, NCCU is one of 19 Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders.

Since 1961, NCCU has had 24 professors participate in the Fulbright

U.S. Scholar Program. Over the past 25 years, NCCU has hosted four visiting scholars (Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Kingdom and Ukraine); and three scholarsin-residence (two from India and one from Democratic Republic of the Congo).

During the 2023-2024 academic year, Balasubramani Karuppusamy, Ph.D., an expert in geospatial technology at Central University of Tamil Nadu, India, will teach courses on the principles of remote sensing and remote sensing of natural resources in the NCCU Department of Environmental, Earth and Geospatial Sciences. Karuppusamy will also mentor student projects, work with the university’s sustainability group on potential application of geospatial technologies; deliver lectures throughout campus and local institutions; and interact with students on the effective utilization of

Geospatial technology expert from Central University of Tamil Nadu, India, welcomed as 2023-2024 scholar-in-residence.

geospatial techniques for sustainable agriculture, disaster risk and public health.

Himself a Fulbright-Hays fellow, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs David H. Jackson Jr., says being named a Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader is part of the fulfillment of ‘The Eagle Promise.’

“We promise our students that they will have a global experience while they are at the university,” Jackson said. “[Including] traveling abroad or interacting with people who can expose them to other cultural realities. I think by having this designation, other people will recognize NCCU as a place that is inviting for international scholars, as well as a place that encourages global leadership and development and a place people can come to broaden their worldview in general.”

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided over 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals, of all backgrounds and in all fields, the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections and work to address complex global challenges. Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program.

Nursing Students Gain Fuller Stomachs with New Food Pantry

WHILE IT IS UNKNOWN HOW MANY nursing students are hungry at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), there are certainly some.

So, in fall 2022, Yolanda VanRiel, Ph.D., chair of the nursing department, came up with an idea: a food pantry specifically for nursing students.

Dominique Williams of Nursing Students Services took the lead on the project. She started by getting advice from the NCCU Campus Pantry, which opened in 2014.

“I had no previous knowledge about how to operate a food pantry,” Williams said. “How they get funding, how to get students to do the work to maintain the space and keep it clean.”

Loretta Holloway (and wife of NCCU Board of Trustees Chairman Kevin Holloway) donated $5,000. And on April 27, the food pantry opened in room 1311

on the first floor of the Nursing Building.

At first, the pantry got limited use. When it opened, students were taking finals or leaving for summer break.

“I think some of the students were not afraid but sort of timid about coming in,” said Williams. “We started having conversations with them.”

One of those students was Trevor Cooper, now a senior and co-president of the NCCU chapter of the Student Nursing Association.

“I discovered the pantry over the summer when I came in to do a CPR course,” Cooper said. The Student Nursing Association spread the word among students and requested donations from others.

ALUMNA LORETTA HOLLOWAY ’74, ’76 (and wife of NCCU Board of Trustees Chairman Kevin Holloway) donated $5,000. And on April 27, the food pantry opened in room 1311 on the first floor of the Nursing Building.

Alexis Ross, the other co-president of the Student Nursing Association, found out about the pantry the beginning of the fall semester. “A peer told me about it,” Ross, a senior, said. “I shared it with my class.”

Ross describes the need for a food pantry as “moderate to strong” among nursing students.

“Having a free source of food with something nourishing has made a difference. It has lowered our stress.”

At least as important, access to food improves their performance.

“When students are hungry, they can’t learn,” VanRiel said.

Today, students obtain food from the pantry daily. While asked to fill out a short paper form, there is no proof required of low income.

“There is a need if it is used daily,” Cooper said. Though food pantries are not new to the NCCU campus –the NCCU Campus Pantry in the Miller-Morgan Health Sciences Building and Transitions Pantry in the Student Services Building have both been in existence longer –those are less easy for nursing students to access.

The Nursing Building is located on the eastern border of campus and students tend to be busy.

“Nursing students have 12-hour clinical shifts they

do,” Williams said. “They are in classes fulltime. Many work and have families. Having something where they can literally get out of class and walk to is the main reason.”

The reasons for hunger among nursing students vary. VanRiel notes that many students use their meal plan allotment before the end of the academic year and food prices in general have increased due to inflation.

“Many of our students are working,” Williams said. “Some have families to support. Many of our students are on Pell grants (financial aid). The support they get from family and friends may be limited.”

She adds, “We really don’t talk enough about (hunger). People assume students are in college and they can afford certain items and that just is not true.”

Currently, the pantry stocks shelved goods including canned fruits and vegetables, macaroni, ramen, tuna, peanut butter, canned pasta, cereal and other items. It is open from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and by appointment.

Over time, the pantry would like to offer fresh produce, perhaps toiletries and obtain a refrigerator for fresh foods.

’BY MARK LAWTON

Retiring from Real Teaching in a Simulated Hospital

ON THE SECOND FLOOR

of the nursing building at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is Eagle General Hospital, the greatest hospital that has never seen a patient. In this building Roger Collins, M.S.P.H., has taught full- and part-time for 40 years.

Collins, who retired–more or less–at the end of 2023, could previously be found most days in this simulated hospital environment where he instructs nursing students. On a Friday afternoon in October, he is sitting on a wheeled chair instructing Vivian Taylor, a student in the accelerated nursing program, in the finer points of inserting a nasogastric tube into a female patient’s stomach via her right nostril.

Taylor picks up a stethoscope. “Put alcohol on it,” Collins says. Taylor does and proceeds to explain the procedure to the patient.

To be clear, the ‘patient’ is a $10,000$14,000 mannequin, one of six in the ward. Though sophisticated in detail, these mannikins are more basic than their $75,000 counterparts down the hall that can talk, display dropping blood pressure when hooked

Empathy. The desire to care for someone. That doesn’t get pushed like it used to.

—ROGER COLLINS, M.S.P.H.

up to a monitor or even give simulated birth to a plastic baby.

As Taylor asks questions, Collins stands in for the patient.

“Are you in pain?” Taylor asks.

“She has no pain but is tired of the gastric distress and all the vomiting,” Collins says.

“Do you have any allergies?” Taylor asks.

“She doesn’t have any allergies,” Collins says.

The beginning

Collins, 67, has been teaching so long that some of his students have retired. Others have gone on to such positions as the president of the American Nurses Association and associate professor in nursing at UNC–Greensboro.

His interest in nursing started while he was growing up in Kinston, North Carolina. “I had weird parents,” he said. “As soon as I turned 16, they felt I needed a job to support myself.”

So, Collins found work at Lenoir Memorial Hospital as a nursing assistant. After graduating high school, he enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where in 1978 he earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing. It wasn’t easy.

“Nursing school is a butt kicker,” Collins said. “I had a 3.75 grade point average in high school. In my first semester for nursing school, I made four C’s. Nothing but As and Bs before that. I thought because I was a good nursing assistant, this would serve as an excellent springboard. A nursing assistant does as told. A nurse has to continually assess the patient’s situation and make decisions regarding proper care alternatives.”

He worked as both a medical-surgical nurse and intensive care unit nurse at UNC–Chapel Hill for the next few years before returning to school in 1981, this time for a master’s degree in public health with a concentration in health administration. His plan was to go into the management side of health.

In 1983, Collins heard about an opening at NCCU for a part-time nursing instructor. He applied, was hired and four months later was promoted to full-time.

In 1990 he became a teaching nurse at Durham Regional Hospital (now part of the Duke Health System) but continued teaching part time at NCCU. In 2012, he left Duke System Durham Regional Hospital and returned to being a fulltime nursing instructor at NCCU.

Simulated nursing

Eagle General Hospital varies little from a genuine hospital. Both Collins and the nursing students wear maroon or gray scrubs.

Oxygen and suction devices may be found near the hospital beds, each of which holds a ‘patient.’ To differentiate, Collins has named

(continues on page 30)

M.S.P.H. clinical lab faculty Nursing

(continued from page 29)

the mannikins after celebrities: Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Denzel Washington, Taraji P. Henson, Halle Berry and Angela Bassett.

Doors along the hallways have plaques with titles like Observation, Pediatric Outpatient Clinic, Maternal/Child Health Training and Intensive Care Unit.

There are long hours–it is now 3 p.m. and Taylor and two other students have been in the ward since 9 a.m.

The instruction is detailed and covers not only medical procedures but the nonmedical nuances.

“You’ll have a bad back like your instructor if you don’t raise that hospital bed,” Collins says. Taylor laughs and does so.

folks like a person flashes their credit card at stores.”

From the instructor, there also has to be empathy toward the nursing students. According to student Naa Adei Sanniez, Collins has it.

“He really cares about his students,” Sanniez says. “He’ll give us feedback on weaknesses and what we need to work on.”

“He spends more time than he has to,” Taylor says. “Overtime, to make sure we pass the validation. He’s constantly preaching that we have to be patient advocates, speak for them and make sure they get what they need.”

In 1983, Collins heard about an opening at NCCU for a part-time nursing instructor. He applied, was hired and four months later was promoted to full-time.

It’s all about empathy

Over the decades, Collins has seen changes in nursing. Computers have become more important. When applying for nursing jobs, grades have become more important and face-to-face interviews less so.

What hasn’t changed is the continuing need for nurses who are not only skilled and knowledgeable in medicine but also able to empathize with patients. “Therapeutic touch, therapeutic speech,” Collins says. “Empathy. The desire to care for someone. That doesn’t get pushed like it used to.”

Referencing a TV commercial, he pulls out a credit card and holds it up. “You have to flash your ability to care for

In December, Collins started a retirement of six months, then planned to return part-time as an instructor in both the departments of nursing and department of public health education.

In the meanwhile, he is developing a “righteous bucket list” of recreational activities including golf and fishing.

Collins is also a gardening enthusiast, an interest he picked up in a work-study position in horticulture while at UNC-Chapel Hill. He has designed and maintained seven flower beds at his house and brought 20 plants to the new nursing building. “I like watching things grow,” he explains. “And students grow.”

’BY MARK LAWTON

ROGER COLLINS

Part of Fayetteville Street Dedicated to NCCU Couple

ON DEC. 8, 2023, PART OF FAYETTEVILLE STREET WAS DEDICATED TO A COUPLE WITH STRONG TIES TO NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY (NCCU).

Those traveling between Timothy Avenue and Lawson Street can now read signs designating Dr. Dock J. Jordan and Carrie Thomas Jordan Highway.

Dr. Jordan was born in 1866 in Georgia, the son of slaves. He taught and served as an administrator in secondary schools and colleges.

He also aggressively sought equal opportunities and rights for Black people. While in Georgia, he worked with W.E.B. Dubois to defeat proposed legislation in the state legislature that would have closed one half to two-thirds of Black public schools.

Dr. Jordan also wrote an open letter to President Woodrow Wilson, blaming him for causing the East St. Louis race riots in 1917. About 3,000 whites attacked Blacks, killing more than 100 and burning their homes.

The governor of North Carolina at the time did not like Jordan’s remarks and asked prominent Black leaders in North Carolina to denounce him.

“At times, many Black leaders were accommodationist,” said Delaitre Jordan Hollinger, president of the National Association for the Preservation of African American History & Culture and also the great, great nephew of the Jordans. “Professor Jordan was not a gradualist or an accommodationist. He was very much a civil rights leader before it was popular to be one.”

Hollinger began trying to honor Dr. and Mrs. Jordan about 10 years. He first reached out to then Chancellor Debra Saunders-White and in more recent years to the Durham City Council and mayor.

Dr. Jordan taught at North Carolina College for Negroes (later changed to NCCU) from 1918 to 1939 and established the first department of history here. He lived on campus with his wife, Carrie Thomas Jordan.

Carrie Thomas Jordan served as superintendent of public Black schools in Durham. She solicited private funds to build 12 new schools for Black students in Durham, which were built from 1923 to 1926.

At the time, Black students were instructed in a vocational curriculum of cooking, sewing and farming. Jordan replaced that with a curriculum from white schools that included reading, writing, spelling, geography and other topics. She also raised money for the first African American commencement exercises in Durham County.

“Like her husband, she was not afraid of the white power structure at that time,” said Hollinger.

’BY MARK LAWTON

Protect What's Important to You and Create Your FreeWill Today.

Writing a will should be an easy task that everyone has access to. NCCU wants to remove the hurdles that can come with estate planning. Our partnership with FreeWill offers a free online tool that allows you to complete your plans in less than 20 minutes.

Take this opportunity to protect what’s important to you and start your free will at FreeWill.com/NCCU or scan the QR code to the right.

a pictorial ode to visionary leadership :

CELEBRATING CHANCELLOR JOHNSON O. AKINLEYE, PH.D., AND

‘THE EAGLE PROMISE’

IN AN ERA DEFINED BY TRANSFORMATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS AND VISIONARY STEWARDSHIP, CHANCELLOR JOHNSON O. AKINLEYE, PH.D., has propelled NCCU to unparalleled heights of academic excellence and institutional pride. Under his guidance, NCCU has ascended the national rankings, witnessing a renaissance in research, innovation and securing a legacy of support through unprecedented philanthropy. These accomplishments have not only elevated the university's stature but have also affirmed the enduring strength of ‘The Eagle Promise’—a commitment to excellence, leadership and career outcomes.

IN 2017 , EMBRACING ‘THE EAGLE PROMISE’ as the guiding star, Chancellor Akinleye and the university’s senior leadership delineated five strategic priorities that have since redefined NCCU as a beacon of higher education in the region. These priorities, rooted in the promise of nurturing a transformative educational environment, have catalyzed a comprehensive evolution of the university’s landscape. Over the past eight years, this vision has manifested in a living and learning experience that transcends traditional boundaries, fostering an academic community where every Eagle is empowered to succeed.

Chancellor Akinleye's era has been marked by a profound dedication to nurturing student success, aligning closely with the core values of ‘The Eagle Promise.’ His commitment has charted a course for NCCU, steering it towards a future brimming with possibility and achievement. As we unfold this pictorial tribute, we celebrate the indelible mark of a leader whose legacy is forever intertwined with the essence of NCCU, ensuring that ‘The Eagle Promise’ continues to inspire generations of Eagles to come.

Student Advisor, Scholarship Founder, Mother and Graduate Student

relentless graduate student is demonstrating what it truly means to soar higher.

Kiera Alston is in the final stretch of her graduate journey, looking ahead to commencement in May 2024. Alston is not just a graduate student, she is a devoted mother, student advocate and an innovator bringing positive change to graduate studies.

Born in Covington, Tennessee, Alston's undergraduate journey began at the University of Tennessee, where she double majored in psychology and child and family studies. After earning a master’s degree in general psychology at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), Alston wants to practice psychology in a school or clinical environment and pursue a doctorate.

As the president of the Graduate Student Association (GSA), Alston dedicates herself to promoting the organization, recruiting students and advocating for the rights and needs of graduate students.

For one semester starting in May 2023, Alston was the only member of the GSA. She recruited two other officers and led a revision of the bylaws, so every

graduate student automatically became a member of the organization.

Alston also works as an admissions specialist in the department of Graduate Studies, supporting new applicants as they embark on their graduate journey.

At the start of her graduate studies, she ran into daycare provider issues for her 8-year-old son, especially having no family in North Carolina. For this reason, Alston created the Single Parent Scholarship, supporting graduate students who balance being a single parent with their

Scholarship, which provides need-based financial assistance for graduate students.

Balancing being a student, employee and a parent, Alston relies on faith, daily meditation and a well-structured schedule. She spends a minimum of two hours each day on her thesis research, emphasizing progression over perfection.

Alston’s resilience and commitment to her various roles are grounded in the belief that it takes a village to achieve anything worthwhile. She advocates for seeking help when needed, emphasizing the importance of personal time for oneself.

Reflecting on her experience at NCCU, Alston expresses gratitude for the unique support she's found in the HBCU community. Having graduated from a predominantly white institution, the level of care and support she receives at NCCU is unparalleled. During a sudden illness while at an out-of-state conference, Alston was overwhelmed by the genuine concern shown by her professors both during and after treatment.

As she approaches graduation, Alston's journey stands as a testament to resilience, community support and the transformative power of education.

’BY NICOLE HODGES

Kiera Alston created the SINGLE PARENT SCHOLARSHIP , supporting graduate students who balance being a single parent with their studies. She also started the EAGLE UPLIFT SCHOLARSHIP , which provides need-based financial assistance for graduate students.

Charles Jennings and the Future of NCCU Career Development

In Charles Jennings' 23-year career, a trajectory spanning Goodwill Industries to the helm of the Career and Professional Development Center at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), his commitment to excellence and transformative leadership shines brightly.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities as the director of the Career and Professional Development Center?

I focus on establishing, maintaining and enhancing relationships with faculty, employers, campus colleagues and community partners to achieve the annual goals and objectives of the Center. One day I can be in several employer meetings and another day I can be in several career-coaching appointments with students.

What impact do you expect your appointment to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Board of Directors to have on your role at the Career and Professional Development Center?

NACE is the governing body of university career centers. As a member since 2014, I am the sole HBCU Career Center Director on the board. Given the heightened focus on diversity and inclusion post-Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, companies are actively engaging with HBCUs. I aim to champion HBCU recruiting needs and requirements, ensuring they stay a priority.

What is your vision for the future of the Career and Professional Development Center under your leadership?

I see the Career and Professional Development Center offering impactful and transformative programming that prepares NCCU students for the workforce and allows them to be their authentic selves.

What initiatives have you implemented at the Career and Professional Development Center that you are proud of?

We introduced “What Can I Do with This Major?”— empowering students to explore majors and gather industry-related information. Connecting students with 100 new companies including Ally, Mastercard and the Miami Heat has opened doors to exciting opportunities.

What do you consider the biggest challenges facing colleges and employers today?

Examining this through an HBCU lens, a key challenge is ensuring a welcoming environment for students within organizations. Additionally, navigating changes in affirmative action and LGBTQIA+ rights pose concerns for student hiring practices in our current political climate.

What strategies do you believe are essential for career centers to help students navigate the evolving job market?

Career centers play a pivotal role in facilitating strategic conversations with employers, outlining the skills essential for student success in prospective companies. Tailoring programs and services to help students acquire these competencies is imperative. This includes integrating assignments in the classroom and extracurricular projects, fostering a holistic approach to skill development.

How has the role of career centers in colleges evolved in recent years, and where do you see it going in the future? Since 2020, career centers have actively embraced social consciousness, addressing matters that impact students before they enter the workforce. Beyond traditional resume development and mock interviews, these programs focus on aiding underrepresented student populations in navigating the corporate culture transition. Our Career and Professional Development Center will launch the "Candid Career Conversations" series, featuring panel discussions on topics such as code-switching, natural hair in the workplace and combating imposter syndrome in the upcoming academic year.

What advice would you give to students just beginning their professional journeys?

Like my mentor, I encourage students to step outside of one’s comfort zone in their career journey. I also advise them to take advantage of all opportunities presented at NCCU.

’BY ARIEL GERMAIN

FOUR NEW MEMBERS NAMED TO NCCU BOARD OF TRUSTEES, THREE MEMBERS REAPPOINTED

he North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Board of Trustees added four new members on July 1, 2023.

DAVID ALEXANDER is the CEO of First Alliance Healthcare of Ohio, a healthcare company that provides primary care, mental and behavioral healthcare services. Alexander is the co-founder and board member of the Alexander-Carter Family Foundation, and the co-founder and board member of Two Fish Five Loaves, a 501(c)3 public charity, food pantry and proud partner of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.

A proud double Eagle, Alexander received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a Juris Doctor from the NCCU School of Law and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Western Carolina University. He and his family reside in North Bethesda, Maryland.

LISA F. MARTINEZ is co-head of the Global Market Consulting & Counterparty Risk team at the Capital Group Companies, an active investment management firm, in Los Angeles. She currently serves as the board chair of Taking the Reins, a non-profit charity serving low income and underserved young women in Los Angeles and is also involved with Cristo Rey and Verbum Dei.

Martinez earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at

Reappointed to the board for another four-year term were:

Los Angeles. She lives in Encino, California, and is relocating to Raleigh.

ANTWAN THORNTON manages the Research Triangle Park office of Brooks, Cameron & Huebsch, an intellectual property law firm, and is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Thornton holds a Juris Doctor from the NCCU School of Law and is based in North Carolina.

CAMERON EMERY is the 2023–2024

Student Government Association president.

Emery is a Champaign, Ill., native, majoring in middle-grades education. Emery is a Men's Achievement Center member, a Marathon Teaching Institution participant, an Eagle Ambassador and a residential life advisor.

Emery is also a member of the Gamma Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. He joins the board for one year.

To communicate with the Board of Trustees, please contact:

NCCU Board of Trustees, Office of the Chancellor 1801 Fayetteville Street, Room 305 Durham, NC 27707

C/O Ms. Tracy Vanderberg Email: tvanderb001@nccu.edu Phone: 919-530-5561

RODERICK G. ALLISON

WILLIAM V. BELL

G. KEITH CHADWELL

DAVID ALEXANDER

ANTWAN THORNTON

LISA F. MARTINEZ

CAMERON EMERY

Christopher Davis, ’10

assistant vice chancellor

Institutional Advancement

Davis, a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, comes back home to NCCU with more than 12 years of experience in various areas of higher education fundraising. Prior to his new role at NCCU, Davis served as a senior gift officer at the United Negro College Fund. Before that, he served as associate vice chancellor for development and was later promoted to interim vice chancellor for university advancement at Fayetteville State University (FSU).

Gordon Ibeanu, Ph.D.

interim director

Biomanufacturing Research

Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE)

Ibeanu joined NCCU in 2006 as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He was a member of the team that established the BRITE program and, subsequently, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. His current research focuses on translational research in neurodegenerative disease, with a special emphasis on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disorders. Ibeanu currently serves as chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and will continue in this role.

Joel T. Faison, ’94

chief information officer

Information Technology Services

Faison will lead the university’s Information Technology Services unit and will be responsible for providing information technology solutions and services for students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders at NCCU. He has devoted most of his career to extensive network infrastructure expansion and refresh projects at public and private universities in North Carolina.

Karen Keaton Jackson, Ph.D.

interim associate provost

Academic Programs and Undergraduate Research

In addition to her new duties, Keaton Jackson will continue to serve as director of NCCU’s University Honors program, a role held since 2019. Keaton Jackson joined NCCU in 2004 as an assistant professor of English and as the director of the Writing Studio. She earned tenure and was recently promoted to full professor.

LaMarcus D. Howard, Ph.D.

assistant vice chancellor for health and wellness I Student Affairs

Howard joins NCCU after serving Eastern Michigan University (EMU) as the director of the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and Center for Adaptive Technology in Education (CATE) lab. As the assistant vice chancellor, Howard will bring over a decade of higher education professional experience in student success, first-year experience, multicultural services, GEAR UP/College Day, academic advising, enrollment management and disability access.

Deepak Kumar, Ph.D.

associate provost and dean, Research and Sponsored Programs

BBRI

Kumar is a tenured professor of pharmaceutical sciences. As associate provost and dean of Research and Sponsored Programs, Kumar will provide strategic leadership, direction, and support for all activities related to research initiatives and activities at NCCU. As a senior administrative officer, Kumar will provide leadership for NCCU’s investments in patents, copyrights and technology transfer. Kumar has been funded continuously by National Institutes of Health for the last 20 years.

Nikia A. Laurie, Ph.D.

interim director

Julius L. Chambers Biomedical

Biotechnology Research Institute (JLC-BBRI)

Laurie joined NCCU in 2020 as associate director of JLC-BBRI. Laurie also served as interim director of the Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Biosciences program in the College of Health and Sciences. A cancer biologist by training, she has mentored and trained a diverse group of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, physician-scientists and undergraduates throughout her career. Laurie’s laboratory currently focuses on obesity and endometrial cancer disparities.

Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson dean I School of Law

Timmons-Goodson, retired North Carolina Supreme Court associate justice, will be tasked with elevating the School of Law’s visibility, attractiveness and sustainability as an institution that prepares ‘practice ready’ law graduates who excel at the bar examination. She will develop the school’s leadership team, create and implement a dynamic marketing program and support faculty scholarship and teaching excellence.

Patrick Roughen, Ph.D.

interim dean

School of Library and Information Sciences (SLIS)

Most recently, Roughen served as associate dean of SLIS where he assisted in defining and implementing strategic, managerial and operational/tactical plans for SLIS in alignment with the American Library Association accreditation standards and to satisfy standards for a high-quality student experience and strategic goals of NCCU and the UNC System.

Zach Underwood, Ph.D. dean I University College

Underwood will be responsible for ensuring that first-year, second-year and transfer students are provided with a quality, comprehensive experience that supports student learning and leads to academic success. His areas of responsibility will include academic advising, supplemental and developmental learning, academic support for student-athletes, and overall student academic achievement. He also will direct University College faculty and staff in developing and implementing courses, workshops and services.

Mohammad Ahmed, Ph.D. (pictured right), a professor of physics and mathematics, also serves as the dean for the College of Health and Sciences.

NCCU Certificate Program Trains Participants to Help Communities

IN 2019, JOY HARRELL GOFF ’98, of Durham, became executive director of BUMP the Triangle, a nonprofit that brings African diasporic arts and culture to the Triangle area, particularly to young people.

In her new role, Goff wanted to revamp programming, serve more people and learn how to raise more money.

“When I became executive director, we had a budget of $11,000 for the whole year,” Goff said. That money came from a foundation grant which BUMP the Triangle had inherited from Goff’s predecessor. Goff began learning how to write grants, but it was a challenge. “I was able to get some money from grant writing but not much,” Goff said. “I was also struggling to know where to apply for an arts organization.”

Enter the Community Partners Development course at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). The noncredit certificate program was originally designed by the City of Durham, then redesigned by NCCU with faculty input. The program is funded by the city, jointly taught by the city and university and held virtually or physically at NCCU. The first cohort was taught March to August 2022, then repeated in 2023. Community Partners Development’s

first priority is to help residents realize their ideas for their communities and respond to requests for proposals, said Clayton Mack, associate director of NCCU Extended Studies, which oversees the certificate program.

Every class included a guest speaker who discusses topics such as sources of data and how to interpret it, creating business plans, leadership teamwork,

With her increased knowledge of grant writing, Goff was awarded a grant of $150,000 over two years.

budgets, responding to requests for proposals (RFPs), marketing and communication, developing an elevator pitch, what tasks to outsource, mock interviews and asking for enough money.

During the last class, participants present a proposal in front of three judges. Graduates are recognized during a meeting of the Durham City Council, said Delta Farrington, community partnerships manager for the city of Durham.

The course is free to Durham residents who have a range of interests including helping homeless women, young people, military veterans and arts.

The participants are “low-wealth residents and residents from historically underserved communities,” said Farrington

“Joy, she has been in the nonprofit space for a long time and was hitting a wall about going after the big dollars and forging relationships to fuel her passion,” said Mack.

Goff took part in the first cohort in 2022. She developed relationships, clarified her ‘ask’ when applying for grants and learned how to create a strategy for building relationships in the Durham communities BUMP the Triangle wants to serve including East Durham, Braggtown and the West End.

With her increased knowledge of grant writing, Goff applied for American Rescue Plan Act funding through Durham County. She was awarded a grant of $150,000 over two years.

“We are able to support more artists and more youth,” Goff said. “Our goal is to support 100 youth by 2024. I am able to give myself a meager salary.”

’

BY MARK LAWTON

Initial Participant in Marathon Teaching Institute Earns Degree

n his senior year of high school, Chester Crowder Jr. had a disagreement with a teacher of African American literature.

“After the cooling down, he brought me to the side for a one-on-one,” Crowder recalled. “I was 17 or 18 and he talked to me at a level where we could meet and took a moment to learn where I was coming from. I understood that he cared.”

The teacher, who was Crowder’s only African American instructor (outside of athletics) at his suburban Raleigh high school, inspired him.

“His taking the next generation more serious led me to take teaching more serious,” Crowder said.

Crowder attended Chowan University in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, for two years but his goal was always to attend North Carolina Central University (NCCU). While a teenager, his aunt and uncle, both graduates of NCCU, had taken him on tours of the NCCU campus. In January 2021, he transferred and began attending classes in the School of Education.

“They treat me as nothing but family,” Crowder said. “The opportunities they push at me, being on a phone call but not email basis, meeting their colleagues. They engage with you and want to see you do good in life and put you in a position to grow.”

In fall 2021, the Marathon Teaching Institute was founded at NCCU with the goal of increasing the number of African American male teachers in the United States. Only 2% of public-school teachers are African American males (NCES' National Teacher and Principal Survey, 2017-2018) compared to 8% of the student population.

Crowder was recruited to become part of the first cohort.

“It fit me greatly,” Crowder said. “It offered professional experience and meeting mentors.”

He attended talks by educational leaders, undertook professional development courses locally and in other states, received resume assistance, taught in Pittsburgh and was invited to network at dinners with the dean.

Being a student of the Marathon Teaching Institute also came with $20,000 from the Schmoock Family Opportunity Scholarship.

“It’s been a lifesaver,” Crowder said.

Crowder has shared his knowledge. He offered feedback on shaping the program and passed along what schools seek in teachers, said Quintin Murphy, director of the Marathon Teaching Institute.

“He’s been like a big brother to other guys in the program who are freshmen and sophomores,” Murphy said.

For four years Crowder has taught after-school daycare. He worked as a substitute in first to fifth grade from February to June 2023 and is currently doing student teaching. He has also tutored multiple students in Raleigh and Wake County.

Crowder has also served as an ambassador for the School of Education.

When he walked across the graduation stage in December 2023, Crowder was one of the first two students of the Marathon Teaching Institute to graduate from NCCU.

After graduation he planned to teach elementary education in Wake County and eventually obtain a leadership role in education.

’BY MARK LAWTON

ONLY 2% of public-school teachers are African American males compared to 8% of the student population. —

NCES' National Teacher and Principal Survey, 2017-2018

QUINTIN MURPHY director

Marathon Teaching Institute

They treat me as nothing but family. The opportunities they push at me, being on a phone call but not email basis, meeting their colleagues. They engage with you and want to see you do good in life and put you in a position to grow.”

— Chester Crowder Jr., graduate, Marathon Teaching Institute

NCCU Assists First-Generation Students from Enrollment to Graduation

WHEN SHAMIA STEVENS, A SOPHOMORE studying business administration, started at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), she described herself as a “lost puppy.”

“With me being a first-generation college student, I had to balance work, paying for tuition, personal life, emotional life,” said Stevens.

It was not a question of intelligence – she had good grades in her Washington, D.C., high school and had completed advanced placement courses – but paying tuition and trying to fit in everything was a challenge.

“You never really find a balance,” Stevens said. “You find a schedule.”

With me being a first-generation college student, I had to balance work, paying for tuition, personal life, emotional life.” — Shamia Stevens

Of NCCU’s almost 8,000 students, 1,702 are first-generation college students, according to Dekendrick Murray, executive director for Student Access and Success (SAS) at NCCU. First-generation students are those that come from a household where they will be the first to earn a bachelor’s degree or higher.

“They tend to be trailblazers in their families, pioneers,” said Murray.

First-generation college students also tend to have challenges that second-generation or legacy college students may not.

“First-generation students are less likely to come into college with knowledge of who they should connect with to accomplish things,” Murray said. “They are learning the landscape of higher education as they go.”

Alexis Staten, a junior in political science originally from New Jersey, agrees.

“I was concerned about finances,” Staten said. “I was also not sure what to expect. I didn’t have experience from my parents to tell me what college would be like.”

Some first-generation college students sometimes lack confidence on whether they can complete a degree.

Keshawn Cherry, a freshman who plans to major in psychology, understands that. His mother had finished an associate degree and his brother and sister attended trade school but did not earn degrees. Nevertheless, they all expected him to attend college.

“I felt like I was going to be alone, nothing was going to go right, I was going to lose all my friends, I wasn’t going to be the smartest and my grade point average was going to go down,” Cherry said.

Other qualities many first-generation students share include being from a lower income family, working while attending college, and/or attending college part-time due to financial challenges.

SAS helps first-generation college students from choosing a college to planning for life after a bachelor’s degree. SAS starts with high school students, offering tutoring, academic advising, college visits and help with preparing for the SAT and ACT tests.

Once enrolled, SAS helps NCCU students find scholarships, offers advice on how to allocate money, assists with career exploration, instructs in job hunting skills and filling out graduate school applications and so forth.

“First-generation college students benefit from holistic support services,” Murray said.

Martina Martin, Ed.D., who works for the Center for First-generation Student Success, agrees.

“Communication is key with students and their families,” Martin said. “Here is how we help you transition. Also, offering communication during all four years of college.”

Nationwide, about one in three college students is a first-generation college student, though that number is increasing.

’BY MARK LAWTON

From Durham to DC, two NCCU students named White House scholars

Students from more than 70% of HBCUs took part in the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Among those participants was Ezeji Nwanaji-Enwerem and Taya Davis from North Carolina Central University (NCCU).

Nwanaji-Enwerem and Davis took part in a White House program that aims to improve communities, strengthen democracy and grow the economy.

But it’s not all selfless. Participants also had an opportunity to network with leaders in nonprofits, business and federal agencies.

“What can I do to help out the community overall?” asks Nwanaji-Enwerem, a biomedical science major from Charlotte. He adds, “I am really interested in the networking aspect and talking to leadership while also being able to circulate ideas among (other student participants).”

Nwanaji-Enwerem and Davis attended a conference titled “Raising the Bar: Forging Excellence through Innovation & Leadership” from Sept. 24–28 in Crystal City, Virginia. While the agenda had not been finalized by publication, previous conferences have included such activities as a tour of the White House, a visit to Cap-

itol Hill where they spoke with long-term African American representatives and a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“It’s really the networking and connecting and community building,” said Karen Keaton Jackson, Ph.D., a professor of English and director of the University Honors Program. “It’s beyond a meet and greet but letting the students feel they have a community of the like-minded and professionals who want to help them and mentor them.”

The conference will include a competition where students develop ideas to commercialize intellectual property from NASA. Later in the conference, students will have the opportunity to present their ideas in-person at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Nwanaji-Enwerem and Davis are high achievers. Both are Cheatham-White

scholars. Nwanaji-Enwerem has conducted research in sleep deprivation at Harvard University, covid research at Duke University and in pathology research at a private genetics firm. He intends to become a medical doctor.

Davis, who is from Alpharetta, Georgia, is majoring in biomedical sciences. She has been president of the University Honors Program, is president of Science African Americans Majors Evolving (SAAME) and will serve as a director of academic affairs. She has volunteered with Mobilizing African American Mothers through Empowerment (MAAME). She looks forward to interacting with her peers at the conference.

“Being able to talk to other students and find out what is going on at their schools and the opportunity to bring that back to Central,” Davis said.

Davis intends to focus on molecular medicine research and attend physician assistant school so she can focus on clinical trials.

’BY MARK LAWTON

Taya Davis and Ezeji Nwanaji-Enwerem

85 Years of Excellence: The Enduring Legacy of NCCU Law

ON MARCH 1, 1939, THE NORTH CAROLINA

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

enacted House Bill 18, which authorized a law school at North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University), paving the way for a new generation of African American lawyers in North Carolina.

At the time, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the only state-supported law school and barred the admission of African Americans. Shaw University in Raleigh had closed its law school back in 1914, a move that left no in-state option for African Americans to receive a formal legal education.

The legislation was, in theory, a way to create a separate-but-equal option for African Americans who wanted to become lawyers, without integrating UNC-Chapel Hill.

Since its inception, the NCCU School of Law – one of only six historically Black law schools remaining in the country –has continued to produce practice-ready lawyers and leaders committed to public service and to meeting the needs of underserved communities.

As we mark the 85th anniversary, we reflect on the indelible impact the law

school has had on the legal landscape of North Carolina. Eight and a half decades of shaping legal minds, defending justice, serving on the bench, and contributing to the evolution of the legal profession, merit reflection and celebration.

The legal field has undergone remarkable transformations over the past 85 years and our law school has been at the forefront of adapting to these changes. From case law to incorporating innovative technologies, the NCCU School of Law has continually evolved to meet the demands of an ever-changing legal landscape.

Beyond the lecture halls and courtrooms, the NCCU School of Law has had a lasting impact on the communities it serves. Pro bono initiatives, legal clinics, internships, externships and community outreach programs have enabled our students and faculty to meet the needs of the underserved and contribute meaningfully in access to justice.

The 85 years of the law school's existence have been marked not only by academic achievement, but by a commitment to the principles of justice and equity.

We have worked to ensure our student body, faculty, staff and alumni reflect the rich tapestry of backgrounds and perspectives that make the legal profession vibrant and representative of the diverse society in which we live.

’BY TERRI HYMAN

CELEBRATING 85 YEARS I EVENTS

For more events, visit: nccu.edu/nccu-school-law -85th-anniversary

MAY 2024

■ Class of 1974 Golden Legal Eagles Recognition

■ 85th Anniversary Golf Tournament

OCTOBER 2024

■ Law and Technology Symposium and Summit

■ 85th Anniversary Gala

NOVEMBER 2024

■ Homecoming Alumni Fish Fry

NCCU Law alumni have made history throughout the state and nation.

Wanda G. Bryant ’82, first African American woman to be an assistant district attorney in the 13th prosecutorial district of North Carolina.

George Kenneth “G.K.” Butterfield Jr. ’74, served as U.S. representative for North Carolina's First Congressional district from 2004 to 2022; first NCCU graduate to serve on the Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Michael F. Easley ’76, first NCCU Law alumnus to serve as attorney general and governor of North Carolina.

Willie E. Gary ’74, named one of the most successful trial lawyers in the country; Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx played the real-life Willie Gary in the movie, “The Burial,” released in 2023.

Maynard Jackson ’63, first African American mayor of Atlanta in 1974; youngest person to be elected to the office at age 35

Clifton Earl Johnson ’67, first NCCU Law graduate to serve as resident superior court judge of Mecklenburg County and the first to sit on the N.C. Court of Appeals; in 1974, he became the first African American to serve as chief district court judge in Mecklenburg County and in North Carolina.

H.M. “Mickey” Michaux ’64, first African American to serve as a U.S. attorney in the South; longest serving member of the North Carolina General Assembly upon his retirement; The NCCU School of Education building was named after Rep. Michaux on June 15, 2007.

Floyd B. McKissick ’51, national executive director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); in 1972, he launched Soul City, North Carolina, the first new town sponsored primarily by African American enterprise.

The Honorable Elaine O’Neal ’91, first African American woman to be mayor of Durham; former N.C. Superior Court judge.

WANDA G. BRYANT GEORGE "GK” BUTTERFIELD

MICHAEL F. EASLEY

WILLIE E. GARY

CLIFTON EARL JOHNSON

H.M. ”MICKEY” MICHAUX

FLOYD B. McKISSICK

MAYNARD JACKSON

ELAINE O’NEAL

NCCU 142nd Commencement Exercises

Undergraduates, graduate and prefessional degrees were conferred during the two programs held Dec. 9, 2023 in McDougald-McLendon Arena. Among the highlights was the commencement address by Leland Melvin, a former wide receiver for the Detroit Lions and a NASA astronaut who flew two missions to the international space station.

CLASS OF 2023 BY THE NUMBERS

423 Undergraduates

210 Graduate and Professional Students

42,783 Community Service Hours

$1.36 million economic impact

LINDSAY ASHLEY POINTE

Walking the Graduation Stage after 40 Years

In December, 40 years after first stepping onto the NCCU campus, Felicia Lindsay collected her degree. Lindsay enrolled at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in fall 1983. During that term, she found out she was pregnant.

“My family was very disappointed and sent me back to New York,” Lindsay said. She married her son’s father, a high school friend, but the marriage didn’t last. As a single parent, Lindsay found raising a son and working fulltime difficult enough without adding university.

She was hired by a Walmart and worked the late shift as a cashier. The hours and wages improved when she was promoted to customer service and later to supervisor of the front of the store.

In 2018, Lindsay decided to give college another chance. Her son was grown and married with two sons of his own. Her aunt – who earned both a bachelor’s and law degree at NCCU – also encouraged her.

“She’s an advocate for education,” Lindsay said. “It doesn’t matter if you are 16 or 68.”

She found a new employer who, though paying less, would offer her the flexibility to attend classes. Concerned about whether she could handle university coursework after a 35-year hiatus, she started at Durham Technical Community College.

She had challenges. In 2019, she woke up one day with double vision and a continuation of weakening in her legs. She went to an emergency room and ended up in front of a neurologist who diagnosed an autoimmune disease named Myasthenia Gravis. It is incurable but non-life threatening and could be treated with medication.

“I went to Durham Tech with an eyepatch,” Lindsay said. “I felt if I let anything stop me (from attending college), life would get in the way of my continuing.” She graduated magna cum laude from Durham Tech and in 2021 returned to NCCU, where she enrolled in interdisciplinary studies. “My professors were great,” Lindsay said. “My classes were enjoyable.” Then 56 years old and with a lifetime of employment behind her, Lindsay’s academic aim was more about enrichment than preparing for a career.

In September 2023, she underwent replacement of her left knee. Through physical therapy, cortisone injections and using a cane, she continued at NCCU with online courses and, as of November 2023, had a grade point average of 3.89. Lindsay declared that nothing would stop her from attending commencement. “Even if I have to use the cane, I’m going to be there,” Lindsay said.

On Dec. 9, 40 years after first arriving at college, Lindsay walked across the NCCU graduation stage.

Teacher Inspired by Students to attend Law School

Sometimes teachers inspire students. For Ashley Pointe, her students inspired her to earn a law degree.

Pointe, who graduated from the School of Law at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) on Dec. 9, 2023 taught earth sciences for five years at Riverside High School in Williamston, North Carolina.

“Because I taught science, we could dive into forensic science,” Pointe said. “We would listen to the true crime podcasts and talk about different trials. One day a student said ‘I think you would be a good lawyer.’”

At first, Pointe dismissed the idea.

“Law school seemed a bit far-fetched,” Pointe said. “I am older than traditional students, married and have two kids.”

Then one of her students got into legal trouble and was sent to prison. That student is now six years into a 10-year sentence. Some of her other students also found themselves with legal challenges.

“The community we are a part of, it’s not conducive for certain types of students to thrive in,” Pointe said. “It really inspired me to do something more. If I pursue a legal career, I can help them navigate the legal process.”

Pointe spoke to her husband, her in-laws and her parents before resigning as a high school teacher and enrolling at NCCU School of Law in summer 2021.

It was not easy.

Her commute to law school from Monday – Thursday was four hours per day. While driving Pointe would re-listen to class lectures, YouTube videos and podcasts on legal topics.

In order to study, she spent less time with family and skipped social occasions and vacations. Her parents helped by watching her kids –ages three and four when she started law school – on weekends.

She spoke to her advisor, Professor Lydia Lavelle, J.D., about the difficulty of balancing family life with law school. Lavelle suggested Pointe take summer classes. She did, allowing her to graduate one semester early.

Pointe was scheduled to take the bar exam in February 2024. Pending passing, in March she started as an assistant public defender for North Carolina, working in Beaufort and Martin counties.

“If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you . . . that’s me!” Pointe said.

’BY MARK LAWTON

FELICIA

Taylor, named to Triangle Business Journal’s 2024 Women in Business class, said she exposes her son to as much as she can. For example, when she curated the opening of N.C. Freedom Park in Raleigh for Gov. Roy Cooper in 2023, Mansa joined her in the governor’s mansion.

NCCU Alumna Promotes Hip-Hop, Getting Happy and Farming

rystal E. Taylor ’05, wears many hats.

She’s CEO and founder of The Underground Collective, which provides a creative platform for artists in the hip-hop culture and spawned the Beats n Bars Festival, which debuted in 2015.

Taylor is executive director and founder of Get Happy, a nonprofit that helps communities of color find healing and happiness in nontraditional methods.

She is the mother of 5-year-old Mansa Alee Godwin.

Moreover, the North Carolina Central (NCCU) graduate is a fourth-generation farmer.

“When I tell people I’m a farmer they’re kind of surprised, but they know I’m a serious person and wouldn’t joke about that,” said Taylor, who earned a business administration degree from NCCU. Dannie and Agnes Mae Tatum, her late maternal grandparents, raised food on the farm and sold it to their community members,” Taylor said.

“They earned enough money to send my momma to medical school. They raised four children off doing what they could do, what they had to do," Taylor said.

After Taylor’s grandparents died, the farm went unattended. Her mother, who earned her undergraduate degree from NCCU, and her mother’s siblings had their own lives, and farming didn’t exactly fit into their plans.

Yet Taylor never forgot watching her grandparents sell food from their farm when she was a little girl growing up in Clinton, North Carolina – or the way people seemed to depend on it. After researching the plight of Black farmers in the United States, Taylor contacted her uncles to gauge their interest in resurrecting the farm. They were glad she did. Taylor and her uncle, Donald Tatum, have been tackling the farm as best they can,

but it hasn’t been easy. Taylor lives two hours away in Durham, and Tatum lives about four hours away in Virginia. Even so, Tatum recently remodeled the farmhouse, and Taylor gets to Clinton when she can to pitch in.

“I’m hoping to get to a place with Underground Collective where I can take some time to devote to the farm,” she said. “The farm is really where I want to be. My company is great. I enjoy it. But I’m 40 years old and have a 5-year-old. I find refuge and peace on the land, and can work from there. I enjoy riding on the tractor, rolling my hands in the dirt and growing things.”

Taylor said the first time she drove a tractor, she started at 8 a.m. and bushhogged (cleared) about eight acres.

When she called it quits at sunset, she was simultaneously exhausted, excited and liberated.

She wants to resuscitate the farm to honor her grandparents and to have something to leave her son. In the past her family farmed wheat and other crops, but nowadays Taylor and Tatum are experimenting with specialty garlic and considering raising asparagus.

Shawn Sullivan of Durham has known Taylor since hiring her as his administrative assistant at Blue Cross Blue Shield

several years ago. He said she is good at motivating people, making them feel appreciated and holding them accountable.

He’s not surprised by her plans to revive the farm and remembers watching her serve as director of wholesale and farmer relations at Durham’s Black Farmers Market.

If he has one concern, it’s that Taylor is spreading herself too thin. Even so, he said, given her tenacity and indomitable spirit, he won’t be surprised if she is successful with the farm.

Neither will Derrick Ward of Fayetteville, who met Taylor at a wedding a decade ago and was intrigued by her passion for hip hop and Black culture. Her plans for the farm make sense given what he knows about her drive and determination.

“It’s amazing, especially … with food being a hot commodity because nowadays everything is manufactured and mass produced,” Ward said. “To see that drive toward ensuring her family farm survives and continues to move forward, I think it’s important. I definitely respect and have an appreciation for that because I know it’s not easy.”

Like Sullivan, Ward is aware of the many enterprises in which Taylor’s involved. What is most impressive, he said, is how she includes her son.

“He’s a big part of what she does, and I think it’s amazing to grow up around that and to see that,” Ward said.

Taylor, named to Triangle Business Journal’s 2024 Women in Business class, said she exposes her son to as much as she can. For example, when she curated the opening of N.C. Freedom Park in Raleigh for Gov. Roy Cooper in 2023, Mansa joined her in the governor’s mansion.

Taylor said one impetus for the farm is to show her son the rewards that can come from hard work. She hopes by the end of 2024 she’ll be evenly splitting her time between Durham and Clinton.

And just how quickly does she foresee things progressing?

“I’d like to think in 2025 we could have our first farm-to-table dinner.”

’BY LAURIE WILLIS DAVIS

Alumna Offers P.O.W.E.R. to Single Parents

TARAZA N. TYLER ’10 , made the most of her time at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) as a member of the Student Government Association, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, the Student Activities Board, the Alpha Lambda Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and the cheerleading squad.

Today she is making the most of lessons learned at NCCU and from her mother and grandmother, while helping single parents improve their lives through P.O.W.E.R. Inc. Community, based in Cary, North Carolina.

Tyler founded Parents Owning Wealth Through Education & Resiliency as a nonprofit in 2018 to create a supportive space that empowers single parents to overcome and flourish amidst the myriad challenges of single parenthood.

The nonprofit’s website displays a quote by noted author, speaker and pastor John Maxwell that says, “Leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.”

P.O.W.E.R. is much more than just a business to Tyler, who grew up in a single-parent household and is a single parent to her daughter, Skylar, 9.

“I founded P.O.W.E.R., Inc. Community as a response to the unique challenges faced by single mothers, a journey I share with many,” Tyler said. “I chose to channel my personal experiences into an opportunity to provide support. Our community is dedicated to breaking the silence and alleviating the pain often associated with single parenthood.”

Through a holistic approach aimed at raising awareness about available resources, P.O.W.E.R. strives to bridge the gap between single parents and those resources while empowering them by upholding core values of integrity, accessibility, prosperity and resourcefulness.

Among P.O.W.E.R.’s offerings are mental health and wellness initiatives, including mindful walking, and educational initiatives, including end-of-grade/end-of-course (EOG/EOC) webinars, and a back-to-school program. The nonprofit also sponsors a Father’s Day basketball clinic, a Mother’s Day makeover and an annual conference to assist young girls and parents with healing and thriving.

Last year, P.O.W.E.R. served over 275 families through its annual Book Bag Drive and held its first community baby shower with partnering organizations, giving away diapers, clothes, formula, wipes, car seats and other supplies.

Asia Cunningham, principal of Pearsontown Elementary School in Durham, has known Tyler since they grew up in Duplin County. Their relationship strengthened at NCCU, where they both participated in the Upward Bound program and joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Professionally they have collaborated on community and advocacy work, including feeding families at Thanksgiving, donating toys at Christmas and educating parents on best practices to prepare their children for school.

“We both share a passion for education and determining the resources that will help connect our children, particularly children of color,” Cunningham said. “We both came from humble beginnings and were the first in our families to go to college. Taraza embodies the work we do as Black women and as a single mother.”

Cunningham follows Tyler on Facebook and believes greater things are in store for her. Atop Tyler’s bio on the P.O.W.E.R. website is a quote by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that says, “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”

Members of the board of P.O.W.E.R.

Valencia Faulkner of Virginia Beach, Virginia, comptroller for the U.S. Navy, has known Tyler for 16 years. They met through Delta Sigma Theta, and today Faulkner’s a member of the P.O.W.E.R. Board of Directors and Skylar’s godmother.

“Ms. Tyler is successful because she understands the power of networking and community,” Faulkner said. “She can communicate P.O.W.E.R.’s initiatives in any room she enters to ensure the needs of her clientele are always met. She succeeds in her professional and personal life. She and her daughter have a tight bond.”

Faulkner described Tyler as trustworthy, reliable, outgoing, supportive and determined. “Ms. Tyler has always shown up for me, even if that means taking a three-hour drive and going back the same day. She always builds community and supports those she loves while never giving up on her personal goals.” Faulkner and Cunningham admire Tyler’s heart and willingness to care for others but hope she makes time for self-care.

Tyler, whose hobbies include spending time with family and friends, bowling, reading, traveling, and journaling, said she takes time for herself and the importance of doing so is among values instilled in her by her mother and grandmother.

A recipient of NCCU’s ‘40 Under 40’ award, Tyler credits her alma mater with playing a pivotal role in shaping her.

“NCCU instilled the belief that I can overcome any challenges I face,” Tyler said. “Embracing the University’s motto of ‘Truth and Service,’ I attribute my personal growth and the impact I am making in the single-parent community to the experiences I had during my time at NCCU. It was at NCCU that I found my voice and learned the significance of community partnerships, fostering long-lasting relationships, actively participating in my community and the value of service.”

’BY LAURIE WILLIS DAVIS

NCCU Football Team Honors Athlete-Artist Alumnus with Patch

URING THE SEPT. 16, 2023 GAME AGAINST UCLA , those paying close attention to North Carolina Central University (NCCU) football players saw that their uniforms bore an additional patch.

The patch showed a painting of an upside-down football helmet filled with paintbrushes. Underneath are the words ‘NCCU Football 1956-60’ and the signature of its creator, Ernie Barnes.

Ernest Eugene Barnes Jr. was born in Durham in 1938 and attended then-named North Carolina College at Durham on a full athletics scholarship. He ran track and played both tackle and center on the football team.

As a student, Barnes developed his other passion, majoring in art.

“He attributed his art, his style and his training to North Carolina Central University,” said Luz Rodriguez, manager of Barnes’ estate. “He spent a lot of time in the [Fine] Arts building.”

In November 1959, Barnes was drafted by the Baltimore Colts football team, according to www.erniebarnes.com. Over the next few years, he played professional football for the Titans of New York, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. In 1965, he signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Canada. During an exhibition game he fractured his right foot, ending his football career.

Barnes then turned to painting. He impressed Sonny Werblin, then owner of the New York Jets, who hired him to paint sports. Barnes held his first solo exhibition in 1966 in New York City.

Over the decades his paintings appeared in galleries, album covers, at least one billboard, television shows, movies and art museums.

The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh recently bought one of Barnes’

paintings for its permanent collection, said Rodriguez, and another painting is on loan to the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Throughout his life, Barnes returned to NCCU to speak to students, Rodriquez said, and he attributed his art, style and training to the university.

Barnes died in April 2009 in Los Angeles.

While in Los Angeles, the NCCU football team not only wore the Barnes patch but also saw an exhibit of Barne’s paintings hanging at SoFi Stadium where the Los Angeles Rams play.

“When I found out that NCCU was coming to play UCLA, I knew that Ernie Barnes had to be involved,” Rodriguez said. “[Los Angeles] is his adopted city. I wanted a patch not just for the team to wear but to commemorate Ernie’s school and city.”

Football Coach Trei Oliver liked the idea.

“We want to honor someone who impressed, really, the whole world with his expertise,” Oliver said. “For us to go to California where some of [Barnes’] family still lives, it was a great time to do it.”

’BY MARK LAWTON

The patch showed a painting of an upside-down football helmet filled with paintbrushes. Underneath are the words ‘NCCU Football 1956-60’ and the signature of its creator, Ernie Barnes.

Newspaper Experience Echoes

From Editor-in-chief to Arts and Community Voices

MICHAEL S. WILLIAMS ’03, IS FOUNDER OF THE BLACK ON BLACK PROJECT, which started as a space for Black curators to present the work of Black artists. Today, The Black on Black Project presents fine arts, produces short films, and offers events and programs aimed at encouraging dialogue among all members of the community – particularly among those who tend to be least heard.

“The arts are a great way to engage people,” Williams said. “I don’t want spectacle, I want intellectualism. Here I am today, doing what I always wanted to do, gathering information and packaging it.”

Williams started early. Raised in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Williams began writing about baseball for a local newspaper while in high school. When it came time to choose a university, he was impressed by the leadership at North Carolina Central University (NCCU).

“We had this civil rights legend as chancellor, Julius L. Chambers,” Williams said. “He had the first integrated law firm in North Carolina. He fought the busing desegregation case in Charlotte. I was like, dude, I have to go to this university.”

He studied English with a concentration in journalism and at the end of his freshman year became sports editor for the Campus Echo. As a junior, he became editor-in-chief, a position he held for two years.

“We used to win all those Black college awards,” Williams recalled. “A lot of that had to do with DP (Campus Echo adviser Bruce Depyssler). He just believed in us and the power of our voices in a way that I’m not sure even we did. He is to be commended for that.”

“Mike was all energy,” Depyssler said. “A real lively guy. He pushed us to go from six editions to eight editions per semester.”

Following graduation, Williams considered law school or earning an MBA but instead found work as a designer and writer for the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper.

In the mid 2010s, he and a partner were asked to put on an exhibit by an arts organization. They called the exhibit “Black on Black.” Williams was hooked.

In 2016, he founded the Black on Black Project. Nowadays, Williams consults on art projects across North Carolina.

“African American artists talk about things African Americans go through,” Williams said. “They have dialogues about these things.

Photo by Kelly Starbuck

We are continuing a tradition we have always had through the civil rights movement.”

Topics include police interactions with young Black people and gentrification.

“Community engagement is a big piece,” Williams said. “Artists spend a lot of time in communities understanding people – especially elders and young people – and their needs. The artist can really embody what they have gained from members of the community. My goal is to continue to share voices that sometimes get ignored.”

Williams responsibilities’ include initial research, leading discussions around subjects and directing short films.

“All this is a result of me understanding my agency from being at NCCU, a historically Black university, and being able to engage in journalism at the Campus Echo,” Williams said. “The Echo helped me chart a pathway to get there.”

All this is a result of me understanding my agency from being at NCCU, a historically Black university, and being able to engage in journalism at the Campus Echo. The Echo helped me chart a pathway to get there.”

— Michael S. Williams ’03

through Alumni Lives

From Student Newspaper to Novelist

When it comes to writing dialogue for his crime and noir novels, Matt Phillips ’13, attributes his ability to working at the Campus Echo student newspaper.

“What I repurposed is to sit and listen to people speak and tell their stories,” Phillips said. “When you are writing fiction, there is this premise that it is all made up. Fiction is (actually) a composite from listening to people tell their stories.”

It helped that faculty advisor, Bruce Depyssler, Ph.D., taught him a sort of shorthand for writing down quotes. “That practice of writing direct speech from human beings, that made me the writer I am,” Phillips said. “A language of conversation that sounds and feels real.”

Phillips, whose latest novel “A Good Rush of Blood,” was published in November, received encouragement to write as early as sixth or seventh grade.

“I distinctly remember a teacher saying, ‘you should try a bit harder, you’re actually pretty good at this," Phillips said.

In high school in Palm Springs, California, he worked on the student newspaper and in his teens and 20s he wrote poetry.

He moved to North Carolina when the woman who became his wife was accepted to graduate school. Phillips took courses at Durham Technical Community College.

“I lived in Chapel Hill,” he said. “I would ride my bike and I always rode through Central.”

He looked up North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and found that the Department of Mass Communication was then part of the Department of English – allowing him to enroll in lots of English and journalism courses. At age 27, he applied and was accepted.

“I was a horrible high school student and a multiple community college flunk-out,” Phillips said. “I did well in the courses I cared about and crappy on general education courses I did not care about. Central was the avenue of access for me and frankly it changed my life.”

Part of that change occurred due to working for the Campus Echo. In August 2011, he approached the then editor-in-chief, who assigned him a story about a Bachata musician. After turning in the story, the editor-in-chief said he needed an editor for the arts & entertainment section. Phillips accepted.

“It really was the crux of my education,” Phillips said. “Project-based learning with multiple other students and we had a voice. I can report on stories that I think are meaningful and they get published. It was fun to stay late on Tuesday nights to get the Echo in and to the printer.”

Depyssler was impressed with how well Phillips did as an editor, particularly with students who came to him with their first stories.

“He had total patience,” Depyssler said. “He would always say, ‘Does that make sense?’”

Phillips recalls writing election day stories in 2012 and feature stories about community members. In spring of his senior year, he gained an internship at the Denver Post, largely writing about painters, artists and musicians.

After graduating from NCCU in May 2013, he bounced around a bit. First, he moved to Denver to write feature stories, then to Palm Springs, California, to select films for a film festival, and next to El Paso, Texas, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at the University of Texas.

Phillips has a day job working in student affairs for the University of Arizona global campus. But he has had a parallel career as a writer with eight published novels. His crime stories began getting printed in small publications in 2008, and his first novel, a noir titled “Three Kinds of Fool,” was published in 2016.

’BY MARK LAWTON

That practice of writing direct speech from human beings, that made me the writer I am.”

— Matt Phillips ’13

BRUCE DEPYSSLER, PH.D. associate professor Campus Echo advisor

TRUTH AND SERVICE LEAD ALUMNA TO PUBLIC SERVICE

HELEN NELSON ’96, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and a law degree at Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. Born and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, she is employed as an assistant county attorney for the Cumberland County Attorney’s Office.

Nelson’s responsibilities include litigating matters in court, real property transactions, advising county officials, the Board of Elections, and the planning and inspections department.

Before pursuing a career in law, Nelson said it is important to conduct research.

“Ensure that you’re capable of handling the responsibility of advocating for others and serving the community,” Nelson said, adding a Bible quote: ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’

Helping others is a priority for Nelson.

“I am inspired by our alma mater’s motto, ‘Truth and Service,’ which NCCU reinforced in me,” Nelson said. “I carry that principle out in the community and use it to my best ability.”

While she is enthusiastic about helping others, Nelson warns that “practicing law does take a toll on you because you are usually witnessing and interacting with people at their

lowest point. Decompressing and prioritizing your mental health is essential to avoiding burnout.”

Serving the community is something she takes beyond the courtroom.

Nelson volunteers with the Junior League of Fayetteville, the Fayetteville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the NCCU Alumni Association along with its Fayetteville Chapter.

She previously served as a mentor with Connections of Cumberland, an organization that mentors single women and teaches them about finances and education options.

As an advisor to the county Board of Elections, Nelson shared her thoughts about how the community can make an informed vote during the 2024 national election.

“As we gear toward the 2024 presidential election, it is important that we encourage increased voting participation in the African American community. We cannot complain about our representatives and how they are shaping laws affecting us if we are not exercising our rights to vote and making our voices be heard with those who are elected,” Nelson said.

She advocates voting on both national and local elections. “Local officials more directly affect what happens in our communities,” Nelson said. “Voters are generally unaware that most courts and council meetings are open to the public, and the community should use the opportunities to observe the individuals you are voting for.”

Nelson encourages individuals to offer their time, talents and resources to give back to the community.

’

BY CHANCE THWEAT

We cannot complain about our representatives and how they are shaping laws affecting us if we are not exercising our rights to vote and making our voices be heard with those who are elected.”

—HELEN NELSON ’96

Alumna Encourages Brain

Health and Helps People with Dementia

LATORIUS ADAMS ’10, IS A SOCIAL/CLINICAL RESEARCH SPECIALIST

in the Department of Neurology in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Originally from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, Adams studied health education at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and completed her bachelor’s degree even though she gave birth to her daughter during her senior year. “She was three weeks old when I walked across the graduation stage,” Adams recalled. Adams also earned a master’s degree in health sciences at Western Carolina University in 2018.

Where did you work after graduation?

Harnett County Department of Public Health for 10 years. After graduating, they hired me full time. I worked in the mobile mammography unit, helping low-income and uninsured women to get breast exams. Then the Division on Aging, where I assisted older adults who were homebound. It was to keep them at home vs going to a nursing home. I did Medicare counseling, arranged Meals on Wheels, worked with caregivers who helped those with dementia, arranged supplies and coordinated aides to sit with people.

What are your main responsibilities at UNC-Chapel Hill?

I am program coordinator for the NC Registry for Brain Health. It is an email registry where individuals can sign up and receive news and get tools to maintain a

healthy brain. I do a lot of outreach and community events. I do brain health talks at a lot of rural African American churches in Wake County and Harnett County. Recently, I became social worker for the UNC Huntington Disease program. Huntington disease is a type of dementia. That’s 80% of my job: educating patients and families, connecting them with resources. Some might need home health care, physical therapy and assistance with the disability process.

Where do your clients come from?

They could live in rural areas of North Carolina. We have individuals who are incarcerated. We help train law enforcement on how to approach these individuals. Huntington disease can come across as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, African Americans are two to three times as likely to develop dementia as whites. Why? There are several studies going on about that data. There is a lack of access to medical care. In a lot of counties in North Carolina, transportation is a major issue. Or they don’t have money for gas. There is also a lot of mistrust in the African American community with doctors and when it comes to clinical trials.

Why the mistrust?

The medical establishment has a long history of mistreating Black Americans –from gruesome experiments on enslaved people to the forced sterilization of Black women and the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study that withheld treatment from hundreds of Black men for decades to let doctors track the course of the disease.

Why is it important for African Americans to participate in clinical trials?

It is all for the greater good, to see what (researchers) can do to stop or slow dementia. People are living longer and the numbers of dementia are increasing. There are so many forms of dementia – Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s – and they all have different treatment.

Is dementia a normal part of aging? No. There is normal aging and there is cognitive impairment. You might forget your kids’ birthdays but if you forgot you had kids, that is more of an issue.

How did your time at North Carolina Central University make possible what you now do with your life?

My education there majoring in public health helped me grow compassion for the people. You are informing people about important health topics. I just fell in love with that and helping communities and older adults. NCCU provided the tools and the capacity to go out in the world and make a difference.

’BY MARK LAWTON

MAGGIE LEE POOLE BRYANT

’38, ’43, ’57 | NCCU's oldest living alumna, Maggie P. Bryant, passed on Feb. 25, 2024, at the of age 108.

Bryant studied history and library science and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1938. While working, she pursued her bachelor’s (1943) and master’s degrees (1957) in library science.

After graduation, she began her career at G. C. Hawley High School in Creedmoor, NC, librarian and teacher at George Washington Carver High School in Kannapolis, NC, and retired in 1982. Maggie worked in education for 43 years and received many awards and recognition for her dedication to education.

’40 | Alice Wilhelmina Jones Logan, died age 103 in Durham, NC on Aug. 5, 2022

’43 | Eliza Smith Jones, died age 103 in Goldsboro, NC on Nov. 26, 2023

’47 | Carthenia Clark Mann, died age 90 in New Bern, NC on July 1, 2022

’48 | Carrye Kirk Ferguson, died age 95 in Adamsville, GA on April 19, 2023

’49 | Quinton King Claudius Havard Wall, died age 93 in Smithfield, NC on Aug. 13, 2022

’49 | Harold Earl Johnson, died age 98 in Columbia, MD on Aug. 8, 2022

’49 | Robert L. McAdams, died age 95 in Durham, NC on Sept. 19, 2022

’54 | Nathaniel Hilton Lipscomb, died age 90 in Richmond, VA on Sept. 5, 2022

’54 | Mary Morton Moore, died at age 90 in Durham, NC on Jan. 15, 2023

’54 | Ollie Annie Williams

Wesley, died age 92 in Ann Arbor, MI on Jan. 9, 2024

’55 | Yvonne Scruggs Leftwich, died age 89 in Hanover, MD on Sept. 16, 2022

’55 | Georgia Marie McCoy Bradsher, died age 91 in Burlington, NC on Feb. 29, 2024

’55 | Florence DuPree Prince, died age 68 in Durham, NC on Oct. 9, 2023

’56, ’58 | Samuel “Sammie” Chess, Jr., died age 88 in Jamestown, NC on July 23, 2022

’56 | Albert Einstein Handy, died in Baltimore, MD at age 93 on Jan. 19, 2024

’57 | Bertha Hopkins Breese, died in Durham, NC on Sept. 21, 2022

’58 | Alfred “Al” Erskine Richardson, died age 86 in Bethel Park, MD on Aug. 10, 2022

’58, ’66 | Joseph Alston, died age 86 in Durham, NC on June 3, 2023

’61 | Burnella Jane Jackson Ransom, died at age 82 in Atlanta, GA on Feb. 2, 2023

’61 | Nora Bernice Barnes, died at age 83 in New York, NY on Aug. 5, 2022

’62 | William Earl Wilson, died age 88 in Greenville, NC on Jan. 17, 2024

’62 | Brenda B. BetheaHughes, died age 82 in Springdale, MD on Nov. 25, 2023

’63 | George Washington Pierce, died age 91 in Durham, NC on June 25, 2022

’63 | James Robert Lewis, died age 84 in Durham, NC on May 15, 2023

’63 | Charlotte Elaine Harding Maye , died age 85 in Greensboro, NC on Aug. 12, 2023

’64 | Phyllis Coward Rogers, died age 81 in Durham, NC on Jan. 12, 2023

’65 | Laurie Brooks Smith, died age 77 in Durham, NC on Aug. 4, 2022

’66 | Samuel Harvey Frink, died age 78 in Myrtle Beach, SC on Sept. 4, 2022

’67 | Linda Pearce-Thomas, died age 77 in Wilmington, NC on Sept. 24, 2023

’68 | Charles Edward Daye, died age 78 in Durham, NC on Dec. 24, 2022

’68 | Irma Jean Tucker Mason, died age 79 in High Point, NC on Sept. 27, 2022

’70 | Peggy Borden Watson-Alexander, died age 74 in Durham, NC on Sept. 9, 2022

’70 | Roy Lee Cuttino, died age 77 in Durham, NC on Oct. 1, 2022

’71 | David Leonard Mack, died age 73 in Durham, NC on Sept. 26, 2023

JUDGE SAMMIE CHESS JR. ’56, ’58

71 | Rosa Shearin, died age 73 in Scotland Neck, NC on Feb. 9, 2023

’71 | Betty Jean Bullock Brodie, died age 73 in Los Angeles, CA on Feb. 19, 2023

’71, 72 | Isaac Evans McGraw ll, died age 76 in Durham, NC on Jan. 18, 2024

’71 | Floyd Williams, died age 75 in Plainfield, NJ on April 21, 2023

’71 | William Levin Slade, died age 73 in Durham, NC on Sept. 8, 2022

’71 | Sherry Merritt Nesmith, died age 73 in Durham, NC on Aug. 16, 2023

’71 | Clayton Anthony Murphy, died age 74 in Garner, NC on Sept. 27, 2023

’71 | Herbert L. Brodie, died age 74 in Durham, NC on Feb. 24, 2024

’72 | Tawana Nivens

Wilson-Allen, died age 72 in Charlotte, NC on Dec. 12, 2022

’72 | Rhonda Gail Perry, died age 73 in Eagle Rock, NC on Aug. 5, 2023

’73 | Carl M. Alexander, died age 72 in Owings Mills, MD on Sept. 10, 2023

’73 | Victor Curtis Morrison, Sr. , died age 73 in Durham, NC on March 7, 2024

’73 | George Washington Williams, died age 71 in Durham, NC on Jan. 30, 2023

’75 | Roslyn Michelle Mitchell, died age 70 in Durham, NC on June 4, 2023

’75 | Lawrence Ford, Jr., died age 73 in Durham, NC on March 1, 2024

’76 | Larry Sylvester Height, died age 69 in Raleigh, NC on Dec. 1, 2023

HOWARD MONROE FITTS JR., PH.D.

’41, ’46 | Howard Fitts Jr., Ph.D., age 101, passed away on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Fitts was professor emeritus at North Carolina Central University and as a recognized advocate for public health, he shared his passion with Eagles during his time at NCCU serving as professor and chair of the university’s health education department from 1954 to 1987. Fitts, a double Eagle, earned an undergraduate degree in 1941 and a master’s degree in 1946.

CLEON F. THOMPSON JR., PH.D.

’41, ’56, ’58 | Cleon F. Thompson Jr., Ph.D., a distinguished leader in higher education, passed away on Jan. 27, 2024. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from NCCU. Thompson served as interim chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University and chancellor of Winston-Salem State University. At WSSU, he focused on academic enhancements, faculty recruitment, refining admission requirements, developing the general studies program development and revitalizing the School of Nursing. His WSSU legacy lives on through the Cleon F. Thompson Jr. Student Services Center, completed in 1996.

NATHAN GARRETT

’86 I Nathan Garrett became the first African American Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in North Carolina. He earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University, studied accounting and business at Wayne State University, and earned his Juris Doctor from NCCU School of Law. In 1962, he opened his own accounting firm. After years of hard work, his firm became the largest and oldest minority-owned firm in North Carolina. Garrett practiced as a CPA from 1964–2004 and received the NCACPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

NORMAN B. ANDERSON, PH.D.

’76 I Norman B. Anderson, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and well-known leader in the behavioral and social sciences, passed away on March 1, 2024.

He received his bachelor’s degree from NCCU, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from UNC Greensboro. Anderson served as a clinical resident at Brown University School of Medicine and as a post-doctoral research fellow at Duke University School of Medicine.

MARVIN MARABLE BASS

’71 I Marvin Marable Bass passed away Nov. 27, 2023. Bass was a graduate of the NCCU class of 1971 and founder, owner and operator of Eagleland, home of NCCU paraphernalia. Prior to his entrepreneurship, Marvin was employed at North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company for 13 years.

LUANN EDMONDS-HARRIS RALEY

’75 | LuAnn Edmonds-Harris Raley passed away on March 2, 2024. A Durham native and 1975 NCCU graduate with a bachelor's degree in theater arts, Edmonds-Harris began her professional career at her alma mater as an admissions counselor in 1986 and became the head cheerleading coach in 1992.

She was a member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), NCCU Alumni Association and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Edmonds-Harris was inducted into the Alex M. Rivera NCCU Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 30, 2023.

’83, ’86 | Elaine Herndon Yarborough, died age 74 in Durham, NC on Dec. 25, 2022

’83 | Gladys Fowler Graves, died age 76 in Blanch, NC on Feb. 6, 2024

’85 | April Deon Clark Harmon, died age 59 in Norfolk, VA on Sept. 27, 2022

’85 | Donna Peerman Spinks, died at age 63 in Greensboro, NC on April 2, 2023

’87 | William Lee Satterwhite ll, died age 55 in Durham, NC on Feb. 12, 2024

’88 | Peter Moore, died age 61 in Washington DC on April 1, 2023

’89 | Tonya Renee Long, died age 56 in Elizabeth City, NC on Oct. 12, 2022

’94, ’07 | Johnie Albert Riddick Jr., died age 51 in Wake Forest, NC on Jan. 12, 2023

’97 | Johnathan Brian Horton, died age 46 in Durham, NC, on Sept. 15, 2022

’08 | Antoine Ramon Totten, died age 37 in Reidsville, NC on Dec. 2, 2022

’14 | Cloyce Lassiter Hunter, died age 50 in Durham, NC on April 28, 2023

’18 | Emmanuel K. Awumey, died age 34 in Durham, NC on Aug. 22, 2022

KIAN McKINLEY BROWN

’06, ’21 | Kian Brown, national vice president of the NCCU Alumni Association Inc., died May 2, 2023.

’76, ’79 | Lowell Lesesne Siler, died age 68 in Durham, NC on Sept. 6, 2022

’78 | Victor Birks, died in Mitchellville, MD on Feb. 4, 2023

’78 | David Herman Harris, Jr., died age 67 in Salisbury, NC on June 26, 2023

’79 | Curtis Martin, died age 66 in Bowie, MD on July 19, 2023

’80 | Pamela Stanback Glean, died age 66 in Durham, NC on Jan. 20, 2023

’81 | Roderick Bernard Tate, died age 62 in Waxhaw, NC on July 2, 2022

As an NCCU student, Brown held several leadership roles, including Student Government Association president and senior vice president of the University of North Carolina Association of Student Governments (ASG). He earned a bachelor's degree in history education and master's degree in educational technology from the university. In 2019, he served as the keynote speaker at NCCU’s Honors Convocation.

A personal branding expert and philanthropist, Brown was founding partner of Millennium Sports Management Group, tailored to help professional athletes and public figures with their humanitarian efforts, and co-founder of the Urban Male Leadership Academy, designed to empower and mentor males of color. He was named among the 'Most Influential People of African Decent Under 40' and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.

GOLDEN EAGLE CLASS OF 1973

Around the World and Investing in NCCU

DAVID AND TINA SCHMOOCK

have had the world as their backdrop throughout their 36 years together. Tina, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and David, who grew up in San Jose, California, have lived in Singapore, France and major U.S. cities, including New York and Austin.

“We’ve had the opportunity to travel worldwide as a military family and expose our two children to different cultures and have been living a blessed life,” said Tina. Their time in the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) was where they connected to North Carolina Central University (NCCU) through their children’s high school assistant principal, James Hopkins.

Hopkins, an NCCU graduate, was then working in Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public Schools and is now the principal of Lyons Park Elementary School in Durham.

“We worked with Mr. Hopkins on initiatives that helped get Lyons Park from an F to a C grade while focusing on literacy and math,” David said. “Tina and I are passionate about helping the next generation and investing in underserved communities.

Hopkins believed that some of NCCU’s work would complement the work we had collaborated on at the primary and secondary school levels.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

The couple is intentional with their giving and have invested more than $1.03 million in NCCU during fiscal year 2023. Their generosity includes gifts to the School of Education, including the Curriculum Materials Center Library and the naming of a classroom, the School of Business and NCCU Sound Machine.

“We discussed initiatives to support at NCCU and saw the Marathon Teaching Institute program that focuses on attracting minority males to teach at the elementary school level,” the Schmoocks said.

They met with Audrey Beard, Ph.D., dean of the School of Education, and Latasha Hicks Becton, Ph.D., assistant professor of Counselor Education Programs, and started a scholarship program to facilitate such outcomes.

“There are very few minority males that enter the elementary teaching profession, and we believe that the K-5 age is when you mold young people to have success as they must graduate from elementary school with a solid foundation to build off,” they said.

The Schmoocks’ giving is grounded in a belief that they want to see “how you can be excellent in what you do. We put the seeds and groundwork in place along with the university that allows the tree to grow.

[The question is] how you foster it so you can look back and say, ‘we’ve made a difference.’”

Their investment in the Marathon Teaching Institute was just the beginning. The couple was introduced to Anthony Nelson, Ph.D., dean of the School of Business, and started the Tina Schmoock Opportunity Scholarship. The program focused on providing aid, mentorship, internship and other non-academic activities to set the students up for success when they graduate.

Giving to NCCU was a unique experience for the Schmoocks, who are not alumni of the institution but believe in its students, mission and administration.

“We have found willing and collaborative partners at NCCU that enable us to find areas we are passionate about and work on developing programs that we believe will make a difference long term,” they said.

“One thing that stands out to us is that NCCU is a leader among first-generation college graduates. We believe that this step makes a generational difference in the future of families."

David Schmoock (left) and Tina Schmoock (2nd from right) donate to the NCCU Foundation.

INVESTING IN ATHLETIC SUCCESS

The success of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Athletics is undisputed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Division I Athletics.

HARRY STAFFORD, M.D., CSCS, MBA , has been on the frontlines and sidelines for Eagle athletics teams since 2002, when he graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He began at NCCU as an intern in sports medicine and worked in the training room and on the sidelines during games.

A high school athlete, Stafford earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the track team. Along with athletics, he developed a passion to serve early in life.

“It all starts with my upbringing: my mom was a schoolteacher, and my dad was a funeral director,” Stafford said. “I grew up helping people, whether spending time in church or volunteering in shelters.”

associate director of the Duke Sports Medicine Institute and holds an appointment in the department of orthopedics and family medicine.

In high school, Stafford realized that he liked medicine and believed he would be a cardiothoracic surgeon until he took a course in medical school and was required to stand on his feet for hours. When the assignment ended, his limbs were numb, and he quickly changed his specialty.

Currently, Stafford serves as the head team physician and director of sports performance for NCCU and chief medical officer for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Additionally, he is the

Bridging Art, Education and Library Science

IT WAS RESEARCH that led Debra D. Lemonds, an expert photo researcher, to support North Carolina Central University (NCCU).

A Southern California resident, Lemonds has spent her storied career gathering art and photography, primarily for books. Her credits include serving as photo editor and researcher for a series of 25 books on Olympics history. Currently, she works for an antiquarian bookseller.

“I wanted to contribute to a historically Black college or university,” Lemonds said. “I looked at NCCU’s website and called the university. It was a belated birthday gift to myself.”

“Over the years, we’ve taken a more holistic approach to caring for the student-athlete population of the university,” Stafford said. “We have defined five priorities and offerings for sports performance at NCCU and added to the offerings: nutrition, mental health, chiropractic care, physical therapy and athletic training. These are the same offerings that are found at Power 5 institutions.”

He is proud of the changes and how they impact student-athletes' health and wellness.

Stafford’s passion for enriching students’ lives has flourished over the years.

“It’s rewarding to see student athletes progress,” Stafford said. “Ultimately, we want to keep them from getting hurt.”

He adds, “We have brought nutrition, holistic care and mental health to other MEAC and CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) institutions, which will benefit all historically Black colleges and universities.”

The overall investment made by Stafford and his medical team over the years is incalculable, but likely totals millions of dollars, based on their investment of time, in-kind support and resources.

In August 2021, Lemonds was connected to the Division of Institutional Advancement.

“As our discussion developed, I asked which schools or colleges needed resources and funding. I decided to create an endowment to benefit the School of Education and the School of Library and Information Sciences.”

Both schools served Lemonds’ interests. “I thought ‘perfect.’ I so admire education [and educators],” she said. “Their skills, warmth, intuitiveness and inventiveness have a tremendous impact that continues for many generations.

Libraries are fabulous spaces and librarians are doing good, meaningful work.”

She adds, “I want to take the financial burden off those who may need assistance. I am lucky to be able to do so. Getting a good education helps a person’s analytical skills and information gathering capacity and leads to expanded horizons and life-long learning.”

Lemonds’ fund is appropriately named the Tall Sky Endowment because, as she said, “We are the Eagles.”

NCCU ATHLETICS TEAMS HAD A GREAT YEAR

NCCU FOOTBALL 9-3 SEASON

 NCCU MADE ITS FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE NCAA DIVISION I-FCS PLAYOFFS on Nov. 25, 2023 in a road contest against the University of Richmond, at Robins Stadium, in Richmond, Va. The matchup was between two top-25 nationally-ranked teams.

MEAC Offensive Player of the Year

Davius Richard

 QUARTERBACK DAVIUS

RICHARD was named the 2023 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Offensive Player of the Year for a second consecutive season. Richard was also one of 16 finalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award.

 LINEMAN TORRICELLI

SIMPKINS III was named the 2023 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year.

 PUNTER JUAN VALARDE was one of only 22 college football players in the nation to earn distinguished recognition for exemplary community impact as a member of the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®.

VALARDE

SIMPKINS

RICHARD

Photo by Kevin L. Dorsey

SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL CHAMPIONS

CROSS COUNTRY

 Senior RACHEL OZIO and graduate student LADERIQUE McNEILL posted the best individual finishes at the MEAC Cross Country Championship in NCCU program history which was a new program-best results since the Eagles joined the league in 2011-12 season.

In November, Senior Ozio and sophomore EMMANUEL PADDYFOTE became the first two Eagles to ever cross the finish line at an NCAA Division I Southeast Regional.

 THE NCCU SOFTBALL TEAM won its first-ever MEAC Softball Championship last season. The Eagles are trying to defend their title under the leadership of the reigning MEAC Coach of the Year, Cat Tarvin.

OZIO McNEILL

VOLLEYBALL

 NCCU AND DUKE UNIVERSITY VOLLEYBALL TEAMS held a community day event at the Boys & Girls Club in Durham on Sept. 6, prior to their matchup on Sept. 13 in McDougaldMcLendon Arena.

 The 22nd Annual HBCU National Tennis Championships took place on Sept. 14-17, 2023, at the South Fulton Tennis Center, South Fulton, Ga.

NCCU women's tennis finished with 108 points, which was 15 points ahead of their opponent, Florida A&M, to earn the team victory.

Swim for Charlie is a nonprofit organization that teaches second-grade students from 15 Durham Public Schools how to swim. Since 2020, the nonprofit has taught students at the swimming pool in the LeRoy T. Walker Physical Education Complex at North Carolina Central University (NCCU).

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(continued from page 65)

During the 2022-2023 academic year, 788 students were taught to swim, including those with special needs. The majority of those students – 79% – started with no swimming skills. By the end of the eight-week program, some students were able to float on their backs, swim a lap of the pool and complete a shallow dive.