150 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

6 UAPB Students Receive MBA Degrees

UAPB School of Business and Management awarded first MBA degrees since the program launched in 2021.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) School of Business and Management graduated its first six students from the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program during the commencement ceremony held on May 6.

UAPB remembers its founder, Professor Joseph Carter Corbin

The university’s first president was recognized for his contribution and achievement in state’s higher education.

By Arkansawyer Staff Writer

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) held Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the school’s foundation.

More than two hundred people gathered in the STEM Building to recognize the legacy of the university’s first president, Joseph Carter Corbin, who is revered as the “Father of Higher Education” for African Americans in Arkansas and the founder of Pine Bluff’s Branch Normal College in 1873, later renamed Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal

College (AM&N) and now known as UAPB.

The program’s mistress of ceremony, Gladys Turner Finney, a UAPB alum and author of a biography of Corbin, said in her opening remarks, “I’m an heir to the legacy of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin. Edmund Burke said, ‘People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.’ Today, we pause to look back, reflect, and honor the life and work of Corbin, who laid the foundation for higher education for African Americans in Arkansas.”

UAPB celebrates 150th anniversary during the Founder’s Week

The week-long celebration began April 17 with a theme “150 Years of Excellence: Mission, Milestones, and Memories.” worked to make UAPB what it is today.

The celebration started with a “campus kickoff” held at the W.E. O’Bryant Bell Tower on April 17. The event featured UAPB students, faculty, alums, community members, and local organizations. The campus was lined with onlookers cheering on the procession, including the UAPB March Band and the Golden Girls and Spirit teams.

This year’s graduates earned an MBA in business analytics: David Laurence Alexander, De’Neshia Nicole Gaines, Rodney H. Griffin, Kaila Janae Robinson, Nikita Shante Seahorn and Alyssa Maria Wesley.

“The students enrolled in our MBA program strive for excellence in all facets of our program, which includes research-to-work, and continuously hone their leadership skills, strategic thinking, and teamwork,” said Lawrence Awopetu, interim dean of the School of Business and Management. “I’m wonderfully proud of our graduates

UAPB hosts “Career Exhibit”

The event attracted over 120 organizations.

By Kur’an Suluki Staff Writer

By Gia Turner Staff Writer

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) celebrated its 150th anniversary with a Founder’s Celebration.

The event, held on April 17-23, was a momentous opportunity for students, faculty, alums and community members to come together and commemorate the university’s rich history and promising future.

Founded in 1873, UAPB started as a historically black college and university (HBCU) called Branch Normal College and later known as Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (AM&N). In its early days, the school provided education and opportunities to students in the local area during perilous times such as the Jim Crow era. By looking back at where it all began, the founder’s day celebration was an opportunity to honor the visionaries who founded the university and the countless individuals who have

Following the kickoff, the celebration continued with a movie night on Tuesday. This event was followed by the Silent Headphone Skate Party hosted by the UAPB Programming Board on Wednesday. The crowd was skating and singing along to classic songs and modern hits.

The remainder of the week was filled with various awards, convocations, recitals and activities. The Unity Fest was held on Friday at the H.O. Clemmons Arena.

The Career Service Center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) hosted the 2023 Fall Career Exhibit for current students and alums on Oct. 4, in the Kenneth L. Johnson Sr. Complex, H.O. Clemmons Arena (HPER) on the UAPB Campus.

This event is the largest gathering of companies and students in the semester.

According to the UAPB’s Career Service Center, 123 organizations representing business, industry, government agencies, graduate and professional schools and school districts were in attendance.

Some companies are long-time event participants, while othSEE FOUNDERS, 2A SEE CAREER, 3A

In his welcoming remarks, UAPB Chancellor Dr. Laurence B. Alexander praised Professor Corbin’s contribution and dedication to the university.

“We’re celebrating 150 years of excellence as a historically black university filled with a rich history, and it’s important that we pay tribute and give honor to those who have sacrificed their lives, paved the way and had the courage to make valuable contributions to our university, our community and our nation. There’s no better way to celebrate than recognizing and paying homage to the first president and founder of this great institution,” Alexander said.

The chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the event’s Keynote Speaker Charles F. Robinson had an empowering speech about Professor Corbin. As the first Black chancellor of the university, Robinson said Professor Corbin’s vision for and dedication to higher education was instrumental in establishing great land-grant universities, such as UAPB and UA Fayetteville.

“He was by definition a visionary who saw the ultimate importance of higher education and transforming lives at a time when many people were simply seeking to get very elementary aspects of education. Without his vision, there would be no UA Fayetteville and no

FOUNDERS

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The event began with inspiring speeches from university leaders. Throughout the day, there were also panel discussions with aspiring student leaders.

The history of HBCUs, the role of education in social justice, and the future of UAPB were only a few topics touched on during the speech portion of the event.

These discussions brought together students and alumni from UAPB and beyond to share their insights and engage in thoughtful dialogue.

The celebration concluded with a few significant events. First, a New Orleans-themed dinner, “A Night in ‘Nawlins” and Chancellor’s Scholarship Gala. This blacktie event was held at the Pine Bluff Country Club. Attendees dressed in their finest attire to toast UAPB’s past, present and future.

The dinner featured live music, dancing and a keynote address from UAPB Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander.

A sunrise service followed and alumni breakfast on Sunday.

The Founder’s Celebration was a reminder of the importance of UAPB and historically black colleges. By providing access to education and opportunity for under-served communities, HBCUs like UAPB have opened new doors for many students

UAPB. It is important to recognize history and history makers, and he was a remarkable individual,” Robinson said.

Robinson said Corbin was “a tireless worker” in multiple capacities as “a chancellor, faculty, staff, custodial server and facility manager. He was everything that the institution needed at the same time because he was committed to seeing it become successful.”

State historian and of minority groups. As UAPB moves forward into its next 150 years, it will continue to build on its legacy of excellence and commitment to serving its students and community. director of Arkansas

The Founder’s Celebration was a tribute to the university’s founders and a celebration of all that UAPB’s mission, milestones and memories of the past and the future.

State Archives David Ware said that Professor Corbin was “a remarkable man, a remarkable educator, one who saw the future as it might be, as it should be and worked to make it happen by working long and hard in education.”

Corbin Day also marked a momentous occasion for Pine Bluff. Days leading up to Corbin Day, West Second Avenue was renamed “Joseph C.

Corbin St.” in his honor.

Mayor Shirley Washington proclaimed on behalf of the city of Pine Bluff, marking the day as “Corbin Day,” followed by resolutions from U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman and District 8 State Sen. Stephanie Flowers.

“Education as we know it is transformative. Dr. Corbin transformed education in Arkansas by offering public college education to formerly enslaved

African Americans and their descendants,” Washington said. “He magnified Pine Bluff as a learning center for higher education. Today, UAPB is a multicultural institution with a diverse student population. Their 20,000 graduates have made immeasurable contributions to their local community, the state, and the nation,” Washington said.

Corbin Day was not only a historic moment for the university and the city of Pine Bluff but also for his living legacy of descendants.

Ashley N. Crockett, a fifth-generation descendant of Corbin, shared some words regarding Corbin Day and his everlasting history. “It was like a history lesson to learn so many new details,” Crockett said. “I think that this celebration not only solidifies his importance to this school, but, as I said again, his importance to the city of Pine Bluff.”

Trent Wills, the executive student body president at UAPB, said, “As we come together to honor Joseph Carter Corbin, we commemorate the remarkable milestone of 150 years of student success and achievement at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Over a century and a half, we have seen countless students like Mr. Corbin fueled by their determination, dedication, and opportunities provided by our university. We stand as a testament to the transformative power of education.”

The program also unveiled a new portrait of Corbin, followed by an autobiographical documentary of Corbin.

Artist and UAPB graduate Justin Thomasson painted the portrait, which will be displayed in Corbin Hall.

The 7-minute-long documentary was produced by the University Museum and Cultural Center and UAPB-TV.

It was written by Carla Bryant, edited by UAPB-TV Television Program Manager Randy Kelley and narrated by UAPB Chancellor Emeritus Dr. Carolyn Blakely. Corbin (March 26, 1833 – January 9, 1911) attended Ohio University in Athens, where he became the third African American student enrolled at the university and the second African American to graduate from the institution.

He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1853 and a master of arts in 1856.