sus_newsletter_May_2010

The SU System Board of Su-pervisors on April 30 namedRonald Mason Jr. the new pres-ident of the Southern Univer-sity System.

Mason who officially startsJuly 1, brings more than 20years of experience in highereduca5on, community devel-opment, and law to SU.

Prior to his successful tenureas president of Jackson StateUniversity, Mason held severalposi5ons at Tulane includingsenior vice president, general counsel, and vice president for finance and opera5ons.

Murphy Bell, co- chair of the Southern University System Presiden5al Search Commit-tee, said that Mason’s breadth of experience, proven leadership, and developments incampus infrastructure during his tenure at Jackson State a6racted the a6en5on of manymembers of the Search Commi6ee, which was charged with guiding the presiden5alsearch and ul5mately recommending candidates to the Board.

Mason also has extensive involvement in public service and professional ac5vi5es, in-cluding current membership on the White House Board of Advisors for Historically BlackColleges and Universi5es and the boards of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund andthe Na5onal Associa5on for Equal Opportunity in Higher Educa5on (NAFEO).

“Ron Mason is the perfect candidate to lead the SU System,” said Tony Clayton, chair-man of the SU Board of Supervisors. “He has a unique grasp of the mission of land-grantuniversi5es and a passion for that mission. He also brings solid experience in advancingpublic ins5tu5ons by managing them effec5vely, expanding them through capital outlay,and enhancing them by forging successful 5es and crea5ng a sense of shared purposewith the external communi5es. I am delighted to welcome him into the Jaguar Na5on.”

Mason, a na5ve of New Orleans, received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Columbia Uni-versity. He is a graduate of the Harvard Ins5tute of Educa5onal Management and the re-cipient of numerous awards such as the Mayor’s Medal of Honor from the City of NewOrleans, the M.L. King Life5me Achievement Award from Dillard, Loyola, Tulane andXavier universi5es, and Columbia University’s 2008 John Jay Award for dis5nguishedalumni.

He is married to the former Belinda DeCuir and has one daughter, Nia, and two sons,Jared and Kenan.

N E W SS O U T H E R N U N I V E R S I T Y S Y S T E M

O F F I C E O F T H E P R E S I D E N T•)))

Gree5ngs SU family,

I extend my warmestcongratula5ons to Dr.Ronald Mason Jr. onhis appointment asthe seventh presi-dent of the SouthernUniversity System.

Dr. Mason will takeoffice on July 1, 2010 and we pledge our sup-port and coopera5on to ensure a seamlessand smooth transi5on as he assumes theleadership of the na5on’s only historicallyblack university system.

Through the SU System Newsle0er and othercommunica5ons ini5a5ves, we are happy toshare Southern University’s involvement inthe great work and accomplishments thatpreserve and strengthen our great University.

I want to thank everyone for their hard workand dedica5on during the academic year.Looking back on our System and campusesachievements, I would like to express mywarmest gra5tude to the SU “team” for mak-ing 2009-2010 a great success.

Together we are fulfilling a vision to sustainSouthern University and we are maintaining astrong educa5on enterprise that deliverschallenging educa5onal opportuni5es andenriching experiences for our students.

Have a safe, produc5ve, and enjoyable sum-mer.

Yours for Southern,

Kassie Freeman, Ph.D.Interim President

Volume 1, Issue 8, May 2010

Mason named SU System PresidentPresident’s Message

Ronald Mason Jr. (right) is greeted by SU Board of Supervisors memberAchilles Williams a er being named SU System president April 30.

SU System News, page 2

SUBR graduates urged to bring SouthernUniversity back to prominence

Southern University and A&M Collegeheld its spring commencement exercisesMay 14, in the Felton G. Clark Ac5vity Cen-ter where 691 undergraduate and graduatestudents received degree diplomas.

SUBR graduates were urged to becomepart of the school’s resurgence as one ofthe most respected historically black col-leges in the na5on.

“You do that by sending your kids back toSouthern University,” SU alumnus DexterHenderson told the graduates and morethan 7,000 people in a6endance at the F.G.Clark Ac5vity Center.

Henderson, an IBM vice president of sys-tems so%ware, told the graduates they canhelp the University by being “recruiters ofthe best and brightest students.”

Henderson, a New Orleans na5ve is re-sponsible for IBM’s worldwide system offer-ings for its System and Technology Group.He joined IBM as a computer programmerin 1984, a%er receiving his bachelor of sci-ence degree in computer science fromSouthern.

The former receiver on the Jaguar foot-ball team said Southern prepared him forthe roadblocks and the “naysayers” thatstood in his way. The school, he said, taughthim to persevere.

John Shu, SUBR’s chief student marshal,or student with the highest grade point av-erage, graduated with a 3.9 grade point av-erage. Shu is a computer science majorfrom Cameroon, West Africa.

Before coming to Southern, Shu said hehad a scholarship offer from Tulane Univer-sity and was accepted at Louisiana StateUniversity. “I chose Southern because itwas a historically black college and becauseof its heritage and given my background, Iwanted to live that history,” he said.

“It wasn’t an easy ride. I had to be braveand I had to be strong,” he said. “It has built

Students, families celebrate SUS spring commencements

John Shu, of Cameroon,West Africa, was South-ern University and A&MCollege’s chief studentmarshal, for spring com-mencement. Shu gradu-ated with a 3.9 gradepoint average. He is acomputer science majorfrom Cameroon, WestAfrica.

Dexter Henderson, IBM vice president ofsystems so ware, gave the address tothe 691 graduates during the SouthernUniversity and A&M College spring com-mencement on May 14. Pictured onstage with Henderson (le ) is SU SystemInterim President Kassie Freeman andSUBR Chancellor Kofi Lomotey.

The first Ph.D. degree in Louisiana in urban forestry was awarded from Southern University andA & M College to Thomas Legiandenyie of Baton Rouge during spring commencement on May14. Pictured is Legiandenyie being hooded by Kamran Abdollahi, urban forestry professor andprogram leader, and Joseph Meyinsse, interim dean, Graduate School.con�nued on page 3


More than 1,300 receive SUS degrees

me as a man.” Shu said he plans to a6endgraduate school and has been accepted atthe University of Texas and at Rice Univer-sity.

Also, the first Ph.D. degree in Louisiana inurban forestry, was awarded from South-ern University and A & M College toThomas Legiandenyie of Baton Rouge.

Credit Union execu&ve encouragesSUSLA grads

Southern University at Shreveport heldits 2010 Spring Commencement CeremonyMay 8, on the main campus in the Healthand Physical Educa5on Complex.

Helen Godfrey-Smith spoke to the ap-proximately 232 graduates. Godfrey-Smithis the president and chief execu5ve officerof Shreveport Federal Credit Union whereshe has served since 1983. The financial in-s5tu5on has grown from less than $2 mil-lion in assets to approximately $80 millionin assets today.

Godfrey-Smith grew up in Jefferson,Texas. She was educated in the publicschools of Marion County and a6endedcollege at Houston Tillotson College inAus5n, Texas, where she received her B.S.degree in science. She has since con5nuedher educa5on at the University of Wiscon-

sin at Madison and LSU inShreveport. She received thehighest designa5on for a pro-fessional in her field – thecer5fied credit union execu-5ve.

The top graduate forSouthern University atShreveport’s spring com-mencement was BridgedWanonyi of Webuye, EastKenya, who received a de-gree in management and ac-coun5ng.

New Orleans Mayoraddresses SUNO graduates

Southern University at New Orleansawarded 314 master’s, bachelor’s, and as-sociate’s degrees during spring commence-ment exercises on May 8 at the NewOrleans Lakefront Arena.

Top graduate was Marsha Rodrigue Landwho graduated with a 3.974 grade pointaverage. Land received her bachelor of sci-ence degree in early childhood educa5on.

The commencement address was deliv-ered by New Orleans Mayor and formerLouisiana Lt. Governor MitchLandrieu.

As Lt. Governor, Landrieu wasresponsible for tourism, thestate’s second largest industry.A%er hurricanes Katrina andRita ravaged southeast andsouthwest Louisiana, Landrieubrought together industry lead-ers and na5onal experts to de-velop a strategic plan, LouisianaRebirth. As a result of this ini5a-5ve, the tourism industry isspeaking with one voice and hit-5ng the marks established inthe strategic plan.

Landrieu is the brother of U.S.Senator Mary Landrieu and theson of Maurice ”Moon” Lan-drieu, a former mayor of NewOrleans.

Law Center graduates 139

The Honorable Antonio “Tony” Clayton,chairman of the Southern University Sys-tem Board of Supervisors, delivered the2010 Commencement address for South-ern University Law Center, May 15, in theF.G. Clark Ac5vity Center on the SouthernUniversity Baton Rouge campus.

One hundred thirty-nine graduates re-ceived the juris doctor degree this year.James E. Young Jr. was honored as thegolden alumnus.

The top student in the Full-5me Day Pro-gram was Lewis Arnold Booth II,Huntsville, Alabama and the top student inthe Part-5me Evening Division-was LauraWelch Christensen of Denham Springs.

Among the dis5nguished graduates ofthe SULC Spring Class of 2010 was theHonorable Lea P. Montgomery, member ofthe SU Board of Supervisors and the Hon-orable Raushanah Hunter, SULC StudentBar Associa5on president and studentmember of the SU Board of Supervisors.

Hunter and Montgomery received jurisdoctor degrees.

SUSLA Chancellor Ray L. Belton (right), accompanied by SUS Board ofSupervisors member Walter Guidry, makes a presenta/on to SUSLA’sspring commencement speaker Helen Godfrey-Smith during the May 8ceremony in the Health and Physical Educa/on Complex. Godfrey-Smithis president and CEO of Shreveport Federal Credit Union.

The Honorable Lea P. Montgomery (center), member of the SU Board ofSupervisors and the Honorable Raushanah Hunter (second from right),SULC Student Bar Associa/on president and student member of the SUBoard of Supervisors, received the juris doctor degree May 15 duringthe SULC spring commencement. Pictured with the law graduates arethe Honorable Antonio “Tony” Clayton, (far le ) chairman, SU Board ofSupervisors; Kassie Freeman (second from le ), SU System interim presi-dent; and Freddie Pitcher Jr, SULC chancellor. One hundred thirty-ninegraduates received the juris doctor degree during the SU Law Centercommencement in the F.G. Clark Ac/vity Center on the Southern Univer-sity at Baton Rouge campus.

SUS spring commencement, con�nued


Landry named interim SU police chiefCol. Terry Landry, a

former superintend-ent of Louisiana StatePolice, has beennamed interim policechief on the BatonRouge campus ofSouthern University.Landry replaces for-mer chief MichaelMorris.

Landry, 58, has along history in Louisiana law enforcement,highlighted by his selec5on in July 2000 bythen Governor Mike Foster to become headthe Louisiana State Police. Landry, who hadbeen deputy superintendent of state policeprior to the appointment, became the firstAfrican-American leader of Louisiana’s StatePolice in the force’s 64-year history.

Since leaving state police, Landry hasserved as director of security for the LouisArmstrong New Orleans Interna5onal Air-port in Kenner.

“I have no doubt that Col. Landry’s wealthof law enforcement experience and the en-ergy he brings to the posi5on will be ofgreat benefit to our police department and

to the safety of the Southern Universitycommunity,” Chancellor Kofi Lomotey saida%er announcing Landry’s appointment.

Lomotey said the University has launcheda search for a permanent police chief. Headded that Landry can apply for the perma-nent posi5on.

This is Landry’s second 5me as interim-po-lice chief at Southern. He served in thesame posi5on for several months in 2006.

“I loved working in a college environ-ment,” Landry said, adding that he hopesthat his law enforcement experience “issomething that can benefit Southern Uni-versity.”

While at State Police, Landry also workedin the gambling enforcement division, wascaptain of the crime laboratory, and workedin the criminal inves5ga5on bureau. Landrywas named outstanding law enforcementofficer of the year in Lafaye6e in 1980. Hea6ended high school in New Iberia andserved in the U.S. Army in Vietnam.

“I hope I have something to offer the uni-versity,” Landry said.

The third class of the Small Farmer AgLeadership Ins5tute training took place atNorth Carolina A&T State University, March18-20.

More than 30 par5cipants from 12 statesgathered for hands-on learning in and outof the classroom. Session presenters in-cluded Mike Lanier, agribusiness agent, Or-ange County Center; Robin Adams, directorof agricultural communica5ons, School ofAgriculture and Environmental Sciences, NCA&T SU; Gary S. Bullen, extension associate,North Carolina State University; CarmenHumphrey, chef, Marke5ng Grants andTechnical Assistance Branch; and MichelleEley, Extension, NC A&T SU.

The trip culminated in a small farm tour ofthe Center for Environmental Farming Sys-

tems at North Carolina State Univer-sity. The small farm tour included visitsto the high tunnels/greenhouse, blue-berries/raspberries, crop rota5on/live-stock rota5on and post-harvesthandling facili5es.

“We learned about a growing tubethat we plan to put into use in ourmelon growing project this summer.As is always the case, I came homewith informa5on that would immedi-ately help me in my quest to sustain-ably grow food here in Lawrenceville,Georgia. Thanks to Southern Univer-sity and North Carolina A&T,” saidBrennan Washington who is con5nu-ing his journey as a member of South-ern University’s AgriculturalLeadership Ins5tute.

Small Farmer Ag Ins5tute con5nues with third class

Col. Terry Landry

Randale Sco',who serves asSGA President atSouthern Univer-sity at Shreve-port, waselected to serveas the 2010-11student memberon the SU Boardof Supervisorsduring the May17 mee5ng ofthe Council of Student Body Presidents.

Sco6 is a sophomore business manage-ment major from Bossier City. While notengaged in his studies, he enjoys li%ingweights, bowling, watching movies, andpreaching and studying the word of God.Upon gradua5ng from SUSLA, he plans totransfer to SUBR to further his studies.

Sco6 said he is extremely excited aboutand humbled by the opportunity to repre-sent his peers on the Board of Supervi-sors.

Sco6 replaces Raushanah Hunter whowas SULC Student Bar Associa5on presi-dent. Hunter received her juris doctor de-gree May 15.

Randale Sco0

More than 30 par/cipants from 12 states par/cipated in thethird class of the Small Farmer Ag Leadership Ins/tute trainingat North Carolina A&T State University, March 18-20. In addi-/on to classroom sessions and small farm visits, the grouptoured the Center for Environmental Farming Systems at NorthCarolina State University. The small farm tour included visits tothe high tunnels/greenhouse, blueberries/raspberries, crop ro-ta/on/livestock rota/on and post-harvest handling facili/es.


The SULC Volunteer Income Tax Assistance(VITA) Program was cited as the VITA Site ofthe Year during the Volunteer Recogni5onCeremony sponsored by the Capital AreaAsset Building Coali5on, April 26, at theSouthern University Ag Center. SULC also re-ceived the Outstanding Community PartnerAward during the ceremony.

Law students have been providing free in-come tax filing assistance to eligible taxpay-ers through the VITA program since 2003.This year’s program assisted 246 individuals,who received more than $427,500 in tax re-funds.

Vice Chancellor John Pierre accepted theaward on behalf of the Law Center, alongwith a special recogni5on for his outstand-ing public service through the StakeholderPartnerships, Educa5on, and Communica-5on (SPEC), VITA, and Tax Counseling for theElderly Program (TCE) programs.

Law students recognized for their publicservice to the community through the VITAprogram are: Miriam Akinfosile, NelsonAllen, Jasmine Baskerville, Shane Bates, Rod-erick Be6s, Joi Boone, Ashley Bou6e,Quisoundra Bullock, Rachel Chandler,Bernade6e Chimah, Ashley Conish, Trachelle

Cornish, Danielle Davenport, Derek Dennis,Daniel Druilhet, Sabrina Effron, Robert Find-lay, Antoine Floyd, Deborah Fountain, JackieGoff, Eugene Gouaux, Lakeisha Gray, MonicaGriffith-Braud, Senae Hall, Shontae Harris,Adrea Hebert, Amanda Henderson, FatmatuJalloh, Julian M. Johnson, Traneisha Jones,Mary Joseph, Kennisha Firstley, MorganLamandre, Kimberly Lamo6e, Roslyn Madi-son, Leslie Mar5n, Chetamour Mckenzie,Victoria Minor, Timothy Moore, La5shaNixon- Jones, Iheanyi Nkwocha, AdemolaOloko, Toussaint Pierre, Brian Ponder,Amanda Powell, Shakira Pumphrey,Stephanie Strickland, Jennifer Terry, AlmaThornton, Dewanna Trask, MelodyUdoinyion, Rolando Urbina, Andre Welbon,and Jason Wesley.

SULC honored as VITA Site of the Year

Taylor receives na5onal honor for healthcare effort

Cheryl Taylor, SUBR School of Nursing’s di-rector of nursing research, had a na5onalaward named in her honor that recognizesher efforts to eliminate dispari5es in the de-livery of healthcare to various racial andethnic groups.

The new “Dr. Cheryl Taylor Award forLeadership and Vision” was presented bythe federal Centers for Disease Control’s

Racial and Ethnic Approaches to CommunityHealth (REACH) ini5a5ve at a recent cere-mony in Washington, D.C.

Taylor has worked with REACH since its in-cep5on in 1999. The REACH ini5a5ve hascontributed significant evidence-basedhealth outcomes and community-based par-5cipatory approaches to the goal of advanc-ing health equity.

REACH’s board voted unanimously toname the award a%er Taylor as a reminderto researchers of the character, values, in-tegrity, compassion and determina5on onemust bring to their work, the organiza5onsaid.

“The work that Dr. Taylor contributed tothe Na5onal REACH project and the Impera-5ve is unparallel,” Eleanor Hinton Hoy6,

president and CEO of the Impera5ve said.“In 2005, Hurricane Katrina threatened thework of this project. But even in the face ofcatastrophic disaster, Cheryl stayed thecourse and kept our vision intact of elimi-na5ng racial and ethnic health dispari5es inNew Orleans. I cannot think of anyone moredeserving of receiving this award and beingits namesake.”

The REACH award is another major cita-5on that Taylor has won over the past year.She was chosen the 2009 interna5onal win-ner of the pres5gious Daniel J. Pesut “Spiritof Renewal Award” for Nursing Excellencefrom the Honor Society of Nursing of SigmaTheta Tau Interna5onal (STTI). The LouisianaNurses Founda5on and the Louisiana StateNurses Associa5on recently named Taylorthe recipient of the ‘Outstanding Nurse Re-searcher’ Award.

Samuel Sanders (le ), director, Mid-City RedevelopmentAlliance, presented SULC’s VITA Site of the Year Awardto SULC Vice Chancellor John Pierre.

Cheryl Taylor

DemetriusSumner, Stu-dent Govern-mentAssocia5onpresident atSUBR, was re-cently elected toserve as the stu-dent memberon the LouisianaBoard of Re-gents by theLouisiana Council of Student Body Presi-dents.

The Council is comprised of studentgovernment leaders from every public in-s5tu5on in the state.

“Today marks a new milestone forSouthern University and all of the stu-dents of Louisiana, ensuring that we areadequately represented during these se-vere economic circumstances,” said Sum-ner following his elec5on. Hisappointment will begin on June 1.

Sumner, a Dallas, Texas na5ve, is asophomore majoring in poli5cal sciencewho was elected 2010-2011 SGA presi-dent at SUBR in April.

Demetrius Sumner


Four Louisiana students arrived in Wash-ington, D.C., March 20-27, to a6end the2010 Na5onal 4-H Conference in ChevyChase, Maryland.

The six-day conference consisted of youthdelegates from 49 states and two countriesrepresen5ng 1862, 1890, and 1994 landgrant colleges and universi5es.

The youth delega-5on from the SU AgCenter were KaylonBenjamin, sopho-more, Lafaye6e HighSchool; Jeremi Ed-wards, junior, LaGrange High School;Darrell Griffin, soph-omore, St. HelenaCentral High School;and Kori Williams,sophomore, Thur-good Marshall Early

College High School, New Orleans. Supervis-ing the group were Wanda Burke, youth de-velopment specialist, and HendrixBroussard, assistant area agent, OrleansParish.

The youth par5cipated in roundtable dis-cussions about their respec5ve state pro-

grams and shared ideas that they could takefrom other states and use to make an im-pact on youth back in their home communi-5es.

The delegates got a chance to tour historiclandmarks, witness the changing of theguards at the Tombs of The Un-known Sol-diers, and see the 911 memorial at the Pen-tagon. They also met with some electedofficials from Louisiana to address youth is-sues in their communi5es. They met withCongressman Charlie Melancon, Congress-man William Cassidy, Senator David Vi6er,and an assistant to Senator Mary Landrieu.Another highlight of the trip was mee5ngOscar award-winner Monique while at theairport in New Orleans.

Na5onal 4-H conference rejuvenates Louisiana youth

The Southern University Sports Hall ofFame Commission inducted 11 new mem-bers into the Southern University SportsHall of Fame during a banquet on May 8 inthe Royal Co5llion Ballroom in the Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union.

The new inductees enshrined into theSouthern University Sports Hall of Fameare:

Paul Bailey, who played football from1956-60 and later served as a head foot-ball coach at four Louisiana schools fornine years

Theophilus Boyd and Jesse J. Jackson,both na5ves of Mansfield and teammateson the football team from 1958-62

Terry Lewis who played football at SUfrom 1966-70

Henry Parish, who played baseball at SUfrom 1978-82 and received the honorposthumously. Parish died in 2006

Eric Randall, star quarterback of the SUfootball team from 1992-95

Southern inducts 11 new members into Hall of Fame

The youth delega/on fromthe SU Ag Center a0endingthe Na/onal 4-H Confer-ence in Chevy Chase, Mary-land were KaylonBenjamin, Lafaye0e HighSchool; Jeremi Edwards, LaGrange High School; Dar-rell Griffin, St. Helena Cen-tral High School; and KoriWilliams, Thurgood Mar-shall Early College HighSchool, New Orleans.

SU Alumni, family and friends joined the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame Commission at a banquet to in-duct 11 new members into the SU Sports Hall of Fame on May 8 in the Smith Brown Memorial Student Union.

Larry Rowley, who played football andbaseball at SU from 1960-64

Lloyd Robinson, who played football atSU from 1979-83

Allan Ray “Rudy” Rudison, who playedfootball at SU from 1959-62

Kenya'a Sparks, who played football atSU from 1992-95

Erika Yearby White, who played threeseasons on the SU so%ball team from1997-99, including the program’s firstsquad

The keynote speaker for the ceremonywas Dexter Henderson, a SU alumnus andvice president of systems so%ware for IBMSystems and Technology Group.

SUBR student among winners of na5onal essay contest

Bri6any Adolph, a senior at Southern Uni-versity and A&M College, is one of two win-ners of Johnson’s Baby Oil and Essencemagazine’s “What’s Your Beauty Secret?”essay contest. Adolph’s prizes include aphoto shoot for the na5onal magazine.

“I can’t believe it,” the 22-year-old BatonRouge na5ve said, adding that this was herfirst 5me entering any kind of contest.

Johnson’s Baby Oil asked par5cipants to“tell us your favorite Johnson’s Baby Oil

beauty secret” in 200 words or less for achance to win the prize package. The 2005Broadmoor High graduate said she submit-ted her beauty secret essay about threemonths ago.

Adolph said her beauty secret is placing afew caps of Johnson’s baby oil in her bathwater. Adolph said she wrote, in part, that“Ever since I was a baby, my mother put afew caps full of baby oil in my bath waterand I think it locks in moister and leavesyour skin radiant,” adding that she hasnever had problems with dry skin.

The history major, who has hopes of be-coming a college professor, is all smileswhen she describes what she has won. Shegets a prize pack which includes a first-classflight to New York, a hotel suite, a Johnson’sgi% basket with $200 worth of items, amakeover with a professional make-upar5st and a photo shoot with the other win-ner for a Johnson and Johnson adver5se-ment that will be published in an upcoming

issue of Essence magazine. An excerpt ofher essay will be published in Essence.

“This was my first 5me entering any kindof contest,” said Adolph. “I had a friend whotold me her mother likes to enter contestsand has won two contests in her life5me.That inspired me to enter a contest.”

Adolph said she looked for a contest thatsuited her and found Johnson’s contest.

“I’m excited because it’s a new experi-ence,” said Adolph. “Just knowing thatthousands of people applied for it and Iwon.”

“Whenever you see something that youwant to do, go for it, because you neverknow what door will be opened or whatGod is going to do.”

Adolph le% for her two-day trip to NewYork on May 10.


Wearing the crown of Miss Southern Uni-versity and A&M College is a big responsibil-ity and being the focal point of a6en5on ata variety of social events can be exci5ng.

Just ask Sabrina Whitney who recentlycompleted her 2009-2010 reign as MissSouthern. But, she will also tell you thatraising money for seriously ill children at St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital has beenone of the most rewarding experiences ofher life.

“It has made me feel good that I havebeen able to help and that I have donesomething that is going to make things bet-ter for children,” Whitney said.

The Tallulah na5ve and her execu5veboard members of “Up ‘5l Dawn,” raised$10,000. She donated the money to repre-senta5ves of the Memphis, Tennessee-based hospital during a ceremony beforecommencement exercises on May 14 justbefore receiving her degree.

Up ‘5l Dawn unites students from all walksof campus life, staff, and their campus com-

muni5es with the goal to end childhoodcancer once and for all. Students helpraise awareness and support for St.Jude Children’s Research Hospitalthrough a variety of ac5vi5es.

The campus queen used severalfundraising efforts including a le6er-wri5ng campaign and a “Li6le MissSouthern” pageant and talent show.She even used a “Free Your Queen(from jail) for Homecoming” event.

“I actually have enjoyed the hardwork it has taken to raise the money,”she said. “But, it wasn’t just me. My ex-ecu5ve board has done so much tomake it work.”

Whitney said she is driven to raise themoney because she believes the cause isworthy and because she had a youngercousin die from cancer a few years ago.

Also, last year, she went to St. Jude andsaw dozens of children who were beingtreated for life-threatening diseases.

“It was devasta5ng…I cried the whole5me,” she said. “Now, I really know thatwhat we are doing is important.”

The criminal jus5ce major said she willcon5nue to work with causes such as St.Jude while she a6ends graduate school.

‘Miss Southern’ con5nues to raise money for St. Jude

Bri0any Adolph, a senior at SUBR, is one of twowinners of a Johnson’s Baby Oil and Essence mag-azine’s essay contest.

Sabrina Whitney, Miss Southern for 2009-2010, along withher Up ‘/l Dawn execu/ve board, raised $10,000 for St. JudeChildren’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Pic-tured is Whitney and SUBR Chancellor Kofi Lomotey during acheck presenta/on to St. Jude Research Hospital representa-/ves prior to commencement on May 14 where Whitney re-ceived a degree.


Five East Baton Rouge Parish high schoolstudents, winners of the 2010 SULC Mar-shall-Brennan Cons5tu5onal Literacy Proj-ect High School Compe55on, wererecognized at a recep5on, Friday, April 23, inthe atrium of A.A. Lenoir Hall.

The winners and their compe55on cate-gories were Wykeisha Webb of IstroumaHigh School, t-shirt design; T’Shyra Warnerof Glen Oaks High School, poster design;Jonathan Williams of Glen Oaks HighSchool, poetry; and Alexis Jackson and

Kayla Magee of ScotlandvilleHigh School, 5ed in the essaycontest.

Thirty-three high school stu-dents submi6ed their artworkand composi5ons on April 20for review and ra5ng by fourlaw student judges. Each stu-dent winner also was awardeda $50 U.S. Savings Bond.

The Glen Oaks High SchoolTeam, which was the bestschool par5cipa5on regionalwinner of the SULC Marshall-Brennan Second Annual HighSchool Moot Court Compe5-5on, was also recognized andpresented the 2010 trophy. The team mem-bers were Chris5an Jones, JonathanWilliams, and Shanderick Williams.

At the recep5on, which also served as anacademic-year closing ac5vity for the Mar-shall-Brennan Project, Chancellor FreddiePitcher Jr., welcomed par5cipants and theirfamily members, along with other support-ers of the program. Vice Chancellor RussellL. Jones, director of the Marshall-BrennanProject, gave an overview of the program ina video presenta5on. Superintendent JohnDilworth of the East Baton Rouge ParishSchool System and Alejandro Perkins, presi-dent of the Louis A. Mar5net Legal Society,discussed their interest in the program.

The Marshall-Brennan Cons5tu5onal Liter-acy Project seeks to empower high schoolstudents to be responsible ci5zens and life-long par5cipants in the democra5c processby teaching them about their cons5tu5onalrights and responsibili5es through theUnited States Supreme Court cases that af-fect students directly.

Upper level law students are selected asMarshall-Brennan Fellows through a com-pe55ve applica5on process. The fellowspar5cipate in a pre-semester training and ayear-long advanced cons5tu5onal law semi-nar, “Teaching Ci5zenship Through the Con-s5tu5on,” taught by the program directorsand educa5on professionals. The fellows

serve in high school classrooms as teachersand mentors; and under the guidance of thehost high school teacher, lead discussions ofcons5tu5onal law as it relates to their stu-dents.

The academic year closing program pro-vided the opportunity to announce the proj-ect”s new Fellows who are Nelson Allen,Mari Bartholomew, Quisoundra Bullock,Bernade6e Chimah, Christopher Dassau,Megan Early, Nicholas Gills, and JonathanReed.

Senior Fellows are Lewis Booth, LevicyCrawford, Angelica Evans, Maya Guntz-Flow-ers, Nadine Killebrew, Freddie King, Chan-ne6e Lewis, Andrea Lowe, Kayarda Lowe,and Chinwe Onyemekwu. Marshall-Brennancommi6ee members are Devan Malone andDewanna Trask.

SULC Marshall-Brennan project fundingpartners include Louisiana Bar Founda5on,CSRS Architects/Engineers, Aramark, Com-mercial Property Reality Trust, Louis A. Mar-5net Founda5on, Judge Cur5s Calloway(re5red), Bayou Café, Louisiana Fish FryProducts, Inc., Southern University Book-store, Dr. Charles Vincent, KatherineLemelle, Cynthia Chemay, Cleo Fields andthe Louisiana Leadership Ins5tute, Chris5neCorcos, EMT Electronics, Dave Home Im-provement, M&M Party Rental, DarrylRobertson, Shayla Jackson, Judge John M.Guidry, and Vonda Franklin.

New Marshall-Brennan Fellows were announced during an academic clos-ing program, April 21. SULC students (from le ): Nicholas Gills, Bernade0eChimah, Jonathan Reed, Mari Bartholomew, Nelson Allen, and Christo-pher Dassau.

New SU Law Center MB Fellows named

Southern University and A&M College’sDepartment of Electrical recently receiveda $100,000 grant from Texas Instruments.The grant will be used to purchase equip-ment in the Automa5c Tes5ng Lab, stu-dent scholarships and other items.

“We believe the training programs arevery instrumental to earning great jobs,”said Pradeep Bha6acharya, chairman andprofessor, electrical engineering.

The Automa5c Tes5ng Lab permits stu-dents to test a variety of material, such asthe different electronic circuits and thevarious complicated measures of nature.

“We want our students to be able tostand on their own two feet when theywork for great corpora5ons such as TexasInstruments and other major companies,”said Bha6acharya.

SUBR engineeringreceives TI grant

Pradeep Bhattacharya

Southern Uni-versity first-yearhead footballcoach, StumpMitchell, hasannouncedcamp dates forthe 2010 StumpMitchell Sum-mer FootballCamp, as wellas a 7 on 7Tournament,Big Men’sCamp, andSatellite DayCamps.

For the first5me, Southernwill hold threecamps in Baton

Rouge - The Stump Mitchell Football Camp(June 14-17); the 7 on 7 Tournament (June

25-26); and the Big Men's Camp (June 25-26).

Coach Mitchell and staff will also taketheir football exper5se around the state ofLouisiana in five satellite day camps - NewOrleans (June 19), Monroe (June 21),Shreveport (June 22), Lake Charles (June23), and Lafaye6e (June 24).

In addi5on, there will be a series of “ChalkTalks/Dinner” at every day camp loca5onwith coach Mitchell and the Southern foot-ball staff addressing ques5ons from the au-dience.

The Stump Mitchell Golf Tournaments willbe held Friday, June 18 and Monday, June28. A four-person scramble format allowsgolfers of all levels of playing ability to havefun while raising money for the SouthernUniversity Football Program. Players maysign up individually, or with their friends asteams.

This year events are being held at TheLakewood Country Club in New Orleans andThe Bluffs Country Club in St. Francisville, of-fering 18 holes of championship golf.

Your gi% directly helps the Southern Uni-versity Football Program by providing flexi-ble funding for the purchase of a newsynthe5c field surface, recrui5ng, and otherneeds of the football program.

For more informa5on on all Southern Uni-versity Football Camps including pricing,contact Coach Mike Jones at 225-329-6753.

If you cannot par5cipate in Golf Tourna-ment, please consider suppor5ng the South-ern University Football Program with adona5on to the tournament, sponsoring ahole, or par5cipa5ng in any of the othersponsorship opportuni5es. For more infor-ma5on contact Jones.


Stump Mitchell football camps, golf tourneys announced

SUBR students named tour winners

Southern University and A&M Collegestudents, Edifon E6e and Sherron PhaeDouglas, have won a trip of a life5me. Thetwo have been named the winners of Coca-Cola’s Open Happiness Tour contest.

The students will join 19 oth-ers winners from nine otherhistorically black colleges anduniversi5es on a 5-day, 4 nightall-expense paid trip to Johan-nesburg, South Africa.

E6e is a senior, civil engineer-ing major from New Orleansand Douglas is a junior, poli5calscience major from Shreve-port.

To enter the contest, E6e andDouglas had to submit a cre-a5ve, three-minute video, an-swering the ques5on: “Howdoes The Coca-Cola ReplenishAfrica Ini5a5ve (RAIN), whichprovides access to safe drinking

water for communi5es throughout Africa,inspire you?”

Their videos were selected from hun-dreds of videos entered by students from anumber of HBCUs across the country.

SUBR students, Edifon E0e (le ) and Sherron Phae Douglas will join 19others winners from nine other historically black colleges and universi-/es on an all-expense paid trip to Johannesburg, South Africa.

Elaine Barham,assistant profes-sor, SUBR Schoolof Nursing, re-ceived the HelenCreemens John-son Excellence inTeaching Awardat the AnnualCelebrate Nurs-ing Banquet heldMay 3rd by theBaton Rouge Dis-trict Nurses Associa5on.

Barham is a member of the Interna5onalNursing Associa5on for Clinical Simula5onLearning and has played a pivotal role inincorpora5ng simula5on learning into theclinical teaching at the School of Nursing.She is a member of the Louisiana OrganProcurement Agency, Sigma Theta Tau In-terna5onal Honor Society of Nursing, andthe Baton Rouge Oncology Nursing Soci-ety.

This is the third consecu5ve year that afaculty member for Southern’s School ofNursing has received the award.

Elaine Barham

The Southwestern Athle5c Conference(SWAC) announced its 2010 all-conferenceso%ball honors in April, with Southern'sShawntall Steamer and Lanaya Jenkinsclaiming top honors. The teams were votedon by the schools’ coaches and sports in-forma5on departments.

Steamer, a freshman shortstop, was beennamed the 2010 Player of the Year andFreshman of the Year. Steamer had an ex-cep5onal freshman campaign this seasonfor the Jaguars. She ranked first on herteam and eighth in the conference with a.364 ba7ng average. The Freeport, Texasna5ve also finished the regular-seasonranked first in the SWAC in hits, triples, andtotal bases; third in runs scored, and fourth

in slugging percentage (.612), and runs bat-ted in.

Jenkins, a senior from Sea6le, Washing-ton, was voted the 2010 Pitcher of the Year.Jenkins ranked first on her team and thirdin the SWAC. She was the second win-ningest pitcher in the conference, register-ing 12 victories. She also ranked third in theleague in opposing ba6er average (.267)and fourth in ba6ers struck out.

Other SU players earning 2010 SWAC All-Conference selec5ons included first-teamhonor for ou4ielder Victoria Stewart, a jun-ior from Texarkana, Texas and second-teamhonor for shortstop Audrey Phillips, a soph-omore from Mansfield, Texas.


SU players claim SWAC so%ball honorsRachelEmanuel, direc-tor of publica-5ons andelectronicmedia, SouthernUniversity LawCenter, alongwith two of theSouthern Sit-InSixteen, SandraJones Overbyand Vernon Jor-dan, were panelists for Capital Area CASAAssocia5on’s volunteers training on di-versity and cultural competency on May4 at First United Methodist Church inBaton Rouge.

Following a screening of “Taking A Seatfor Jus5ce: the 1960 Baton Rouge Sit-Ins,” the panelists discussed the role thatthe Southern Sixteen played in the his-tory of race rela5ons in Baton Rouge. TheSouthern Sixteen were a group of SU stu-dents who staged civil rights sit-ins inBaton Rouge on March 28-29, 1960.

Emanuel also served on the LouisianaEndowment for the Humani5es (LEH)Media Panel on May 14, to assist in theselec5on of recipients for 2010 docu-mentary grants.

Rachel Emanuel

Lanaya Jenkins Audrey Phillips Shawntall Steamer Victoria Stewart

SULC student team wins 2010 Budgetball Tournament

A team of Evening Division students, theNight Hawks, won the 2010 Budgetball

Tournament and a $500 prize spon-sored by SULC.

The Budgetball Tournament, heldMarch 13, included 10 student teams.Members of the winning team wereHollis Lewis, Orlando Whitaker, ClintSchexnayder, Sholone Williams, O5sBrown, and Brady Skinner.

SULC was selected to par5cipate inthe 2009-2010 Budgetball Civic En-gagement Ini5a5ve, a partnership ofthe Na5onal Academy of Public Ad-ministra5on (Na5onal Academy) andthe Na5onal Associa5on for Equal Op-portunity in Higher Educa5on(NAFEO). A $6,000 s5pend was pro-vided to help implement the SULCBudgetball Civic Engagement Ini5a5ve,

which also included educa5onal events onfiscal responsibility and civic engagement

ac5vi5es related to both personal and na-5onal issues.

The Na5onal Academy of Public Adminis-tra5on is impressed with SULC’s ini5a5veprograms and successful tournament, ac-cording to Budgetball student scholar/chairSonja Cajuste.

SULC was the first complete the tourna-ment from among the 10 schools fromacross the country chosen for the ini5a5ve.

Professor Arthur Stallworth is the facultyrepresenta5ve for SULC Budgetball andthird-year student Jason Wesley serves onthe program’s na5onal board.

For more informa5on about the Budget-ball grant awarded to SULC, log on tobudgetball.org.

Check presenta/on to the “Night Hawks,” SULC Budgetball Tour-nament Winning Team: (from le ) are Steve Guilliardo, a repre-senta/ve from Na/onal Academy of Public Administra/on inWashington, D.C. (holding the check); Hollis Lewis, OrlandoWhitaker, Clint Schexnayder, Sholone Williams, Brady Skinner,O/s Brown, and Sonja Cajuste, SULC Budgetball student schol-ars/chair.

May

27SUNO Summer Session registra5onthrough June 288 a.m. - 5 p.m.

31Memorial Day

June

1SUBR Summer School registra5onthrough, June 2

SUSLA Summer Session orienta5on, tes5ng,and registra5on for new freshmen

2SUSLA Summer Session general registra5on

7SULC Registra5on for Summer Session, 2010

10SULC Alumni/Friends Recep5on, 69thAnnual LSBA Mee5ng7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.Graffi5 and the Funky Blues Shack,Des5n, Florida

14*Stump Mitchell Football Camp (throughJune 17

18*Stump Mitchell Golf TournamentThe Lakewood Country Club, New Orleans

19*Stump Mitchell Football Camp - New Orleans

21*Stump Mitchell Football Camp - Monroe

22*Stump Mitchell Football Camp - Shreveport

23*Stump Mitchell Football Camp - Lake Charles

24*Stump Mitchell Football Camp - Lafaye6e

25SU Board of Supervisors Mee5ng9 a.m.SUSLA Health and Physical Educa5on Center

*Stump Mitchell FootballCamp-7 on 7 Tournament

(through June 26)-Big Men's Camp (through

June 26)

26SUSLA Founda5on11th Annual Gentleman’sCooking Classic 6 p.m. - 9p.m.Harrah’s Louisiana Downs inthe Red River Room.

28*Stump Mitchell Golf Tour-namentThe Bluffs Country Club, St.Francisville

*For more informa/on onall Southern Universityfootball camps and golftournaments, contact CoachMike Jones at 225-329-6753

“BE EMPOWERED”2010 Southern University

Na5onal Alumni ConferenceWashington, D.C.

July 7-11Grand Hya6

Room reserva/ons deadline is June 7

For conference informa5on and up-dates, visit the SUAF’s Web site at

www.sualumni.org, or follow themon their interac5ve pages on Face-book and Twi6er at Southern Uni-

versity Alumni Federa5on andSUAlumniFed, respec5vely, or call

the Alumni Office at 225-771-4200.Conference registra/on deadline is June 25


Upcoming Events

The Southern University System Newsle6eris published monthly by the

Southern University System to highlight newsand accomplishments throughout the

SU System.

Campus news provided by theOffice of Media Rela/ons (SUBR), the Office

of Public Rela/ons (SUNO), Office ofCommunica/ons (SU Ag Center),

Office of Publica/ons and Electronic Media(SUBR, SULC), Department of University

Communica/ons (SUSLA),and Sports Informa/on (SUBR).

Please e-mail any ar/cles, photos, andannouncements for the SU System Newsle6er

by the last week of each month to:[email protected]


STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS2007 – 2012

• ENHANCE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

• DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A SYSTEM-WIDE CULTURE OF ASSESSMENT,QUALITY ENHANCEMENT, AND ACCOUNTABILITY

• ENHANCE SYSTEM-WIDE ATHLETIC PROGRAMMING AND FACILITIES

• CREATE AND EXECUTE A COMPREHENSIVE ADVANCEMENT PLAN

• CREATE AND IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM-WIDE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGYAND INFRASTRUCTURE MASTER PLAN

FiveCampuses, One Vision. . .GLOBAL Excellence

sus_newsletter_May_2010

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