NC A&T student designs sneakers for Nike
By Sheyla Fairley
Arial Robinson, a multimedia journalism student at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC, was chosen to design sneakers for her HBCU as part of Nike’s Yardrunners campaign, which celebrates the legacy of historically Black colleges and universities.
As stated in a release, the inspiration for the “Ayantee,” named after A&T’s yearbook, comes from “the iconic architecture on A&T’s campus.”
“The grays represent the cement of the building. It’s also a metaphor for our stories being submitted in history, not being easily broken. The laces and the tongue are the big infamous yellow staircase,” Robinson said. “Then the bottom of the shoe is grass because it was a joke on our campus. A&T always keeps the grass cut low because of the pride we have on campus.”
Tuskegee University alumna operates ice cream business using liquid nitrogen
By Sheyla Fairley
HBCU alumna Kelli Bain grew up learning all about ice cream from her grandfather. When she attended Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL, she pursued a degree in chemistry after being inspired by the ice cream process.
“While attending Tuskegee, I developed a genuine love for chemistry and all the opportunities that a career in the field could offer,” she said. “During my freshman year, I even discovered the real science behind my Papaw’s homemade ice cream and why we needed to add salt to the ice. I was finally able to answer the “why” to his delicious ice cream – it was chemistry!”
Now as a chemist, Bain discovered using liquid nitrogen was a way to cut down the freezing time for ice cream and was able to turn a family tradition into a family business. Eventually, she and her family were able to open the [N7] Kream Lab Nitrogen Ice Cream Lounge as a brick-and-mortar store by 2021.
For more information, read the full article here.
‘The Cosby Show’ actor Joseph C. Phillips named professor at Clark Atlanta
By Sheyla Fairley
Joseph C. Phillips, best known for his role as Lt. Martin Kendall on the “The Cosby Show,” has joined the Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA, faculty as a Theatre and Communications Studies professor.
As stated in a release, Phillips received a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1983 from New York University and went on to serve as a fellow at various institutions including “the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian College; the Abraham Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute; and the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas, where he designed, wrote the curriculum, and taught a seven-week course titled ‘Black Conservatism in America.’”
“Joseph brings a wealth of awe-inspiring talent, meaningful engagement in the community, and a portfolio of informed, decisive commentary to the University,” said CAU president Dr. George T. French Jr. “We anticipate that he will inspire independent thinking, civic responsibility, and a passion for interdisciplinary learning in our students—which aligns perfectly with our mantra to “lift our community by lifting our voices.”
New partnership to allow EWU students to earn UF nursing degree
By Sheyla Fairley
According to an article, Edward Waters University, Jacksonville, FL, and University of Florida College of Nursing, Gainesville, FL, entered into an agreement that “allows students from EWU to be recruited and admitted to the UF College of Nursing’s Accelerated [Bachelor of Science in Nursing] program at the UF Health Jacksonville campus,” since EWU does not have a nursing program.
“We believe that this first-of-its-kind focused academic and health related collaborative initiative between EWU and UF will operate to positively address our state’s growing need for more nursing and health care professionals overall and support the increasing promulgation of the same particularly amongst African-Americans and other communities of color,” said EWU president Dr. A. Zachary Faison Jr.
For more details, read the full article here.
La Roche-Posay and Women’s Dermatologic Society sponsor fellowship at HU to bring more diversity in the field of dermatology
By Sheyla Fairley
La Roche-Posay, a dermatologist-recommended skincare brand, has partnered up with the Women’s Dermatologic Society, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization to empower and connect women dermatologists, to sponsor a fellowship in the department of dermatology at Howard University’s College of Medicine, Washington, DC, for medical students who are underrepresented in medicine (UIM).
According to an article, with dermatology being the least diverse with there only being 3% of dermatologists who are Black, the fellowship hopes to increase representation by providing support to (UIM) students “whose application may need to be strengthened” in order for them to “obtain research experience, mentorship and networking opportunities.”
Read the full article, here.
