Jackson State to receive $1M donation from Charles Barkley 

By Sheyla Fairley

NBA legend Charles Barkley will be donating $1 million to Jackson State University, Jackson, MS. This decision stems from him being a friend of Deion Sanders, the former Jackson State football coach who recently left his position to be a coach for the Colorado Buffaloes.

“They’re probably gonna take a little hit with him leaving, so I want to show them some love because, man, what he accomplished there was pretty extraordinary,” said Barkley in a release.

Yolanda Owens, JSU interim vice president for institutional advancement, talked about how Jackson State appreciates “[Barkley’s] acknowledgement of Jackson State University and the great work that goes on at our institution. Because of his generosity, JSU will have an opportunity to support institutional priorities at a greater level and continue the efforts to elevate the university.”

Paula Jackson promoted to interim athletic director at Hampton

By Sheyla Fairley

Hampton University, Hampton, VA, has announced that Dr. Paula L. Jackson will assume the role of its Interim Director of Athletics on January 4, 2023.

According to an article, Jackson has recently served as the “Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief of Staff and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA)” and has “over 20 years of experience in sports” which include being athletic director at both Savannah State University, Savannah, GA, and Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO.

“I look forward to working closely with [Hampton University] President Williams in this new role and expanding my leadership with our Administration, coaches and athletics staff as we continue to build leaders and champions,” stated Jackson. “I welcome the opportunity to lead Hampton Athletics into our next chapter, as well as help deliver the #1 student experience to our student-athletes.”

For more information, read the full article here.

GeoVax appoints MSM president as special advisor

By Sheyla Fairley

Valerie Montgomery Rice, president and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA, has been appointed as Special Advisor to GeoVax Labs, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company which develops vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases.

“We are delighted Dr. Montgomery Rice is joining in this unique advisory role for GeoVax’s growing ecosystem of outstanding executives, advisors, board members, scientists, and partners,” said David Dodd, GeoVax Chairman and CEO. “Her organizational management acumen and career-long dedication to advance medical training, health equity and other critical areas of public health, will add dimension to our initiatives to expand access to our investigational vaccines and immunotherapies against life-threatening infectious diseases and cancers.”

Read the full article, here.

Tuskegee architect students win NOMAS competition 

By Sheyla Fairley

According to an article, students from Tuskegee University’s, Tuskegee, AL, Department of Architecture “won first place in the National Organization of Minority Architects Student Competition (NOMAS) held in Nashville, Tennessee” and made history as the first HBCU to win the competition against “nearly 30 NOMA chapters” where students were asked to “envision a complex that serves as a cultural center to preserve the history of North Nashville and a new bridge to serve as a landmark and monument for the community.”

“They understood the assignment and worked tirelessly through the various iterations before the final SELAH was conceived,” said Vicki Carter, TU assistant professor and 5th-year studio faculty. “It was a proud moment for us and a challenge to uphold for the students that will follow in their footsteps.”

For more information, read the full article here.

HBCU Alum LLC supports HBCUs through its 2023 scholarships 

By Sheyla Fairley

HBCU Alum LLC, a leading online platform focusing on HBCUs, will be offering its HBCU-Bound Scholarships in January 2023 in order to encourage high school students to attend historically Black colleges and universities.

As stated in a release, the company “aims to emphasize students, alumni, traditions, and positive aspects of the Black College experience” and “plans to continue financially supporting” graduating seniors who will be attending an HBCU in fall 2023.

“Our rapidly-growing social media platform helps to reach students who might be interested in attending but simply aren’t quite sure yet,” said Terrence G. Caldwell, founder of the company. “We provide our audiences with resourceful content, updates on HBCU-centric news, and stories of HBCU achievements by students and alumni. Through the platform, we hope to motivate and inspire masses, including potential students and scholarship awardees.”