A VOICE for JAZZ Contents N C C U N O W Fall 2014
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A MAGAZINE FOR THE FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY FALL 2014 JONATHAN SEXTON PHARMA TO MARKET ALUMNI IN FASHION FASHIONABLY NCCU digital extras LENORA HELM HAMMONDS SEE INSIDE A VOICE FOR JAZZ contents NCCU NOW fall 2014 16 22 features 6 STATES TIGHTEN 16 A VOICE FOR JAZZ 22 PHARMA BELTS ON COLLEGE Professor Lenora Helm Hammonds TO MARKET FUNDING extends the reach of jazz as a record- BRITE Professor Jonathan ing artist and a nationally recognized Students, families may pay Sexton has high hopes for a music educator. bigger share of higher treatment under development education expenses. that could improve the lives of people with Type 2 diabetes. Vocalist, composer and educator Lenora Helm on the cover: Hammonds is spreading the gospel of jazz through her performances and instructing at North Carolina Central University. Photo by Chioke Brown à For the latest NCCU NEWS and updates, visit www.nccu.edu or click to follow us on: 34 FORMULA FOR SUCCESS A math degree from NCCU opens the door to exceptional employment possibilities. 36 THE ULTIMATE HOMECOMING Eagles return to the nest for festivities honoring graduates from years ending in “4” and “1.” 26 46 FASHIONABLY NCCU EAGLES TAKE FLIGHT From design to styling to marketing, graduates make their mark on the Young Eagles doing great textiles and fashion industry. things are recognized at the second Forty Under Forty Gala. Photo courtesy of Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images for BET departments 4 Letter From 44 Alumni Spotlight the Chancellor 49 Planned Giving 8 Campus News 52 Sports 41 Class Notes 56 Take Five 42 Alumni Profile 58 From the NCCU Archives 9 FALL 2014 NCCU NOW 3 from the CHANCELLOR Dear NCCU Alumni and Friends: administration: I want to take a moment to personally thank all of you for chancellor what has been an exceptional academic year! In May, we Debra Saunders-White awarded 1,050 baccalaureate, master’s or juris doctorate degrees and saw these students become the newest Eagles provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs to join the ranks of alumni. Faculty and staff have played a Johnson O. Akinleye vital role in nurturing the talent of our students and ensur- ing that their dreams of earning a degree and furthering vice chancellor of institutional advancement their academic studies were realized. Harriet Frink Davis Our new alumni are some of the best and brightest among interim vice chancellor of their peers. Several of our bachelor’s-degree graduates finance and administration accepted positions at multinational corporations, such Walter Davenport as Microsoft, in North Carolina and around the country, while others are attending top graduate schools in their vice chancellor of research and chosen fields of study throughout the United States. New alumni who were awarded graduate economic development Hazell Reed and professional degrees have acquired additional training that will allow them to advance and excel in their careers. vice chancellor of student affairs Miron P. Billingsley Throughout the 2013-14 academic year, we saw a number of great accomplishments and are celebrating other new points of pride. “Eagle Pride” has gone worldwide, both inside and chief of staff outside the classroom. Wendell Phillips • U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 ranking has NCCU listed as No. 11 among all Histori- contributors: cally Black Colleges, up from No. 12 for the past two years. NCCU is also ranked at No. 65 editors: Ayana D. Hernandez, Renee Elder on the list of Best Regional Universities in the South. • Several schools and colleges received significant grants from major funders, such as the design and layout: Pandora Frazier U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture. photography: • The generous gifts from alumni, friends, faculty and staff generated $5,034,275 for the Chioke Brown, Ivan Watkins 2013-14 fiscal year. More than $1.6 million was received from 2,742 alumni, increasing our alumni participation rate to 10 percent. You made a commitment to support NCCU’s writers: areas of greatest need, including student scholarships. Chatonda Covington Renee Elder Cynthia Fobert Ayana D. Hernandez In August, we welcomed first-year and transfer students of the class of 2018. These Kyle Serba Myra Wooten high-achieving students have average GPAs of 3.45, average SAT scores of 937, and possess Debra Saunders-White the aptitude to both excel and soar – and they will! NCCU NOW Throughout this issue of NCCU Now, please read about alumni and a student who are trail- magazine is published by North Carolina blazers in the fashion industry (page 26) and other alumni who are using their mathematics Central University Office of Public Relations, degrees after graduation (page 34). Learn how professors like Lenora Helm Hammonds are 1801 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707. Phone: 919-530-6295 E-mail: [email protected] taking education beyond the bounds of the NCCU campus (page 16) and students are gaining Please send address corrections to the Alumni Relations invaluable experience assisting in development of a drug to treat Type 2 diabetes (page 22). Office, 2223 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707. This fall, the Division of Institutional Advancement will launch the Road to Eagle Excellence. At a cost of $1.22 each, 13,000 copies of this public docu- This series of visits to key cities across the country allows me and other members of the NCCU ment were printed for a total of $15,949.15 in Fall 2014. community to provide an update on the state of the university, while encouraging support and continued investment in the institution. I look forward to connecting with you and sharing NCCU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges how North Carolina Central University is a gateway to opportunity! of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master’s, education specialist and In Truth and Service, doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation Dr. Debra Saunders-White of NCCU. Chancellor Copyright 2014, North Carolina Central University @DSaundersWhite DSaundersWhite 4 NCCU NOW FALL 2014 CLICK HERE FOR THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF HOMECOMING 2014 the ULTIMATE HOMECOMING EXPERIENCE SEE A LIST OF EVENTS I PAGE 36 6 NCCU NOW FALL 2014 Reduced State Funding Shifts Costs to Students, Families BY CHANCELLOR DEBRA SAUNDERS-WHITE he landscape of higher education is moving more today than it has in years Another trend is more in-depth mea- past. Across the U.S., many of these shifts are occurring within states that suring and reporting on factors that in- T are reducing their financial investment in higher education by requiring fam- dicate how efficient and effective are ilies and other non-state resources to bear more of the burden. institutions of higher learning. According to higher education policy analysts, this trend began during the UNC General Administration launch- economic downturn, which officially started in 2008. Nearly every state in the ed an online data dashboard in March nation is spending less per student today than before the Great Recession, with 2014 that provides detailed information an average reduction of 23 percent, say researchers at the Center on Budget and – both to higher education administra- Policy Priorities in Washington. tors and the public – on the 17 cam- puses in the system. These measures North Carolina’s total cuts to higher Although NCCU is one of the low- include campus-by-campus enrollment education funding over the same pe- est-cost colleges in the UNC system, figures, graduation rates and other riod have been even higher – 25 per- there are still many hurdles to educa- elements of student success, degrees cent – and, as of 2014, it is one of only tion for our students. Since it’s found- awarded, and post-graduation employ- eight states still implementing cutbacks. ing by James E. Shepard in 1910, our ment and wage figures. N.C.’s higher education budget went university’s mission has expanded to of- At NCCU, our goal going forward down by $1.2 billion between 2006 fer advantages of education as well as will be to demonstrate our sustainability and 2011; another $80 million was high-quality educational opportunities as a university by our accomplishments. cut in 2011; and the two-year budget to deserving, disadvantaged students. We will strive to attract even more passed in 2012 reduced funding again A historically black university, North students who are or who have the by $76 million. Carolina Central University today is potential to become high achieving. Some of this money has been made gateway to opportunity for traditional We will work hard to help our students up by tuition increases at our campus- and non-traditional students from a di- graduate in four years. And we will es, which requires many students to in- versity of backgrounds, ethnic groups ensure that an NCCU education has crease their student loan debt. It is now and races. It is as important today as it equipped each graduate with the skills widely estimated that overall student was 105 years ago that NCCU remain needed to move forward after gradu- loan debt totals more than $1 trillion as a beacon of educational access. This ation – either into a rewarding job or nationwide – a record sum. will require NCCU students and the by acceptance into graduate or pro- Also affecting NCCU is a July 2014 university to find new ways of covering fessional school. decision by the North Carolina Board the gap, particularly with many of the of Governors to cap need-based aid at restrictions on parent plus loans.