Sunday, February 15, 2015

Wildcat Dreams, Vol. 2, No. 10



Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015 • Vol. 2, No.10

Wildcat Dreams is Fort Valley State University President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith’s tri-weekly e-newsletter. As an additional resource to stay connected to FVSU, Wildcat Dreams highlights various campus activities and updates about new initiatives and programs. Readers are encouraged to share with friends and family. We welcome your feedback. Please send comments to fvsu_pr@fvsu.edu. Thank you and happy reading!
Read more news on the FVSU Review.


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FVSU President Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith shares highlights of campus activities related to the recognition of the 2015 Black History Month celebration at Fort Valley State University. To view the video, click here.








Wildcat Dreams Special Edition: 

Black History Month


In this special edition of the Wildcat Dreams,  Fort Valley State University celebrates Black History Month.

Since 1976, the nation has officially marked the month of February as Black History Month. The month-long celebration started from Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson's "Negro History Week," which was launched in 1915, fifty years after slavery was abolished in the U.S.
Similar month-long events are now celebrated in other countries including Canada and the United Kingdom.



 Fort Valley High and Industrial School faculty in 1908.

 Thank you to our contributors
Marketing and Communications would like to give a special thanks to the individuals that have written articles for this Black History Month edition.
  • Dr. Dawn Herd-Clark, chair for the Department of History, Geography, Political Science, and Criminal Justice
  • Dr. Peter Dumbuya, professor of history
  • Dr. Fred van Hartesveldt, history faculty member
  • Dr. Christine Lutz, associate professor of history
  • Stacey Watson,  FVSU graduate student of history
  • Christina D. Milton, public relations specialist


Carter G. Woodson, a renowned historian who helped initiate Black History month.

How Black History Month Began

by
 Dr. Christine Lutz, 
associate professor of history
      Black History Month, as Americans call it today, may have begun with a woman’s proposal for a Day of Prayer. It would take a self-made man, Carter G. Woodson, to re-create the Day of Prayer to be the moment at which all Americans honor the contributions to America by peoples of the African Diaspora.

Frances Harper, abolitionist


      In 1903, Frances Harper, author and elocutionist, wrote to the Rev. Francis Grimke and suggested that he join her in promoting the idea of African Americans coming together across the country to pray. Black congregations and denominations had conducted days of prayer for decades since the Negro Day of Prayer on the White House lawn in March, 1863.

However, Harper wanted Grimke to work with her to establish a Negro National Day of Prayer upon which all could agree. The prayers, she suggested, would promote racial unity, good character and courage.

Read more here.






John W. Davison, Fort Valley High and Industrial School's first principal

John W. Davison: One of the faces behind Fort Valley State University 


by

Stacey Watson

FVSU graduate student and Wildcat Dreams special contributor

  
     The beginning of Fort Valley State University is intertwined with one man's dream to provide a school of higher education to African Americans in the south.  John Wesley Davison, founder and principal of Fort Valley High and Industrial School, devised a plan that would provide a quality education to African-American students in the south.

      Davison's birth came at a monumental time for African Americans. He was born Sept. 15, 1865 a few months before the 13th Amendment passed, abolishing slavery in the United States. Born in Crawford County near Hickory Grove he received his early education from a prominent southern family led by A. C Murchison near his home. Working on a field day and night, he managed to learn by reciting lessons with Murchison's children. After leaving Crawford County, Davison relocated to Fulton County where he enrolled at Atlanta University. There, he took classes preparing him for a career in education.[1]                                                     

      After he graduated from college, Davison moved to the small city of Fort Valley, where he taught out of one of the rooms inside his home.

      Read more the entire history about FVSU's start here.






 
A Brief History of Fort Valley State University


 by
Dr. Peter Dumbuya
FVSU professor of history

Two pieces of federal legislation gave rise to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the 19th century. The first was an act of the United States Congress in July 1862, a year after the outbreak of the Civil War. Popularly known as the Morrill Act or the Morrill Land Grant Act, the act empowered the federal government to donate public lands in “a quantity equal to thirty thousand acres for each senator and representative in Congress to which the States are respectively entitled by the apportionment under the census of eighteen hundred and sixty.” The lands and any proceeds from the sale thereof were to be used to support “agriculture and the mechanic arts,” among other subjects, in state colleges and universities. States in rebellion or insurrection against the United States government were not eligible to receive the benefits of this act.

Building upon the act of 1862, the second Morrill Act of 1890 provided annual appropriations in the amount of $15,000 to each state and territory “for the more complete endowment and maintenance of colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts.” The act also provided for an annual increase of $1,000 over the preceding year for the next ten years. Thereafter, Congress appropriated to each state and territory the sum of $50,000 for instruction in food and agricultural sciences and to prepare instructors to teach what it described as the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts.

 
Read more here.
 





 Florence Johnson Hunt, wife of Fort Valley High and Industrial School principal Henry A. Hunt.

Florence Johnson Hunt

by 
Fred R. van Hartesveldt

Department of History, Geography, Political Science, and Criminal Justice

Florence Johnson Hunt is one of the unsung heroes of Fort Valley State University (Fort Valley High and Industrial School when she arrived).  The wife of Henry Alexander Hunt, second principal and a key leader in the growth of the institution, Florence Hunt arrived in Fort Valley in early 1904.  At the time, FVH&I had an annual budget of $840 and an enrollment of 145. 
Although it offered virtually the only possibility of secondary education for blacks in Middle Georgia, the school was on the edge of financial collapse.  It was also struggling for intellectual identity.  Some supporters, white and black, favored an academic model--pre-college courses such as Latin and Greek, for instance.  More were inclined to the vocational model pioneered at Hampton and Tuskegee Institutes.  The first principal, John W. Davison, favored the former and had been forced out.  Although the Hunts’ were academic graduates of Atlanta University, they believed that the vocational approach was the best for the day.  With their cooperation, the advocates of the academic curriculum were removed and vocational programs, primarily agriculture and manual labor, established.

The Hunts, college sweethearts, left middle-class circumstances in Raleigh, N.C., where he was on the faculty of Biddle (later Johnson C. Smith) University, for the considerably more primitive Fort Valley.  The change had more impact on Florence than on Henry.  The couple had three young children, and as was the custom, running the household and raising the children were largely the responsibilities of the mother.  She lamented the lack of amenities such as running water and comforts such as flower gardens.  In addition, she was never without formal and informal duties at Fort Valley High and Industrial School.

Read more here.



    
    
  Horace Mann Bond, first president of Fort Valley State University.


FVSU's first president: Horace Mann Bond, father of Civil Rights champion Julian Bond

by
Christina D. Milton
public relations specialist

Horace Mann Bond, the first president of Fort Valley State University, had a distinguished career as a historian and college administrator. He was the father of civil rights activist and Georgia lawmaker Julian Bond.

FVSU's first president was born in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 8, 1904 to Jane Alice Browne and James Bond. His parents were children of former slaves that valued education. Both were college-educated and graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio.

Bond graduated from Lincoln Institute. In 1919, he attended Lincoln University, a prestigious HBCU in Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1923. The next year, he began his graduate work at the University of Chicago in Illinois. He married Julia Agnes Washington, and the couple had three children, Jane Marguerite, Horace Julian and James George.

Bond worked for twelve years to complete his doctorate degree. Between 1924 and 1939 he taught at Langston University in Oklahoma, and served as the school's chairman of education. He also was appointed the first academic dean of the newly formed Dillard University in New Orleans, La. Bond produced his best known work "The Education of the Negro in the American Social Order," and completed his doctoral dissertation published in 1939 as "Negro Education in Alabama: A Study in Cotton and Steel."

In 1939, he accepted the presidency at Fort Valley State College (which later became FVSU). 

 Julian Bond, civil rights leader, is the son of Horace Mann Bond, Fort Valley State University's first president.  Bond spent his first two years on campus.


During his presidency, his son Julian Bond spent his first two years on campus. He spent the next five years improving the school's curriculum and finances. The college's income doubled during his reign, and the state appropriation more than triple. He oversaw the school's transition from a four-year baccalaureate granting institution.

Read more here



Austin T. Walden, an alum of Fort Valley High and Industrial School (which would later become Fort Valley State University), was sworn in as the state of Georgia's first African-American judge.




FVSU alum Austin T. Walden: Georgia's first African-American judge since Reconstruction 
  
by
Christina D. Milton
public relations specialist

Austin T. Walden, a graduate of Fort Valley High and Industrial School, was a renowned attorney, political broker and civil right champion that was sworn in as Georgia's first African-American judge since the Reconstruction period.  

As an attorney, Walden argued court cases to help attain equal pay for black educators in the state of Georgia. He also litigated lawsuits that helped to desegregate the Atlanta public school system and the University of Georgia.

Walden, a Fort Valley native, was born on April 12, 1885 to former slaves Jennie Tomlin and Jeff Walden. As a teen, he attended FVHIS and was the sole graduate of the class of 1902. He matriculated to Atlanta University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1907. Later, he received a L.L.B. degree from the University of Michigan's Law School in 1911.   

The civil rights attorney began practicing law in Macon the next year. He joined the Army in June 1917, and served as a captain and assistant judge advocate. He married Mary Ellen Denney of Baltimore, Md. on May 18, 1918, and had two daughters Jenelsie and Austella.   

Read more here





 
FVSU alum Josiah Phelps - Former FFA Secretary 
FVSU alum Josiah Phelps is a Georgia Agriculture Education Hall of Fame member. He earned his bachelor's degree from Fort Valley State University and a Master's of Science Degree from Ohio State University. Phelps served in vocational agriculture for 32 years, and served Georgia's youth through the FFA Alumni.
He helped to desegregate the Future Farmers of America organization, when he became the FFA Executive Secretary in 1980.

Read more about his life here.










A newly refinished Huntington Hall during its ribbon-cutting ceremony.




Restoring FVSU's historical landmarks: Huntington Hall

 
by
        Christina D. Milton 
public relations specialist


Fort Valley State University's Huntington Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus, underwent a massive face lift. In the old days, the stately structure served as a dormitory for female students. Thanks to the help of $4.2 million in state and federal funding, the majestic 13,500-square-foot red brick building re-opened as the new home of FVSU's External Affairs Division. 

"Huntington is a signature building on FVSU's campus," says Stanley Jennings, principal architect of J.W. Robinson and Associates, the architectural firm overseeing Huntington's renovations.

The original construction of Huntington Hall was a labor of love. In 1907, leaders at Fort Valley High and Industrial School, which later became FVSU, secured a $25,000 donation from railroad financier Collis P. Huntington to construct the dormitory. They named the building in honor of the businessman. Student labor hand-fired each brick used in the building's outer masonry and helped erect the structure in 1908.  The National Historical Society recently designated the 103 year old facility a historic landmark.

"Because Huntington Hall is designated as a national historic building, we had to follow strict guidelines," says Jennings. "Our company wanted to retain the original fabric and feel of the building as much as possible."

Read more here.




 Ohio Hall after its restoration.



Miller Hall



FVSU's historical buildings: Ohio and Miller Halls


  by
Christina D. Milton
public relations specialist
 


For Elizabeth Miller, her best memories were made at Fort Valley State University. As a teen, she fondly recalls attending fraternity-sponsored events inside Ohio Hall, which started as a male dormitory in 1930. Later, she witnessed the construction of the Miller Science Building, the university's former science building named in honor of her grandfather, James Isaac Miller, one of the institution's original founders.


"I just wanted to say thank you so much for preserving these buildings," said Miller during an August 6, 2012 ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the reopening of Ohio Hall and the Miller Building. The brief program that preceded the ribbon-cutting ceremony drew a large crowd of faculty and staff inside Ohio Hall's newly redesigned lobby.



"Ohio Hall was a gift to FVSU from the Ohio Women's Episcopal Church," she said. "We learned [from their gift] that you could do more than just garnish wealth. All the fraternities did their [events] there. In the past, you could walk out and see the Florence J. Hunt Memorial Infirmary standing across from Ohio Hall. It offered medical care, not only to Fort Valley students, but to the community, too." Miller briefly moved to Massachusetts then returned to Fort Valley, only to find out that the campus infirmary had been demolished to make way for new facilities. "To tear [the infirmary] down, was to tear down our history and the foundation that Florence J. Hunt built in this community," she said.



Read the entire story here.




"A Light in the Valley" is a historical overview Fort Valley State University's beginnings.



A Light in the Valley: A Pictorial History of Fort Valley State since 1895
Historian Donnie D. Bellamy wrote the essential facts of Fort Valley State, including the State Teachers and Agricultural College of Forsyth.
See WMAZ's video interview with interim library director Frank Mahitab about Bellamy's celebrated historical account of our university.

Watch the video here







 Dr. Cornelius Vanderbelt Troup, Fort Valley State University's second president.

 

 Past FVSU Presidents


  • Dr. Horace Mann Bond (1939-1945) 
  • Dr. Cornelius Vanderbelt Troup (1945-1966) 
  • Dr. Waldo William Emerson Blanchet (1966-1973) 
  • Dr. Cleveland W. Pettigrew'43 (1973-1982) 
  • Dr. Walter W. Sullivan (Acting President) 1983
  • Dr. Luther Burse (1988-1990)
  • Dr. Melvin E. Walker (Acting President) 1988-1990
  • Dr. Oscar Prater (1990-2001)
  • Dr. Kofi Lomotey (2001-2005)
  • Dr. William Harris (2005-2006) 
  • Dr. Larry E. Rivers '73 (2006-2013)
  • Atty. Kimberly Ballard-Washington (Interim President) 1939-1945 (2013)
For pictures of past presidents, visit FVSU's Presidential Gallery.


 



 George Washington Carver, botanist and inventor is renowned for his work his research into peanuts.

Dr. Charles Drew, an African-American doctor, created storage methods for blood and blood plasma for transplanting into patients.
 
Famous African-American scientists and inventors

Learn about the lives of 14 African-American scientists and inventors that have broken barriers and changed lives.

    Benjamin Banneker  (astronomer and scientist)
    Bernard A. Harris Jr. - (first African-American to walk on the moon)
    Dr. Mae C. Jemison (astronaut, doctor and chemical engineer)
    Dr. Charles Drew (doctor that created storage methods for blood)
    George Carruthers physicist, inventor of the ultraviolet camera
    Percy Julian - chemist, Civil Rights Activist
    Daniel Hale Williams - performed the first open-heart surgery
    George Washington Carver - botanist, scientist
    Garrett Morgan - inventor
    Otis Boykin - inventor of the pacemaker
    James West - inventor of the electric transducer in microphones
    Ernest Everett Just - biologist
    Neil deGrasse Tyson - astrophysicist
    Ben Carson - neurosurgeon




Ralph Bunche, the first Black person in the world to win the Nobel Prize.


 Black Nobel Laureates

Learn about individuals of African descent from around the world who have received the Nobel Prizes.

Nobel Prize Winners

Ralph Bunche 1950 (United States, Peace 1st Black Person to win.)
Albert John Luthuli 1960 (South Africa, Peace, 1st Black African to win.)
Martin Luther King Jr. 1964 (United States, Peace)
Anwar El Sadat 1978 (Egypt, Peace)
Sir William Arthur Lewis 1979 (Saint Lucia, Economics)
Desmond Tutu 1984 (South Africa, Peace)
Wole Soyinka 1986 (Nigeria, Literature)
Derek Walcott 1992 (Saint Lucia, Literature)
Toni Morrison 1993 (United States, Literature, 1st Black woman to win prize.)
Nelson Mandela 1993 (South Africa, Peace)
Kofi Annan  2001 (Ghana, Peace)
Wangari Maathi 2004 (Kenya, 1st Black African woman to win prize.)
Barack Obama 2009 (United States, Peace)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 2011 (Liberia, Peace)
Leymah Gwobee 2011 (Liberia, Peace)





Author and activist W.E.B. DuBois

 W.E.B. DuBois: FVSU's first Founders Day Speaker


 Fort Valley State University's Founders Day honors the 18 men that helped to found our campus.

The very first speaker was W.E.B. DuBois, a historian, civil rights activist, Pan Africanist, sociologist, author and editor. He was born in Barrington, Massachusetts.

Learn more about DuBois' life as a scholar and activist here.

See the very first Founders Day program in the University of Massachusetts-Amherst's special collection of W.E.B. DuBois' papers online here.

Read FVSU associate professor of history, Dr. Christine Lutz's article about W.E.B. DuBois' participation in the Pan African Congress here.



 



Odessa Hardison McNair wrote the second verse of FVSU's alma mater.



Odessa Hardison McNair: FVSU's Living Legend

by
Christina D. Milton
public relations specialist
Dr. Odessa Hardison McNair is a living legend on the campus of Fort Valley State University. Every time a special occasion like Founders Day takes place on campus, students, faculty and staff members sing the university's alma mater, written in part by McNair. This month, the university is honoring McNair as one of its featured alums.

McNair grew up in the city of Fort Valley. After graduating from high school, she matriculated onto Fort Valley State College's campus to pursue a degree in business education. At the time, Dr. Cornelius V. Troup was the president of the school.  

"It was a beautiful campus then," said McNair. "We also had a good president. We had good instructors who were very strict. We didn't have the technology that students have now. Our instructors were serious, and they were hard. We knew that we were coming here for a reason: we were coming here to get an education. That's what they emphasized. We had to follow the rules of the campus, and we had what they called a scope chart. If we weren't in our seats during chapel, then they would take the roll, and if you were absent, then everyone would know. They were very sincere about education at that time."

McNair graduated from FVSC in 1954. She taught in Fort Valley for two years, before she was hired by President Troup to work as a secretary for his administrative dean, Waldo W. E. Blanchet.

Read more here.





 
Black History Month Wall of Wisdom



View more quotes from inspirational leaders and figures on Fort Valley State University's Walls of Wisdom Pinterest Page.





 


  FVSU to show Selma film on Feb. 24


Fort Valley State University will show the movie Selma, along with hosting a panel discussion at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 in the C.W. Pettigrew Center.







 FVSU poised for enrollment climb

Here is a snapshot of where FVSU's applications and admissions were at this time (February 13) during previous years compared to now.
  • Applications for Fall 2013 as of Feb. 13 - 1068
  • Applications for Fall 2014 as of Feb. 13 - 458
  • Applications for Fall 2015 as of Feb. 13 - 3556

  • Admissions for Fall 2013 as of Feb. 13 - 246
  • Admissions for Fall 2014 as of Feb. 13 - 126
  • Admissions for Fall 2015 as of Feb. 13 - 502
* Source: FVSU Office of Enrollment Management 





English as a Second Language Program coming soon 


 In an effort to fulfill community and workforce needs related to the improvement in English language proficiency, Fort Valley State University is planning to establish a Second Language (ESL) program. 
The program, which begins this semester in Mini-Mester II, will offer instruction in reading, writing and speaking to individuals whose native language is not English. 









 FVSU's Living in the Valley radio show


Fort Valley State University has a radio show called Living in the Valley. Catch up on past episodes online.

    Interview with Cynthia Parks, director of Financial Aid
    Interview with FVSU alum Geneva West - Real I.M.P.A.C.T.
    Interview with Lisa Wilson, Office of Sponsored Programs
    Interview with Dr. Isaac Crumbly, CDEP director
    Interview with Dr. Dwayne Daniels, FVSU's Chemistry Chair
    Interview with Terrence Wolfork and Yolanda Surrency - Mobile Technology
    Interview with FVSU's Adult Learning Consortium
    FVSU Living in the Valley featuring Mayor Barbara Williams
    Who is FVSU
    Living in the Valley featuring Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith
    Living in the Valley Featuring Calandra Wright







 

 Fort Valley State University's Latest Ad

Watch Fort Valley State University's latest commercial on YouTube. To apply for admission at FVSU visit our admissions page.

 












COMING SOON - The FVSU Mobile App AND the new Website







CLICK BELOW FOR YOUR FVSU

FALL SPORTS SEASON SCHEDULES


WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

MEN'S BASKETBALL

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY



OTHER UPCOMING FVSU EVENTS

Feb. 16, 2015 - FVSU Scholarship Luncheon
March 6-7 - Farm, Home & Ministers' Conference






Are you ready to make a gift today? 


We have several options to make it easy and secure for you.

Text to Give: Text “Wildcats” to 52000. A $5 donation will be charged to the givers’ wireless bill or deducted from a prepaid balance.

All charges are billed by and payable to mobile service providers. The account holder must authorize donations. 

Messaging and data rates may apply.

Online: Visit http://www.fvsu.edu/give-online to make a secure gift today. 

By Phone: Contact the Fort Valley State University Foundation, Inc. at (478) 825-6474. 

By Mail: Fort Valley State University Foundation, Inc. 1005 State University Drive Fort Valley, GA 31030 Please complete the attached PAN, specifying where you would like the gift to be designated (i.e. FVSU Marching Band, Annual Scholarship Luncheon, Athletics, etc; ).





























Sunday, February 1, 2015

Wildcat Dreams - Vol. 2, No. 9



Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015 • Vol. 2, No.9

Wildcat Dreams is Fort Valley State University President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith’s tri-weekly e-newsletter. As an additional resource to stay connected to FVSU, Wildcat Dreams highlights various campus activities and updates about new initiatives and programs. Readers are encouraged to share with friends and family. We welcome your feedback. Please send comments to fvsu_pr@fvsu.edu. Thank you and happy reading!
Read more news on the FVSU Review. 
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Shanah Sharpe

FVSU Alum Spotlight: Shanah Sharpe

Where are you from?

I am originally from Kingston, Jamaica. I moved to Atlanta, Ga. when I was fifteen years of age (tenth grade).

How did you end up at FVSU and when did you graduate?

I learned about Fort Valley State University while I was a senior in high school. FVSU was among the schools that visited my high school (Westlake High). I was very fascinated by the recruiters and the passion the students expressed while describing their experience to us.  Thus, I applied and was accepted. FVSU was one of my top two choices of selection for colleges (Bethune-Cookman was the second). However, my father quickly narrowed my choice down since the HOPE scholarship was available if I stayed in the state of Georgia. Hence, I enrolled at FVSU in 2009 where I graduated magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics four years later (2013).

Read more here.




FVSU alum Earl Lockette shares the amazing story of his son's Super Bowl 2015 journey. 
His son, Ricardo Lockette, is a former FVSU football standout and current wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. This will be Ricardo Lockette's third straight Super Bowl appearance. 






Two FVSU online programs ranked top in the nation


Affordable Colleges Foundation (ACF), a resource for online learning and college affordability information, recently published its new ranking of 2015’s Top Online degree programs. ACF used a proprietary scoring system to evaluate hundreds of colleges with the best online psychology program options. Fort Valley State University’s online criminal justice program was ranked 21st in the nation, and its psychology program was ranked 24th.

 “Our recent rankings in the top 25 of the nation’s best online degree programs in Criminal Justice and Psychology are testament to not only the economic value of Fort Valley State University degrees but also to the dedication and excellence of our faculty and staff,” said Dr. Uppinder Mehan, FVSU’s dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “While online degrees allow students greater flexibility in reaching their goals they pose unique challenges, and our students benefit from faculty and staff who are experts in their disciplines as well as knowledgeable about the online world.”

Read more here.








Fort Valley State University contractors recently completed repairs on the pool.



Administrators and students cut the ribbon.


ROTC water exercises.

FVSU's pool re-opens


During Middle Georgia’s coldest months, Wildcat students and the local community can warm up by taking a dip in Fort Valley State University’s newly re-opened pool.

To celebrate, the university held a Big Splash pool re-opening and ribbon cutting on Jan. 30 in the Health and Physical Education Complex.

Fort Valley State University president Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, first lady Francille Griffith, and members of the campus’ royal court and Student Government Association cut a ribbon to celebrate the completion of repairs on the pool.

Read more here.




 

HBCU Digest Interview with FVSU President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith


 Fort Valley State University president Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith was recently featured in HBCU Digest's presidential podcast series. The interview was conducted by Jarrett Carter, founding editor of HBCU Digest. Hear the podcast by visiting this website.





Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson Jr. speaks to FVSU crowd about managing financial security and education at the Fort Valley State University on Jan. 29.


Jessie Jackson and Magnify Money host financial literacy class at FVSU


Fort Valley State University and a national organization supported by civil rights icon Jesse Jackson Sr. joined forces to offer FVSU students and Middle Georgia citizens a financial literary class designed to help them become better consumer advocates.

The university hosted two financial literacy classes called “Foundations for College Success and Lifelong Learning” on Thursday, Jan. 29 in the C. W. Pettigrew Center. The sessions were lead by Nick Clements, a former banker turned consumer advocate and co-founder of MagnifyMoney.com.

To see video from the visit, click here. Read more here.



Dr. Isaac Crumbly, director of FVSU's Cooperative Developmental Energy Program, (left) and Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith (right) gives an award to an honoree at last year's CDEP Energy Career Day and Student Recruitment Conference.

FVSU's CDEP to host 32nd Annual Energy Career Day Conference

Fort Valley State University’s Cooperative Developmental Energy Program (will celebrate its 32nd Annual Energy Career Day and Student Recruitment Conference on Feb. 22-24, 2015. A Scholarship Awards Luncheon will be held 11:15 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23 in the C.W. Pettigrew Center.

The university’s program will present six high school students with $300,000 in scholarships. Each scholarship, which will allow students to attend CDEP’s dual-degree program is valued at $50,000 each. During the luncheon, members of the audience will include representatives from industry and government, state legislators, CDEP scholarship recipients, CDEP alumni and faculty.

Read more here.




 Nassau, Bahamas

FVSU seeks Bahamian students at Recruitment Fair

 A Fort Valley State University recruiter will fly to the Caribbean later this month to share information about the university’s academic programs during an upcoming recruitment fair.

Calandra Wright, the university’s director of admissions, will attend the Freeport/Nassau College Fair in the Bahamas. She will speak with potential students at the Nassau fair on Feb. 27 at The College of the Bahamas in Oakes Field, Nassau.

“The recruitment trip by Director of Admissions Calandra Wright is our university’s second international recruitment outreach, following that to Barbados last November,” said Dr. Ivelaw Griffith, president of Fort Valley State. “As was the case in Barbados, I’m calling on my personal network in Bahamas to help make that venture successful. But unlike Barbados, we also will be engaging alums in the Bahamas, both to aid that February recruitment venture and to re-activate the Bahamas alumni chapter. Senior Director Edward Boston is spear-heading that aspect.”

Read more here.





 
 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity members and honorees at the Martin Luther King Scholarship and Awards Luncheon.

FVSU students receive scholarships from fraternity

A fraternal organization awarded two Fort Valley State University students scholarships that will help cover the expenses of attending college.

Gamma Sigma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc., a fraternity committed to fostering the spirit of brotherhood and training a new generation of leaders, awarded Brian Cornish, an FVSU sophomore, and Andrew Crosby, a senior majoring in Middle Grades Education, $1,500 scholarships during its 21st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship and Awards Luncheon held Jan. 19 at First Baptist Church Garmon Street New Beginnings Center.

Read more here.  



FVSU to host teacher educator conference

This month, Fort Valley State University will host a conference that will provide teacher educator programs at historically black colleges with strategies to help increase the number of instructors of color within the classroom. On Feb. 17-18, the university will host "A Call to Action: Raising the TIDES: Teaching Preparation Investigating Dimensions of Excellence and Service in the C. W. Pettigrew Center.

During the event, Dr. Ivory A. Toldson, deputy director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, will address administrators, professors and students at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The deputy directory has been featured on MSNBC, C-SPAN2, NPR News  and publications including The Washington Post, New York Times, Newsweek Magazine and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.

Read more here.








Dr. Nirmal Joshee (L), head of the graduate biotechnology program at Fort Valley State University, instructs Northeast High School senior Auriel Wright at the Houston Stallworth Agricultural Research Station.

High school student conducts experiments at Fort Valley State University


Auriel Wright, a senior attending Northeast High School in Macon, Ga., was looking for an adequate laboratory to conduct agriculture research. An encounter with an instructor from Fort Valley State University's College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology changed her fortunes.

Auriel learned about FVSU's facilities through Dr. Curtis Borne, a FVSU agriculture education professor while attending an FFA meeting at Northeast. "I told him about my project and how I was seeking lab space," Auriel said. Borne then told her to contact Dr. Nirmal Joshee, head of FVSU's graduate biotechnology program.

"She had a wonderful project, but she did not have the necessary facilities at her own school to complete her work," Joshee said. "Because we are an agricultural research station, we are very well equipped to conduct research on plants, animals, microbes and biotechnology as a whole," said Joshee, explaining why FVSU's facilities are ideal for Auriel's experiment.  

Read more here.


 





Participants gather in front of Wildcat Commons before the march.

A crowd honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marches down State University Boulevard.

FVSU holds annual march to honor civil rights leader 


The Fort Valley State University family and community recently marched down State University Boulevard to honor the life of a slain civil rights leader. The annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Observance March took place Monday, Jan. 19. Following the march, participants entered Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for a short program about the fallen leader.



Read more here.



Student enrolls at Fort Valley State University's Fall Open House.

A current FVSU College of Education student speaks to a parent and young woman about the university's educational programs.

Two potential students in the lobby of the C.W. Pettigrew Center during FVSU's Fall Open House.

Registration opens for 2015 Open House

The Spring Open House is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7 and March 28, from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the C. W. Pettigrew Center. In addition to showcasing academic, research and mentoring programs, visitors will get a chance to meet and greet current students, faculty and staffers. Also scheduled is a Greek fraternity and sorority exhibition, academic bowl, basketball game and a special presentation for the 2014 FVSU Wildcat basketball players and coaches.
 "Open House is an extraordinary opportunity for FVSU to showcase its Wildcat spirit," said Sha-Ron Jones, FVSU's director of recruitment. Jones says the program will give prospective students time to meet personally with college deans and professors in different academic disciplines.
Read more here.





 Annette Burgess, the event organizer, addresses attendees at the conference.


Conference attendees listen to speakers at the event.

FVSU hosts two-day leadership conference for students


Fort Valley State University recently held its annual conference to help future leaders meet the professional challenges in the corporate America.

The 2014 iLead Conference took place Jan. 23-24 in the C. W. Pettigrew Center.

Chata Spikes, a media personality, writer and former FVSU professor, hosted the two-day leadership conference that featured motivational strategist Kervance Ross.

During the conference, students attended breakout sessions that helped them navigate professional settings and provided them the tools that would ensure their success in the global marketplace.



  Attendees from FVSU's 2014 Scholarship Luncheon.

Reminder: FVSU to host 28th annual scholarship luncheon

Fort Valley State University’s largest scholarship luncheon to aid deserving students will be held on Feb. 16, 2015. The 28th annual FVSU Scholarship Luncheon is scheduled for noon and will be hosted by U.S. Congressman Sanford Bishop and State Representative Calvin Smyre. Doors for the luncheon will open at 11 a.m.

The theme for this year’s luncheon is “Keeping the Flame of Excellence Burning.”

“This is our largest fundraiser of the year,” said Kristie Kenney, director of the FVSU Foundation. “We would love for everyone to contribute to help make this event a success.”

Read more here.


Georgia lawmakers, administrators and Wildcat supporters at the 2014 FVSU Day at the Capitol.

Reminder: FVSU to hold second annual day at the capitol


Fort Valley State University will provide lawmakers with a glimpse into Wildcat Country during the second annual FVSU Day at the Capitol on February 11, 2015 in Atlanta.

The event is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to noon and will include brief presentations by key university leaders and student scholars.

“Alums and supporters should not miss this special occasion,” said Kristie Kenney, director of the FVSU Foundation, Inc. "This year, the university will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the legislation that established 1890 land-grant universities. This event was launched by Dr. Mark Latimore Jr. (an FVSU Extension administrator), and we want the legislative body to know that FVSU is a premier land grant institution that is making great strides in agricultural research."
Read more here.




 
 Shirley Ellis (left center) with Fort Valley State University Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith (center) and Mass Communications Department students.

Broadcast Manager receives NPBC award for second year

For the second consecutive year, Fort Valley State University's Broadcast Manager  Shirley Ellis, was one of the award honorees at the annual National Broadcasting Professionals Coalition's ( NBPC) Radio & Records Awards Ceremony.   During the ceremony held at the BackStage in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 14, 2014, Ellis was the recipient of a "Women in Radio & Music" award for her contributions in the radio and music industry

"It's so wonderful to be recognized by my peers in the business. I am so elated to be honored with some of the most distinguished women in the business,"  Ellis commented about receiving the award.

Read more here.





Two employees receive PAWS awards


Two Fort Valley State University employees were recently honored for their excellent customer service to students, employees, and the community.

Sharon Palms, a retention specialist with FVSU's Center for Retention Services, and Teresa Joseph, an adviser in the university's Office of Financial Aid,  received the Providing Awesome Wildcat Service Award on Jan. 21 for their commitment to customer service excellence.

FVSU president, Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, commended the employees for being good examples to others.

Read more here.




FVSU leadership team participates in SWOT analysis as part of the 2015 Strategic Planning Process at Columbus State University's Cunningham Center. 


 Strategic Planning Guiding co-chair Dr. Donta Truss, FVSU associate vice president for Institutional Research and Planning, reviews identified threats during a SWOT analysis.


 FVSU focus group session.

 President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith addresses the crowd.

 FVSU launches strategic plan focus group sessions

In January 2015, Fort Valley State University kicked off a series of meetings to help the university map out its new Strategic Plan. University administrators listened to groups of stakeholders that included faculty, staff, students and members of the community.
Future sessions are planned, including an Alumni/Community Focus Group meeting:

Date: Saturday, February 7, 2015 
Times: 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. or Noon (only one session is required)
Location: Founders Hall Auditorium

To view photos from the other sessions, click here.


 Dr. Uppinder Mehan, Fort Valley State University's dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

 

 Dr. Govind Kannan, dean of the College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology.

 

 Lynn Hobbs, FVSU's vice president of Business and Finance.

 FVSU holds Leadership Retreat

Fort Valley State University employees recently attended a leadership retreat session that would help them tackle the challenges on the job, Jan. 23 at the Agricultural Technology Conference Center. The theme of this year's retreat was "Facing and Fixing."

Please visit our Flickr site for photographs from the administrative retreat here.


(Click the image for a larger view of the document)

FVSU releases latest economic impact facts

Administrators at FVSU needed to document the institution’s economic impact for the purpose of better promoting FVSU’s value to the University System of Georgia, Peach County, community members, university stakeholders, and state legislators.

While the University System of Georgia (USG) already conducts annual economic impact reports on its 31 constituent institutions, FVSU desired a more detailed analysis focused on its specific economic and social impacts.

To quantify FVSU’s influence on local, regional, and statewide economic development efforts, the university commissioned Hanover Research to perform both quantitative and qualitative economic impact analyses.

Hanover’s evaluation provided the following insights to supplement the USG report:
• Expense-based analysis in addition to budget-based evaluation;
• Long-term economic benefits (e.g., contributions to workforce development, increased lifetime earning power associated with the degrees achieved by its graduates); and
• Long-term social benefits (e.g., FVSU-hosted student community service and volunteer work, cultural programs, athletic events).

The validated that in fiscal year (FY) 2013, FVSU’s operating, capital, payroll, and student spending supported over 1,300 jobs and contributed nearly $139 million to the Georgia economy.

Further, based on the estimated earning potential in the state of Georgia, FVSU’s graduating class of 2012 will earn nearly $9.5 million more per year than state residents lacking comparable education credentials.

An invested member of the Fort Valley community, FVSU operates programs now proven to support a diverse cross-section of local residents. FVSU’s impact on the local economy totaled nearly $90 million in FY 2013, and supported 1,000 jobs within a six-county region surrounding the institution. The output amount was fueled by $43 million in local spending within the region by FVSU and $25 million in spending by university students.




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Alums featured in Atlanta Business Journal

A prominent Atlanta publication recently featured two Fort Valley State University alums who are blazing trails in the world of business.

Tanya Scott-Pilcher, a United HealthCare manager of the Southeast Region, and Dr. Lawrence E. Marable, owner of Marable Dental Center, were spotlighted in the 2014 Fall Issue of the Atlanta Business Journal. Pick up a copy today!




Save-the-Date: FVSU to show the movie Selma


The movie Selma and a panel discussion will be held March 18, 2015 at the Health and Physical Education Complex. More details soon.







FVSU Ag Advice Column: Help Stop the Spread of the Flu Virus


Frequent hand washing is the best defense against the spreading of flu germs. Although it may seem like common sense to some people, the instructions for proper hand washing below are overlooked by many and make a difference.


Read more here.







FVSU holds internship fair


Students interested in gaining an edge in the business world after graduation learned about internship opportunities that would help polish their professional skills during the university’s Internship Fair on Jan. 21 in the Lyons Student Center.  

The event was sponsored by Fort Valley State University’s Career and Alumni Services Department.

For more information about potential internship opportunities, contact FVSU’s Career and Alumni Services at (478) 825-6347.



 
Dr. Uppinder Mehan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

FVSU Voices: The College of Arts and Sciences Blog

 Belated Happy New Year!


All the faculty, staff, and students at FVSU and the College of Arts and Sciences looked forward to the break and have come back energized and ready to learn and work.

CAS has been working on a developing new programs and concentrations and we hope to get number of them started this Fall 2015 semester.

Read more here.


  

English as a Second Language Program coming soon 


 In an effort to fulfill community and workforce needs related to the improvement in English language proficiency, Fort Valley State University is planning to establish a Second Language (ESL) program. 
The program, slated to begin in spring 2015 with first-level courses, will offer instruction in reading, writing and speaking to individuals whose native language is not English. 

More details coming soon.

 


A presenter at FVSU's iLead conference.

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Fort Valley State University's Flickr Stream


Did you miss a recent event? You can catch up with the latest pictures from Fort Valley State University events on our Flickr Stream.

    Inaugural Mid-Year Faculty-Staff Institute
    Richard Miller's Retirement
    Vice Chancellor for Economic Development and Team Visit
    Strategic Planning Kick-Off Event
    MLK March/Program and Luncheon
    PAWS Winners - Jan. 20, 2014
    Faculty Senate Breakfast with President
    Strategic Planning Focus Group
Leadership Retreat
iLead Conference

 




FVSU in the News

Did you miss a recent event? You can catch up with the latest pictures from Fort Valley State University events on our Flickr Stream.

 FVSU's head start could get millions for child development
  Students to attend FVSU on Michael Brown scholarships
    Jesse Jackson speaks at Fort Valley town hall
    Rev. Jesse Jackson visits Fort Valley
    Reverend Jesse Jackson pushes for community involvement in Fort Valley
    Reverend Jesse Jackson visits Fort Valley School
FVSU pool grand re-opening makes big splash









 FVSU's Living in the Valley radio show


Fort Valley State University has a radio show called Living in the Valley. Catch up on past episodes online.

    Interview with Cynthia Parks, director of Financial Aid
    Interview with FVSU alum Geneva West - Real I.M.P.A.C.T.
    Interview with Lisa Wilson, Office of Sponsored Programs
    Interview with Dr. Isaac Crumbly, CDEP director
    Interview with Dr. Dwayne Daniels, FVSU's Chemistry Chair
    Interview with Terrence Wolfork and Yolanda Surrency - Mobile Technology
    Interview with FVSU's Adult Learning Consortium
    FVSU Living in the Valley featuring Mayor Barbara Williams
    Who is FVSU
    Living in the Valley featuring Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith
    Living in the Valley Featuring Calandra Wright







 

 Fort Valley State University's Latest Ad

Watch Fort Valley State University's latest commercial on YouTube. To apply for admission at FVSU visit our admissions page.

 












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OTHER UPCOMING FVSU EVENTS


Feb. 11, 2015 - FVSU at the Capitol
Feb. 16, 2015 - FVSU Scholarship Luncheon







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Online: Visit http://www.fvsu.edu/give-online to make a secure gift today. 

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