Sunday, December 28, 2008

Alumnus Athony Daniels, jr. has annouced candidacy for Alabama state senate

Alabama A&M Alumnus, Anthony Daniels, jr. announced his candidacy for the Alabama State Senate District 7 seat. Daniels is apart of the new breed of progressive politicians that are focused fundamental American family values: affordable education, improved communities through economic development for all people, and quality affordable accessible health care. For greater detail see www.electanthonydaniels.com.

MEET the CANDIDATE

Anthony was born in Bartow, Florida. Shortly after, his parents decided to take him to live with his maternal grandparents in Midway, Alabama. Anthony’s parents were confident that his grandparents could take better care of him until they were able to do so. Although they did not have much money, they provided him with a strong foundation of values, morals, etiquette, faith, and a hard work ethic. Anthony experienced tough love and hardships as he grew up transitioning between Midway, Alabama with his grandparents, aunts and uncles to Florida with his biological parents. Not withstanding, in an unstable environment, Anthony was able to find peace and confidence in order to strive for his best potential in every arena of his life. Anthony took out student loans to pay for tuition and other related expenses at Alabama A& M University. While attending college, he demonstrated leadership qualities on the local, state, and national levels.

Anthony became acclimated to citizens throughout the nation while traveling to inform college students about critical educational issues. . Anthony’s supreme leadership capabilities landed him an elected position as the National Education Association’s Student Program Chairman, where he represented over 62,000 student members enrolled on over 1100 colleges and universities. Anthony continues to be an advocate for education. He continues to speak to the youth and young adults around the country in order to positively influence them in identifying their strengths and talents and reach their highest potential. Anthony is dedicated to being a committed public servant. Therefore as a public servant, Anthony pledges to lead by emphasizing the importance and benefits of Education, Health Care, the Economy, and Transportation.

EARLY YEARS


He was raised in Midway, Alabama by his grandparents, the late Willie Mae and Willie James Dubose, who previously spent years toiling under conditions of humiliation and oppression on the Sehoy plantation in Guerryton, Alabama. After the death of Willie Mae Dubose, Anthony’s Uncle Dubose became his legal guardian in Alabama. Throughout his young life, traveled back and forth form Alabama to Florida. By the time he finished high school, he resided in six different households with family members who took turns providing for him.


Anthony’s parents, Anthony Lee Daniels and Gertrude Daniels tried hard to provide a stable home for him in Florida, but his heart was in Alabama. He always found his way back to Alabama. During his high school years, Anthony was taken in by Gregory Terrence Graves, who Anthony considers a surrogate father, brother, mentor, and best friend. Gregory taught Anthony skills and values he had never learned elsewhere. It was Gregory Graves who taught Anthony the value of a higher education, which remains a top priority among his core values today.


THE COLLEGE YEARS


The impact of Greg’s inspirational lectures reflectived in Anthony’s high academic achievements and although Greg was proud of all Anthony had achieved in college, he wanted to ensure that Anthony continued to prosper. Therefore, Greg continued to provide moral and financial support. While in college, Anthony also remembered the spiritual values that his grandmother had taught him and as a result, he decided that he would spent the remainder of his life serving others. While attending Alabama A&M University, he became an organizer within the Student Alabama Education Association, which inspired him get more involved in the National Education Association, which eventually landed him various elected positions. During his matriculation at Alabama A & M University, Anthony has been very active in many community service projects as well as serving as a leader and organizer of various campus events. Much of his time and efforts have been spent mentoring and tutoring the youth, and educating them about the importance of being involved in community service.


In May of 2004, Anthony graduated from Alabama A&M University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education. Anthony is currently finishing his Master’s Degree in Special Education at Alabama A&M University. Upon completion of his Master’s Degree, Anthony plans to continue his education by pursuing a degree in law.

CAREER

In 2003, Anthony was elected the first vice president for the local Student Alabama Education Association (SAEA); in 2004 he was elected as 2nd vice president. During his term as president, Anthony played an instrumental role in increasing enrollment within the SAEA. In 2004, Anthony was elected to serve on the NEA-SP Resolutions Committee. In 2005, he was elected State and local President of SAEA. Anthony has been the feature, and keynote speaker at various conferences and community events throughout the United States, including the Future Teachers of America State Conference in Auburn, AL in April 2006 and the Madison County Grass Roots Retreat at Alabama A&M University in November 2005. Additionally in 2006, Anthony was appointed the National Accreditation of Teacher Education Standards Committee as well as University Accreditation Board.

In June 2006, Anthony was the first African American Male ever to be elected as the chairperson of the National Education Association Student Program, representing more than 62,000 college students on over 1100 campuses nationwide. He has been recognized as a leading voice on the issue of college access and affordability. He has spoken at various hearings and audiences to address this issue that impacts millions of students nationwide. As a result of his leadership and the collaboration of various organizations, the largest invest for higher education since the GI Bill, which is the “College Cost and Reduction Act” was passed last year.

During his tenure as Chairman of the National Education Association Student Program, Anthony has been instrumental in the following: increasing the membership within the student program to its highest ever, championing the issue of making college affordable, emphasizing the importance of activism among students, pioneering political awareness among the student members, delivering and exhibiting quality workshops to enhance quality teaching to aspiring educators, unifying and organizing young people through vested interests within and beyond the realm of the student program, and increasing visibility by building coalitions and increasing Partnerships.


Anthony has also been a guest on numerous nationally syndicated radio programs, television broadcasts, and has been featured in various magazines discussing the topic of college affordability and mobilizing youth to action. Furthermore, Anthony has worked on local, State and national campaigns in various capacities. His Memoir titled, To Sweeten Alabama: A Story of a Young Man Defying the Odds, will be released in January 2009.
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Source: 12/22/08 LeftAlabama.com

Friday, October 31, 2008

Alabama A&M Physicist to Coordinate $15 million NSF Grant for EPSCOR


Physicist from Member University Alabama A&M to Coordinate $15 million NSF Grant for EPSCOR

An Alabama A&M University physicist who directs its Research Institute has announced a five-year $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help build the state’s ability to participate in, conduct and compete for nanotechnology research.

Dr. Daryush Ila, heads Alabama’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), a seven-school partnership that enables the state to become a more formidable force in conducting and promoting nanotech research. Ila, as executive director of EPSCoR, recently announced that the consortium has been awarded $3 million annually for five years in a cooperative agreement from NSF to boost the state’s research capacity.

“We are setting the pace and creating a road map that will help Alabama become a world class nano/bio-science and sensor presence in the country,” said Ila, adding that the award is among the largest ever awarded a university partnership.

More specifically, the agreement will help continue the work of four current Centers of Excellence: Alabama Center for Nanostructured Materials, (ACNM) headquartered at Tuskegee University; the Center for Environmental Cellular Signal Transduction (CECST), led by Auburn University; the Center for Optical Sensors and Spectroscopies (COSS) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and the Center for Interdisciplinary Discovery via Engineered Nanofabrication (CIDEN) at Alabama A&M University.

Alabama’s EPSCoR project is comprised of Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, Tuskegee University, the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of South Alabama. While there are some 27 EPSCoR states, along with programs operating in two U.S. territories, noted Ila, only the Alabama EPSCoR program can boast that two of its centers of excellence are located at historically black college campuses: Alabama A&M and Tuskegee.

Ila said the NSF grant also supports, the ALEPSCoR Education Outreach Initiative (AEOI), an innovative initiative at the University of Alabama, that will ultimately serve 900 students annually.

The major grant award would not have been possible, said Ila, had it not been for the expertise the Alabama EPSCoR program received from the Alabama A&M University Research Institute and SAIC. Their joint assistance enabled EPSCoR to compete as though it were vying for a major contract, he said.
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Source: Partnership for Innovation, Oak Ridge Associated Universities

Saturday, October 18, 2008

2008: John Hall, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Physics featured speaker of The Eleventh Putcha Venkateswarlu memorial lecture


2008: John Hall, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Physics

The Eleventh Putcha Venkateswarlu memorial lecture was given by Dr. John L. Hall from University of Colorado, JILA: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO on October 17th 2008. The title of the talk was "The Optical Frequency Comb: A Versatile tool for Science, Metrology, and Medical Diagnostics". Dr Hall shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2005 with Theodor W. Hänsch "for their contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique". The prize was also shared with Roy J. Glauber of Harvard University.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The "Father of Optics Research" at AAMU, Dr. Putcha Venkateswarlu




Dr. Putcha Venkateswarlu

Dr. Putcha Venkateswarlu was born in the small village of Dantaloor, India. He did his undergraduate and postgraduate work in physics in India, and his Ph.D. in physics at Banaras Hindu University under Prof. Asundi, a leading spectroscopist of his time. He went on to perform postdoctoral work at various reputable institutions around the world. He joined Alabama A & M Univeristy in 1982 as a professor of physics. During the last 15 years of his life he brought more than $4 million in research grants to AAMU. In his career he supervised over 50 Ph.D. and over 100 M.S. degree students in physics. At AAMU, 10 students obtained Ph.D. and 11 students M.S. degrees under his supervision. He supervised the very first Ph.D. sudent in physics at AAMU. Alabama A & M physics knew him as the "Father of Optics Research at AAMU." He published over 200 research papers. He worked with three Nobel Prize winners: Prof. Neils Bohr in Copenhagen, Prof. G. Herzberg at NRC in Canada, and Prof. R. S. Mulliken at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Putcha Venkateswarlu passed away on August 8, 1997 after a sudden illness. True to his constant dedication, he worked till the last breath of his life. As a result of Dr. Venkateswarlu's efforts Alabama A&M University is the leading research instituion of in Crystal research, and has produced the most African American Ph.D.s in physics. Therefore, the Putcha Venkateswarlu Memorial Lecture Series in Physics was created by Physics community in 1997. The Putcha Venkateswarlu Memorial Lecture
series continues to bring leading Nobel Laureate Researchers from around the world to lecture.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

AAMU student, Brian Beecham WINS a $10,000 scholarship from Google

Brian Beecham has recieved a $10,000 scholarship from Google. Brian represent one of the the many AAMU students who reprent the future of informaion technology leaders. The Legacy continues........

Google Corporation wrote:

Let's hear it for Google scholarship winners

Across the world, the participation of women and minorities in computer science is at an all-time low. According to studies conducted by the National Science Foundation, the annual graduation rate for women in computer science is just 22%, just 6.5% for Hispanic students, 4.8% for African American students, and under 1% for American Indian students. As part of our global effort to increase diversity in our industry, we have created scholarship programs with the United Negro College Fund, the Hispanic College Fund and the American Indian Science & Engineering Society. Each of these programs is meant to encourage students to excel in their studies and become active role models and leaders. It's our hope that these programs also help dismantle barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields. (Read more about Google's scholarship programs.)

Now comes the really fun part: announcing the 2008 winners. Please join us in congratulating the 42 students who have been recognized for their outstanding academic and leadership accomplishments in the computer science field. Each of these students will receive a $10,000 academic scholarship from Google, as well as an invitation to attend the all-expenses-paid Annual Google Scholars' Retreat held each Spring at the Googleplex in Mountain View.

Earlier this year, we also had the great pleasure of announcing the winners of the 2008 Google Anita Borg Scholarship in the U.S. and Canada as well as in Europe. (This scholarship is also offered to women in Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.)

Congrats to all!

2008 Google United Negro College Fund Scholars

Brian Beecham - Alabama A&M University
Clinton Buie - Stanford University
Dorian Perkins - University of California, Riverside
John Mosby - Clark Atlanta University
Katherine Trushkowsky - University of California, Berkeley
Lateef Yusuf - Georgia Institute of Technology
Mamadou Diallo - University of California, Irvine
Mcdavis Fasugba - University of Miami
Pascal Carole - University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Rashida Davis - University of Delaware
Remy Carole - University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Sheronda Nash - Georgia Institute of Technology
Souma Badombena-Wanta - George Mason University
Yolanda McMillian - Auburn University
2008 Google Hispanic College Fund Scholars

Miguel Rios - University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
Milton Villeda - University of Texas, Austin
Ricardo Rodríguez - University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
Marco Medina - Eastern Washington University
Abel Licon - University of Deleware
Maximiliano Ramirez Luna - University of California, Berkeley
Juan Herrera - University of Oklahoma
Kenneth Faller Ii - Florida International University
Heriberto Reynoso - University of Texas, Brownsville
Jose Martinez - California State Polytechnic University
Otoniel Ortega - University of Illinois, Chicago
Antonio Rodríguez-soto - Universidad Del Turabo
Tina Ziemek - University of Utah
Diana Flores - University of Florida
Matthew Martinez - University of New Mexico
Frank Blandon - University of Florida
Felipe Carmona - Roosevelt University
Pamela Gutierrez - Oklahoma Panhandle State University
Daniel Hernandez - Tennessee Technological University
2008 Google American Indian Science & Engineering Society Scholars

Erik Bennett - New Mexico Tech
Kaylei Burke - University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Cory Cornelius - Dartmouth College
Daniel Jachowski - Stanford University
Denise Martin - Capella University
Mitchell Martin - University of Texas, San Antonio
Melanie Prevett - Oklahoma State University
Thomas Reed - University of California, Santa Barbara
Delbert Willie - Colorado State University

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Source: By Meredith Carroll, Google Corporation

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

HUD's HBCU Program grants Alabama A&M University $700,000


Washington - Dr. Beverly Edmonds, interim president accepts the grant on behalf of Alabama A&M University (AAMU). The University intends to use its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) grant to expand its role and effectiveness in addressing housing and community development needs in north Huntsville, Alabama. The University plans include: continuing a neighborhood housing program in Edmonton Heights (a CDBG target neighborhood adjacent to the campus); assisting the AAMU Community Development Corporation (CDC) in expanding homeownership and housing opportunities for low-wealth residents; and implementing a civic engagement/service learning program to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations to address issues in northwest Huntsville low-wealth neighborhood.


The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston today awarded nearly $9 million to 13 historically Black colleges and universities to help revitalize neighborhoods near their campuses. Preston made the announcement at the 2008 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference in Washington.

"Historically black colleges and universities are anchors for economic development in their communities, and I'm pleased HUD can play a role in helping to support the neighborhoods that surround these important institutions of higher learning," said Preston. "HUD is proud of our partnership with these colleges and universities to help them improve neighborhoods, offer needed public services, and stimulate community development around their campuses."

HUD's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Program is designed to help these institutions address pressing community development needs in their communities. These needs include neighborhood revitalization, housing, and economic development, and other programs that benefit low- and moderate-income families.

The HBCU grantees awarded funding today will carry out a broad range of community and economic development activities that will help to stabilize their communities and cultivate redevelopment of residential and commercial properties. In addition, HBCU grants can be used to acquire real estate; to demolish abandoned housing; to help provide homeownership assistance; to support job training and placement; and to rehabilitate residential, commercial or industrial buildings to correct code violations.

Since 1991, HUD has awarded approximately $147 million to stimulate economic and community development in the neighborhoods surrounding the HBCUs. The HBCU Program is one of several initiatives administered by HUD's Office of University Partnerships (OUP). Established in 1994, OUP is a catalyst for partnering colleges and universities with their communities in a shared search for answers to pressing urban problems. More information about OUP and its programs is available on the Internet at http://www.hud.gov/utilities/intercept.cfm?http://www.oup.org/.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

'American Airlines Living Your Dream' Profiles Miami Business Leader, A&M Alumnus James A. Champion


FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- James A. Champion, the head of a high-powered Miami-based human resources consulting and management firm will share the secrets of his success on "American Airlines Living Your Dream," a radio series which airs each month on The Michael Baisden Show.

Champion, 62, is the President and CEO of The Champion Services Group, a multi-million dollar consulting firm that helps its clients achieve, maintain, and maximize workforce diversity. Headquartered in Miami, the company has 42 employees and has been profiled in such publications as the Miami Herald and Black Enterprise.

Over the course of his life, Champion has overcome amazing odds. His mother was diagnosed and institutionalized with schizophrenia when he was 11 years old. As a result, Champion and his younger siblings became permanent wards of the state in New York. After living in an orphanage for the remainder of his childhood, Champion won a partial scholarship to Alabama A&M University. In 1963, he left New York City for Alabama with only $27 in his pocket.

After graduating from college, Champion went on to hold managerial positions at some of the largest companies in the United States, including Ryder System, Merrill Lynch & Co., the U.S. Department of Labor, and Chase Manhattan Bank. While climbing the corporate ladder, Champion paid for his younger siblings' post-secondary education.

With Champion's love and financial support, one of his brothers went on to become the first African-American valedictorian of his class at Carnegie Mellon University.

Today, Champion is considered one of the leading human resources executives in the country. He is also a noted philanthropist, having most recently received the Jackson Memorial Foundation's Golden Angel Award for providing hospital services for the indigent.

"American Airlines Living Your Dream" is a collaboration with The Michael Baisden Show, which is broadcast weekdays, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. EDT, on ABC Radio Networks.

About The Michael Baisden Show

The Michael Baisden Show was launched in national syndication by ABC Radio Networks in January, 2005 and is hosted by author, TV talk show personality and emerging community leader Michael Baisden. The entertaining four-hour afternoon radio program airs Monday -- Friday and combines the best in music, comedy and social outreach to inspire real change in local communities across the country. Heard in 22 of the top 25 urban radio markets, The Michael Baisden Show reaches more than 4.6 million listeners each week.

About American Airlines

American Airlines is the world's largest airline. American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection® airlines serves over 240 cities in 40 countries with more than 4,000 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 1,000 aircraft. American's award-winning Web site, AA.com, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve nearly 700 destinations in over 140 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, the AmericanConnection® airlines, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR - News)

Saturday, August 30, 2008

A&M Alum Nichelle Gainey, president and CEO of SilverStone International, will be a featured speaker at the NBA's Basketball Without Borders' Africa


24-7PressRelease/ - BIRMINGHAM, AL, August 29, 2008 - Nichelle Gainey, president and CEO of SilverStone International, will be a featured speaker at the NBA's Basketball Without Borders' Africa Stopover in Senegal with legendary basketball player and HBCU coach Ben Jobe, a prominent figure in the ESPN documentary film, "Black Magic."

The Stopover, from August 30 to Sept. 2, benefits the SEEDS Foundation, an educational and athletic training program started by Amadou Gallo Fall, Senior Vice President of International Affairs for the Dallas Mavericks, whose basketball skills won him a U.S. scholarship to the University of the District of Columbia.

SEEDS (Sports for Education and Economic Development in Senegal) Academy furthers the foundation's goals by providing a boarding school for Senegalese boys ages 19 and below to live, study and train in basketball year round. Basketball Without Borders is an instructional basketball camp for young people that utilizes the sport as a vehicle to influence positive social change. The camp features dozens of current and former NBA players and team personnel as camp coaches for 100 young athletes.

"We are excited to have someone with Ms. Gainey's sports background working with us to take SEEDS' mission beyond Senegal's borders," Fall said. "SSI's strategic role in improving soccer programs in the U.S. and her relationships with national sports leaders throughout Africa makes her a key player in spreading SEEDS' educational and athletic opportunities to youths in other African countries, so they can develop to their fullest potential."

Ben Jobe - the legendary basketball player and renowned coach at Historically Black Colleges and Universities including AMU (Alabama A&M University), ASU (Alabama State University) and Tuskegee University - will host a basketball clinic at the camp for local Senegalese coaches.

Gainey reconnected with Jobe during SSI's marketing efforts for the ESPN documentary "Black Magic," in which Jobe was prominently featured. For Jobe, who retired and lives in Montgomery, AL, the trip marks his first return to western Africa since 1961, when he first exposed its youths to his unique style of basketball.

Both Jobe and Gainey will speak during events that include dedication of new basketball courts, and a tournament sponsored by SEEDS Foundation Board member and NBA star DeSagana Diop, a native of Senegal. The Stopover in Dakar, Senegal's capital city, will also benefit LeDantec Hospital, West Africa's pediatric cancer treatment facility.

"Mr. Jobe and I are honored to be part of such a historic event in the life of Senegal's evolving basketball program," Gainey said. "The hope is that, by developing life skills as well as athleticism in African youths, SEEDS can offer them yet another road for success, like soccer does for many youths throughout the world."

Ms. Gainey just returned from the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, where she was the guest of leaders of CAF (the Confederation of African Football) and FIFA (F d ration Internationale de Football Association), which organized Olympic soccer events in Beijing.

About SilverStone International

SilverStone International (SSI) is a results-oriented, full-service corporate consulting firm dedicated to enhancing the capacity of non-profit and for-profit organizations, with a special emphasis in the area of sports management and marketing. SSI's lead consultant is President/CEO Nichelle Gainey, who has a 15-year background in sports management, marketing and consulting. The company is based in Birmingham, Alabama with offices located currently in New York and South Africa.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Tavis Smily's Talented Tenth tour comes to A&M

Radio and television talk personality Tavis Smiley will bring his "Talented Tenth HBCU Tour" to Alabama A&M University next month, September 19, 2008.

An Aug. 4 New Yorker magazine profile summarized Smiley's "Talented Tenth" initiative this way. "(Smiley) calls his black-college tours 'Talented Tenth,' after W. E. B. Du Bois's famous essay from 1903, which began with a ringing proclamation: 'The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men....'

HBCUs are "historically black colleges and universities," and Smiley's goal is "to enlighten, encourage and empower students to think about what their own leadership legacy will be."

At A&M Sept. 19, Smiley will lead a two-hour discussion open to students on the campus. The program, beginning at 6 p.m. is sponsored by the U.S. Navy. Smiley is, among other things, the host of "Tavis Smiley," a weeknight half-hour talk show on PBS.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Historic Funding Increases for Historically Black Colleges and Universities This Fall

As a result of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, enacted into law last year, historically black colleges and universities across America will begin to receive record increases in new funding for the coming school year. The U.S. Department of Education will start awarding the grants to schools tomorrow.

The law provides $170 million in new funding for HBCUs over the next two years to help expand college access, strengthen support services that focus on helping low-income and minority students stay in school and graduate, and renovate campuses in need of improvement. The grants provided under the law are mandatory funding, meaning schools will receive them in addition to any funding that is appropriated annually by the Congress. All 99 HBCUs that currently receive federal funds will benefit from this increase.HBCUs play a significant role in helping African American students succeed in college and the workforce. Although they represent only 3 percent of all colleges and universities, they enroll close to a third of all African-American students. Forty percent of their students pursue four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, and about half of all African-American students in teaching fields attend HBCUs.

Despite this progress, HBCUs continue to face a unique set of financial challenges, including balancing limited resources and endowments with a deep commitment to serving students with fewer financial resources. Many schools are in dire need of repair, especially Gulf Coast schools that are still feeling the devastating effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Sadly, federal support for HBCUs and other minority-serving schools has dwindled under the Bush administration. In his most recent budget for the fiscal year 2009, President Bush proposed cutting funding for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions by $85 million, a 35 percent decrease from the previous year’s budget.In addition to the funding provided by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, Democrats are also working to boost support for HBCUs by enacting the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which would strengthen and reauthorize the nation’s higher education programs. That bill, which Congress is working to finalize this week, would increase the amount of funding HBCUs could receive for capital projects, expand funding eligibility for graduate student programs at HBCUs and other minority serving-institutions and would address the challenges of starting and growing endowments at these schools. “This landmark investment in HBCUs will strengthen college opportunities for millions of talented students. HBCUs are a vital part of America’s higher education and economic framework, and have a long history of producing some of our nation’s greatest leaders, innovators, and thinkers.

By providing HBCUs with these much-needed federal resources, we are saying that the needs of these vital institutions and their students can no longer go ignored.” -- Chairman George Miller, author of the law “HBCUs have played and continue to play an integral role in furthering the education of Black students in America. Unfortunately, these institutions face increasing challenges and have limited resources. I am very pleased with the historical investment to HBCUs that the College Cost Reduction and Access Act will provide. It is a much-needed step in the right direction and will go a long way toward helping HBCUs continue to provide a quality education to our nation's youth.” -- Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Education Taskforce“As a graduate of the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, I and my brothers, sisters, nephews, cousins and friends know firsthand the opportunities provided by HBCUs, especially to low-income African American students. Chairman George Miller and the Committee on Education and Labor are to be commended for this outstanding bill.” -- Rep. Danny K. Davis, Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Education Taskforce
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Source: By Kittredge, Betsy Miller on July 30, 2008 Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives

Monday, August 18, 2008

2cd Annual AAMU National Alumni Association Scholarship Golf Tournament Friday October 24, 2008

Letter from the desk of the AAMU National Alumni Association
-----------------------------------------------------------

ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP GOLF TOURNAMENT
Post Office Box 550395
Birmingham, Alabama 35255

Dear Normalites:

We seek your cooperation in making the AAMU Alumni Association’s Second Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament bigger and better. This scholarship fundraiser is sponsored by your national alumni association and we need full cooperation from all entities: members, chapters, and regions.

Kick start your Magic City Classic festivities by joining your national alumni officers and members of the Birmingham/Jefferso n County Alumni Chapter at the historical Roebuck Golf Course on Friday, October 24, 2008. There are several opportunities for you to support this scholarship tournament:

Bulldog Sponsor at $3,000
(includes 3 teams, 1 tee box sign, 4 Magic City Classic tickets & Print Advertisement)

Eagle Sponsor at $2,000
(includes 2 teams, 1 tee box sign, 4 Magic City Classic tickets & Print Advertisement)

Birdie Sponsor at $1,000
(includes 1 team, 1 tee box sign, 4 Magic City Classic tickets & Print Advertisement)

Golf Team (4 person scramble) at $400

Hole Sponsor at $200
Information and electronic registration is available at

www.bhambulldogeven ts.com

For more information, please contact Clarence Horton at 205/791-0005, John Hackett at 205/305-1449, Samuel Moore at 205/925-0860 or Simpson Berry at 205/942-6025.

In anticipation of your positive response,

Robert Crenshaw, General President Donetta Brown, President
AAMU Alumni Association, Inc. Birmingham/ Jefferson Co. Chapter
205/957-2584 205/856-4423


AAMU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. Box 1717
Normal, Alabama, 35762

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Grant boosts A&M health careers program

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, R-Ala., a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will award $639,992 to Alabama A&M University for the Health Careers Opportunity Program.
"It is important that we continue to create the conditions that will allow hard-working students to succeed in the professional field of their choice," said Shelby. "This grant will help Alabama's students enhance their academic skills so that they may enter and graduate from a health professional training program."

Source: Submitted by Eric Wagner on Eric's Spot, BlackCollegeLiveNetwork.com, Serving Alabama A&M univeristy Students and Alumni

Monday, August 11, 2008

Dr. Susan Brown, AAMU Professor DNC Delegate


Huntsville, Ala. — An Alabama A&M University professor will represent the 5th Congressional District at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo., August 25-28. Dr. Susan C. Brown, who also serves as assistant to the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, was elected to the State Democratic Executive Committee (District 20) in 2006. She is a member of the Madison County Democratic Executive Committee and was selected as the Madison County Democratic Women’s Division’s “Woman of the Year” in 2004.
Brown was a member of the Huntsville/Madison County Leadership’s Focus (Class 14) and Leadership (Class 20).

Source: Submitted by Eric Wagner on Eric's Spot, BlackCollegeLiveNetwork.com, Serving Alabama A&M univeristy Students and Alumni

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Dean Taylor has been appointed to the Editorial Board of the Soil Science Society of America Journal

Dr. Robert W. Taylor, dean of the School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has been appointed to the Editorial Board of the Soil Science Society of America Journal (SSSAJ), beginning January 1, 2009 for a three year term. Dr. Taylor will also serve as an associate editor of the organization’s division on soil chemistry.

SSSAJ is a reputable international research journal published through Stanford University. SSAJ publishes Papers on original research, issue papers, reviews, comments and letters to the editor, and book reviews by soil subject matter experts.

Alabama A&M University has one of the leading Agricultural and Environmental Sciences programs in the country. Dr. Taylor is a well respected soil chemist who has received many honors for his research. Hence, Dean Taylor will be an equitable contributor to the Journal.

Dr. Taylor entered the AAMU deanship as a Fellow in two leading international professional societies. He also served as a program officer for the National Science Foundation, considered one of the most prestigious peer review funding agencies in the world. He was elevated to the senior management when in the second year he served as Acting Deputy Division Director of the Division of Biological Infrastructure. Upon returning to AAMU, the Division presented Taylor with the Distinguished Service Award.

Taylor earned the B.S. degree from Tuskegee University in 1970. He pursued his postgraduate studies at Michigan State University, obtaining a M.S. degree in soil microbiology in 1973 and a Ph.D. in soil chemistry in 1977.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Alabama A&M: Former Bulldog Augustin Headed to Hungary to Play Hoops Professionally



Aug. 5, 2008


Former Alabama A&M University basketball student-athlete Tamisha Augustin has signed a contract to play pro basketball for the Atomeromu-Szekszard team in Hungary for the 2008-09 season. Augustin, who has been playing semipro ball in Atlanta and across the United States, recently averaging 16 points, six assists and five rebounds with the Atlanta Jaguars.

The 5-foot-8 guard will be the first American to play for the Hungarian squad, which is eager to have her become a point guard around whom to build. She will leave in mid-August for Hungary . Augustin graduated from Alabama A&M and last played for the Bulldogs in the 2005-06 season where she averaged 8.1 points per game. She now owns a master's degree in microbiology.

At a recent AAU tournament, she was coaching an Atlanta girls team. Augustin graduated from Bethel High, where she was a second-team Daily Press All-Star in basketball in 2001, as well as a standout cross-country runner. When she arrived at A&M she made an immediate contribution as a freshman, averaging a team-high 10.1 points per game.

Augustin injured her knee before her sophomore season but bounced back enough to contribute averages of 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18 games. As a junior, she played 29 minutes per game, averaging 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 25 contests. Twice she was named second-team all-SWAC, and she garned conference player of the week.

Source: NCAA Womens Basket ball

Thursday, July 31, 2008

AAMU Students Win Cancer Research Award

(AAMU release) Two Alabama A&M University graduate students conducting research in the area of dietary chemoprevention of colon cancer recently received an award for their work by the Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) at the recent 2008 Annual IFT Meeting in New Orleans.

Reuel Field (2nd place) and Vishnupriya Gourineni (3rd place), both graduate student researchers in AAMU’s Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory, studied the use of phytochemicals, neutraceuticals and functional foods and reported on their relationship to colon cancer. The student researchers are advised by Dr. Martha Verghese, a professor of nutritional biochemistry and interim chair of the Department of Food and Animal Sciences. Student researcher Field is being supported by the Title III Program.

The two AAMU students competed against students from Cornell University, Purdue University, Rutgers, North Carolina State Ohio State University, University of Georgia and other institutions of higher education.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

NEA works to lower student loan bills for Teachers

Spring 2008 TOMORROW'S TEACHERS - My Debt, My Life

Education majors are struggling with student loan debt, but NEA is working on lowering the bill.

A $28,000 salary and a $15,000 student loan bill adds up to big trouble. Forget advanced trig, that’s the kind of math that a growing number of education majors and young teachers are agonizing over as college costs grow and salaries stagnate.

Increasingly savvy about future income-to-debt ratios, students are making decisions about careers based on the reality of having to repay loans. At a time when there is a great need for qualified teachers, young people are discouraged from entering the profession.

Today, two-thirds of four-year college graduates leave with student loan debt, compared with less than a third just 10 years ago, according to the State Public Interest Research Group’s Higher Education Project. And they carry twice as much debt as they did 10 years ago, too.

“We absolutely see a chilling effect,” on public service professions, says Robert Shireman, director of the Project on Student Debt. “Students are setting their sights on the future and saying ‘I can’t afford to be a teacher or a social worker.’”

After completing his undergraduate career at Alabama A&M University, Anthony Daniels owed more in student loans than he could make as a starting teacher. In part to defer the loans, and hoping to improve his salary prospects, he went to graduate school. Now he’s $58,000 in debt and considering walking away from teaching in favor of a career in law. “Unfortunately my situation is not unique,” says Daniels, the current chair of NEA’s Student Program. “In fact, it is becoming the norm. We are losing too many qualified teachers because of student loans. It’s not just a burden, it’s a barrier.”

How Did We Get Here?
Since 1994, debt levels for graduating seniors more than doubled to $19,200, according to the Public Interest Research Group. (Eight percent of graduates owe more than a whopping $40,000.) Factoring in inflation, the average student debt burden in 2004 was almost 60 percent higher than in 1994.

Black and Hispanic college graduates are hit even harder than their White counterparts, according to the Project on Student Debt. Black graduates have a higher amount of student loan debt and more of them have debt than White graduates. The number of Hispanic students with debt is on par with Whites, but the amount they owe is higher.

Why did this become, as one author dubbed it, “Generation Debt”?

For starters, tuition costs are rising faster than inflation—they’ve ballooned 42 percent in the past five years. And wages have stalled. In 2006, the median household income actually dropped 2 percent. Add in that families are increasingly squeezed by health care and housing costs. Then factor in that the previous Congress hiked interest rates on student loans and cut $12 billion from the Federal Student Aid program.

When it comes time to figure out where the money for college is going to come from, students are increasingly turning to private lenders who loan money freely but often on less-favorable terms than government loans. A decade ago, private lenders were responsible for only 5 percent of the education loan dollars in use. Now they comprise 20 percent and it’s become a $17.3 billion market. Sallie Mae, the largest private lender in operation, reported $1 billion in profits last year. One online retailer sells a T-shirt that states in bold black letters, “Property of Sallie Mae.”

Fighting on the Hill to Lower the Bill
A substantial victory came this past summer with the passage of legislation providing $20 billion to increase grant aid for low-income students and cut subsidies to student loan companies. President Bush signed it in October 2007.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act is a sweeping piece of legislation being compared to the G.I. Bill. It increases the Pell Grant program to $4,800 next year (and $5,400 by 2012) by replacing the $12 billion cut previously. Also, it slashes in half the interest rates on subsidized student loans.

Predictably, student lenders fought the reform vehemently. Left out of the final law—thanks in part to pressure on legislators by NEA members mobilized by the Association’s “College Affordability Concerns Me” campaign—was a troubling amendment that would have given student loan companies more than $4 billion at the expense of the grant aid to students.

But the work isn’t over. In addition to pushing for a $40,000 starting salary for all teachers, NEA continues to advocate for legislation that will make it easier for students and graduates to consolidate their loans. Leaders promising change must be held accountable, says Daniels.

Despite all the financial obstacles facing those with student loans, they remain staunchly optimistic about the importance of the work they’re doing. At left are some of your fellow NEA Student Program members’ stories.

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National Education Association: Members and Educators Spring 2008 Newslettere, authored by Cynthia Kopkowski

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Judge Shashy dosn't know his own state laws, and asks both sdes for help

Judge will not remove 4 trustees from A&M
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

MONTGOMERY - A judge Tuesday refused to throw four new Alabama A&M University trustees off the board, but the issue is far from dead.

Circuit Judge William Shashy of Montgomery asked attorneys for examples of Alabama law covering other state colleges and boards that support their arguments.

Shashy asked for the information within five days, but he isn't expected to issue a ruling for several weeks.

Troy Massey, a Montgomery attorney, is suing Gov. Bob Riley and his four appointees because the Senate Confirmations Committee unanimously rejected their nominations in May.

The four returned to the board by Riley were David Slyman Jr. of Huntsville; Leroy Richie of Birmingham, Mich.; Mayor Edward May of Bessemer; and the Rev. Willie Clyde McNeil of Chatom.

After the Legislature had adjourned, Riley simply reappointed the four in June.

Massey said Riley's second letter appointing the four trustees after the session had ended was "contrary to the law and violated the statute."

Riley's appointees were in the majority when the board fired former Alabama A&M President Robert Jennings in March.

The lawsuit by Massey, a former A&M trustee, is seeking an injunction that would remove the four from the board and permanently prohibit them from serving.

"We've got people appointed to serve on our board who have been rejected by the Senate," Massey said. "That creates problems in terms of insurance, bond issues, refinancing bond issues, hiring personnel ..."

Sonny Reagan, Riley's deputy legal adviser, initially argued that Massey's clients, Robert Hughes of Florence, a former A&M trustee, and David Marzette of Birmingham, the financial secretary of Alabama A&M's National Alumni Association, had no legal standing to sue because they had suffered no harm.

About two dozen Alabama A&M alumni and supporters, some from as far away as Chicago, attended Tuesday's hearing.

Earlier, Shashy had denied a motion by the office of Ken Wallis, Riley's legal adviser, to postpone Tuesday's hearing because Wallis was in London.

"If I were Mr. Ken Wallis, I'd be out of the country, too, because I wouldn't want to be making these arguments for the governor's position," said Massey.

He called his case "clear, simple and precise," adding, "There are no ambiguities. They were appointed in February and they were rejected in May, so they were trustees for four or five months."

Massey said a state law that applies specifically to Alabama A&M states when the Senate committee rejected the governor's appointees, it created four unique vacancies on the board.

The Senate committee's action created vacancies that cannot be filled until new appointees are confirmed by the Senate, said Massey.

"It is clear upon its face. It's not unclear; it's not ambiguous," he said of the law. "It's only four lines. There's nothing wrong with it. There's no reason why anyone couldn't follow this statue."

The four reappointed by Riley shortly after the Legislature adjourned would face the same Confirmations Committee again in the 2009 legislative session.

Reagan noted there are two state laws covering appointments to the Alabama A&M board. He said the most recent, approved by the Legislature in 1995, should prevail over the older one cited by Massey.The 1995 law explains in much more detail the creation and composition of the board, such as representation from congressional districts, at-large members, ex-officio members and those who must hold degrees from A&M.

"Our position is that these statutes are in conflict with each other and because this (1995 law) is the most recent version of the legislative intent that this should control when the two statues are in conflict," he said.

Reagan also noted the four nominees were not rejected by the full Senate - only eight members of the 16-member committee.

But Massey added, "The one word they (Riley's attorneys) stay away from is rejection because they're not comfortable discussing it. Because once they were rejected by the Senate, it's like when a bill doesn't make it to the floor of the House, it's dead. Those appointments were dead."

After the Senate committee voted to reject the appointees, Chairman Myron Penn, D-Union Springs, said the panel was sending a message that it was best for Riley to select a new slate of nominees.

Penn said the appointees were rejected due to divisions among the university's alumni, faculty and students because Riley's appointees were instrumental in firing Jennings at the end of March.

(SOURCE) The AAMU Alumni president posted to AAMUFAMILY LIST, an article written by BOB LOWRY of the Huntsville Times

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

AAMU seeking mentors

AAMU seeking mentors
(AAMU Release) Huntsville, Ala. ---- The few. The proud. The mentors. Alabama A&M University’s Office of Retention and Academic Support (ORAS) is reaching out to alumni and interested persons in the community to make a positive impact in the lives of college students, says its director, Dr. Leatha Bennett.

The “Changing Lanes” program was conceptualized less than two years ago as a tool to improve the collegiate experience of first-year students by involving AAMU alumni and other interested individuals in the former’s paths of matriculation. But, according to Howard Wright, ORAS program specialist, the “re-launched” mentorship project has been expanded to encompass upperclassmen, who will be paired with alumni and professionals in the surrounding communities. Freshman students, however, will continue to be mentored by faculty and staff.

“We are only asking our mentors to make a one-year commitment,” notes Wright, an AAMU alumnus, who adds that the list of prospective mentors will be drawn from churches, businesses, alumni and others who exemplify a keen interest in impacting students’ lives. “We prefer our mentors to be college graduates or to be involved in a profession affiliated with the student’s interest.”

The major thrust of the program, then, is to provide the student with an extra cheerleader and encourager. This can be accomplished, says Wright, through a brief, monthly face-to-face

meeting; by calling the student to see how he or she is progressing in the academic arena; by sending an e-mail; and/or providing the student an invitation to a social event.

Wright assures that ORAS has the capacity to handle a large number of mentor-protégé arrangements, and efforts have been made to inform students about Changing Lanes through the popular youth website Facebook.com. “Freshmen will be arriving around August 9,” says Wright, “I want to have the forms from interested parties in by the end of July.”

Forms and additional information are available by accessing the Internet at www.aamu.edu, then by clicking “Changing Lanes”. For all other inquiries about the program, contact Howard Wright at (256) 372-5493.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

AAMU Ranks 10th in producing African American engineers

(AAMU Release) Huntsville, Ala. ---- Diverse Issues in Higher Education has published its annual “Top 100 Degree Producers” list for 2008 (June 12 edition), and Alabama A&M University appears on the list several times.

The magazine records those institutions most successful in the matriculation of African American students at the baccalaureate level from a pool of more than 2,200 institutions, including several proprietary (for-profit) schools.
AAMU ranked 46th, or in the top two percent, of institutions nationwide in the awarding of bachelor’s degrees to African American students by graduating 506 students in the 2006-07 academic year. The top three spots were dominated by three much larger historically black colleges (HBCUs)—Florida A&M, North Carolina A&T and Howard—that recorded more than 1,100 African American graduates each. Hampton University, with 849 graduates, held the banner for private HBCUs.

In the awarding of biological and biomedical sciences degrees to African American students, AAMU ranked 13th nationally with its 48 students. However, small, private Xavier topped the list with 126 graduates during the 2006-07 year, significantly outperforming the mammoth Howard, which reported 90 students. Even cross-town sister institution, Oakwood University, which reported 44 biological-biomedical graduates, achieved a ranking of 18th.

Although Alabama A&M University ranks 34th in the production of African American computer science graduates (22 graduates in 2006-07), that number was 33 percent less than the previous year’s number. Sister HBCU Alabama State University achieved a ranking of 8th place in the nation (61 graduates) in this category. However, had it not been for the listing (first through seventh place) of proprietary schools, Alabama State would have the distinction as the nation’s top producer of black computer science graduates.

AAMU is 15th in the nation in the production of African American graduates who received degrees in the field of education. It awarded 55 such degrees for the reporting period, which was a drop of 40 percent from the 2005-06 academic year. However, such losses in the number of education graduates were common throughout the list’s Top 50, including a 44 percent drop reported by Florida Memorial and a 31 percent drop recorded by Temple.

Perhaps the jewel in the magazine’s reporting on the baccalaureate degrees received by African American students for the previous academic year was AAMU’s 10th place national ranking for the production of African American engineers, edging Tuskegee out of the Top 10.

AAMU alumnus William E. Cox is president of Cox, Matthews and Associates, the publisher of the bi-weekly magazine, which has become one of the most respected publications in the higher education community. A similar listing for graduate schools will be published in the upcoming weeks. For more information, visit www.diverseeducation.com.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Judge will Rule if Gov. Bob Riley's Illegal Republican Tactics will hold

Judge to rule on A&M's re-appointed trustees
Lawsuit filed to keep the Senate reject appointees from illegally serving.

MONTGOMERY - A judge will decide Thursday whether four people reappointed to the Alabama A&M board of trustees by Gov. Bob Riley can participate in board meeting on Friday.
Circuit Judge William Shashy has scheduled a hearing in Montgomery at 9 a.m. to hear a request for a temporary restraining order that would block the four from taking part in the meeting.

The lawsuit, filed by a former A&M trustee, also seeks a permanent injunction that would keep Riley's four reappointments from serving in the future.

Unless the judge blocks the appointments, the suit said Riley's "reappointments would strip the (Alabama) Senate of its veto power over the governor's appointments. " Jeff Emerson, Riley's chief spokesman, said the governor's office had not had an opportunity to fully review the suit. But he added, "We're confident the governor's appointments are 100 percent legal."

The request for the order was filed Tuesday by Montgomery attorney William Massey, a former A&M board member, on behalf of Robert T. Hughes of Florence, a former A&M trustee, and David Marzette of Birmingham, the financial secretary of A&M's National Alumni Association.

Defendants in the case include the four trustees, David Slyman Jr. of Huntsville; Leroy C. Richie of Birmingham, Mich.; Mayor Edward E. May of Bessemer; the Rev. Willie Clyde McNeil of Chatom; and Riley.

The governor on June 9 reappointed the four men after the Senate Confirmations Committee during the regular legislative session in early May voted 8-0 to reject their nominations.

Massey said he based his suit on state law and a 1991 attorney general's opinion covering a similar situation at Alabama State University.

"The essence of it is that once a nominee is rejected by the Senate, they cannot be reappointed as a trustee in a subsequent session," he said.

Massey was appointed to a six-year term on the board by former Gov. Fob James in the 1980s, and later was appointed by the late Gov. George C.

Wallace to an unexpired term in the 1990s. He said he served about four years before resigning.

SOURCE: Writeen by By BOB Lowry,submitted to A&MFamily List by Alumni Association President.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Study findings from Alabama A&M University broaden understanding of crystallography

Alabama A&M Univeristy is one of the leading research institutions in crystal growth. Below are published findings reported in the June 2008 edition of Vertical News:

2008 JUN 23 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to recent research from the United States, "Cesium cerium bromide (CS2CeBr5) and potassium cerium bromide (K2CeBr5) are new scintillator materials for X-ray and gamma ray detector applications. Recently, halide scintillator materials such as Ce-doped lanthanum bromide have been proved to be very important materials for the same purpose."

"These materials are highly hygroscopic; a search for high-light-yield non-hygroscopic materials was highly desirable to advance the scintillator technology. In this paper, we are reporting the crystal growth of novel scintillator materials, CS2CeBr5 and K2CeBr5. Crystals were successfully grown from the melt using the vertical Bridgman-Stockbarger technique. In comparison with the high-performance LaBr3 or LaCl3 crystals, cerium-based alkali halide crystals, CS2CeBr5 and K2CeBr5, have similar scintillation properties, while being much less hygroscopic. Furthermore, cesium-based compounds will not suffer from the self-activity present in potassium and lanthanum compounds. However, the CS2CeBr5 crystals did not grow properly probably due to non-congruent melting or some phase transition during cooling," wrote R. Hawramia and colleagues, Alabama A&M University.

The researchers concluded: "Published by Elsevier B.V."

Hawramia and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Crystal Growth (New scintillator materials (K2CeBr5 and CS2CeBr5). Journal of Crystal Growth, 2008;310(7-9 Sp. Is):2099-2102).

For additional information, contact R. Hawramia, Alabama A&M University, Dept. of Physics, Normal, AL 35762, USA.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Crystal Growth is: Elsevier Science BV, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands.


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Source: This article was prepared by VerticalNews Electronics editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, VerticalNews Electronics via VerticalNews.com.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

NBC's 'Today'throwing weddinggiveaway June 11

After a long distance courtship and an Egyptian proposal in front of the Sphinx, Alabama A&M graduate LaDonna Bradford decided to take her engagement one step further. Why not get married on national television and let America plan her wedding?

So Bradford and her fiance, Darnell Suggs, applied for NBC's "Today" show's "Today Throws a Wedding" giveaway. They are now one of the final two couples in line for the honor.

The giveaway, in its ninth year, offers viewers the chance to vote online and via text message each week for the couple they want to win.

Bradford and Suggs have made it to the finals. "We decided to try," she said. "They were going to give it to someone, so it might as well be us."

The winner will be announced Wednesday during the show. All voting will end Monday at 11 a.m. CST.

Bradford graduated from Alabama A&M with honors in 2006 with a degree in electrical engineering. A native of Tuskegee, she attended A&M on a full academic scholarship. The couple, who met at job fair in Boston in 2005, live in Atlanta.

The first year of their relationship was long distance while they both finished college in separate states. For her birthday in January, Suggs took Bradford to Egypt. He surprised her with a proposal next to the Sphinx. In April, they found out they were finalists for "Today Throws a Wedding."

Each year, the "Today" show offers couples across the country a chance to apply for the wedding giveaway by sending video entries and applications. As NBC narrowed the field, Bradford and Suggs were named one of five couples to compete this year.

Bradford said she watches the "Today" show every morning and had just been complaining to family about how expensive a wedding is. "We originally decided to plan it for next April so we could save up," she said.

Once the top five couples were notified, NBC sent out camera crews to film a "meet the couples" interview for the show. Those segments aired on "Today" May 14. This year's theme for "Today Throws a Wedding" was "Race to the Altar."

Each Wednesday afterward, the couples competed in a race. Each race was a different game, including a treasure hunt, a design project, a bake sale and a name-that-price game. The winning couple from each race got to choose one aspect of the wedding's details.

The first race was to choose the theme of the wedding, which is East meets West. The second race was to decide the cake's style. The winning couple chose mini three-tier cakes for the guests and a large, matching cake for the bride and groom.

The winners of the third race chose the party favors for the guests. The favors chosen were Kodak digital cameras. The fourth race, which Bradford and Suggs won, was a game to guess the price of different wedding gifts closest to the dollar amount without going over. For winning, the couple was able to keep all the gifts.

After the winner is announced on June 11, viewers will choose from a group of rings, honeymoon trips and wedding attire, including bridal gown choices, for the June 25 wedding at Rockefeller Center.

Bradford said she doesn't mind the viewers choosing those details. "I'm an indecisive bride," she said. "Just tell me where to show up."
She said she trusts NBC to pick out the tuxedos, dresses and rings the viewers will vote on.

Each week, Bradford and Suggs flew to New York City on Tuesday evening, taped the show Wednesday morning, and flew back to Atlanta Wednesday afternoon.

"It's truly amazing," she said. "All this time, it seemed like a regular relationship. Now it's a regular fairy tale."

By VICTORIA CUMBOWTimes Staff Writer victoria.cumbow@ htimes.com

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Source: [aamufamily]yahoo group, submitted by A&M Alumni President, Lee Harris - written by huntsville times writer Victoria Cumbow, which was published on the "Everything Alabama" blog, AL.com.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Dr. Chandra Reddy the Prestigious 2007 George Washington Carver Agricultural Excellence Award

Huntsville, Ala. ---- Dr. Chandra Reddy, professor and former dean of Alabama A&M University’s School of Graduate Studies, has been selected by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to receive the prestigious 2007 George Washington Carver Agricultural Excellence Award.

The award annually honors a scientist/scholar who has had significant impact on International Agriculture. Calvina Dupre, USAID program manager, said Reddy received the award because a technical review panel recognized his significant contributions to improving the lives of people in Africa through sustainable agriculture.

Reddy will receive the award medallion from USAID Administrator Henrietta H. Fore during the White House Initiated National HBCU Week Annual Conference. AAMU will also receive a plaque as the host university of Dr. Reddy’s international development work in the 1980s.

Dr. Reddy was nominated for this award by Dr. James Lowenberg DeBoer, associate dean and director of international programs in agriculture at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. DeBoer called Reddy a pioneer in intercropping systems research in West Africa, where the former developed an improved millet-cowpea intercropping technology that is now known across the Sahel from Chad to Senegal.

His 50-page handbook on “The Strategies for Rainfed Millet and Cowpea Production in Niger” was pioneering and revolutionary in nature and is still widely used. In this publication, Dr. Reddy introduced for the first time, the concept of decision trees that provided flexible production practices as a function of agro-climatic and economic situations.

Reddy also contributed to building agronomic research and extension capacities in the Niger National Agricultural Research Institute (INRAN). He identified promising Nigerian agronomists for long and short term training in the U.S., mentored many of these young scientists upon their return and was the role model for rigorous and relevant agronomic research. He also coordinated the multidisciplinary farming systems research in Niger and brought together many specialists to work on national priorities.

In recognition of his contributions to agricultural development in Africa, the Ministry of Agriculture, Niger, honored him with a Meritorious Service Award. In appreciation of his international and domestic efforts in sustainable agriculture, the American Society of Agronomy in 2006 honored Dr. Reddy with the prestigious Agronomy Fellow award, the highest awards of the society.

As reported by Jerome St. John a year

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Alabama A&M University Provost Dr. Beverly Edmond will be named interim President

Alabama A&M University Provost Dr. Beverly Edmond will be named interim president. Her appointment came during a debacle at trustees meeting in which the two leading candidates for the post withdrew and where Gov. Bob Riley's newest appointment to the board -- Leroy Richie of Detroit -- was introduced.

Prior to her interm appointment as President of the University, Dr. Beverly C. Edmond was appointed to the position of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University on July 1, 2006. In this position she is responsible for providing leadership to the University's Academic and Instructional Support Programs. As Provost she serves as second in command to the President and acts in his absence and on his behalf. Prior to assuming this position, Dr. Edmond served as Vice Provost at Clark Atlanta University (CAU) in Atlanta, GA. She assumed this position in January 2004 after having served as Associate Provost since 2000. In her position as Vice Provost, Dr. Edmond was responsible for assisting in the overall management of the University's academic programs. She had specific responsibility for providing leadership for the Academic Program Review and Academic Strategic Planning Processes, faculty development and evaluation, student retention, integration of technology into the instructional program, and resolving academic grievances and appeals among other things. Dr. Edmond also served as Director of the University's $6.2 million dollar Title III Program. She held a tenured Associate Professor position in the Public Administration Department at CAU, and she served as Chair of that Department for seven years.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Edmond received a B.A. in Sociology from Albany State College (now University), a Master of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Political Science, with a concentration in Public Administration from Georgia State University.
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See Office of Provost & Academic Affairs for further information on Dr. Edmonds

Monday, April 21, 2008

Black colleges seeking more financial support from alumni

Alabama A&M University is a victim of its incompetent board of trustees. The board clearly has no understanding of the needs of the HBCU. The president, Dr. Jennings met the plan targets, by investing in campus improvements, degreed program improvement standards, alumni outreach, and corporate partnerships. The investments will attract more students, alumni support, and institutional dollars. However, it requires a president that understands the dynamic of fundraising, like Dr. Jennings. Unfortunately, the board of trustees dismissed Dr. Jennings before the end of the school year for an irrelevant reason. HBCUs need institutional fund raisers like Dr. Jennings. Due to the incompetence and small mindedness of the board of trustees, they are incapable of understanding that they have severely compromised the university.

The AP article below regarding the financial needs of HBCUs, discusses the industry standard for College fundraising. Dr. Jennings plan coincided with the industry standards. It's an interesting read.


ETTRICK, Va. - Making money, administrators at Virginia State University have learned, takes money.

The majority black school has spent millions of state dollars renovating buildings, partly to heighten school pride among alumni they hope will respond by opening their own wallets.

It's working: Alumni support has risen from 7 percent five years ago to 10 percent, and individual gifts have increased from hundreds of dollars to thousands, development vice president Robert Turner said as he showed off libraries and academic buildings recently.

"This" — Turner said, surveying the hilltop campus — "obviously converts to good will."

As state and private funds shrink, historically black colleges are refreshing outdated efforts to solicit former students, by adding specialized staff, crafting personalized "asks," improving campuses and increasingly using Internet outreach.

They're targeting a wider base — more blacks are graduating — and younger alumni who've moved into a broader range of careers.

At VSU, efforts as subtle as adding a donor recognition dinner have heartened alumni like Anthony Spence.

"If I'm going to give my money to a university, I want to be sure that it's used for the very best," said Spence, 41, a Miramar, Fla., entrepreneur who's given about $60,000.

Administrators plan computer network upgrades devoted to online giving at Atlanta's prestigious Morehouse College, where alumni contributions dipped from about $3.1 million in 2006 to $1.3 million last year.

Wiley College in east Texas will use a nearly $840,000 grant from the United Negro College Fund to help scout 200 major gift prospects a year, create new online giving opportunities and beef up staff.

Wiley, featured in Denzel Washington's 2007 film "The Great Debaters," has nine staffers focused on institutional advancement.

"At some of the larger, predominant institutions, they may have an advancement staff of say 20, 30, 50 people," said Karen Helton, vice president for institutional advancement. "That's how the Harvards and the Stanfords and the UCLAs generate billions."

Such measures are commonplace at some mainstream institutions. But they represent a major investment for the nation's more than 100 historically black colleges and universities, whose resources often are stretched.

The fundraising push by these schools foreshadows an expected slowdown in levels of state higher education funding, at the same time that predominantly white universities are pushing harder to attract high-achieving black students.

"There is an urgency about this as we look at our network of institutions and look at trying to sustain them," said Elfred Pinkard, executive director of the Institute for Capacity Building, part of the United Negro College Fund that represents 39 private historically black schools.

Since 2006, the institute has granted more than $8.1 million to 29 member schools for projects that include increasing alumni support.

"There was a recognition that alum of these institutions represented a very important constituency that had not been tapped in any systematic way," Pinkard said.

The colleges, founded to serve blacks during segregation, have kept tuition low to help underprivileged students. That leaves little extra cash for things like fundraising, said University of Pennsylvania assistant professor Marybeth Gasman, author of "Supporting Alma Mater: Successful Strategies for Securing Funds from Black College Alumni."

They also have historically been reluctant to ask former students, already paying off loans, to give more money. At the same time, black alumni haven't always had the income of graduates from predominantly white schools, Gasman said.

"Their alumni have had more access to income, to assets, and thus could give back," Gasman said, adding that blacks also tend to give more to churches.

But at Norfolk State University, alumni giving has grown from 2 percent to 8.2 percent since 2000, nudged, officials say, by graduates who are more moneyed at younger ages.

"As we get some of the majors that we have now, for example the optical engineering, there are individuals leaving college with decent salaries," said Phillip Adams, interim vice president for university advancement.

And there are potentially more of them: 142,420 bachelor's degrees were conferred to blacks in 2005-2006, up from fewer than 92,000 a decade earlier, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

But among black colleges' top resources, say some, is alumni loyalty.

"Many of our alum respond to our institutions as providing an opportunity when many other institutions would not have. So they give back," Pinkard said.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Alabama A&M Agriculture Dean Becomes Caribbean Science Icon

Huntsville, Ala. —- The new dean of Alabama A&M University’s School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will receive the highest distinction among Caribbean scientists.

Dr. Robert W. Taylor, a soil chemist, has been inducted as a “Caribbean Icon in Science and Technology” by the Caribbean Council of Science and Technology. The honor, notes Taylor, encompasses scientists who hail from the Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and others. Three years ago, he was elected to the Bahamas Science and Technology Hall of Fame.

Taylor says the award places him in the good company of numerous Caribbean notables, among them Marcus Garvey, Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture), Collin Powell, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Nobel Laureates.

Taylor entered the AAMU deanship as a Fellow in two leading international professional societies. He also served as a program officer for the National Science Foundation, considered one of the most prestigious peer review funding agencies in the world. He was elevated to the senior management when in the second year he served as Acting Deputy Division Director of the Division of Biological Infrastructure. Upon returning to AAMU, the Division presented Taylor with the Distinguished Service Award.

Taylor earned the B.S. degree from Tuskegee University in 1970. He pursued his postgraduate studies at Michigan State University, obtaining a M.S. degree in soil microbiology in 1973 and a Ph.D. in soil chemistry in 1977
Source:Black College Voice 3/8/08

Liviu Popa-Simil launched a firm to discover alternative energy source by using nanomaterial to turn radiation directly into electricity

Alabama A&M Alum, Liviu Popa-Simil, launched a private research and development firm to produce more powerful alternative energy sources by converting radiation into electricity to be used for space crafts and possibly the source of automobile fuel for the future.

Materials that directly convert radiation into electricity could produce a new era of spacecraft and even Earth-based vehicles powered by high-powered nuclear batteries, say US researchers.

Electricity is usually made using nuclear power by heating steam to rotate turbines that generate electricity.

But beginning in the 1960s, the US and Soviet Union used thermoelectric materials that convert heat into electricity to power spacecraft using nuclear fission or decaying radioactive material. The Pioneer missions were among those using the latter, "nuclear battery" approach.

Dispensing with the steam and turbines makes those systems smaller and less complicated. But thermoelectric materials have very low efficiency. Now US researchers say they have developed highly efficient materials that can convert the radiation, not heat, from nuclear materials and reactions into electricity.

Power boost
Liviu Popa-Simil, former Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear engineer and founder of private research and development company LAVM and Claudiu Muntele, of Alabama A&M University, US, say transforming the energy of radioactive particles into electricity is more effective.

The materials they are testing would extract up to 20 times more power from radioactive decay than thermoelectric materials, they calculate.

Tests of layered tiles of carbon nanotubes packed with gold and surrounded by lithium hydride are under way. Radioactive particles that slam into the gold push out a shower of high-energy electrons. They pass through carbon nanotubes and pass into the lithium hydride from where they move into electrodes, allowing current to flow.

"You load the material with nuclear energy and unload an electric current," says Popa-Simil.

Space probes
The tiles would be best used to create electricity using a radioactive material, says Popa-Simil, because they could be embedded directly where radiation is greatest. But they could also harvest power directly from a fission reactor's radiation.

Devices based on the material could be small enough to power anything from interplanetary probes to aircraft and land vehicles, he adds.

"I believe this work is innovative and could have a significant impact on the future of nuclear power," says David Poston, of the US Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. However perfecting new nuclear technologies requires years of development, he adds.

Popa-Simil agrees, saying it will be at least a decade before final designs of the radiation-to-electricity concept are built.

A paper on the new nuclear power materials was presented on 25 March, at the Materials Research Society Spring Meeting 2008 , San Francisco, California, US.

Nanotechnology - Follow the emergence of a new technology in our continuously updated special report.

Energy and Fuels - Learn more about the looming energy crisis in our comprehensive special repo
Source: New Scientist News

Sadly on April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King was Assassinated


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to remember Dr. King's humanity & sacrifice.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

The John Stallworth Scholarship Foundation's Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament

Alabam A&M Alum John Stallworth, a successful businessman, an elite Hall of Fame pro football player and philanthropist, has secured a place in the history books which will forever be etched in the hearts of Normalites. Mr. Stallworth built a $70 million engineering firm, participates in the A&M community, and continues to find time to gives back with the Starworth Scholarship Foundation and Celebrity Golf Tournament.

The John Stallworth Scholarship Foundation's Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament will be held on Friday, June 13, 2008. Bring your friends and join John Stallworth and a few of his friends at Hampton Cove Golf Course.

Immediately following the tournament a catered awards luncheon will be held at the Huntsville Botanical Garden's Pavilion.

The awards luncheon is closed to the public; only registered players, celebrities and tournament volunteer/staff members are allowed to attend. Festivities surrounding this event begin on Thursday, June 12, with our Celebrity Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction at the Huntsville Marriott. For more information on sponsorship opportunities and tournament information, please contact the Foundation at 256-536-8050.http://www.johnstallworth.com/

Johnny Lee Stallworth (Born July 15, 1952, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) played college football at Alabama A&M, becoming the Pittsburgh Steelers fourth-round draft pick in 1974. He played in six AFC championships and went to four Super Bowls. His career statistics were an impressive 537 receptions for 8,723 yards and 63 TDs. His receptions were a franchise record until it was surpassed by Hines Ward in 2005. Stallworth played in four Pro Bowls and was the Steelers' two-time MVP.

A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Stallworth was an All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference receiver for Alabama A&M in 1972 and 1973. He is related to Ronnie Stallworth Sr. (cousin).

Stallworth, blessed with great leaping ability and excellent speed, was the 82nd player taken that year. After a rookie year as an understudy, he became a starter in his second season and held that job for the rest of his 165-game career. Stallworth did battle a series of fibula, foot, ankle, knee and hamstring injuries that forced him to miss 44 regular-season games.

He is best remembered for his heroics in the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XIII, he caught a record-tying 75-yard touchdown pass from Terry Bradshaw that would later be a crucial touchdown in a 35-31 Steelers win over the Dallas Cowboys. He suffered leg cramps later and played sparingly in the second half, finishing with 3 receptions for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns

One year later, at Super Bowl XIV with the Steelers trailing the Los Angeles Rams 19-17 early in the fourth quarter, Steelers' coach Chuck Noll called for "60-Prevent-Slot-Hook-And-Go," a play the Steelers failed in practice prior to the big game. With 12 minutes remaining, Bradshaw dropped back and threw it long to Stallworth, who caught it and beat Rod Perry to the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown that would pave the way for the Steelers' 31-19 win and their fourth world championship. That amazing catch put Stallworth on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Overall, he recorded 3 receptions for 121 yards in the game.

Stallworth holds the Super Bowl records for career average per catch (24.4 yards) and single-game average, 40.33 yards in Super Bowl XIV. He had 12 touchdown receptions and a string of 17 straight games with a reception in post-season play. Stallworth also scored touchdowns in eight straight playoff games at one point (1978-1983), an NFL record.

He led the AFC with a career-high 1,395 yards gained on 80 receptions in 1984, when he was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. That year, he led the Steelers in a surprising playoff run that featured an upset win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Playoffs at Denver's Mile High Stadium. The next week, the Steelers fell one game short of reaching Super Bowl XIX by losing to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game.

Stallworth earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Alabama A&M University.

In 1986, he founded Madison Research Corporation (MRC). The company specialized in providing engineering and information technology services to government and commercial clients. Under Stallworth's leadership, MRC grew to more than 650 employees and $69.5 million in revenues (FY03). MRC manages six regional offices: Huntsville, AL (headquarters); Warner Robins, Ga.; Orlando and Shalimar, Fla.; Montgomery, Ala.; Houston, Texas; and Dayton, Ohio. In October 2006, the sale of MRC to WFI was completed, and at that time it was announced that Stallworth would pursue other interests.

Stallworth was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August 2002.
(bio source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stallworth)





How I Did It: John Stallworth, CEO, Madison Research

An athlete scores again.
By: John Stallworth
Published August 2006
As told to Patrick J. Sauer of Inc Magazine



Even before the close of his Hall of Fame football career, John Stallworth was thinking ahead. In 1986, six years after catching a 73-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl XIV and two years before he retired, Stallworth founded Madison Research with his wife, Flo, and Sam Hazelrig, a retired Army engineer he'd met at his son's soccer game. Over the last two decades, Madison--an engineering and IT company based in Huntsville, Alabama, that handles system design, modeling, analysis, logistical support, program management, facility operations, security, and network administration for clients such as the Army, the Air Force, and NASA--has blossomed into a $62 million operation with 470 employees. The funny thing is, Stallworth seems so driven to create a relaxed culture with happy employees that it almost sounds as if he's talking about a vegan coffee shop rather than a cog in the military-industrial complex.


I grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was an interesting time. I was both in awe of the University of Alabama athletic program and swept up in the civil rights movement. It was a little scary--you knew there was a line out there, and you could be hurt if you crossed it.
When I was a freshman, my high school had only been integrated for three years. At pep rallies, our battle song was Dixie and you would always look out and see Rebel flags. A lot of students said it was tradition and didn't mean anything, but there was also a group that was sensitive to the implications. As athletes, we were sort of in the middle, but we forged a camaraderie between the blacks and whites on our team. We all drank from the same water bucket.
There was a certain humility to our Steeler teams. We were like partners, even more than teammates. Our success was based on the interdependency with the guy next to you. Making Terry Bradshaw look good by catching the ball was no more important than throwing a block for Franco Harris. We truly believed this, and that's how we were able to do things that had never been done before.


Early on, I felt like my being a football player was something our company had to overcome, so I didn't wear my Super Bowl rings or have memorabilia in the office. I'd go to a meeting and all they would want to do is talk football. I never brought football up because the worst perception about it is that it's not a cerebral game. I had to prove that I was intelligent and that the business was legitimate.


I decided our greatest chance for success would be starting a company that supported the federal government because it has mandated procurements for small businesses. We incorporated in 1986 and I was majority owner, Hazelrig had about 40 percent, and my wife had a percentage.



A lot of folks told me to figure out what we did well and pursue that niche. I never liked that strategy because what if the niche goes bad? I wanted our company to do at least five or six things, so I made a list of things to focus on: a combination of prototype manufacturing, IT, and logistics. It was difficult when we were starting out because we didn't have the personnel to run deep on every project.


In 1987, we signed our first contract with the United States Army for $271,000. Hazelrig was crucial in helping us get it because we were still only three people and he understood what the military wanted. He spoke their language. I was a little intimidated by the generals because of my inexperience, even though some of them knew me from the NFL. We ended up building two stands with gauges and such for testing parts on the M1 tank. We didn't make a penny on that contract, but it opened doors and allowed us to hire support personnel.


By 1992, Madison Research was becoming a recognized name and we started getting prime contracts instead of subs. In 1995 we won a $50 million contract to run a computer simulation center for the Army's Space and Missile Defense Command. When it came up for bid again in 2002, nobody competed against us.


Hazelrig retired in 2000, and I've ceded day-to-day operations. I now serve as a more traditional CEO, coming into the office every day and concentrating on strategic planning, developing relationships, meeting with clients, and continually updating and implementing the company's five-year plan. My other important function is serving as a role model for company culture. We put together a list of core values for the company, which include having a place where people enjoy working because they are treated with respect. I want my people to be relaxed because then they will feel comfortable voicing their opinions. There is a time to be serious, but there is also a time to have fun, share a meal, or just talk about family. That's how the Steeler organization operated, and we have the same culture.



The worst perception about football is that it's not a cerebral game. I had to prove that I was intelligent and that the business was legitimate.
I like the public sector model because the competition is based on the best proposal and not always the cost. There's a quality of fairness to it. Sometimes the margins of the private sector look pretty good, but I like knowing we will always get paid and that the federal government is never going out of business.


Minority set-asides weren't something we thought a lot about when we started Madison, but sure, we went after the contracts and took advantage of those programs. I believe we used them for what they were intended--to help minority business owners build an infrastructure, grow, get experience, and compete with established companies. We haven't used them for five or six years, though. We outgrew them.

We've set up air defense systems in Egypt and Norway and for our troops in Afghanistan. Look at who many of our ultimate users are: soldiers. Since the beginning, I've known that we are supporting the military in conflicts all over the world. Somebody's life could depend on how this company--my company--does its job. That's very sobering.


As African American entrepreneurs, we need to be role models and speak to our young people at churches, schools, Boys Clubs, etc. We need them to understand the pain and sweat that goes into any profession, whether it's the year I missed when I broke my leg, came back for a game, and broke my foot, or when I didn't get paid for months on end building Madison Research. We need our young athletes to understand that less than 1 percent go on to play professionally. We need to define ourselves by more than catching footballs or shooting jumpers.


One day a single mother came into my office. She'd been working with us for five months and she broke down in tears telling me how much she needed the job for her family and her own sense of self-worth. That was the greatest feeling I've ever had. It rivals anything I ever felt in athletics.


I was overjoyed when the Steelers won the Super Bowl last year, especially for the Rooney family. They've done it the right way. Who else would only have two head coaches for 37 seasons? Through good times and bad, they've stood by Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. I use that belief system in running my own company. Stick with folks, and it will pay off in the end.

Source: Inc. Magazine August 2006