Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tickets On-Sale for FAMU’s Tenth President Inaugural Kick-Off Event — Featuring Gospel Sensation Evangelist Shirley Caesar

Tickets go on sale today, Thursday, August 28, 2008, for Florida A&M University President James H. Ammons’ inaugural events, including the gospel concert, featuring Evangelist Shirley Caesar, gospel phenomenon and 11-time Grammy Award winning artist.

In addition to the concert tickets, which are $40 per person, tickets for the Homecoming Gala, $125; Presidential Inaugural Barbeque, $10; and Champagne Jazz Brunch, $25, will be on sale at Lee Hall, Room 103, and at the FAMU Alumni House, 1810 South Adams Street, Tallahassee, Fla. 32307, and online at https://secure.qgiv.com/cps_donors/index.php?key=famu.

The gospel concert featuring Evangelist Shirley Caesar is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Lee Hall Auditorium, Monday, October 27. The theme for the inaugural week is “Preserving a Legacy of Excellence in a New Era.” The seven-day celebration will highlight some of the major thrusts that are part of the Ammons 10-point plan: education, community service, health and the arts.

For more information about the FAMU Presidential Inauguration and for regular updates, visit the official website at www.famu.edu/inauguration2008.

Anchors and editors announced for FAMU Student Media for 2008-2009

Brent Hatchett and Courtney Simms have been named news anchors for FAMU-TV 20 and the Live at Five Newscast. The newscast will move from airing twice a week to four times a week starting September 15.

“This places our broadcast journalism program on par with the top journalism programs in the nation in regard to producing news reporters, producers, videographers, editors and news anchors,” said Kenneth Jones, a broadcast professor and sequence coordinator.

Students in the advanced TV news class also will contribute to the Week in Review news show that will air on Fridays at 7 p.m. on FAMU-TV 20 starting September 5.

Hatchett, a broadcast student from Detroit, has interned with WTXL-TV as a reporter. He also has worked as a sports announcer and gospel disc jockey for WANM-FM as well as a reporter for The Famuan, FAMU’s student newspaper.

Simms, a broadcast student from Chicago, has been a Fashion Fair model worldwide and worked on FAMU’s homecoming show broadcast as a reporter.

Rounding out the four-person anchor team will be weather anchor Maria Osler, a broadcast student from the Detroit-area, and sports anchor Alicia Mitchell, a broadcast student from Orlando.

Akeem Anderson, a newspaper journalism student from Chicago, and Yewande Addie, a newspaper journalism student from Atlanta, have been selected as the editors for The Famuan newspaper and Journey Magazine respectively for the 2008-2009 school year.

Under Anderson’s leadership, The Famuan was named the top student newspaper published at a historically black university in 2008. The Famuan staff also won 10 other awards for reporting, headline writing, editing, photography, informational graphics and design work at the HBCU National Newspaper Conference held in Baltimore earlier this year. Students working on Journey also have won several awards in recent years, including a Hearst Award in 2008 and the “Best College Magazine” by the Southeast Journalism Conference in 2006.

“We understand the increasing importance of convergence and our student media will be ramping up the volume of multi-media projects in the coming school year,” said James Hawkins, dean of the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication.

Under the leadership of Professor Michael Abrams, FAMU journalism students also will be working with the Tallahassee Democrat on an election-related poll this fall.

Photo caption: (From left to right) Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) TV-20 news anchors for the fall 2008: Alicia Mitchell, Brent Hatchett, Courtney Simms, and Maria Osler.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

FAMU Welcomes Rev. Margaret Kartwe-Bradley as the New Director of the Campus Ministry

Rev. Margaret Kartwe-Bradley recently joined the Florida A&M University family as the director of the campus ministry.

“I have already fallen in love with the people here at FAMU, and the university is so blessed to have an awesome president,” said Rev. Kartwe-Bradley. “As an ordained elder of the United Methodist Church, the world is my perish. At this moment in time, this university, FAMU, and its whole community is my parish. I’m not just here for Methodist students, but all students and staff if and when needed.”

Rev. Kartwe-Bradley, former member of the Gainesville and Orlando Board of Ordained Ministry, comes to FAMU after serving as senior pastor at Ebenezer United Methodist Church, in Orlando, Fla., since 2003.

She has also served as senior pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church and Zion United Methodist Church, in Ocala, Fla. Prior to moving to Florida, Rev. Kartwe-Bradley served as a local pastor at the Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Madison, Ind. She has held leadership roles in the Conference Board of Global Ministries, the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry and the Justice Committee on African-American Comprehension Plan Task Force.

Rev. Kartwe-Bradley obtained her associate in business degree from the College of West Africa, in Monrovia Liberia, bachelor’s of arts from the American Baptist College and master’s of divinity from the Gammon Theological Seminary.

FAMU is the Only University Recognized as Graphic Students Win 15 Printing Association of Florida Awards

The Florida A&M University School of Journalism and Graphic Communication (SJGC) announces its students have received 15 awards at the 2008 Printing Association of Florida (PAF) Print Awards. The awards were announced at the association’s annual conference in Orlando.

FAMU was the only university honored among 78 Florida-based printing, graphic arts companies, and schools.

“We are delighted the Printing Association of Florida has recognized our students’ work,” said James Hawkins, SJGC dean. “This will signal to the printing community that students in our school are learning the skills they will need in the workplace.”

The students won one Best of Category Award, two Awards of Excellence and 12 Honorable Mentions.

The students participating in the competition were:

• Angelica Broadus
• Windham Graves
• Cleather H. Hathcock, III
• Alicia Hope
• Stephanie M. King
• Matefia Poitier
• Tchanarian Roche
• Delarian “Dee” Roper
• James Scott
• Yvette Summers
• Terrance Ward
• Riana Winters

“We applaud these students’ work,” said Arvid Mukes, SJGC associate dean and director of the Division of Graphic Communication. “We also recognize and appreciate the work of Kay Wilder, a professor of graphic design. Professor Wilder encouraged these students to participate and coordinated their entries.”

Friday, August 8, 2008

FAMU Environmental Sciences Institute Students Receive First to Third Place at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Scholarship Program

Four Florida A&M University Environmental Sciences Institute (ESI) undergraduate participants received high rankings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 3rd Annual Combined Student Scholarship Program held at NOAA’s Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD.

“We are extremely proud of the success of these Florida A&M University students,” said Larry Robinson, director of FAMU’s Environmental Cooperative Science Center (ECSC). “It reflects their capabilities and potential to make even greater scientific contributions in the future. Their faculty advisors and NOAA mentors should also be congratulated for playing a role in this tremendous outcome.”

Students were evaluated by prominent NOAA scientists in the extremely competitive event.

This year, NOAA’s Office of Education hosted 136 undergraduate student participants from around the nation representing NOAA’s Educational Partnership Program Undergraduate Scholars and Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship recipients. Students gave oral or poster presentations describing their internship research experiences in one of six categories critical to NOAA’s mission.

In the oral presentations Sherrita Commey placed first in ocean and coastal management; LaToya Chandler placed second in fisheries sciences; and Amari Jones placed third in meteorology and hydrology. Judith Sarkodee-Addo placed third in the poster competition.

All four ESI students were supported by NOAA’s Environmental Cooperative Science Center led by FAMU.

Photo caption: From left to right – Florida A&M University’s Environmental Sciences Institute students Judith Sarkodee-Addo; LaToya Chandler; Amari Jones; and Sherrita Commey were winners at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 3rd Annual Combined Student Scholarship Program.

FAMU to Induct Eight in Sports Hall of Fame

The 33rd Annual Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame program will induct eight members in the Class of 2008 during enshrinement ceremonies Friday, August 29, at 7 p.m. in the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center.

The honorees include Sura Balogun, tennis; Joseph Durant, baseball coach; Eddie Jackson, supporter; Frances Knight, track coach; Curtis “Pecan” Parnell, football; Kanyon Singleton-Medford, track and field; Willie “Jelly” Taylor, football; and Dorothy Williams, supporter.

Balogun led FAMU to three consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tennis team championships in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Lucas served a head baseball coach from 1991 to 2007, capturing three conference championships, 350 wins and FAMU’s first ever Division I post season appearance in 1994.

When serving respectively as vice president of university relations, Jackson and Williams played major roles in raising funds for women’s athletics, underwrote the first Wall of Fame breakfast program and made substantial contributions to the planning and operation of the Orange Blossom Classic and the Florida Classic.

Knight was a three-sport letter winner at FAMU in softball, track and tennis. She also coached tennis and volleyball, winning three consecutive MEAC titles in tennis and the 1988 MEAC championship in volleyball. Medford was twice voted the MEAC Outstanding Female Performer in 1991 and 1992, winning the 100 and 200 meters while excelling in the field including the javelin, discus and shotput.

Medford, who earned All-America honors in 1976, was a four-year starter at defensive back. He led FAMU in interceptions in 1973, 1975 and 1976, finishing his career with 22 interceptions, the third highest in FAMU’s history.

Taylor earned All-America honors at center in 1958 and was an outstanding performer on FAMU’s undefeated national championship team in 1957.

Established in 1976, FAMU has inducted more than 200 members into its sports hall of fame including coaches, supporters of sports programs and outstanding athletes in football, men and women basketball, men and women track and field, baseball, women softball, volleyball and swimming.

Joseph Ramsey, chairman of the FAMU Sports Hall of Fame Committee said the induction ceremony helps to strengthen and support FAMU’s great athletic tradition.

“The Class of 2008 is representative of those who gained prominence in athletics as players, coaches and supporters,” said Ramsey. “We expect this year’s ceremony to be among the largest and the best we have had.”

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

FAMU NABJ Wins Student Chapter of the Year

The Florida A&M University Chapter of National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) was recently honored as Student Chapter of the Year during the UNITY Journalists of Color Convention.

Earlier this summer, FAMU broadcast journalist senior, Sidney Wright IV, an award-winning senior broadcast journalism student from Tampa, was honored as the Student Journalist of the Year by the NABJ.

“Anybody who hadn’t heard of SJGC before knows about us now,” said James Hawkins, dean of the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication.

Hawkins noted Dorothy Bland, director of FAMU’s journalism division and a McCormick Fellow, was featured in UNITY’s opening plenary session that focused on changes and challenges facing the media 40 years after the historic Kerner Report. The Kerner Report spotlighted the lack of diversity among media organizations.

“Our students and graduates are ready, willing and able to help the media industry diversify the talent pool,” said Hawkins.

Wright said UNITY, which attracted more than 6,000 journalists, recruiters and other professionals, was an “excellent networking opportunity…. I and other students met industry leaders that will benefit us for years to come.”

“Under the leadership of President Georgia Dawkins, FAMU’s NABJ chapter has become one of the most active student groups in the SJGC,” said Bland. “Membership in the chapter has tripled from 15 to more than 50 active members in the last year.”

Members of the FAMU NABJ chapter are actively engaged in student media outlets such as The Famuan, Journey, WANM radio, FAMU-TV 20 and related web sites. In addition to participating in student media boot camps, producing a newsletter and hosting résumé-writing workshops, they have established a mentoring and scholarship program for high school students at FAMU’s Developmental Research School.

About the SGJC
The School of Journalism and Graphic Communication was founded in 1982. Its Division of Journalism was the first journalism program at a historically black university to be nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). It offers four journalism sequences: newspaper, magazine production, broadcast (radio and television) and public relations.

Photo caption: From left to right: Front row - Kathy Times, NABJ vice president of print and a FAMU alumna; Sidney Wright IV, winner of Student Journalist of the Year; FAMU Professor Dorothy Bland, director of FAMU Division of Journalism; Georgia Dawkins, FAMU ABJ president, who is holding the Chapter of the Year Award; Chantell Black, FAMU ABJ vice president; and John Marsh, a 2008 FAMU graduate. Second row - Jon McCloud, ABJ treasurer, and Robin Mitchell, a FAMU alumna and former ABJ president.

Friday, August 1, 2008

FAMU Rattler Football Day at the Governor’s Square Mall

The Tallahassee community is invited to attend Florida A&M University Rattler Football Day at Governor’s Square Mall on Sunday, August 17, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Individuals will have an opportunity to meet FAMU’s Head Football Coach Joe Taylor and members of the FAMU coaching staff and football team. FAMU football players will be available for photos and autographs. Season football tickets will be available for purchase as well as information about FAMU Booster membership. Entertainment will be provided by FAMU’s pep band and cheerleaders.

“We are looking forward to the upcoming Rattler football season,” said Mickey Clayton, director of the FAMU Booster Club. “There will be a lot of excitement this year.”

Governor’s Square General Manager Eric Litz welcomes all Florida A&M University alumni and friends for the pre-season football pep rally.

“August is a time of excitement in our community with the return of college students and the expectations for the coming football season,” said Litz. “This season will indeed be one of expectation for FAMU with the advent of a new coaching staff. We wish the Rattlers much success on the gridiron this fall.”