Professor MC Lyte

 

 

In April I met with MC Lyte about a scholarship she wanted to do at Dillard. As we talked and bounced around ideas, one was to do a class to deal with lyrics in the music. So she agreed to co-teach the class which would include several trips on site. Her first visit was last week, and we started off with a campus empowerment program. This legendary MC inspired the students and guests to achieve their goals.

The next day we had our class. I watched her meticulously take notes as the students gave their impressions of our discussions on sex, gender and hip hop. She also wrote down the students' names so she could personally respond to them. She was such a natural in this small group and was very engaging. She is such a great partner for the university and we are thankful to have her.

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Brain Food: Michael Steele

We kicked off a new season of Brain Food with former RNC chair Michael Steele. In a speech that gave equal criticism of both parties, Steele argued that the people need to take control over the country by truly holding politicians accountable. He mentioned Ferguson (as did I in my intro) noting that the people there have to elect those who will represent their interests.

About 250 people attended but the place should have been full. One guest said he was telling friends that he was coming to hear Steele and they asked him why he wanted to do that. Steele even addressed the fact that it has always been tough for him as a Republican & a Roman Catholic, but he tells everyone he was Black first. Anyone who heard him knew that.

My challenge is to get people to expand their minds by being willing to hear viewpoints that are different. The lack of critical thinking on display in the nation is the result of people not being able to listen to different points of view.

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Volleyball Season!

Two matches. Two wins. A great way to start the season!

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New Orleans Magazine People to Watch 2014

 

 

Congratulations to our athletic director, Kiki Barnes, who was selected by New Orleans Magazine as one to watch this year. She is nearing completion of her doctorate this year and has been named AD of the year for our athletic conference as well.

 

 

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Dr. Norman C. Frances announces his retirement

 

You knew that day was going to come, but it still was somewhat of a shock. But today was that day. I had a call this morning at 9am from the Xavier board chair telling me about the announcement, and of course I changed my schedule to be there this morning for a truly historic event.

 



Dr. Norman Francis, who became president of Xavier the day King was killed in Memphis, will step down after 47 years at the helm. I can say that he is an amazing man, and you never guess he is 83 the way he operates. I've never seen anyone like him. I am sure Xavier will miss him greatly, and those would be shoes I would not want to try to fill! But it has been an honor to be here with him in New Orleans and I look forward to continue to learn from him this year and beyond.

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Cross Country Season has begun!

Our cross country team participated in their first meet on Friday. We were at City Park with fellow Gulf Coast Conference teams Xavier and Edward Waters.

Our strength is track and field (speed events), so cross country is harder for us. But definitely a great conditioning program for our sprinters.

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Brain Food coming up!

 

 

I'm excited about the upcoming Brain Food lectures. With this being an election year, Michael Steele is a great person to set the stage with these big midterm elections (including Louisiana Senate). Maggie Anderson's emphasis is supporting Black businesses and she will discuss her work in that area. I recently saw an ABC News Person of the Week featuring Misty Copeland, who has a phenomenal story about becoming a ballerina. And while Mike Brown is on everyone's mind, Benjamin Crump will be here in December to talk about him, Trayvon Martin, and the other issues facing Black men and women with regards to Civil Rights.

 

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