@Claflin: UNCF-Mellon Faculty Teaching and Learning Institute, and more

July 7, 2023

The World Needs Visionaries

Claflin University to Host UNCF-Mellon Faculty Teaching and Learning Institute

Claflin University will host its UNCF-Mellon Faculty Teaching and Learning Institute on July 11-13, 2023, in the Jonas T. Kennedy Health and Wellness Center. Titled "Publishing 200: How to Sustain Publications for HBCU Humanities Faculty Members in a Post-Covid-19 Era," the event is funded by a $30,000 grant from UNCF-Mellon. Dr. Peggy S. Ratliff, professor of English and interim chair of the Department of English, and Dr. Mitali P. Wong, professor of English and special assistant to the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, are the project's principal co-investigators.

Fifteen faculty members representing nine HBCUs have been selected to participate in the institute, which recognizes the need for continued research and publication in their disciplines for HBCU faculty to remain effective teachers of majors, minors, and graduate students. This year's program will offer stimulating workshops with HBCU faculty scholars who continue to sustain publications over many years.

Workshop leaders will share strategies for planning, selecting avenues of peer-reviewed publications, setting realistic timelines for completing manuscripts, and collaborating to speed up and sustain publications. Faculty research and publications help to enhance course content and teaching. In addition to the co-PIs, three external consultants, three faculty members from Claflin University, and two publishers will present workshops at this institute. An online research consortium will be formed to sustain collaboration between participating institutions and their partners.

Employee News

The Excellence in Policing and Public Safety (EPPS) Program at the University of South Carolina School of Law has selected Captain LaRhonda Gordon to participate in the Command Staff Professional Development Initiative, the School’s inaugural training program. Gordon was one of 16 officers chosen after a competitive application process. The EPPS provides rising law enforcement leaders with an in-depth exploration of various critical topics to gain knowledge, insight, and practical skills they can bring back to their communities. In addition to benefiting from the intensive 18-month training program, Gordon will work with the University of South Carolina School of Law to improve how the EPPS Program meets the public safety needs of state law enforcement practitioners and communities.Program participants will receive nine additional training sessions over the next year and a half, and EPPS plans to onboard a second cohort of rising leaders in early 2024.

Alumni News

The Orangeburg County Juneteenth Committee has announced its inaugural Forty Under 40 cohort. Eleven Claflin alumni and two employees were selected for the Class of 2023. The celebration gala will take place on August 25, 2023, from 7 to 11:30 p.m. at the Family Life Center in Orangeburg. Congratulations to the following:

Briana Berry, ’18
Lasonya Colter, ’07
Nicole Glover, ’09
Anthony Hallmon, ’16
Montez Haynes, ’08
Matisse Lee, ’08, ’21 (Associate Director of Athletics)
QueWanda Middleton, ’05, ’19
Torian Nunn (Academic Student Support Coordinator/Upward Bound Counselor)
Alyssa Pelzer, ’09
Dr. Joseph Rush, ’12
Dr. James Stroman, ‘13
Emmanuel Wright, ’17, ’19

Congratulations to Dr. Ashley Rene' Gathers, 09, who graduated from her pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters and Eastern Virginia Medical School, Department of Pediatrics, on June 23, 2023, in Norfolk, Va. Dr. Gathers will be practicing general pediatrics with Children's National Pediatricians & Associates in Md.

Tzion Lawrence, '23, has been selected to participate in The Angela Mears Creative Mentorship Program. The program is a part of The International ANDY Awards "Face the Future' initiative and is committed to building a talent pipeline. Each year, through The International ANDY Awards and The ADVERTISING Club of NY's Foundation, 20 recent, or soon-to-graduate "creatives" are given the unique opportunity and access to a creative leader as their mentor. Lawrence has been matched with Jeff Benjamin, chief creative officer at Tombras, a full-service advertising agency in Knoxville, Tenn.

Dr. Leo Twiggs, '56, distinguished artist-in-residence at Claflin University, will be presented the Dean’s Cross in a ceremony at Grace Cathedral Church in Charleston on Sunday, July 16, 2023, at 11 a.m. The Dean’s Cross is the highest honor presented by the Virginia Theological Seminary of Arlington. Previous recipients include First Lady Barbara Bush, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and most recently, Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Twiggs has served on numerous Boards and Commissions and he has received the State’s highest civilian honor, The Order of The Palmetto. He was inducted into the Official South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2020.