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Voorhees College Update on Academics in Light

of the COVID-19 Virus: Message Two:

****Celebrating Honors College Scholars****

The W. Franklin Evans Honors College

Ms. Karen E. Countz, Coordinator

From the Office of Dr. Ronnie Hopkins

Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Valued Voorhees Tigers:

This week is officially deemed Honors College Week at Voorhees College. As such, this issue of

Update on Academics in Light of the COVID-19 Virus celebrates the Honors College Scholars

that were confirmed for induction in the W. Franklin Evans Honors College for Thursday, March

26, 2020. This year, 42 new scholars have joined the academic ranks of the W. Franklin Evans

Honors College. In celebration of the inductees, we have mailed the prestigious Honors College

certificate and lapel pin marking them as duly inducted members of the esteemed W. Franklin

Evans Honors College.

We have also included A Resolution of Honors College Scholars and The Honors College

Commitment, the official induction ceremony oaths for you to truly understand Honors College

engagement and devotion and its potential impact on Voorhees College. Again, congratulations

to our Honors College Induction Class of 2020 and to our current Honors College Scholars.

Finally, this feature of Update on Academics highlights exciting activities sponsored by the W.

Franklin Evans Honors College, including, the Spring Break 2020 City-As-Text Career and

Cultural Study: Washington, D.C., the Honors College’s Campus Community reading, movie

and dinner event of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, the Honors College Master Class Series,

Honors College representatives at the Benedict College Annual Honors Program, and Winter

Break 2019 Career and Cultural Study Abroad to Liberia.

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The W. Franklin Evans Honors College

2020 Inductees

Department of Business and Entrepreneurship

Dr. Katherine Whitaker, Chairperson

Cherokee Buggs Business Administration April Hawes Organizational Management Taylor Ross Business Administration Teneva Stewart Business Administration Destiny Wilson Business Administration

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Department of Humanities, Education & Social Sciences

Dr. Tywana Chenault, Chairperson

Latraivia Adkins Criminal Justice Marrisa Coffing Criminal Justice Steven Cook Theological Studies Khadijah Daniel Criminal Justice Joshua Duncan Theological Studies Javontie Goss Child Development Kyneisha Graham Psychology Patricia Holmes-Reed Theological Studies Orlando Jackson Psychology Zykevia Mitchell Criminal Justice Keyanna Odom Criminal Justice Denise Person Criminal Justice Jenesis Priester Psychology Kiara Roberts Child Development Zandreia Scott Criminal Justice Juanisha Sease Interdisciplinary Studies Ambrozzia Shipman Psychology Derina Webber Child Development Za'Taveya Williams Psychology Monica Woodley Criminal Justice Keyana Yeoman Mass Communication

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Department of Science, Technology, Health & Human Services

Dr. Zhabiz Golkar, Acting Chairperson

Zay'Aunna Beard Sports Management Rekell Benton Computer Science Aubrey Callum Biology Ca'Washa Ceasar Sports Management Jamaal Chea Computer Science Tamia Crawford Biology Javeene Elliott Biology Selena Ellison Computer Science Tymia Exum Computer Science Di'Andrae Glover Sports Management Raven Jones Biology Joel Rivera Sports Management Patrick Rollins Computer Science Chyna Smalls-Jenkins Biology Jordan Williams Public Health – General Kimeyata Willis Public Health – Professional

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The W. Franklin Evans Honors College 2020 Certificate

The W. Franklin Evans Honors College Lapel Pin

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The W. Franklin Evans Honors College 2019-2020

Honors Student Association Officers (HSA)

Calvin Coach President Dawn Freeman Vice President Temah Yarsiah Business Manager

Chauncey Aiken Secretary Keyonna McClurkin Treasurer

Tyonnia Blackwell Chaplain Malachi Young Fundraising Student Giving Chair

The W. Franklin Evans Honors College 2019-2020

Honors Advisory Council

Karen E. Countz Lynda Jefferson

Coordinator of the W. Franklin Evans Honors College Director, Student Support Services

Willie Jefferson Director, External Affairs, Operations, & Special Events Menia Lee Director, Sponsored Research

Herman Mason, Ph.D. Director, Library Services Felicia Mason-Garner Registrar and Compliance Specialist

Carolyn Jenkins Food Service Director, Aladdin Foods Lugenia Rochelle Assistant Professor, English

Adrian West Dean of Students Marion Wright Director, Student Engagement and Leadership

Ex-Officio Members

Ronnie Hopkins, Ph.D. Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs Tywana Chenault, Ph.D. Department Chair, Humanities, Education, & Social

Sciences Zhabiz Golkar, Ph.D. Acting Department Chair, Science Technology, Health &

Human Services Katherine Whitaker, DBA Department Chair, Business & Entrepreneurship

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A Resolution for Honors College Scholars

The W. Franklin Evans Honors College

March 26, 2020

Whereas, Scholars who are selected for the W. Franklin Evans Honors College

undertake both a responsibility and a challenge to become pacesetters by serving as

role models in intellectual abilities, motivational and leadership skills; and

Whereas, These Honors Students will practice punctuality, prepare conscientiously,

and actively participate in Honors activities, in special groups activities, in formal

and informal discussions, forums, symposia, and academic competitions; and

Whereas, The Honors College Scholars will read extensively both assigned materials

and independent selections and conduct research as ways of expanding knowledge

in various area, and actively engage in guided career pathways leading to their career

successes; and

Whereas, Scholars will communicate frequently with the Honors College

administration, the faculty and staff in regards to progress and plans so that an

effective and challenging program of study may be arranged; and

Whereas, The Scholars will strive to keep a reasonable balance between self-

satisfaction, humility, and pride in achievement; and

Whereas, The Scholars will accept leadership roles willingly, but will avoid the

temptation of assuming extra duties to the detriment of learning and academic

success;

Therefore, be it Resolved, that the new inductees with respect, honor, and pride for

the Honors College’s namesake, Dr. W. Franklin Evans, the Ninth President of

Voorhees College, are committed to using the opportunities provided by the Honors

College to develop their God-given abilities in order to promote a high degree of

pride and to further enhance the community of scholarship and intellectualization at

Voorhees College, in the State of South Carolina, in the United States, and over the

world.

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The W. Franklin Evans Honors College Commitment

Facilitator: Will you accept the responsibility for scholastic rigor, high achievement

and the pursuit of heightened academic excellence?

Honors Scholars: WE WILL!

Facilitator: Will you accept the challenge for intensive study and research in

domestic and international opportunities?

Honors Scholars: WE WILL!

Facilitator: Will you take full advantage of the emphasis of individualized, focused

study and small group laboratory experiences that will prepare you for graduate and

professional studies and for the competitive employment market?

Honors Scholars: WE WILL!

Facilitator: Will you accept the challenge to serve the campus, the community, the

nation and the world, thus embracing the adage, “to whom much is given, much is

required”?

Honors Scholars: WE WILL!

Facilitator: Will you embrace the theme of the W. Franklin Evans Honors College

“Empowered for Greatness, Educated for Service, Destined for the Promise”?

Honors Scholars: WE WILL!

Facilitator: Will you live up to the historic mantra and true spirit of Voorhees College

to BEGIN. BELIEVE. and BECOME.? Honors Scholars: WE WILL!

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Honors College Engagement at Voorhees College:

Begin. Believe. Become.

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Spring Break 2020 City-As-Text Career and Cultural Study:

Destination --Washington, D.C For spring break 2020, March 7th -11th, 10 members of the W. Franklin Evans Honors College

engaged in a city-as-text experience in Washington, D.C. “City-as-Text” is a common academic

engagement activity among honors communities,” explained Karen E. Countz, Coordinator of

the Honors College. “The purpose of city-as-text is to provide opportunities for students to learn,

provide service, and engage in civic and community leadership projects outside of the

classroom,” added Dr. Ronnie Hopkins, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Honors Scholars participated in the following activities during the Washington D.C. City-as-Text

Career and Cultural experience: tours of the National Museum of African American History &

Culture, the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, the National Mall and Memorial Parks,

Capitol Hill, and the United States Library of Congress. The Scholars also engaged in daily oral

and written journal reflections about the impact of the experiences.

Honors College and Presidential Scholar, Denzel Walls, junior Business Administration major

shared, “It was such a wonderful experience. We got a chance to experience many of our

national treasures that most people only get to see on television. There was so much about our

history, past and future that we discussed during the experience.”

A special highlight of the experience was the facilitation of a Master Class by Mr. Anthony

Jackson, Aerospace Engineer with John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Additionally, students met international students from South Africa and discussed college life in

the United States. “Our City-as-Text experience in Washington, D.C. was a dynamic, exciting

and wonderful way of learning,” stated Dawn Freeman, Honors College Scholar and SCICU

Researcher, senior Biology major.

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Honors College’s Campus Community reading, movie and dinner event of

Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy Monday, January 20, 2020. To commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment and ultimate sacrifice for social justice in America and around the world, members of the Voorhees College W. Franklin Evans Honors College, read the memoir and viewed the critically acclaimed blockbuster movie, “Just Mercy” as a King’s Day activity.

The film viewing took place after honors students and honors council members engaged in the common reading of “Just Mercy: The Story of Justice and Redemption Justice and Redemption” by Bryan Stevenson.

The memoir describes the enduring racism and legal and political obstruction, Stevenson and Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) faced as he takes on what will

become the case of his lifetime by defending Walter McMillan, an African-American

sentenced to die in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year -old White girl.

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The Honors College Master Class Series Beginning in January 2020, the Master Class Series, produced

exclusively for Honors College Scholars, has provided members the opportunity to hear and learn about the career path, dreams, aspirations, inspirations, challenges, failures, and successes of

the Master Class facilitator in a small group setting. Master Class is interactive and synergistic by design. To date, the Master

Class facilitators include Dr. W. Franklin Evans, 9th President and CEO of Voorhees College, Mr. Mike Colter, actor, widely known for his portrayal of the Marvel Comics superhero, Luke

Cage, and Mr. Anthony Jackson, Aerospace Engineer with John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

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Honors College Representatives Attend Benedict

College’s Annual Honors Program Induction On February 25, 2020, Honors Scholars, administrators and staff attended the Annual Honors Induction Ceremony at Benedict College, Columbia, S.C. Honors Director, Dr. Gwenda Greene and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Janeen P. Witty, recognized the Voorhees College attendees for their collegiality and institutional partnership. Voorhees College expects to expand its collegial presence and exchange with local and regional honors programs. Additionally,

Voorhees expects to participate for the fourth consecutive year in the National Association of African American Honors Programs (NAAAHP) sponsored by Fisk University, November 11-14, 2020 in Nashville, TN.

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2019 Career and Cultural International Study-Liberia

Alternative Winter Break December 13-December 21, 2019

A Partnership with PASI (Planting A Seed International)

Monrovia, Liberia Dr. W. Franklin Evans, President of Voorhees College and the Honors College namesake,

accompanied five students, along with faculty and staff members to Monrovia, Liberia, West

Africa to participate in the 2019 Winter Break Cultural and Career International Study, a

partnership with PASI (Planting A Seed International). The overall purpose of the international

experience was to provide students’ cultural and career exposure to supplement their classroom

learning that will ultimately heighten their placement in high demand employment and in

graduate/professional studies.

“International engagement is so important for the development of Voorhees College. Not only

was the goal to provide global exposure and international opportunities for Voorhees College

students, but we equally focused on recruitment,” said President W. Franklin Evans.

“We had a highly productive meeting with the United States Embassy to Liberia to begin

establishing a seamless recruitment effort to enroll Liberian students as full-time students here at

Voorhees College,” President Evans continued.

Dr. Ronnie Hopkins, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs explained that while

HBCUs have a strong heritage of educating generations of highly qualified professionals in a

wide range of disciplines, many HBCUS lag behind predominantly white institutions in

international and global engagement.

“HBCUs, who award nearly 25 percent of bachelor’s degrees to African American students,

must ensure that college graduates are competitive and possess the requisite skills and

experiences to participate in a global marketplace. Unfortunately, HBCUs tend to enroll few

international students and send even fewer abroad,” Dr. Hopkins added.

“According to a 2011 survey by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, less than

one percent of students at their historically black member institutions had studied abroad, and

just two percent of their students were from another country.” Dr. Hopkins explained, “With its

rich heritage and direct lineage to South Carolina, Liberia is a wonderful country and an

excellent opportunity for global engagement for our students; however, future international

experiences are being planned to include other countries, including but not limited to: Barbados,

Egypt, and South Africa.”

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