Friday, October 15, 2021

Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette, President & CEO | www.htu.edu

Ada Anderson Community Celebration

To Be Held October 23 At HT

A community celebration and public memorial for civil rights icon Ada Cecilia Collins Anderson will be held on Saturday, October 23, 2021 on the Huston-Tillotson University campus.

The celebration will be held in the King-Seabrook Chapel at 1 p.m. Masks will be required at the event, with limited seating available. The event will also be live streamed on the Huston-Tillotson University YouTube page.

An icon and trailblazing Austin community leader, advocating for the empowerment of young people while championing educational and civic causes, Anderson also left an indelible mark on the University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in home economics from the University in 1941 and later earned a master’s degree from the University of Texas in educational psychology in 1965.

Anderson contributed the largest gift in Huston-Tillotson University history, donating $3 million toward the naming of the Sandra Joy Anderson Community Health and Wellness Center in honor of her late daughter, which opened in 2016. Anderson was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from HT in 2018 for her service to the Central Texas Community. 

Anderson passed away in June at the age of 99.

HT Charter Day, Re-Dedication of

King-Seabrook Chapel Set For October 21

Huston-Tillotson University will celebrate 146 years of excellence during Charter Day ceremonies on Thursday, October 21.

The event begins at 10:30 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the re-dedication of the King-Seabrook Chapel, which has undergone extensive renovations, including new seating and theatre areas.

At 11 a.m., the celebration of HT’s 146-year anniversary will begin featuring the concert choir under the direction of Dr. Gloria Quinlan, the HT President’s Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Mr. William Oliver, top ranking students, and more

The chapel is named for two presidents of Huston-Tillotson College, Dr. John Q. Taylor King Sr. (1965-1988) and Dr. John Jarvis Seabrook (1955-1965).

The event will be video streamed on the University's YouTube Page.

8th Annual Building Green Justice Forum Held

Huston-Tillotson University hosted the 8th Annual Building Green Justice Forum earlier this week. The theme for the virtual event was “Repair, Regeneration, and Reparations.”

The Forum opened with a keynote talk by Dr. Olufemi Taiwo, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and author of “Reconsidering Reparations.” Dr. Taiwo challenged attendees to approach reparations as a program of restorative world building. He shared the philosophical frames and goals of reparations programs, and included climate justice in the scope of reparations.

A panel of environmental justice practitioners responded to Dr. Taiwo’s talk. Panelists Virginia Brown, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Population Health at Dell Medical School, Jason Cons, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas Austin, Skye Howell, M.Ed., Partner at Full Humanity, Adrian Lipscombe, Ph.D., Founder at 40 Acres Project, and Marisa Perales, J.D., Partner at Perales, Almon, and others shared perspectives on ethics, interdisciplinarity, land rights, environmental law, food sovereignty, and Indigenous rights.

Breakout sessions explored Indigenous/Black solidarity, food entrepreneurship and culinary restoration, environmental racism as a legacy of slavery, and community resilience through building design. The ideas and resources presented by our speaker, panelists, breakout presenters, and attendees will enrich HT’s environmental justice major and program for many years to come!

Charter Day Alumni Challenge

The Charter Day Alumni Challenge is a 7-day giving campaign to kickoff the 2021-2022 Annual Fund campaign. This year’s Charter Day celebrates 146 years of Huston-Tillotson Excellence!!

The Goal: To raise $146,000 to match 146 years of #HTExcellence. The campaign runs Saturday, Oct. 16 - Saturday, Oct. 23.

Although all gifts move us closer to our goal, having alumni choose one of our investment levels will help ensure we reach our goal.

Click To Learn More And To Give 

HT Ambassadors Selected For 2021-22

The Huston-Tillotson Ambassadors are a diverse group of young men and women responsible for representing the University at various events and activities.

Ambassadors are chosen annually, must maintain high academic standards, and be committed to community service.

Join us in congratulating and welcoming this year’s class of #HTAmbassadors!

Winners Announced In #HTVaxUp

Giveaway Campaign

For Isaac Lane-James, a junior history major and aspiring teacher and coach from Austin, Texas, he could not contain his excitement from being told he won a $7,500 scholarship for the Spring 2022 semester from Huston-Tillotson University as part of the #HTVaxUp Prize Giveaway.

“This helps me tremendously,” said Lane-James. “This gives me the opportunity to really show my value and worth (as a student), and to do so with a weight off my shoulders. Financially, this is just amazing. I will take full advantage of it, that’s for sure.”

Lane-James, along with Keanon Dennis, each won a $7,500 scholarship for the upcoming semester. Another 80 students won either $50 of $250 in a random drawing as part of the #HTVaxUp Campaign, encouraging students to educate themselves and then become vaccinated against Covid-19 to help keep the #fRAMily safe.

“This helps me to also inspire others that you can make a difference by simply just by doing what is right,” said Lane-James of his decision to get vaccinated. “Whatever the time is to show and do what is right, don’t linger behind. Go with the decision because you know it’s right, and that you went down the right path as opposed to going the other way.”

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HT Ram Mentorship Mixer Held

The HT Office of Student Affairs held a Ram Mentorship Mixer, providing an opportunity for students of the #GeniusGeneration to interact with campus professionals to assist them on their path to graduation.

The event in the Davage-Durden Student Union allowed #HTStudents the unique chance to talk with faculty, staff and leaders outside of the classroom about their college and professional experiences and create pathways for mentorship during their HT matriculation and beyond.

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Religious Life Campus Ministry Celebrates Civility Week

The Huston-Tillotson University Religious Life and Campus Ministry celebrated Civility Week with a series of events on campus.

The week-long event was one of fun, food, education, and acts of kindness. The word civility comes from the Latin word 'civilis,' meaning "relating to public life, befitting a citizen." In other words, being friendly and nice to everyone.

Among the activities during the week were an ice cream social, a discussion on Immigration In America, a celebration of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage, and a faculty and staff appreciation luncheon.

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#HTManCrushMonday

Full Name: Derrick DeAndre Jackson Jr

Hometown:  Born on the eastside of Houston, Texas

Classification: Junior

Major: Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting

Organizations You Are A Part Of at HT: W.E.B Dubois Honors Program, President of Student Government Association; formerly held the Employment and Economic Empowerment chair position for the 69AA chapter of NAACP.

Career Aspirations: I will work in technology and finance but ultimately I aspire to be a captain of industry comparable to that of Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Ray Dalio. A long road that not many get to travel, luckily I have already begun to walk down the path!

What Do You Enjoy Most About HT: Huston-Tillotson has afforded me the opportunity to grow as a student, a professional, and as a man. I am blessed that Huston-Tillotson allows me to take full advantage of my educational possibilities. I love that the environment here is conducive to growth and opportunities are always available to enrich my personal, professional, and academic aspirations.

Who Inspires You And Why: I pull inspiration from my family, my friends, and also the world, but ultimately my dreams inspire and motivate me to go forth and be the best I can be.

Favorite Food: My momma’s Home made Chicken and Dumplings or my grandmothers rocas gandules (Puerto Rican rice and beans). Chef's kiss to both!

Favorite Hobby: I am a film enthusiast so sitting back and being able to watch a good movie with amazing cinematography always makes me geek out.

Tell Us Something Unique About You: My favorite physical exercise is running. At my best, I was part of a group that ran all the way from Austin to Dallas.

Words You Live By: My momma used to always say “one monkey don’t stop no show” and my dad would always tell me “it's possible” when I showed him the things I aspired to do so I always look back to those two phrases as reminders and motivation.

#HTWomanCrushWednesday

Full Name: Aleaya N. Albrow

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Classification: Graduating Senior

Major: Biology

Organizations You Are A Part Of at HT:  I am the Secretary of the Student Government Association, a member of the NAACP, a Resident Assistant, Golden Key Honor's Society, and Beta Kappa Chi Honor's Society.

Career Aspirations: My career goal is fairly simple: I am working towards becoming an orthodontist. In doing so, I want to be someone who young black women look up to, and someone who gives them the confidence to become whatever they want, including a doctor.

What Do You Enjoy Most About HT: What I enjoy most about HT is the closeness of the University. Based on the fact the school is small, we have the privilege of getting to know our peers and create lifelong friendships that will extend outside of HT.

Who Inspires You And Why: I can thankfully say that there are many people who inspire me. My parents Binta and Leo Williams, my best friends that have come out of HT, and my past teacher/ coach, Jasmine LaRue, who inspired me to come to HT.

Favorite Food: My favorite food is definitely gumbo, but only my grandma's of course!

Favorite Hobby: I am an introvert, so most of my favorite things to do are mostly relaxing activities. However, my favorite hobby is playing volleyball.

Tell Us Something Unique About You: My faith is something that makes me unique. Still being able to have fun as a college student as well as be the person God has called me to be is something that I am proud of.

Words You Live By: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself." (Matthew 6:34).

#HTFacultyStaffFriday

Degrees: Bachelor’s degree in History, University of Texas (Austin);

Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Texas (Austin)

When did you join the HT fRAMily:

August 1985

What you enjoy most about working at HT: I enjoy the interaction with students along with faculty and staff. I don’t believe I would have been able to get some of the things done that I have without the staff. They are really the engine that makes this place hum. The other thing I enjoy is the way we have from time to time worked with the community. 

Fondest memory of your college days: Studying at the library. I had a group of other students and we use to love to go to the academic center, literally every day. When you were not in class or at work, you were at the library. It was fun.

Favorite Food: Bar-be-que and African cuisine

Favorite Hobby: Reading and walking

Unique About You: I have a variety of interests in research, in areas like remote sensing, energy and minerals, transportation, and policy analysis. I have a few publications I don’t talk about in all these areas.

Best Advice For #GeniusGeneration:

Invest time to learn how to think and secondly, develop a love for reading!

HBCU'S IGNITE

In partnership with the United Negro College Fund, your voice is needed now to urge Congress to increase funding to HBCUs in the infrastructure and reconciliation bill by $1 billion, protect that funding for HBCUs and pass the HBCUs IGNITE Excellence Act, which provides desperately needed repairs and renovations for HBCU campus buildings and research facilities across the United States. Click on the graphic to learn how to make your voice heard.

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