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Happy Post-Homecoming, Tiger Alumni and Friends!
It was such a delight to see you all on campus this past week. But before I dive into my October remarks, I would like to issue two apologies. First, to the family of alumna Gwen-Dolyn Cutter, for whom we placed the wrong picture on her press release. The image has been corrected, and we’re very appreciative of her transformative gift of $346k in support of our athletics department and the John Lewis School of Public Policy and Social Sciences. Secondly, I would like to apologize for this year’s 40 Under 40 class, as their total giving amount was underreported. The class has officially raised $37,514.42, not the $28,000 that was originally reported, and I’m confident they’ll raise $40k in short order. To both groups, please accept my sincere apologies. We appreciate your support of SSU.
During homecoming weekend, several prestigious alumni awards were presented by the Savannah State University National Alumni Association. Congratulations are in order for the following groups and individuals:
Prestigious Young Alum Award: Mr. Alexander Richardson (Metro Atlanta Chapter)
Alumnus of the Year Award: Professor Patricia West (Class of 1976) (Savannah Chapter)
Family of the Year- Mrs. Cynthia Jackson-Formey (Class of 1976)
Entrepreneur of the Year- Mr. Ken Albright, Sr. (Metro Atlanta Chapter)
Distinguished Community Service Award- Dr. Marilyn Taylor (Atlanta Downtown Chapter)
Chapter of the Year Award- Metro Atlanta Chapter
Presidential Medallion of Excellence Awards: Beauty Baldwin- Metro Atlanta Chapter, Attorney Willie Walker- EVP of SSUNAA, and Lonnie Denton- Valdosta Chapter
I’m hopeful that each of you enjoyed the week of programming prepared for you. I want to thank the Homecoming Committee, CAB, our student leaders, volunteers, and alumni groups that made the week special. The week ended with no incidents, and I appreciate our facilities, IT, campus police, marketing, events staff, institutional advancement, student affairs, and the office of the president for their hard work this week. We’ll be announcing the 2027 date soon! Earlier in the week, I gave the State of the University address. If you haven’t had an opportunity to view it, I encourage you to do so. We have many exciting updates on capital projects, fundraising, and academic programming that are covered in the address. You can check out the address via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdeUKpqtmLo
As we head into the last two months of the semester, I want to share that the institution continues to strengthen its operational capacity. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll announce our new chief information officer. In the next several weeks, we’ll launch a national search for 14 full-time faculty positions within the College of Sciences and Humanities, the College of Engineering Technology and Computing, the College of Media, Arts, & Communications, and the Hyundai College of Education with a start date of Fall 2027. Moreover, our admissions department is getting fully staffed and is actively
advertising for positions. Over the past month, our financial aid director resigned, and we will launch a national search using a search firm to find a new leader. As we pursue our goal of 6,000 students by 2030, it is imperative that our infrastructure be in place to serve current students, manage increased enrollment, and provide systems that deliver a seamless, customer-oriented experience for our students and families. We’re not there yet, but we’ve identified areas for improvement, and we’re working on them daily.
As we head into November, I want to invite each of you to our upcoming Founder’s Day scheduled for November 12th at 9:30 am in Tiger Arena. We’re excited to welcome SSU alumna Dr. Pearl Dowe, the SVP for Academic Affairs at Emory University, as our keynote speaker. You don’t want to miss it!
As we commemorate our homecoming week and prepare for our 136th Founder’s Day, I would like to end my remarks by celebrating a founding member and legend of the SSU Community, Mrs. Jessie Collier DeLoach, a 1950 graduate (mathematics) and a member of the first graduating class of Savannah State College! I had the pleasure of meeting this young 97-year-old charter member of SSU’s Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated’s Gamma Upsilon Chapter during my time speaking at Butler Memorial Presbyterian Church. After many years of teaching math in Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools and serving as a board member, she’s still active in the community. She is the epitome of service above self. Until next time, Go Tigers!
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