The Black Excel Newsletter

                         December, 2000

The Black Excel African American Student's College Guide is now on sale at Amazon.com for $15.95.  This gift will have a rallying impact on our aspiring college students. --Isaac Black,         Black Excel Founder and Author
 

TOPICS:

   1) Swarthmore Graduates Its Most Diverse Class
   2) Black Woman Selected as Brown U. President
   3) African Americans and Degrees Awarded
   4) Outstanding Black College Students
   5) Amazing "Believe It Or Not" Endowment Note
   6) Georgia Tech's  "Focus 2001" Program
        For Prospective Graduate Students
   7) Howard University's Monthly E-Newsletter
   8) Two Black College Tours from New York City
 

  Swarthmore Graduates Its Most Diverse Class

This year, Swarthmore College President Alfred H. Bloom urged members of the graduating Class of 2000 to retain an important "habit of mind"--namely, a "readiness to see beyond differences." He was addressing the most diverse class in Swarthmore history, which included 377 students. Nearly one third of the 128th commencement group were students of color, with an additional 7 percent being international students.
 

  Black Woman Selected as Brown U. President

Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, aged 54 and the president of Smith College, has been named the head of Brown University of the Ivy League.  Ms. Simmons is the first Black person to be selected to such a position. The youngest of 12 children of a Texas sharecropper, she becomes the 18th president since the university's founding in 1764. Dr. Simmons earned her bachelor's degree at HBCU Dillard University, where she graduated summa cum laude in 1967. She also completed her doctorate at Harvard University, headed an
Afro-American studies program at Princeton, and has been the
provost of Spelman College.
 

   African Americans and Degrees Awarded

African Americans experienced small to moderate increases in all degree categories between 1996-97, with a 6.9 percent increase at the associate degree level, 3.2 percent at the bachelor's level, 10.2 percent at the master's degree level and 4.7 percent at the first-professional level. However, these students earned only 8.1 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded in 1997, but represented more than 11.2 percent of all undergraduate students. This info appears in the Seventeenth Annual Status Report on Minorities in Higher Education (latest edition).  To order call (301) 604-9073.
 

           Outstanding Black College Students

The fourth edition of Outstanding Black College Students (OBCS) has been published. The goal of the annual publication is to project positive Black student images by highlighting Black success--academic, creative and successful leadership. Approximately 1,029 Black students from 235 universities such as Harvard, Massachusetts, Texas, Wisconsin, Syracuse, California and HBCUs such as Howard, Spelman, Morehouse and Morgan are also represented. In addition, the fifth edition of Outstanding
Black College Students (OBCS) is seeking submissions. Another publication, Outstanding Black Law, Medical, and Graduate Students, will be published June 2001. For more information about submission guidelines you can visit http: //www.umassd.edu/SpecialPrograms/obcs/welcome.nclk/ or contact Dr. Larry Singleton at the University of Massachusetts via email at LSingleton@UMassd.edu. TEL: 508-999-8271.  FAX: 508-999-8901.  Mailing address: Dr. Larry Singleton/University of Massachusetts Dartmouth/285 Old Westport Road/North Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300. Students may either e-mail or fax entries.

 Amazing "Believe It or Not" Endowment Note

This editor was left blinking when he saw the note that appeared in the 1999 Spring edition of the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.  Reportedly, the five top money managers employed by Harvard to manage its $13 billion dollar endowment earned $45.4 million dollars in salary in 1998. Harvard's top money manager earned $10.2 million dollars--more  than the endowments of at least 19 HBCUs. The Black school with the smallest endowment is Edward Waters College, with an endowment of $1.1 million. Morris Brown College, in  19th position, has an endowment of $9.2. Note: These numbers reflect 1998 stats from the United Negro College Fund and Harvard.
 

         Georgia Tech's  "Focus 2001" Program
            For Prospective Graduate Students

For prospective graduate students visiting Georgia Tech for FOCUS 2001, the message will be clear: Earning a graduate degree from Georgia Tech is not easy, but it can be accomplished. This year the Focus Weekend will begin January 21, 2001.  Last year, there was a reception for 240 African-American undergraduates from 77 colleges and universities. The program, held annually during the MLK holiday, is designed to give undergraduate African Americans an opportunity to visit Georgia Tech and receive an overview of the graduate degree programs. Tech is said to be the nation’s second largest producer of minority engineers at the bachelor’s and master’s degree levels. It also graduates more minority engineers at the doctoral level than any other U.S. university. The working goal for FOCUS 2001 is 500 potential graduate students, drawing from all participating schools. The program will include talks on admission strategies, financial aid and career options. Interested students should talk to their college advisors or call the African American Student Union at
(404) 894-2802 for more details.
 

     Howard University's Monthly E-Newsletter

Interested in the goings-on at Howard University? Well, there's CapstoneOnline, Howard University's monthly electronic newsletter. For the last 20 years The Capstone has chronicled news and events at Howard. The electronic newsletter provides the same quality of University news and information found in the printed version with just the click of a mouse. So, each month click on CapstoneOnline and you can get connected and stay informed. Find your gateway at http://www.howard.edu/Capstone.
 

    Two Black College Tours from New York City

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (Thetha Rho Sigma Chapter) is sponsoring an Historically Black College Tour to Maryland and Virginia on February 19th and 20th. You can visit Morgan State, Virginia State, Norfolk State and Hampton University.  The cost is $150, which includes round trip and hotel accommodations. Contact Sigma Gamma Rho/Theta Rho Sigma, PO Box 788, Bronx, NY 10452 or email to theta-rho-sigma@hotmail.com for more info. Contact before Dec. 1st, if possible.

AYA (African Youth in Action) is sponsoring a "Tour of Historically Black Colleges."  Between 10 to 14 colleges are usually visited annually, including Spelman, Morehouse, North Carolina Central, Howard, Clark-Atlanta, Hampton, Bowie State, Morris Brown and many others. This is a well-chaperoned event, and takes place from Feb. 17-22, 2001.  A trip to the MLK Memorial Center is included. The cost is $480.00, and students are asked to bring six copies of official transcripts (sealed), copies of PSAT or SAT scores, two recommendations from teachers, and have medical coverage. Those interested should call Ms. A. Forrest at 718-884-2270 for details/instructions.  AYA address:
558 Grand Concourse, X1376/Bronx, New York 10451-1376.

                 ------------------------------------------------------------
                      Info collected by Isaac Black, Founder
                    Black Excel: The College Help Network
                                 www.BlackExcel.org
                                    ijblack1@aol.com

    Past newsletters from May 2000 to the present are available at the Black Excel site.

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