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New Student Activities Director Brings Ideas, Experience -- The Elm

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New Student Activities Director Brings Ideas, Experience -- The Elm

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By Eric Dubrow
News Writer

As the new director of student activities at Washington College, Emmanuel Lalande certainly has his work cut out for him. Although he has only been working at WC for a few days, Lalande has immediately started cooperating with students to create enjoyable events on campus.

Associate vice pesident for student affairs Sarah Feyerherm, who supervised the search for a new director of student activities over these past few months, felt that Lalande was an ideal replacement for his predecessor, jared halter, left WC.

In interviews with students over the summer, "[Lalande] connected very well with the students. He is a very genuine human being," Feyerherm said. He was also one of the only candidates to have job experience pertinent to the position.

Before arriving at WC, Lalande served as the director of student leadership and activities at Delaware State University. There, he also received his bachelor's and master's degrees, in 2005 and 2009 respectively. Lalande "works with students to create out of class social experiences."

According to Feyerherm, Lalande's position covers a wide range of duties.

Primarily, Lalande works with the student events board. In addition to serving as its advisor, he helps the club develop many programs for the students around campus, including karaoke and movie nights.

He also supervises the student center in Hodson and The Egg. Lalande is not limited to working with the SEB. He cooperates with student clubs and organizations to lend a hand when they sponsor their own events.

Lalande's transition from Delaware State to WC has been relatively smooth, and he plans to make an impact on the school's social life. Lalande came to WC because he saw it as "a great place with lots of potential. I want to help build on the school's traditions and possibly create new ones,.

One of the biggest shocks to him has been the size of the school; at around 4,000 students, Delaware State was approximately two and a half times larger than WC.

The school's small size is an advantage for Lalande. It allows him to get closer to the students and create events that will pique their interests.

"Here I have the opportunity to increase attendance. I'm shooting for 60 percent of the 1,100 students living on campus to attend [student-led events]," he said.

He plans on achieving this goal by putting out a survey that asks about the students' interests.He will also change the structure of events so that they will be more appealing, perhaps by extending the hours of events and offering alcohol to those who are of age.

"I'm an advocator and an experience-maker," Lalande said. "I want to create that real college atmosphere on campus, but I want the environment here to be safe for the students."

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New Student Activities Director Brings Ideas, Experience

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By Eric Dubrow News Writer As the new director of student activities at Washington College, Emmanuel Lalande certainly has his work cut out for him. Although he has only been working at WC for a few days, Lalande has immediately started cooperating with students to create enjoyable events on campus.

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Florida Memorial University gains from California partnership - Miami Today

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Florida Memorial University gains from California partnership - Miami Today

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Pastor Jamal Bryant kicks of Harris-Stowe's inaugural Male Empowerment Summit, weekend continues with Dr. Steve Perry | Local News | stlamerican.com

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Pastor Jamal Bryant kicks of Harris-Stowe's inaugural Male Empowerment Summit, weekend continues with Dr. Steve Perry | Local News | stlamerican.com

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Dozens of people gathered inside the Emerson Performance Center Friday, April 29 to listen to keynote speaker Rev. Jamal Bryant kickoff Harris-Stowe State University's Male Empowerment Summit.

During his speech, Bryant spoke on "what manhood is" and encouraged young males to "be better than their fathers."

"You have a responsibility to be better than every generation that came before you." Bryant told the crowd.

The weekend-long event, which aims to "educate, uplift, and encourage" black males is free to the public and welcomes women to participate as well.

"The problem in our communities is that we have a whole lot of grown boys and not enough men." Bryant said.

"You are not a man because you produce a baby. You are not a man because you have a job. You are a man when you can understand, 'if I help somebody as I pass along. If I can cheer up somebody with a word or with a song, then my living is not in vain.'" Bryant told the room.

The program is hosted by HSSU's Black Male Institute, an initiative launched in 2014 that helps to promote success with African-American male students.

"This program is intentional about its focus on the African-American male because of the prevalence of myths about who we are and what we need to be successful," said Emmanuel Lalande, Dean of Student Success at Harris-Stowe State University in a press release.

Members of BMI have helped hand out roses to women on campus on Valentine's Day and volunteered to read to elementary students in Ferguson, Mo. During the keynote speech Harris-Stowe's president Dwaun Warmack, gave the members of BMI praise for their participation in the initiative.

"They don't get scholarships for this. They don't get to wear a fancy Alpha jacket -they don't even get a jacket. This is volunteer work these young men do and they give back to the community,"Warmack told the crowd.

The evening's festivities also included spoken word and a step team performance by Gentlemen of Vision was also presented at the event.

The summit continues this evening (Sat., Apr. 30) with internationally renowned educator Dr. Steve Perry.

Perry's keynote address in the Henry Givens Building Main Auditorium takes place at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.).

The weekend's events conclude Sunday, May 1 with services at 11 a.m. at the Central Baptist Church, 2842 Washington Avenue, 63103; where the senior pastor is the Rev. Dr. Robert C. Scott.

Harris-Stowe's Male Empowerment Summit is sponsored by Men's Wearhouse, 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. and Fresh Ideas. Participants must register at www.hssu.edu/bmi or 314-340-5095.

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Mariah Stewart Of The St. Louis American

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Pastor Jamal Bryant kicks of Harris-Stowe's inaugural Male Empowerment Summit, weekend continues with Dr. Steve Perry

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Dozens of people gathered inside the Emerson Performance Center Friday, April 29 to listen to keynote speaker Rev. Jamal Bryant kickoff Harris-Stowe State University's Male Empowerment Summit. During his speech, Bryant spoke on "what manhood is" and encouraged young males to "be better than their fathers."

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Verizon Awards Harris-Stowe State University with STEM Education Grant for St. Louis Middle School Students |  | stlamerican.com

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Verizon Awards Harris-Stowe State University with STEM Education Grant for St. Louis Middle School Students |  | stlamerican.com

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Harris-Stowe State University received a grant of $399,000 from Verizon, to bring the wireless company's Innovative Learning program to St. Louis.

Starting this summer, the initiative will send minority middle-school boys to local college campuses for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. The two-year program introduces young male minority students to concepts like coding software, 3D printers and building presentation skills.

According to Megan Dorche of Verizon, Verizon's new Innovative Learning Program started at four historically black universities and this year it kicks off at eight more. Harris-Stowe is one of 12 such schools in the nation that are a part of the program. Dorche says this type of involvement is aimed to take the students from being technology consumers to technology innovators.

Dean of Students Emmanuel Lalande is also involved with the Black Male Initiative at Harris Stowe. After Ferguson, he said, Harris-Stowe President Dwaun J. Warmack wanted make sure the initiative was involved with area students.

Since then, the initiative has been engaged with Griffith, Airport and Coca elementary schools, all in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. They have recently begun working with Riverview-Gardens High School being actively engaged with mentorship. Bringing the students onto campus and exposing them to college atmosphere.

"Not only was it important to expose students to them STEM fields," says Lalande, but also to merge the program with mentorship and make sure they continue to be involved." Lalande says that originally Verizon suggested they serve 50 students. "Verizon liked the idea so much they asked if we could do 100 students and we said 'Yes, absolutely.'" HSSU is the only University to merge the Black Male Initiative with Verizon's program.

Duane Warmack took over as president of Harris-Stowe State University in July 2014."HSSU is the only HBCU in St. Louis and we graduate a large percentage of African American males in mathematics." Says Warmack "HSU is ranked number 47 in the nation out of 3500 schools" . "So we at HSSU believe we have a niche when it comes to STEM. We want to reach these children early, in middle school and elementary school." Warmack goes onto say that this program creates a great opportunity to get minority students to become exposed to STEM. Warmack says that he believes HSSU has a civic and moral responsibility to create programs for African American youth.

When the idea was first pitched there were five school districts involved including Normandy, Fergson-Florrissant, Riverview, Jennings, St. Louis Public Schools. Recently, additional school districts in the area have begun advocating to be part of the program. If they qualify--for example, if their demographics contain significant numbers of first-generation, low- income students within their boundaries--once accepted, they will be able to participate in 2016.

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Verizon Awards Harris-Stowe State University with STEM Education Grant for St. Louis Middle School Students

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Harris-Stowe State University received a grant of $399,000 from Verizon, to bring the wireless company's Innovative Learning program to St. Louis. Starting this summer, the initiative will send minority middle-school boys to local college campuses for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

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Harris-Stowe hosts Male Empowerment Summit | Local News | stlamerican.com

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Harris-Stowe hosts Male Empowerment Summit | Local News | stlamerican.com

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Aaron Batiste, a Harris-Stowe State University junior majoring in secondary education, remembers when his high-school English teacher told him that he "wasn't college-ready."

"She even told my mom, 'Why are you even talking to your son about college?'" said Batiste, who moved to St. Louis from California to attend Harris-Stowe.

His teacher became one of the main reasons Batiste has pushed himself so hard academically - just to prove her wrong. In the fall, Batiste will begin his reign as Mister Harris-Stowe State University 2016-17, adding to his other college achievements.

Batiste's story of overcoming adversity as an African-American male was among several inspiring tales told during Harris-Stowe's first Male Empowerment Summit, "Brothers Inspiring Change," held from April 29 to May 1.

The event was hosted by the university's Black Male Initiative, which was formed in 2014 to intentionally develop boys into men professionally, academically, socially and ethically.

Batiste said he's a proud member of the initiative.

"It's been nothing but a blessing," he said. "We do so much community service. We have such a bond and a brotherhood. We are a leading example of what African-American men should be. We have integrity, good character and we like to succeed academically and thrive in the community."

One of the summit's speakers - author and preacher Kingsley Fletcher - also talked about a trying teacher who inadvertently motivated him. Growing up in Ghana, Fletcher's teachers had chastised him for being left handed. Although it was culturally taboo, his parents didn't discourage him from learning to write with his left hand.

"My teachers believed I was being disrespectful," he said. "As a result, my future was bleak."

One teacher in particular was constantly telling him that he wouldn't amount to anything. And that message started to penetrate his heart, he said. Until one day, he said, he stood before a mirror and asked if that was true. He decided that it was not, and the next day he told the teacher so. It was one moment that helped him discover his identity, he said, which he encouraged the young men at the summit to do.

"Know who you are," he said. "If you can discover and realize who you are, it will be a stepping stone to your success."

Fletcher is also known as His Royal Majesty, a traditional leader of the Se (Shai) Traditional Area in the Greater Accra Region in Ghana, West Africa. He is also the chancellor of the University of Professional Studies in Accra.

Fletcher said that people who come from difficult backgrounds are rarely encouraged and constantly "poisoned" with the messages that they and their communities are failures - particularly African-American men.

"If you know who you are, it can help you fight back any negativity," he said.

Demun Jones, an eighth grader at Confluence Academy Old North, said that "plenty of times" he's had to ask himself the question about a negative statement that Fletcher asked himself as a young student: "Is that true?"

Jones, who attended with a teacher, said he was inspired by Fletcher's experience moving to the United States and how he had to work hard to make it. He also appreciated hearing from an international academic leader, which he wouldn't normally be exposed to, he said.

"It's a great opportunity for St. Louis to bring our males together and really empower them and show what success should look like," said Emmanuel Lalande, dean of Student Success at Harris-Stowe. "Success doesn't come in one form."

Young attendees heard from local and international successful men, including Steve Perry, known as "America's Educator," and youth speaker Koran Bolden.

Following Fletcher's address on Saturday morning, participants attended workshops on topics such as financial literacy, fatherhood and social media etiquette. They also addressed conflict resolution and anger management, Lalande said. Many of the attendees don't come from a two-parent household, he said.

"You don't have to use that as a crutch," said Lalande, who also comes from a single parent household.

Jamal Bryant, pastor of the Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore, spoke on Friday night.

"I think the important thing that he said is that you want to be better than your father," Lalande said. "I think it struck home for us."

'Brothers inspiring change'

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Harris-Stowe hosts Male Empowerment Summit

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Aaron Batiste, a Harris-Stowe State University junior majoring in secondary education, remembers when his high-school English teacher told him that he "wasn't college-ready." "She even told my mom, 'Why are you even talking to your son about college?'" said Batiste, who moved to St. Louis from California to attend Harris-Stowe.

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Verizon funds Innovative Learning for middle schoolers at Harris-Stowe | Local News | stlamerican.com

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Verizon funds Innovative Learning for middle schoolers at Harris-Stowe | Local News | stlamerican.com

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Harris-Stowe State University received a grant of $399,000 from Verizon Wireless to bring the wireless company's Innovative Learning program to St. Louis.

Starting this summer, it will pay for minority middle-school boys to attend local college campuses for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. The two-year program introduces young, male minority students to coding software and 3D printers and helps them develop presentation skills.

According to Megan Dorche of Verizon, the company started its Innovative Learning Program at four historically black universities, and this year it kicks off at eight more. Harris-Stowe is one of the 12 schools in the nation participating in the program. Dorche said the goal is to take students from being technology consumers to technology innovators.

Harris-Stowe merged the Innovative Learning program with its Black Male Initiative. Dean of Students Emmanuel Lalande said that originally Verizon suggested they serve 50 students. "Then Verizon liked the idea so much, they asked if we could do 100 students," Lalande said, "and we said, 'Yes, absolutely.'"

Through its Black Male Initiative, Harris-Stowe has worked with students at Griffith, Airport and Coca elementary schools, all in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, and recently began working with students at Riverview-Gardens High School. The initiative brings students onto campus, exposes them to the college atmosphere and provides mentorship.

Harris-Stowe President Dwaun J. Warmack said he believes that Harris-Stowe has a civic and moral responsibility to create programs for African-American youth.

"Not only was it important to expose students to STEM fields," Lalande said, "but also to merge the program with mentorship and make sure they continue to be involved."

Warmack pointed out that Harris-Stowe is ranked 47th in the nation out of 3,500 schools in graduating African-American males with degrees in mathematics and statistics.

"So we at HSSU believe we have a niche when it comes to STEM," Warmack said. "We want to reach these children early, in middle school and elementary school."

The first Innovative Learning session starts July 11, and the second session starts July 25. Applications are available at www.hssu.edu. For additional information regarding the program, contact Heather Bostic at 314-340-3544 or bostich@hssu.edu.

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Morgan Bradley For The St. Louis American

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Verizon funds Innovative Learning for middle schoolers at Harris-Stowe

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Harris-Stowe State University received a grant of $399,000 from Verizon Wireless to bring the wireless company's Innovative Learning program to St. Louis. Starting this summer, it will pay for minority middle-school boys to attend local college campuses for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

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Microsoft sparks youth at Harris-Stowe | Business | stlamerican.com

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Microsoft sparks youth at Harris-Stowe | Business | stlamerican.com

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New appointments at Florida Memorial | Education | miamitimesonline.com

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New appointments at Florida Memorial | Education | miamitimesonline.com

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Florida Memorial University President Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis has been selected to join the board of directors of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC).

Dr. Artis will serve alongside other presidents of independent colleges and leaders in higher education.

CIC is an association of nonprofit independent colleges and universities that supports college and university leadership, advances institutional excellence, and enhances public understanding of private higher education's contributions to society.

CIC also produces original research for the field. In 2015, it released the report "The Cost-Effectiveness of Undergraduate Education at Private Nondoctoral Colleges and Universities," which demonstrated that private colleges produce a significant percentage of all bachelor's degree graduates and do so more efficiently and at lower cost to taxpayers than public institutions.

In other school news, Dr. Emmanuel Lalande has joined Florida Memorial University as the new Vice President for Student Affairs.

Lalande will draw on a dozen years of experience in higher education administration as he leads the university division that supports students in meeting their academic, health, financial and social needs.

"I am thrilled to join the administration of Florida Memorial University, with its strong history and a legacy of educating students who might not otherwise earn a college degree," Lelande said. "I look forward helping the university meet its academic mission by providing transformational student leadership development and providing students with the resources that will help them mature spiritually, morally and professionally."

Lalande most recently served as Dean of Student Success at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, Missouri. While there, he raised approximately $2 million in grants and private donations. He also launched a variety of new initiatives, including a living-learning community for members of the Honors program and students majoring in math and science, a service learning program, and a project that focused on creating a more inclusive campus. It led to the formation of an LGBTQIA student organization.

Previously he was Assistant Dean/Director of Student Involvement at Bethune-Cookman University in Dayton Beach; Director of Student Activities at Washington College in Chestertown, Md.; and Director of Student Leadership & Activities and Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs at Delaware State University in Dover, Del.

"Dr. Lalande brings a wealth of experience and a history of innovation," Artis said. "He is gifted with creativity and skills that will ensure our success today and the innovation and capacity for imagination that is essential if we are to compete throughout the remainder of the 21st Century and beyond."

Lalande provides oversight to the Dean of Students and the areas of Enrollment Management, Health Services, Residential Life, Campus Ministries, Student Development Center, Student Publication and Student Activities.

He has a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in educational leadership from Delaware State University. He earned a doctorate of education degree with a concentration in organizational leadership at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.

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Florida Memorial University President Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis has been selected to join the board of directors of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). Dr. Artis will serve alongside other presidents of independent colleges and leaders in higher education.