Bleu Notes: January 2021
8 min readFeb 28, 2021
Here is some news from campus from January.
- We honor the memory of Cicely Tyson, who was awarded an honorary degree in 2001 and pictured here in 2009 when she was one of 2 commencement speakers.
- We announced our artist in residence, Grammy winner PJ Morton. Here is his Super Bowl Gospel performance, filmed on campus in the Cook performing arts center.
Class of 2021 news:
- Traelon Rodgers was admitted to the University of California at Berkeley school of law (ranked #9), the School of Law at University of Texas at Austin (#16) and Emory University school of law (#24).
- Ronisha McCardell was admitted to the Master of Biomedical Science (MBS) Program at William Carey University.
- Victor Somotun Jr. was offered a position as an associate software developer with American Airlines.
- Justin Matthews was admitted to FAMU for the MS in electrical engineering, Illinois Tech for the MS in mechanical and aerospace engineering, Texas Tech University for the MS in electrical engineering, and Western Michigan University for the MS in electrical and computer engineering.
- Emiia Charles was admitted to the Southern University Law Center.
IN THE NEWS:
- Dr. Robert Collins had several interviews:
- Fox 8 “Lawmakers discuss electoral college vote”
- “New Orleanians react to Trump’s phone call seeking to overturn his certified defeat in Georgia”
- “Cassidy, Scalise react to Capitol Building takeover; former FBI agent says there was an ‘intelligence’ failure”
- “Louisiana senators remain silent as House votes to impeach President”
- “City, 911 board pursuing advanced records, data-sharing and analytics system for law enforcement”
- Dr. Marc Barnes was interviewed for the WDSU report, “”If it were me protesting, I’d be dead,” locals react to pro-Trump rally in Washington.”
- Dr. Mack Crayton and Prof. Blair Condoll were guests on Oliver ‘OT’ Thomas morning radio show on Dec 28, 2020. They discussed the COVID-19 Vaccines — truths, myths and conspiracy theories. Here is the link:
- Blair Condoll was interviewed by WWL for the report, “Rifts in the Republican party as inauguration day approaches”
- Elijah Pittman was interviewed for HBCU Gameday’s segment, “HBCU Student Athletes push the Vote in America.” He also won the contest for most calls made.
- Coraniquejuanae Jackson was featured in the River Parish newspaper about her fashion business:
- Dr. Ashraf Esmail was interviewed by WWL for the report, “Is Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream being carried out?”
- Jericho Brown, Dillard alum and 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner, penned an inaugural poem for the New York Times.
- Dr. Ashraf Esmail was interviewed for the WWL report, “Fewer people, more security expected at Presidential Inauguration”
- He was also interviewed for the Fox 8 report, “Surveillance video captures afternoon shootout in St. Roch”
- Spencer Jones ’23 was featured in WDSU news segment, “HBCU’s get more support thanks to VP Kamala Harris”
- Dr. Yolanda Page was featured in the WWL news segment, “‘A seat at the table:’ What Kamala Harris means to women of color”
- HBCU Sports did a feature on Dr. Kiki Barnes, “Hurricane Katrina experiences help guide GCAC Commissioner Barnes through pandemic”
- Dr. Eva Baham gave comments for the Fox 8 report, “Gov. Edwards among Louisianans who attended the inauguration; AKA sorority proud of Harris’ achievement”
- Dr. Yolanda Page wrote a guest column for the Advocate, “For a sorority sister, a historic first shows power of HBCU education”
- Dr. Marc Barnes publishes a letter to the editor, “Archbishop speaks out on abortion, but silent about federal executions”
KUDOS:
- Dr. Kristen Broady was a panelist for “A conversation about economic growth and dynamism” held by the Brookings Institution.
- Aundrea Smith ’22 was accepted to the Louisiana Wildlife Federation’s 2021 Edgar Veillon Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) which begins in January.
- The Office of Community and Church Relations was nominated for an award sponsored by the Regional Sustainability Committee of the Love Your City Initiative.
- Alumna Dr. Kelly Nash ’00 was named as one of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists in America. She is an assistant professor of physics at UT San Antonio.
- Dr. Ashraf Esmail was invited and accepted to serve on the Board of Directors for Court Watch Nola.
- Our Mock Trial Team won their second tournament this academic year, winning the University of Alabama Crimson Classic. They went up against Florida State, South Carolina, Penn State and Wake Forest, and schools like Emory as well as Alabama had teams.
- Donna Harper (Registrar’s Office) received a certificate and pin to denote she reached 14 gallons donated to the Blood Center. She donates just about every two weeks, platelets, in honor of her mom, to cancer patients. Her mom died 22 years ago from pancreatic cancer.
- Dr. Roland Bullard was invited to serve on the 2021 Board of Directors for Committee for a Better New Orleans.
- Rachel Mercadel is the new chair of the board for Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, becoming the first woman to hold that position.
- John Lawson ’20 was offered the position of Press Assistant in Mayor Latoya Cantrell’s office of communications, starting in February.
- Dr. Janice Thompson-Sanchez was nominated to serve on the newly formed Student Success Council that the Board of Regents is developing to support our success in reaching the state’s Master Plan goal of doubling the annual number of postsecondary credentials by 2030.
- Alumnus David Dennis was honored by AARP Mississippi at the 26th annual For My People Awards.
- Astasia Williams ’16 Senior Social Media Manager of the Washington Football Team and her team were named The 2020 NFL Social Team of the Year by Fox Sports.
- Dr. Kristen Broady was named the associate editor of The Review of Black Political Economy.
- David Page was a panelist for Alfred Street Baptist Church HBCU College Fair — February 20, 2021 (taped in December). Topic: You Can Be a College Grad: Let Us Show You How!
- Alumna Shelby Stewart was hired as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle newspaper. She recently completed her masters at the University of Houston and is working to build Houston’s hip hop museum.
- Alumnus and staff member Jordan C. Johnson has announced his candidacy for the US Congress. You can learn more about him here:
- Dr. Peter J. Fos and Dr. Katrina P. Kellum along with their LSU colleague Dr. Peggy A. Honoré published the journal article, “Narrowing of the Racial Gap In Opioid-Involved Deaths: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice” in the Journal of Public Health Issues and Practices, January 2021.
- Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy’s poem “New Orleans, a Neighborhood Nation,” is published in the new anthology, I am New Orleans, 36 poets revisit Marcus Christian’s definitive poem from UNO Press.
