" We believe it is equally as important where our students are today, where the economics of the country are, and where they start their journey for an education. It's about social and economic mobility. " - DR. MARK BROWN
“At the end of my time at Tuskegee University, if I can say that we’ve closed both student loan debt and gap while ensuring our students get employed and receive social and economic mobility, and that changes the entire trajectory of their family which, I believe it will, then I'll feel pretty good about that, and not because I did it, but because the university collectively came behind that vision and made it happen for our students, our families, and really, for our people,” said Brown, a retired U.S. Air Force Major General.
them engaged with building the new college. There’s always convocation on Sunday where we bring back someone and how we’re going to make sure Tuskegee University is here for another 145 years.” During this year's homecoming, the university is carving out time to reintroduce the campus to alumni, providing tours of new offerings including new buildings and projects underway. This year, alumni will see the beginnings of the new College of Veterinary Medicine, a capital project which will include a small animal hospital. Tuskegee's new genomic center dedicated to cancer research, in partnership with the federal government, is about 70% complete, Brown said. This research building will house cell samplings from the local area as scholars work to find a cure for the three types of cancer that hit the black belt region hardest.
“At the very heart of Tuskegee is the solution to complex problems,” said Brown referring to former faculty member George Washington Carver’s discoveries including treating polio with peanut oil and impacting the southern economy soil preservation techniques. “This new ‘renaissance’ version of that is the genomic center – the study of cells and genetics as they relate to cancer,” he continued. “We live in the blackbelt of the south. What is very problematic and in many ways disheartening, is the fact that cervical cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer have morbidity rates higher in the black belt than there are in other parts of the country. We will be studying cancer in those three areas using cell samplings from our local area. Isn’t it good news to know in the future, some of the medicines and therapies that will be utilized for people of color will be the result of the cells, and the analysis, and the genes
THE HOTSPOT FOR ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT The pomp and circumstance of homecoming isn't just for fun.
Homecoming gatherings are used as a tool for alumni engagement on various levels. Getting to know the generations of Golden Tigers and their expectations, understanding their student experience, and relaying university plans is just as important as the recreational events – if not more, said Brown. “It’s a family reunion with a little bit of a serious side, too,” said Brown. “We are bearing down on making sure we’re not just asking [alumni] to do things,” said Brown. “We’re telling them the result of what we’ve already done. We will have
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