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Adrian Miller to build School of Music

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

    SALISBURY – Music executive and industry veteran Adrian Miller is “recording” his legacy on the campus of Livingstone College along with Alexander Warren, aka Lex Lucazi. After receiving his honorary doctorate degree in humane letters at Livingstone’s 141st Commencement on May 6, the music mogul announced he was creating a recording studio at Livingstone College, named the Adrian M. Miller Conservatory in Frequency and Harmony” for his contributions to and support of the arts, and the scholarship of the next generation of musical artists and industry changemakers.  The school is named after his son. “Personally, this meant a lot to me to visit you all from LA (Los Angeles) and to be here today. While my family is not celebrating as much (due to a death), it bears my heart and soul and spirit to be here to say Livingstone will be announcing its music program: The Conservatory Adrian M. Miller School of Harmony and Frequency,” Miller said. “I could not have done this without my good brother, Dr. Lex, the multimedia expertise Synphony (Keith Anderson of Livingstone) and Dr. Davis (president). We look forward to giving you all the platform you deserve in the entertainment industry.” The school of music will serve as a catalyst for the creation of a communications major and certification program among the college’s current degree program offerings. There is a heightened interest among students in the college’s on-campus radio station, WLJZ 107.1 FM, particularly in music, audio production and engineering. In order …

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Tamika Mallory gains honorary doctorate

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

  SALISBURY – Award-winning social justice activist Tamika Mallory is officially a Blue Bear of Livingstone College. The national movement strategist and author received an honorary doctorate degree in humane letters on May 6 during the college’s 141st commencement at Varick Auditorium, after delivering a powerful commencement address. She told the Class of 2023 that they are the light of the world – the same light that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said can drive out darkness, and the light that former First Lady Michelle Obama said can feed the person next to you and ignite our community. “Shine bright, Livingstone College, class of 2023,” Mallory said. “Don’t forget the legacy. Don’t forget where you come from. Don’t forget the stories. Don’t’ forget the sacrifice … Don’t forget Dr. (Joseph Charles) Price … but most importantly, don’t forget your own big mama and papa, who also wouldn’t die. Don’t forget your people and lastly, don’t forget yourself. Let us together, reshape a new world. Stand up, stand in your power.” Mallory told the students to use their privilege of crossing this stage as a boat to safe harbor and “make sure you are the light for all of those coming behind.” “I knew I made the right choice in having you deliver the commencement address for my first May graduation as president,” said Livingstone President Dr. Anthony J. Davis. He thanked her for the work that she does as a social justice practitioner and for speaking truth to power. …

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President welcomes new head coach

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

Livingstone College President Dr. Anthony J. Davis officially introduced the new women’s basketball head coach, Queen Smith, to the campus community Thursday during a press conference and reception. “I’m excited, enthusiastic and encouraged,” Davis said. “Athletics on the campus of Livingstone College is very important. On our campus, they are students first. We wanted someone to come who would have the capacity to work with young women using the game of basketball to get them ready and prepared for life.” Smith is a five-time Hall of Famer, who served as assistant coach for Yale University’s Women’s Basketball Team. She catapulted one team’s record from a 0-19 record to a 20-0 regular season within five years. Winning is important, but Davis said it was more crucial to hire a coach who was a worker; a coach who was willing; and a coach who was a winner. Livingstone’s women’s basketball team has made some great strides, “but we play in a competitive conference (CIAA),” he said. Livingstone needed someone willing to take on the challenge of coming to an institution that doesn’t have the resources that others have. Davis was aware of Smith’s athletic prowess. She was a student at the high school where his mother, the late Wanda Gibbs, served as assistant principal in Connecticut. “She was a high school standout and a collegiate standout. In Division I basketball, she was a great coach and recruiter,” Davis said. While attending his mother’s funeral last year, Davis ran into Smith at a …

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Graduation speaker: Activist Tamika Mallory

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

Social justice activist and leader Tamika Mallory will address the 2023 graduating class of Livingstone College. The May commencement will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, on the historic front lawn. Weather permitting, this will be the first time graduation ceremonies will held on the front lawn. In case of inclement weather, the program will move inside Varick Auditorium. Livingstone College’s 13th President Dr. Anthony J. Davis secured Mallory as the speaker, the latest in social justice leaders to engage with the college, following visits by famed Attorney Ben Crump, the Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant and the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III. Mallory is a groundbreaking, award-winning social justice leader, movement strategist and author. Her committed work and advocacy continue to fuel a solitary act into a global movement, inspiring millions around the world to get involved in the fight for racial and social equality. She is the author of State of Emergency, a reflective masterpiece birthed from the urgent declaration she made in the opening of her speech during the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis. Mallory served as the youngest ever executive director of the National Action Network and was instrumental in the creation of the New York City’s Crisis Management System, an official gun violence prevention program that awards nearly $27 million to violence prevention organizations annually. She made history when she helped shepherd the largest single day demonstration, the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, serving as one of its four national co-chairs. Most recently, …

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New campus pastor to bring back Wednesday assemblies

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

SALISBURY – Wednesday assemblies at Livingstone College will return this week with “I Need a Word Wednesday” (INAWW) under the leadership of the college’s new senior campus minister, the Rev. Lloyd Nivens IV. The inaugural service will be held on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, during the holistic college hour between 11 a.m. and noon in Tubman Theatre and will feature the Livingstone College Gospel Choir as well as a word from Nivens. Livingstone President Dr. Anthony J. Davis named Nivens as the new senior campus minister in March. He is an alumnus of Livingstone College, having graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He earned a Master of Divinity from Hood Theological Seminary and is currently attending United Theological Seminary in pursuit of his Doctor of Ministry. He is pastor of Mt. Pisgah A.M.E. Zion Church in Rockingham and chairman of the Rockingham District Budget Committee. He is also a certified alumni recruiter. A native of Hamlet, his love for God and serving God’s people is evident through his years of service in the A.M.E. Zion Church. He accepted the call to ministry in 2013 at the age of 17 and has served in the capacity of pastor since 2015. From his younger years, Nivens’ zeal for God was unwavering. On the local church level, he served in various capacities, most notably on his church choir. Being raised in Christian Education, he has served on every level of the Varick International Christian Youth Council of the A.M.E. …

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New head women’s basketball coach named

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

Press conference to formally introduce new coach is Thursday, April 27, at 11 a.m. in the Hilliard Room, Hood Building SALISBURY – Livingstone College President Dr. Anthony J. Davis has named Queen Smith as the new head women’s basketball coach. A native of New Haven, Conn., she was a standout tri-sport athlete competing in volleyball (All-Area), outdoor track (All-State) and basketball (All-State, All-Conference). She was a highly recruited full-scholarship athlete to play basketball at Quinnipiac College in Connecticut. During her career, she was the three-time Northeast Conference-10 Player of the Year, a feat no one else has ever accomplished in league history. Smith became the 10th player in school history to score 1,000 points and earned an All-Star selection on the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Star Team. She ended her career in the top 10 of all time in school history in scoring and top five all time in assists (476) and steals (394). To date, while remaining in the top 20 all time in scoring, she still holds those rankings. Smith is a five-time Hall of Famer including at Quinnipiac University, the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame chosen for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. She graduated in 1996 with dual bachelor’s degrees in sociology, health and science studies. When asked what sparked her drive, Smith said, “Let your work do the talking on the floor,” and “You can win, but you’ll never outwork me.” Smith brought her unyielding work ethic forward to her scholastic, athletic and mentoring endeavors. She returned to …

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Cockerham to launch book Sunday

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

SALISBURY – Livingstone College alumnus James V. Cockerham is adding the title of author to his decades-long journey as a recognized African-American music composer. Cockerham will kick off his book tour on the campus of his alma mater, Livingstone College, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, in Varick Auditorium with Kay Wright Norman as mistress of ceremony. Cockerham knew his life-long love of music was a story that needed to be shared. His debut book, Looking: Past, Present, Future, is a collection of stories told from a creative writer’s viewpoint. Cockerham is maximizing the momentum of his 2019 performance of his orchestral arrangement of “Fantasia on Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The arrangement was performed by the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra at the historic Carnegie Hall in 2022. It was the first time in the venue’s history for an all-black symphony orchestra to perform. He is also the recipient of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award by Gospel Choice Music Awards. Inspired by the music program at his beloved alma mater, Livingstone College, his book release will coincide with Livingstone’s “All Steinway School” initiative music program to achieve the honored status to bring funding, awareness and support. Portions of the proceeds will benefit this project. Cockerham lends his creativity to the book tour as much as he does his book and music, making this no ordinary book tour. Cockerham has taken songs from his seventh album, “Looking,” and turned them into a book that has become a stage production. String and …

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STEM makes magazine cover story

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

STEM to hold Open House on Saturday  SALISBURY – It’s a new day for STEM at Livingstone College. The opening of the new F. George Shipman Science Annex that features an immersion theatre and the college’s recent acquisition of a unique research instrument has set it apart from its peer institutions. So much so that the April edition of Salisbury the Magazine featured the college’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program on its front cover. Specifically, the cover photo features freshman Sydney McDonald and international student Eve Beyan of Liberia, West Africa. The feature story focuses on Dr. Dawn McNair’s influence on the science program at Livingstone and her vision of exposing students to more extensive and in depth research projects, and the progress the college has made thus far. McNair is the dean of math and science and associate vice president of research at Livingstone College. She earned the latter title after securing a $2.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the largest in the college’s history. Part of that money was used to purchase the liquid chromatography mass spectrometer (LCMS). The instrument is typically reserved for schools with doctoral students and highly active research projects, but Livingstone College was able to secure it. In the article, McNair says it is an “anomaly” to see this equipment in a school that serves only undergraduate science majors. Livingstone is making the equipment available to high school teachers and local law enforcement, since it can also be used for …

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Lamar Campbell to present at Worship Institute Saturday

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

Spots still available for workshops  SALISBURY – For the first time in recent history, Livingstone College, a historic black college founded by the A.M.E. Zion Church, will host a Worship Institute. The event will be held on Saturday, April 22, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., at the Walls Center Chapel, 800 W. Thomas Street, Salisbury, on the campus of Livingstone College. The program is cosponsored by Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church and Moore’s Chapel AME Zion Church, all of Salisbury. The various sessions will include the following topics and presenters: What Worship Is – by Pastor Christopher Gray, director of the Livingstone College Gospel Choir, from 9:30-10:30 a.m.; What Worship Does – by Dr. Will Harris, minister of music at Lewis Chapel Baptist Church in Fayetteville, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.; and What God wants to do with you in Worship – featuring gospel recording artist Lamar Campbell, minister of music at Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Ind. Campbell was born and raised in Indianapolis, where he was active in the church and musically gifted from an early age. Playing piano in his home church from the age of eight, he became the music director of a church when he was only 15 years old. After graduating from high school, Campbell pursued studies in several different areas in search of a vocation before feeling a call to the music ministry as his God-appointed career. He studied music at the Jordan Music College …

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STEM Kids Open House Saturday

In News, News & Events by KHarrington

Livingstone College is hosting a STEM Open House for kids this Saturday. The drop-in event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the F. George Shipman Science Annex. Parents or guardians can sign up their children for a FREE STEM summer camp during the program. Two 30-minute feature films will be shown in the immersion theatre and there will be science demos as well. Show up and get STEMulated!