Livingstone College

SALISBURY – Livingstone College, the birthplace of black college football, inducted two members into the 2019 Commemorative Classic Hall of Fame, which pays homage to that historic inaugural game. It was Dec. 27, 1892, when Johnson C. Smith University, then Biddle Memorial Institute, traveled by horse and buggy to Livingstone College to play the first organized black intercollegiate football game. In 2009, at the invitation of Livingstone President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr., both schools began the annual Commemorative Classic, which is the last regular football game of the season, and created the Hall of Fame. Inducted this year were Troy Veale of Livingstone College and James Butch Walker of Johnson C. Smith University. Each received a Commemorative Classic Hall of Fame ring at the program, held Nov. 7 at the Livingstone School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts. Veale, a native of Lewiston, excelled as a student-athlete, rising to the ranks of team captain of the Blue Bears football team. In his sophomore season, he played in the Historic Classic Centennial Game in 1992 against Johnson C. Smith University at Livingstone College. One of the most memorable highlights recorded was in a game against the University of West Georgia when Troy amassed three interceptions and close to 20 tackles. In 1994, Veale received CIAA Defensive Player of the Week three times. That year, he was also selected for the All-CIAA First Team, was Defensive Player of the Year Runner-Up and Black College All-American Second Team. Veale also received the …

SALISBURY – Livingstone College announced that it was inducting five into its Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming Week, but there were actually six recipients. The sixth inductee remained a secret until the day of the dinner program. Blanche Ford, administrative assistant for Livingstone’s athletic department, was surprised when she learned at the Hall of Fame dinner that she was being inducted for meritorious service. Ford started her career at Livingstone in 1970 in the physical plant department as administrative assistant and eventually transitioned to athletics. She was also cheerleading coach from 1993 to 1998. She ventured out from Livingstone in 1998, but returned in 2006 to the athletic department to reprise her role. “She has impacted the lives of many students, taking them under her wings and treating them as her own,” her bio reads in the program. “With that being said, Ms. Ford has a lot of Blue Bear children.” One of those children is Troy Veale, a 2006 inductee into the Livingstone College Athletic Hall of Fame, who introduced Ford at the dinner, held at the Livingstone College School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts. “She is number one for several reasons,” Veale said. When he was dropped off at Livingstone as a timid freshman, the first place he went was the athletic department and there was Ford, offering him maternal nurturing. “She told me it’s going to be OK,” he recalled. “Until this day, when I see her, she says, ‘It’s going to be OK.’” Ford …

SALISBURY – Did you play tennis for Livingstone College? Then this is not only homecoming week, but a celebration of 50 years of tennis at Blue Bear Nation. Livingstone will hold a 50-year tennis reunion on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. at the tennis court on campus. All former members and tennis supporters are invited to attend free of charge. “The reunion is an opportunity to acknowledge past tennis team members, make presentations to benefactors and talk about plans to build our women’s tennis program,” said Gwen Jackson, head coach of Livingstone women’s tennis. Jackson is the first female head coach of the college’s women’s tennis program, having started in 2010. She played competitively herself from 2002 through 2008 in the ALTA League in Atlanta, Ga. Livingstone was once a force to be reckoned with in the game of tennis. In 1990, the men’s team won the CIAA tennis championship. Prior to that, Livingstone captured the CIAA Southern Division titles in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978 and 1980-82. The inaugural All Women’s Team for CIAA Conference was formed in 2003, coached by Joseph K. Enoch and assistant coach Pierre Spivey. Prior to that, two women, Pam Hurt and Natalie Campbell, joined the Livingstone men’s team in 1975. After the reunion, Abdul Idi, a former Livingstone tennis player, will conduct a tennis clinic for HOLLA! youth tennis team of Morven, N.C. Idi is a tennis professional at Rivers Strand Golf and Country Club in Bradenton, Fla., and was a member of …

Anthony Johnson dropped out of high school at 16 years old, but following a personal tragedy, he was motivated to become a teacher to give kids the inspired education he was not given. Johnson joins the 3rd hour of TODAY to share the lessons he learned.

SALISBURY – Be young, be foolish, be happy and mosey on over to Livingstone College’s Sunday Brunch on Nov. 3 featuring beach music’s classic band, The Tams. The event, which is Livingstone’s homecoming finale, is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Livingstone College School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts, located at 530 Jake Alexander Blvd. South, Salisbury. Sponsored by the President’s Office, the Sunday Brunch will feature music by The Tams, food prepared by culinary arts students and remarks by Livingstone College President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr. Admission is $35 per person and is payable at the door. Dress attire is casual. The Tams is one of America’s all-time favorite recording acts, world renown for their special blend of music that makes up the beach music sound. The Tams entertain crowds around the globe nearly 300 days a year and are best known for their 1968 gold hit, “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy.” Their first album, “Presenting the Tams,” produced a number one record, “What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am),” propelling the group to professional status and national popularity, playing to sold-out auditoriums from Washington, D.C., to the famed Apollo Theater in New York City. A string of hits followed including “You Lied to Your Daddy,” “Hey Girl,” “I’ve Been Hurt” and “It’s Better to Have Loved a Little.” The Tams developed a spectacular revue touring with their own 14 Karat Gold Band. After years of appearances and 10 albums, The Tams have been honored with …

College considers possible collaboration with Ghana university  SALISBURY – “Until lions have their historians, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter,” says an African proverb. Author Kojo Yankah of Ghana in his recent book, “From Jamestown to Jamestown: Letters to an African Child,” tells the lions’ tale of African history to a young African girl in the form of letters. As part of his American book tour, Yankah visited Livingstone College last week and led a stimulating lecture to Dr. DaTarvia Parrish’s African-American history II class. His tour includes stops in Georgia, Delaware, New York City and Boston. His only other visits in North Carolina were at N.C. State and Duke universities. As founder, board chairman and past president of the African University College of Communications (AUCC) in Ghana, Yankah also included as part of his visit to Livingstone the possibility of exploring a collaboration with AUCC. In 1994, Yankah was chairman of the Pan-African Historical Theater Festival in Ghana and was invited to participate in a symposium and event in Jamestown, Va. It was during that visit that he pondered the link between that Jamestown and the one in Ghana. His research and discovery is what led to his 10th book and its title. Yankah’s book release coincides this year with the 400th anniversary of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. “Four hundred years ago, the first 20 Africans were shipped out of Angola in south west of Africa to America,” he said to the class. The question is, why …

SALISBURY – Livingstone College filled three major leadership positions as the new school year began. President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr. said he is confident that the recent appointments will help advance the mission of his holistic college approach in preparing students for the global society. The recent appointments follow: Dr. Dawn Brown McNair, Dean of Mathematics and Sciences For more than 25 years, McNair has been a devoted mathematics educator and researcher. She most recently served as an associate professor of mathematics and mathematics coordinator at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, where she made considerable gains in recruiting, retaining and graduating students with a mathematics degree. During her tenure, the division exceeded institutional projections for graduates by 40 percent; graduates had higher GPAs; and students were accepted to graduate school at much higher rates. McNair was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. She received her master’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. As change agent, principal investigator and co-director, McNair was instrumental in the procurement of more than $10 million in grant funds from the National Science Foundation, Department of Education and the Belk Foundation. She has served as a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation and Association of American Colleges and Universities, and has been invited to speak before such organizations as the Charlotte Rotary Club, National Society of STEM Women of Color …