Chancellor Donald Reaves

It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you of the passing of Dr. Michelle B. Releford, Dean of our University College.  Michelle passed away this morning (Nov. 8)  at a hospice facility in Georgia following a protracted illness.

From the time she joined Winston-Salem State in 2008, Michelle demonstrated her passion and her concern for our students, particularly our incoming freshman.  In addition to striving to ensure that the support programs were in place within the University College to help students, she enhanced our orientation program through the week-long RAMDITION experience that gave in-coming students an opportunity to better understand the resources available to them, to learn their way around campus, and to begin to feel a part of the WSSU family as they participated in a “Rite of Passage Ceremony.”

Dr. Michelle B. Releford

In addition to her leadership with University College, Michelle assumed the position of Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs for ten months, until March of this year.  In that role, she continued her emphasis on the students’ academic achievement and on their social development as well.

Winston-Salem State has certainly benefited from having had Michelle Releford as a part of our university and her presence will be missed.  I know you join me in offering our deepest sympathy to her family, friends and colleagues.  The Provost Office is planning a memorial service on campus and we will advise you of the details as soon as possible.

October 31, 2011

To Students, Faculty, Staff, Colleagues and Friends:

Chancellor Donald J. Reaves

Because of the circumstances, I believe that I have an obligation to advise the campus community, colleagues and friends of a personal matter that will have some effect on the University over the short-term.  On Wednesday, November 2, I will undergo surgery for the removal of a pituitary tumor.  I will be recuperating during the month of November.  While I am away from the campus, Provost Brenda Allen will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the University.

I will complete the pre-surgery process tomorrow, November 1, and the surgery is scheduled for the next day.  I hope you will understand if neither Deborah nor I are able to take your calls or answer your e-mails over the next week to 10 days.  This period will be the most crucial of the recovery process.  After that time, however, I plan to begin some limited activity.  I plan to participate in a few key events that are scheduled during the latter part of November, but I do not plan to return to the office until early December.

As for the actual tumor, it has probably been there for many years – as many as 20 according to the surgeon who will remove it.   It was only diagnosed about two months ago when I started having vision problems, which is a common symptom as such tumors grow.  Since that time, between medical consultations and my own research, I have learned that up to 20 percent of the population might have pituitary tumors with most going un-diagnosed and never causing symptoms.  The doctors have assured Deborah and me that virtually all pituitary tumors are benign, but that surgery is necessary to reverse the symptoms and to ensure that there are no future problems.

I appreciate your understanding of this situation and Deborah will certainly keep you informed of my progress.  I also know that you will give your full support to Provost Allen as she manages the daily business of the University.  If during the time that I am away from the campus you need to speak with or see me, please work through Margaret Brinson.   Finally, if you are interested in information on pituitary tumors, there are several excellent sites on the Internet including an overview from the U.S. National Library of Medicine which can be found at the following link:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000704.htm

September 22, 2011

Community Engagement: Leveraging our Assets, Making a Difference

Chancellor Donald J. Reaves

Over the past several months, we have shared information about our Strategic Plan, we have talked about the economic impact that the University has throughout the community, and I held a town-hall meeting that covered a wide range of topics, focusing heavily on the budget and its impact on both the campus and the surrounding community.

This morning I want to talk about another aspect of our strategic Plan that also impacts the Triad — and that is our community involvement or what we call community engagement.

These activities come right out of our plan and can be found as Goal #3 — right behind Academic Excellence and Student Success is Community Engagement.

At WSSU we have defined community engagement broadly and in a manner that is consistent with the underlying philosophy of the UNC Tomorrow Report that was completed under Erskine Bowles. The commitment to community engagement is driven by the singular question that is raised in the UNC Tomorrow Report, which is, how can the UNC system better serve the citizens of North Carolina?

With that question in mind we have developed a Commitment to greater collaborations with the community and we seek constantly to develop new services and programs to address community needs.  So strong is this commitment that we have included service in the recently revised tenure and promotion policy, making service mandatory by recognizing it as one of the three criteria for tenure and promotion, along-side teaching and research.

And we see this as a win-win situation in that many of these activities also provide a more enriching learning experience for our students, they provide teaching and research opportunities for our faculty, and they enrich the lives of our staff while also serving to make our communities better places to live, to learn and to work.

So where does this commitment come from?  As noted it is a big part of the UNC Tomorrow Report commitment, and it is encouraged up the line at GA.  The UNC System also encourages campuses to be more actively engaged.  Let me give you some examples of our efforts.

Take distance learning for example — throughout the Triad our distance learning sites have provided higher education opportunities in the surrounding counties.  And, throughout the county, but especially in the rural areas, we have trained well over 1,000 nurses – nurses who have graduated from the RN to Bachelor of Science in nursing program.

Nursing students learn operational prep procedures.

We are now the third largest producer of nurses in the State of NC, and if we had the space we could expand the program even more.  And these are the front-line people; these are the nurses who are caring for us, for members of our families, for our employees and for our neighbors.  It’s really important work and we enjoy doing it.

In addition to the nursing program we run a number of centers that serve the community.  For example, the Biomedical Research Infrastructure Center contributes to discovery of new knowledge in science and technology and also develops student research capabilities in the areas of biomedical and behavioral sciences.  The Center is located in the Piedmont Research Park and includes collaborations with faculty members from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Then there is the Center for Community Safety , which provides statistical data using a Geographic Information System (GIS) that not only analyzes information, but also displays it geographically.  Our ability to provide information in this way has enabled us to work with local law enforcement and has created a powerful prevention and investigation tool for mapping and analyzing crime patterns.

There is also the Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Health Disparities, which provides research, input into policy decisions, and has held nationally-recognized conferences and other activities to raise awareness of the problems created in all communities by health care disparities.

Then, there is the S. G. Atkins Community Development Corporation, a university affiliate organization that has become a major player in the redevelopment efforts along the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive corridor.  Carol Davis who heads the CDC has led the CDC’s work from developing a plan for enhancing this area of the community, to creating an anchor for those plans with its own Enterprise Center.  With the opening of the Enterprise Center, Winston-Salem now has a business incubator again.  Not only is the CDC providing space for new businesses, but also taking advantage of the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship and collaborating with other local support organizations to provide needed resources for new enterprises – and you should know that they have a special emphasis on “green” businesses.

For us, it’s always been about meeting community needs in a way that creates win-win situations – the community receives needed services and programs, our students have the opportunity to enhance their education through hands-on experience, the faculty can engage in research, and the university is able to demonstrate its commitment to the community

Mobile Clinic crew prepare to work in area public hoising complex.

Another example in the School of Health Sciences is the Mobile Health Clinic – known as Rams Know H.O.W. which provides screenings, educational services and referrals to citizens in underserved areas – it is estimated that more than $250,000 in free services will be provided in the first year of operation.

And while we are counting, students working with professors at the Community Care Clinic have provided more than $300,000 in physical therapy care.

Earlier I mentioned the national recognition that some of these programs have received — that’s the case with our physical therapy program and the services that it provides to the underserved.  As a result of their effort two of our students have been named Albert Schweitzer Fellows for their projects, one of the most prestigious forms of recognition that one can receive. Clinton Serafino and Timothy Serrano, students in our doctoral program are two of the three physical therapy students in North Carolina to win Albert Schweitzer Fellowships for 2011-2012.

Student measures a child's blood pressure.

These are just a few of our efforts to provide local citizens with much-needed healthcare services while ensuring that our students have the experiential learning opportunities that will prepare them for their profession.   And I remind you that most of our students are from North Carolina so they tend to stay in the state when they graduate, and many remain here in Winston-Salem.

Then there are examples of programs and efforts that address the longer-term needs of the community, such as those that require a high level of technological skills – usually what we call the STEM areas of science, technology, engineering and math.  We have programs that reach out to younger students in an effort to prepare them to enter the educational pipeline for these areas.

One such program is the North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Pre-College Program at WSSU which includes a Saturday Academy, tutoring, mathematics and science competitions, field trips, a Parent Involvement for Excellence (PIE) Club, a leadership development initiative, and a Summer Scholars Program designed to provide math and science enrichment to rising sixth through twelfth graders.

YEHS campers learn examination pointers during summer camp.

We also have Camp YEHS! – Youth Exploring Health Sciences the provides a summer enrichment program to educate, prepare and enhance academic qualifications for health sciences careers for rising ninth grade students from the Forsyth and surrounding counties.

Then there is the TEAM-UP Program (Teens Engaged in Aspiring Mentorships: an Uplifting Partnership) that has been recognized by the state Association of Directors of Social Services as a “Best Practice” in community collaborations.  The program, spearheaded by our Center for Entrepreneurship in partnership with the Departments of Social Services from Forsyth, Guilford and Durham Counties, provides a variety of real-world educational opportunities for young people in foster care in an effort to help them be more productive citizens.

These are just a few of the ways that we work to enhance and enrich the community.  There are other ways.

Our faculty and staff share their time, their talents and their experiences by serving on an array of boards – ranging from the Chamber of Commerce and the Arts Council to Habitat for Humanity and the Enrichment Center.  The Women’s Fund is a prime example of the influence our employees can have.  Our own Michelle Cook is one of the founding members of this organization that has put more than $1 million into the community since its inception

We also bring in nationally-known speakers and performers through a variety of programs such as the Gray Lecture Series and the Lyceum Series.

One of many works at Diggs Gallery.

And The Diggs Gallery is well known for being home to one of the South’s leading showcases dedicated to African and African-American art.  And in addition to being of interest to visitors, the gallery had nearly 7,000 visitors walk through its doors last year.

When I began thinking about what I would say this morning, I knew there was no way I could tell you all of the things our students, faculty and staff are doing in the community to impact everything from economic development to improved healthcare.  I struggled a bit with how to get you to understand the importance of our community engagement efforts – not just for the university, but for people who live and work in Winston-Salem.

Then I remembered a few weeks ago when some of the staff members brought me a sampling of fresh produce that came from the Simon’s Green Acre community Garden. What a simple story that illustrates the return on investment we seek for our community engagement projects.

The Atkins CDC provided space behind the Enterprise Center for a community garden.  Some of our students, faculty and staff came together with others in the community to provide hands-on learning about sustainable horticulture, therapeutic gardening, organic food and eating healthier using fresh produce.

Student volunteers take a break from work at Simon's Green Arce Community Garden.

From planting to weeding, watering and harvesting, the garden became a symbol of our involvement in the community surrounding the campus.  With an open house, more people were able to see what was happening on this plot of land – as well as learn how good grilled vegetables taste.

This one garden has had a tremendous impact and has been extremely successful at engaging different people from the campus in working together and creating interaction with community residents.

Nearly 2,000 pounds of have food have come out of the Community Garden. Fall crops are being planted now.

But, here is the rest of the story.  At a time when Second Harvest Food Bank was dealing with empty shelves and we are reading that hunger is on the rise in our community – Simon’s Green Acre has provided nearly 2,000 pounds of food to organizations such as Samaritan Ministries and AIDS Care Service as part of meeting a community need.

This one simple story of a community project sums up what we are trying to do with all of our efforts — educate, bring people together, meet community needs, and produce results.  That’s what community engagement should be about — leveraging our assets to make a difference.

Thank you very much!

Thursday, April 28, 1011

Reforming the Curriculum at WSSU

Chancellor Reaves

This morning’s briefing is the third in the series and will focus on what I consider to be the single most important activity taking place today on the WSSU campus – curriculum reform.

For those of you who attended the first briefing, you will recall that it was a discussion about managing change at the University, and I am sure that I acknowledged that since my arrival in 2007 that change has been a constant. I am also sure that I talked about how hard that is for the organization, for everyone involved, but that change is a necessary condition for progress.

So here we are, four years into my tenure as chancellor, and we are on the verge of implementing the most significant and sweeping set of changes that this University has experienced, perhaps in its history. I am sure it is more significant than anything that has taken place in more than 50 years.

This afternoon the faculty will be asked to approve a set of changes to the curriculum that, when implemented fully, will change, in a very fundamental way, how we educate students who attend WSSU. I cannot overstate the significance of this effort. That’s because the curriculum that a university offers is a reflection of what that institution stands for, and making changes to the curriculum is akin to tampering with the organizations personality.

A brief review of the higher education literature around the formulation of core curriculum will reveal that there are basically two schools of thought – and the two schools of thought happen to be represented by two institutions where I have spent considerable time, Brown and the University of Chicago. There could not be a more extreme set of examples than these two institutions. Here are excerpts from their marketing materials about their curriculums.

The Brown Curriculum

Like many institutions dedicated to the liberal arts, Brown has traditionally encouraged its undergraduates to study broadly and deeply, to become self-reflective, and to develop a moral core. But twice in its history, the institution was challenged to do more. In 1850, Brown’s fourth president, Francis Wayland, argued for greater freedom in the undergraduate curriculum, so that every student would be able to “study what he chose, all that he chose, and nothing but what he chose.” A century later, in 1969, another group of reformers — this time composed of students and faculty — outlined an even more ambitious plan that would realize Wayland’s vision for a new generation. They called it the New Curriculum. Placing fresh emphasis on the “liberal” aspect of the liberal arts, the New Curriculum gave students the right to choose, the right to fail, and above all the freedom to direct their own education. For almost forty years this embrace of independence has defined Brown’s place in the landscape of undergraduate education in the United States.

The University of Chicago

A University of Chicago education is more than a set of skills, a rite of passage, or even the ability to think critically. It is an experience—part of a lifelong dialogue that encourages students to converse across cultures and disciplines—and is guided by 75 years of experience with a Core tradition.

This famed Core curriculum, a model for American general education, is the University of Chicago student’s introduction to the tools of inquiry used in every discipline—science, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences. The goal is not just to transfer knowledge, but to raise fundamental questions and become familiar with the powerful ideas that shape our society. Not only does the curriculum provide the background for any major and for continuing study after graduation, it also provides a common experience for all students in the College. All students have taken the same sorts of classes and read the same kinds of texts, struggling and triumphing over the same sorts of ideas. This gives every student a common vocabulary of ideas and skills, no matter his or her background before coming to the College.

These are the extremes – one offers almost total freedom in how to learn while the other provides a one size fits all prescription.

What we are trying to accomplish with our changes to the curriculum is not nearly as extreme as either of these examples, but goes, nevertheless, to the core of who we are as an institution. The fundamental question underlying the effort to change the curriculum is how best to educate our students for success in today’s global economy and marketplace.

Drawing on history, we find that among African American educators there was also a debate about the efficacy of one approach versus the other, with the stark difference in approaches espoused at the turn of the 20^th century by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois.

In 1903, Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk, perhaps his best known book. In The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois criticized Booker T. Washington who was a well-known black educator who urged industrial education for African-Americans. He also founded the Tuskegee Institute, which provided industrial training to African-Americans. Washington believed that African-Americans would gain respect from the white community if they had trade skills. He also believed that trade skills were key to economic security.

Du Bois, on the other hand, believed that academic education was more important than trade education. He thought Washington’s emphasis on industrial education actually kept African-Americans trapped in lower social and economic classes by suggesting they were best suited to service occupations. Du Bois encouraged African-Americans to succeed in the arts and sciences.

Even today you can find remnants of these two schools of thought in the debates about the curriculum, and there are certainly strong elements of the Booker T. Washington philosophy to be found in the curriculums of HBCUs, including here at WSSU.

For the last 18 months or so we have been working with the faculty, through various task forces, to develop a curriculum that prepares students to be competitive and successful once they leave the university. We wanted a curriculum that is grounded more in the belief that a liberal arts education exposes students to a basic set of learning outcomes that derive from an exposure to a breadth of knowledge, as opposed to a curriculum that trains them at the young age for a typical undergraduate career.

It is the classical Washington versus Dubois polar opposites.

Under the leadership of the provost, we have identified seven learning outcomes that we, as well as much of the curriculum literature, agree should be the foundation of a modern day college education. These outcomes include: critical thinking; critical reading; written communication; oral communication; scientific literacy; quantitative literacy; and, information literacy. With this new curriculum, students here will have no choice – exposure to these learning outcomes will be mandatory.

The curriculum is structured, however, in such a way that these outcomes can be attained from an array of content courses in the major disciplines: literature; historical studies; the social and behavioral sciences; the natural sciences; mathematics and analytic philosophy; the fine arts; and foreign languages and culture.  Students will have considerable choice in what they take and how they expose themselves to the breadth of classes that are offered in these areas that will also support these learning outcomes.

Additionally, we will encourage through the general education framework that students take courses that fall into the category of courses known as “affective domain,” courses that are designed to infuse students with a sense of personal and social responsibility. These would include courses that deal with issues of globalization, diversity, sustainability, civic engagement, moral and ethical reasoning, and healthy living.

This is the framework – it’s a framework that when complete will serve as the educational foundation around which, or upon which, a major course of study is built and will prepare students for life after college.

But as you can probably tell from my comments, this effort goes far beyond the alignment of course with outcomes. It gets at the core beliefs that people hold about how to educate students.  At HBCUs in particular, these beliefs are grounded in both the historical and modern day racial politics and economic conditions that affect people of color in this country.

Only a handful of the HBCUs have embarked upon such an approach. That is mainly because there is a belief in the black community that you need to go off to college and be trained to do something that will get you a specific job, as opposed to being educated broadly and equipped with the skills that will enable you to get virtually any job that you want.

As a result of this belief system, we do things like make first year students declare a major as opposed to letting them explore the curriculum and then decide where they want to take their career. That in many instances becomes the obstacle to our students completing their course of study in four years or in a more time way. For example, once a student declares a major they must take prescribed courses. If they change their mind about their major or if their grades are not strong enough to continue in that major, they have to start over since courses often do not transfer. That just shouldn’t be acceptable. The science classes a student takes in preparation to enter the nursing program should count for science classes in other majors as well.

By locking students into ridiculously stringent majors that prevent them from taking courses in other fields, we are providing our undergraduate students with an in-depth subject-focused education that is more along the lines of a graduate degree program.

So why is this so critically important and why now? There are numerous reasons.

First, we are placing obstacles in their way to graduation. Additionally, our students often perform poorly on standardized test like the GRE and the LSAT, examinations that test for breadth of knowledge, not depth of knowledge.

Most importantly, we are not preparing our students to compete in the workplace, and we are not preparing the workforce of tomorrow. We have listened to prospective employers when they have told us what skills and abilities they want in their employees.

Employers have said that they want students who can think, both critically and analytically.  They want students who can communicate, orally and in writing. They want problem solvers. They want students who are comfortable working in small groups of diverse colleagues.  Students who possess this set of skills – what I call thinking skills – are capable of doing whatever task may be assigned once they are hired — but they must first get hired. For our students to be competitive and to be successful, we must ensure that the education we provide matches what the job market now requires.

So, from time-to-time organizations find themselves engaged in activities that will define their futures. Such is the case with this effort. And as I noted, this afternoon this will go before the faculty for a general discussion and a vote. There are supporters and there are certainly skeptics, but in the end it is my hope that the faculty will support this initiative and provide our students with the modern-day education that they deserve.

[Note: The faculty voted 147 to 30 to support the new curriculum]

The following are the remarks of Chancellor Donald J. Reaves to the Congregation of First Baptist Church on Sunday, April 17, 2011. The Winston-Salem State University Choir provided special music under the direction of D’Walla Simons Burke.

Chancellor Reaves

Good morning everyone.  My thanks go out to Reverend and Mrs. Aaron and to members of the First Baptist congregation for recognizing Winston-Salem State University with this special celebration.  Deborah and I are delighted to be with you this morning, and we bring greetings on behalf of our faculty, students and staff.

The elation that I feel when I visit First Baptist derives in part from the fact that so many members of the WSSU extended family worship here.  This church has for many years provided the moral and spiritual foundation for many of our faculty, students, staff and alumni.  WSSU Day at First Baptist also provides an opportunity to showcase our wonderful choir, and as usual, you are in for a real treat.

It has been said that when you find yourself near a historically black college or university that you will also find a black church.  That the roots, history, heritage and legacy of these two institutions go hand and hand – that they are inter-twined and that the struggles of one are the struggles of the other.   The two institutions have basically developed together through the years, facing many of the same challenges and societal changes.  Such is the case with respect to WSSU and First Baptist.

So, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you this morning about what is happening at WSSU.  Too often we don’t have the opportunity to share our message beyond the campus.

To steal an often-used phrase – it is the best of times and it is the worst of times.

On a positive note, I am proud to say that we are making tremendous progress with the implementation of our Strategic Plan.

From time-to-time organizations find themselves engaged in activities that will define their existence for the foreseeable future.  I call them big decisions.  They are monumental undertakings and they have implications for generations of students.  We are involved in one such effort, a big decision –that being the reform of the curriculum.

We are in the process of reforming our curriculum to provide students with the skills they need to compete successfully against students from colleges and universities where resources are in far greater abundance.  The curriculum reform effort is recognition that we must change the way that we educate students.  It’s recognition that subject matter expertise is no longer sufficient to ensure success in the workplace.  In the past we have taught students a subject matter and trained them to do something specific.  And they did that for the rest of their lives.  But college graduates of today have a smorgasbord of opportunities from which to choose, and it is our responsibility to prepare them to compete for such opportunities. So what skills do they need?

Today’s students must have the ability to think critically, to be analytical, to work in diverse groups to solve problems and to communicate effectively.  And they need to know how to think.  And when armed with these thinking skills, they can do virtually anything that they may choose.

And regardless of the fiscal challenges we may face, we must remain committed to achieving student outcomes that produce college graduates who are prepared to compete successfully in a knowledge-based global economy.

WSSU Choir performance brings First Baptist Congregation to its feet.

As you know the N C Legislature is working on the budget for next fiscal year.  And while we don’t know how big the final reduction in our state allocation will be, we do know that it could be more than $10 million, and will come on top of the $21 million in reductions that we have sustained since 2008.  Earlier this week the NC House released the education subcommittee budget, which contained a reduction of more than 17 percent for the UNC.

We also are painfully aware that we could be faced with increasing tuition, yet again, by a significant amount, in an effort to close the budget gap.  Without a doubt this will increase the need for financial aid for many of our students — particularly since we know that federal support through Pell Grants will not keep pace with the increases.  Our biggest fear is that we will lose students who when faced with the increased costs of attendance may simply come to the conclusion that a college education is beyond their financial means, and drop-out of the University.

The last couple of weeks have been the most challenging and difficult that I have faced in my almost four years at WSSU – and that’s saying something given the uproar over some athletic decisions that I made.  But informing an employee that they are going to lose their job because we don’t have the money to keep them is repugnant to everything that an institution of higher education stands for.  But that is exactly what is happening all across the UNC system.

The fiscal crisis is forcing the chancellors to make very difficult decisions about what gets funded – forcing them to choose between people and programs, between keeping staff and providing essential academic and student support.   And while the choices are clear, the decisions are painful because we know that they affect not only these employees, but their families, friends and co-workers.  It has indeed been a sad time on our campus.

We do, however, have to make decisions and make changes that are designed for one reason only — and that is to improve the academic outcomes for our students.

Obviously, against the backdrop of budget cuts, making change is more difficult, and we will have to make choices between competing priorities.  Yet, we must make those choices if our students are going be competitive in the global market-place after they have left WSSU.

As I’m sure most of you know, the motto at Winston-Salem State is “Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve.”  That philosophy is one thing that we will not abandon.  In fact, the new curriculum will, I am convinced, better prepare our students to serve by providing them with a 21^st century skill set that they can call upon in virtually any situation.

We are excited.  The students are really excited and the support among the faculty, while not universal – is very strong.  But there is no illusion that what we are trying to accomplish will be easy.  It won’t be – we understand that.  But it’s worth the effort.  We also understand that we can’t do this alone.  We need the support of others – others like all of you.

Even though these can be the proverbial “times that try men’s souls,” I believe that we will get through this difficult period.  I believe that we will come together as an institution and as a community to work through this challenge, as we have worked through others, and that we will emerge as a stronger institution that is focused more keenly on its highest priorities.

At the outset of my remarks I noted that HBCUs and the Black churches share a set of common experiences.  That’s true primarily because of the dual citizenship relationships that exist between the two institutions – so many members of one institution are members of the other.  And as a result you tend to find widespread support for both entities.  That is the sort of relationship that has flourished for many, many years between WSSU and First Baptist, and that is why I am I am confident that despite the difficult times ahead, we will support each other and out respective goals.

So, again, I thank you for all of your support — we appreciate all you do for Winston-Salem State.  And finally, again, I want to thank Rev. Aaron for the invitation to join you this morning and for all he and this church does for the university.

The following is Chancellor Reaves’ address at the Donor Reception held at Diggs Gallery April 12, 2011.
Good afternoon everyone and thanks for joining us. I am extremely pleased to be with you today and to have the opportunity to personally thank you for making such a difference for our students and for this university.
Your investments [...]

The following are the remarks of Chancellor Donald J. Reaves to the Congregation of United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Special music was provided by The Winston-Salem State University Choir under the direction of D’Walla Simmons Burke
Good morning everyone. Deborah and I are absolutely delighted to join you this morning. This [...]

The following is the address of Chancellor Donald J. Reaves to the Brown Chapter of the WSSU National Alumni Association March 18, 2011, at McNeil Banquet Hall.
Good evening and thank you for that wonderful introduction and thank you very much for inviting me to speak to you this evening.  I bring you greetings from [...]

For the past several months, you have heard a great deal about the University’s 2011-2012 budget.  The current budget situation is not a UNC System problem or a Winston-Salem State University problem.  The problem derives from a funding shortfall to meet the overall budget for the State of North Carolina – it’s a revenue problem.  [...]

The Story Behind the Numbers
Recently, I was preparing a presentation for members of the community on the economic impact that Winston-Salem State University has on our community and the region.  In working with Dr. Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi, the chair of the Department of Economics and the faculty member who provided an analysis of our economic impact, [...]