T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E C O R N E L L B L A C K A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N F A L L 2 0 1 2

UUPPDADATTEE Sharing the vision of

our education

Dear Cornell Black Alumni Association Members and Friends,

The CBAA board is so pleased with the enthusiasm that we have seen from our alumni since our

fabulous reunion in June. Kudos to Chimene Liburd, Angela Celestin, Joanne Hill and our class

clerks for a job well done. We would also like to thank the outgoing board for their hard work.

Now we need to keep the enthusiasm going. The board is committed to continuing to offer events

of that caliber. We look forward to seeing you at our future events.

This newsletter is just one part of our effort to increase communication with our alumni and stu-

dents. Please visit our website (www.cbaa1976.com) for regular updates as well. If you would like

to contribute to the newsletter or help create it, join our communications committee. Please

spread the word...Undergraduate and graduate alumni are welcome. We would love to have you!

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

EXECUTIVE BOARD President Anika Daniels-Osaze, Arts '96 president@cbaa1976.com Treasurer Darien  Ward,  ILR  ‘90 treasurer@cbaa1976.com Secretary Zachary Murray, AAP '12 secretary@cbaa1976.com VP Membership Carol McIntosh, Arts'83/ Weill '87 vpmembership@cbaa1976.com VP Programming Jade Dean, Hotel'08 vpprogramming@cbaa1976.com VP Fundraising /Scholarship Ebony Ray, ILR'10 vpfundrais-ing@cbaa1976.com VP Student Relations Cynthia Cuffie, HumEC'74 vpstudentrelations@cbaa1976.com

CBAA’s  Executive  Board Join a Committee or volunteer to be a Regional Representative today! Our six standing committees are: Membership Committee Programming Committee Scholarship & Fundraising Committee Campus & Student Relations Committee Communications Committee Secondary/Graduate Schools Committee As a Regional Representative, you are an important resource for CBAA and a pivotal part of volunteer, social and cultural activities in your area. Each region needs assistance in planning 2-4 regional events per year. This is a great networking opportunity for our alumni! For committee details and to sign up visit:

http://www.cbaa1976.com/volunteer.html

CBAA REUNION 2012

CBAA UPDATE 2 FALL 2012

CBAA PROGRAMMING CALENDAR 2012/2013 July - NJ/Philly/Delaware Cornell Alum, Friends, and Family Summer Potluck Picnic Unami Park, Garwood, NJ Saturday, July 21, 2012 from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM Contact Leon Smart '82 - lds12@cornell.edu or Gale Jones '82 -gaj7@cornell.edu August- MD/DC/VA Class of 2016 & New Student Sendoff August 5th, from 4-7pm@ Nixon's Farm, 2800 Nixon's Farms Lane, West Friendship, MD Directions: http://www.nixonsfarm.com/contact.htm Contact Randall Nixon '78 at nixonsfarm@gmail.com or Phone: 443-364-8380

September - NYC, Detroit Pre-Homecoming Mixer NYC - September 2, 2012 @ 2:00 p.m. Riverside Park; Contact Kassandra Frederique @ k.frederique@gmail.com for more details Detroit - September 20, 2012 @ 6:30 p.m. - Roast Restaurant, Westin Book Cadillac Hotel; September - Washington, DC General Body Meeting September 15, 2012 @ 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Hall of the States 444 N. Capitol St., NW, Suite 367 Washington, DC 20001 Contact: Anika Daniels-Osaze - anika_daniels@hotmail.com for more details September - Ithaca (Homecoming) Mosaic Exchange: Alumni-Student Panel & Networking September 22, 2012 @ 9:00 a.m. Clark Hall, Room 701 Ujamaa 40th Anniversary Banquet September 22, 2012 @7:00 p.m. Willard Straight Hall, Memorial Room September - Miami Black IVY Conference September 27-29, 2012 visit http://bialconference.org/about/ for more information October - Chicago Rising Ivy Breakfast - Cosponsored with Black Ivy Alumni League and Google October 10, 2012; Contact Akiza Boddie-Willis - asb46@cornell.edu for more details October - Cornell Medical College Reunion/ CBAA mixer undergrad and grad alumni (NYC) October 20th, 2012– special guest speaker: Randall Nixon '78 contact Carol McIntosh at cmcmd135@gmail.com

Our Regional Reps Chrissa McFarlane Atlanta ctm53@cornell.edu Rosalind Usher Atlanta rpu2@cornell.edu Joanne Hill Chicago joanne.i.hill@gmail.com

Akiza Boddie-Willis Chicago asb46@cornell.edu

Veta N. Martin Detroit vnm4@cornell.edu Lois Bennett Detroit lois.bennett@yahoo.com Deborah Arrindell Los Angeles darrinde@amgen.com Hindatu Mohammed Bay Area/ San Francisco hindymo@gmail.com Kassandra Frederique New York City kfrederique@gmail.com Nadia Ormsby New York City normsby@gmail.com

Jason Morgan New York City JasonLeeMorgan@gmail.com Tracy Appiah Ohio tracy.w.appiah@chase.com Corinne Burton Southern NJ/Philadelphia crb18@cornell.edu

Colleen Clarke-Norman Southern NJ/Philadelphia colleenicolenorman@yahoo.com Chimene Liburd Washington DC che5md@aol.com

Dionne Benjamin Washington DC dbenjamin@groom.com Regina Little Washington DC little_regina@bah.com

CBAA UPDATE 3 FALL

October - May - June - September (NY, Chicago, DC, San Francisco) Avon Walk for Breast Cancer http://www.avonwalk.org/ Fall - 2012 - NYC Date TBD Alvin Ailey Performance - Co-sponsorship with the Black Ivy Alumni Association January - All Regions 1st Week of January - Back to School Alumni/Student Mixer Location & Time for each region to be confirmed February - NYC Volunteer at St. Francis Xavier's Soup Kitchen - space is limited 55 West 15th Street, New York NY contact jade.p.dean@gmail.com for details April - All Regions Arts Programming Event-Information to be provided May - All Regions Cinco De Mayo Alumni Mixer May 5, 2012 -Information to be provided May 26, 2013 - Ithaca Cornell Commencement/ CBAA Graduation Reception and Senior Leadership Award Presentation June/ July -All Regions Professional Development Event-Information to be provided We will continue to update the CBAA website as events are added.

Meet our new Faculty and Administrators

OADI replaces COSEP/ OMEA

CBAA UPDATE 4 FALL 2012

Gerard Aching, M.A. '90, Ph.D.

'91, professor of Spanish and

French literature and a member

of the graduate fields of African

and African-American and

Latin American studies, has

been appointed Director of the

Africana Studies and Research

Center.

Theoria Cason is the Residence Hall

Director for Ujamaa Residential Col-

lege. Originally from North Carolina,

she attended the University of North

Carolina at Charlotte, earning a de-

gree in Psychology; with minors in

Biology and Spanish. She then com-

pleted her Masters degree in College

Student Personnel at Western Illinois

University.

The Committee on Special Educational Projects, or COSEP, was established by Cornell University in

1965 with two primary goals: to increase the enrollment of African American students at Cornell and

to provide support services which would facilitate both their adjustment to, and graduation from, Cor-

nell. Later, the COSEP was expanded to include Latino, Hispanic American, Native American, and

Asian American students as well as those who would be first in their families to receive a bachelor's

degree, and those from lower-income families.

In 1976, COSEP was subsumed into the Office of Minority Educational Affairs

(OMEA). In June 2011, the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI) was formed as a unit that

addresses diversity issues and support in the academic areas across the university. Today, COSEP remains

a committee of advisors, counselors, and administrators who support the special educational needs of its

students.

The Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI) pronounced "wadi", is an Arabic/Ki-Swahili word that refers to a cool protected

passage route/valley through a desert, often formed by a seasonal river. OADI's Mission are two-fold: (1) to ensure that the widest

range of life experience, knowledge, creative expression and original thinking is shared across the breadth of Cornell's students, fac-

ulty, staff, and disciplines, particularly by those with backgrounds historically less likely to have been represented on campus and (2) to

support the increased presence, academic success, intellectual achievement, and inclusion across all fields of study of those from these

under-represented backgrounds at Cornell.

A.T. Miller, Associate Vice Provost of

Diversity Initiatives

The Power of Donor/ Alumni Support: Ujamaa’s Computer Facility Upgrade

Ujamaa Residential College has long needed an update to its computer facility. Alumni and do-

nors stepped up and answered the call. Due to a coordinated effort amongst Theoria Cason,

Renee  Alexander  ’74  and  Jennifer  Kamara  ‘05,  Ujamites  can  once  again  get  their  work  done  in  the  

comfort of their own home.

Fundraisers were held on campus and in New York City. Announcements reiterating the new for

an upgraded facility were made at Reunion. The facility is now equipped with several new com-

puters, printers and a scanner.

This   upgrade   is   an   example   of   the  power   that  we  have   to   improve   our   students’   experience   and  

rejuvenate our institutions. Thank you to all off our donors for making this possible! The unveiling of the upgraded facility will

take place during the 40th anniversary celebration of Ujamaa Residential College at Homecoming! A list of all donors along with

photos of the upgraded facility will appear in our next newsletter!

Alumni Spotlights

Cornell Alumni are making moves in

every field. If you know of an alum

who  should  be  in  the  “Spotlight”  

email the

details to

secretary@cbaa1976.com

CBAA UPDATE 5 FALL

Svante  Myrick,  ‘09  was

elected Mayor of Ithaca and

assumed office in January

2012. A Communications

major from the College of

Agriculture and Life Sciences,

Myrick, 25 is the first African

American and the youngest

person to take on this role.

Adepero  Oduye,  ’97, a Brooklyn native, born to Nigerian

parents, was a pre-med junior at Cornell when her father sud-

denly passed away. "It was a wake-up call," says Oduye. "I al-

ready had doubts about that career path, and I was mostly

doing it for my father. I thought: 'Life is too short. What else

can I do?' Oduye took an acting class and fell in love with

acting  ever  since.  She  has  starred  in  movies  such  as  “Pariah”  

and  “Half  Nelson”,  has  been  in  episodes  of  “Law  and  Order”  

and  “Louie”  and  is  preparing  for  her  new  role  in  the  remake  

of Steel Magnolias with the likes of Phylicia Rashad, Jill Scott

and Queen Latifah.

Makila Z. James ’79 was

sworn in at the State Depart-

ment July 23 as United

States ambassador to Swazi-

land,  Africa’s  last  absolute  

monarchy. She majored in

Africana studies and history

at Cornell.

Hon. Debra James,

Arts‘75  ,  JD’78  is  running  

for New York State Su-

preme Court. She received

the Mattie Belle Davis

Award from the National

Association of Women

Judges.

Muhammad Halim '08 from the

U.S. Virgin Islands ran the

Men's Track & Field-Triple

Jump  in  this  year’s  Olympics  

held in London.

Our  Alumni  are  succeeding  in  fields  such  as  politics,  sports,  and  acting.    Let’s  celebrate  their  accomplishments!

Student Spotlights: Leadership Award Recipients The Cornell Black Alumni Association

Student Leadership Award recognizes a

current senior undergraduate student of

African descent for his/her outstanding

leadership and efforts to enhance the

lives of students and the community-at-

large while attending Cornell Univer-

sity. The purpose of the award is to rec-

ognize past accomplishments and encour-

age ongoing development of leadership

skills and social consciousness. Thank

you to our selection committee for their

hard work and congratulations to our

recipients! Visit our website for application and due

dates.

FALL 2011 Recipient SPRING 2011 Recipient

Janet Nwaukoni Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society President

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Cornell Tradition Fellow

Mortar Board Senior Honor Society

Biology Scholars Program

Baraka Kwa Wimbo Gospel Ensemble

Ijeamaka Obodoagha Foundation for International Medical

Relief of Children President & Treasurer

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Lansing Residential Center Mentor

Nigerian Students Association President 4-H Cornell Cooperative Extension Men-

tor/ Counselor

CBAA Event Highlights

CBAA UPDATE 6 FALL 2012

http://www.visitithaca.com/

CBAA UPDATE 7 FALL 2012

The 1st Annual Black Ivy Alumni League Convention will be held in Miami, Florida from September 27th-30th. Network with alumni from all our brother institutions.

The conference will focus on the 4 pillars of - Education, Leader-ship, Politics and En-trepreneurship.

Specially priced tickets are available to friends of CBAA. Use the code  “CBAA”  to  save  nearly $100 off your ticket.

Register here and join us in making history!

CBAA UPDATE 8 FALL 2012

GENERAL BODY MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

CBAA will hold a general body meeting on Saturday, September 15 from 9am- 1pm in

Washington, DC. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the Participation model and

to vote whether CBAA should formally adopt the Participation model or return to a

Dues collecting organization.

Meeting Location:

Hall of the States

444 N. Capitol St., NW, Suite 367

Washington, DC 20001

To register for the meeting, please click here.

For those of you who are unable to attend, you can view the meeting on the CBAA

Website at http://www.cbaa1976.com/livestream.html.

In order to vote online, please complete the following Contact Information Form to

receive a special code. Once you submit this form a code will be emailed to you. The

code must be used in order to submit your vote online on the day of the meeting.

To submit a proxy, as per Section VI, par.4 of the CBAA By-laws:

“Each  member  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  on  each  resolution  being  considered  at  a  gen-­

eral membership meeting. In an election of officers, each member shall be entitled to

cast one vote for each office. A vote may be cast in person, by proxy, or by U.S. mail. A

proxy must be in writing, signed and dated by the absent voting member, and must

indicate  the  designee  who  shall  execute  the  proxy.”

Complete the following Proxy Form and mail by Wednesday, September 12, 2012 to:

Cornell Black Alumni Association

c/o Christina Ulrich

130 E Seneca St

Ithaca, NY 14850

The Agenda is as follows:

9:00am- 9:05am Greetings and Introductions

9:05am-9:15am Africana Update

9:15am-9:45am Officer Reports

9:45am-11:45am Dues vs. Participation Model Discussion and Vote

11:45am Meeting adjournment

11:45am-1pm Lunch and Mingling/ Membership drive

Please review the following documents before the meeting:

Participation Model Document from Alumni Affairs

CBAA 2012 Membership Dues Subcommittee proposal

Alumni Affairs Response to Subcommittee proposal questions/

Mosaic Participation Model Document

By-Laws

All of these documents can be found on the live-stream page of the CBAA website.

Visit us on the Web at

www.cbaa1976.com

We’re  also  on...

130 East Seneca Street, Suite 400 Ithaca, NY 14850 Phone: 607-254-7150 Fax: 607-255-7533 Email: secretary@cbaa1976.com

Our students need your support.

Please  donate  to  one  of  CBAA’s  

scholarships today!

Click on one of the scholarships below,

select  “other”  in  the  designation  drop  

down box and type the name of the

scholarship you would like to donate to:

James and Janice Turner Endowment

John Henrik Clarke Scholarship

CBAA Tradition Scholarship

Click here to be added to our

CBAA database today!