fSXl’s founSing fathers
By Deja McNeal
With $136, seven African American men. David Bryant, Nelson
Carter, Andrew J. Chesnutt, George Grainger, Matthew N. Leary,
Bishop Thomas Lomax and Reverend Robert Simmons, bought ’
some property on Gillespie Street in 1867 to build a school to
teach black children.
The Howard school was the
precursor to what would eventually
become Fayetteville State Teach
ers College in 1947.
After some additional changes
to the institution, Fayetteville State
University acquired its present
name and became part of the Unn
versity of North Carolina System
in 1972, according to FSU docu
ments.
The story and the school’s
rich history is celebrated with the
Founders Day Convocation as a
way to pay respect and recognize the great efforts it took to build
FSU.
This year the 146th Founders Day Convocation was held on Apr.
11 at Seabrook Auditorium.
The federal government recognizes 105 Historically Black Col
leges and Universities in the United States. HBCUs are defined as
schools created to educate black Americans prior to 1964, accord
ing to ed.gov/edblogs/whhbcu/.
FSU Founders bite Courtesy ot Dennis McNair
In a 2011 proclamation celebrating HBCUs, US President
Barack Obama, said “HBCUs continue a proud tradition as vibrant
centers of intellectual inquiry and engines of scientific discovery
and innovation. New waves of students, faculty, and alumni are
building on their rich legacies and helping America achieve our
goal of once again leading the world in hav
ing the highest proportion of college gradu
ates by 2020,” according to ed.gov/edblogs/
whhbcu/.
This year’s keynote speaker John “Ben”
Brown Jr., a former chair of Fayetteville
State’s Board of Trustees and FSU Class of
1989 graduate, echoed that sentiment. As
he strolled down memory lane, Mr. Brown
described some of FSU’s history including
the creation of buildings on campus, many
of which are named after the founders of the
university. Mr. Brown also expressed excite
ment about the future of FSU and its contin
ued development and expansion.
Past and present Broncos, who are familiar with the history of
our school, also spoke at the event leaving the FSU community
with encouraging and inspiring words.
Don’t give up, don’t dive out and don’t give in, ” said Jeannette
Council, the vice chair of the Cumberland County Board of Com
missioners and FSU Class of 1963.
The ceremony ended with FSU Chancellor James Anderson giv
ing out awards to the keynote speaker and the family of the year
(Barnes & Braswell family).
Baby, I'm getting my degree
By Latricia Shaw
People find numerous reasons why they do not start or finish school.
They may say, “I don’t have money.”
Financial Aid is available.
They may claim, “I am working full time.”
Fayetteville State University offers classes on weekends, evenings and online.
Another common excuse is “I don’t have a baby-sitter.”
FSU also offers a solution to that problem also with its childcare center located on campus.
%
Courtesy of bluedevil-
nabon.net
The 30-year-old childcare center currently has 80 students enrolled. It is open from 7:30 am until 5:30 p.m. The cen
ter care for children ages six-months to four-years-old and offers a pre-k program.
Gloria Moore Carter, the director of Fayetteville State Early childhood learning center since Feb. 2012, said the ap
plication process is simple, and can be downloaded online.
The cost of childcare varies based on the needs of the family. If you need Department of Social Services assistance,
it is available. So the excuse of not being able to start or finish your education has been expelled and now you can
say, baby. I’m getting my degree!