Business Focus
Briefs
Wake Forest ties for best
private law school for your money
In its March 2002 issue just out. the National Jurist, a
magazine for law students, has selected Wake Forest Uni
versity School of Law as "tied for top honors" as the best
private law school for your money.
The selection was based on low tuition, high bar pass
rates, percentage of graduates unemployed after gradua
tion. median grant levels, clinic slots available, and facul
ty-to-student ratios.
Wake Forest fared will in all categories. In the top tier
law schools. Wake Forest has one of the lowest private
school tuitions. About half of its students have clinical
experiences before graduation, far above the national
norm. Moreover, no graduating student has ever failed to
be able to take a clinic elected by the student. The facul
ty-to-student ratio of 12 to 1 is in a handful of the very
lowest in the country.
Over the last several years, bar passage rates have
consistently been above the state norm and employment
rates after graduation have been significantly above the
National Association of Law Placement national aver
ages.
In the article, Ellen Persechini. president of the Wake
Forest Student Bar Association, says she is glad she
looked into the school environment and factors such as
class size in choosing Wake Forest. "I think the faculty is
very accessible, and the class sizes are small."
This honor as the best private law school educational
value (tie) is just one of several national honors won by
Wake Forest over the last two years. In that time, it has
received the American College of Trial Lawyers Emil
Gumpen Award for Excellence in Teaching Trial Advoca
cy, shared the ABA Harrison Tweed Award for the Best
Pro Bono Project between a law school and a local bar
association for its Domestic Violence Advocacy Center,
and won the National Public interest Law Organization
Award for best orientation program.
/\euia, umer companies are
named in slavery lawsuits
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - FleetBoston and seven
other corporations are named in lawsuits seeking damages
for abuses suffered by slaves and accusing the companies
of profiting from slavery.
One lawsuit - which names financial services firm
FleetBoston. Hartford-based Aetna Inc., and railroad
company CSX Transportation of Jacksonville, Fla. - was
to be filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New York.
USA Today reported.
Another lawsuit to be filed Tuesday in federal court in
New Jersey names five other companies. The Hartford
Courant reported.
Ed Fagan. a Livingston. N.J.. lawyer who is among a
team of attorneys representing the plaintiffs, declined to
name the five other companies.
Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, a 36-year-old New York
activist, law school graduate and legal researcher who has
linked corporations and slavery, is the plaintiff of the New
York lawsuit. The complaint requests that the case be
brought before a jury on behalf of all blacks in the United
States who can claim slaves as their ancestors - which
would be most of the country's 36.4 million blacks. USA
Today reported.
The complaint also alleges that black Americans con
tinue to suffer the effects of 2 1/2 centuries of slavery fol
lowed by more than a century of institutionalized racism.
Farmer-Paellmann's research led to an apology two
years ago from Aetna.
Aetna officials said the practice of insuring slaves to
their owners 150 years ago was wrong, and they
expressed "deep regret." But they said the company does
not want to be held liable for something that happened so
long ago. Aetna has spent nearly $36 million over 20
years on programs in black communities. Aetna officials
said.
Chamber opposes effort
to divert highway funds
The Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Com
merce has announced its opposition to an effort by
the N.C. Metropolitan Coalition to transfer $90 mil
lion from the Highway Trust Fund that is designed
to build loop roads and bypasses throughout the
state. In a letter sent last week, the Winston-Salem
Chamber of Commerce is notifying the N.C. Metro
politan Coalition as well as Gov. Easley and the
Forsyth County legislative delegation of the cham
ber's opposition to the N.C. Metropolitan Coali
tion's recommendation to transfer $90 million from
the Highway Trust Fund.
The N.C. Metropolitan Coalition, which is made
up of 19 mayors from some of the state's largest
cities, has identified the Highway Trust Fund as one
area that the group says Easley could tap to help
solve the state's growing budget shortfall. The Met
- ropolitan Coalition has recommended nearly $600
million from state trust funds and reserves to
replace money being withheld to local governments
by the governor.
The Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce has
a longstanding position of supporting the integrity
of the Highway Trust Fund. The fund is designed to
build loop roads, bypasses and most recently nas
been used to renovate and repair roads across the
state. The Winston-Salem northern beltway and the
widening of U.S. 158 to Walkertown are the two
key transportation projects in Winston-Salem that
would be put in jeopardy by the transfer of $90 mil
lion from the Highway Trust Fund. Both projects
are eligible for Highway Trust Fund money.
North Carolina's Highway Trust Fund is funded
by the gas tax and highway related user fees. The
fund was established in 1989 with the understand
ing that once Highway Trust Fund eligible projects
were complete, the fund would be closed and the
fees and taxes that contributed to the fund would be
reduced as a result.
Kmart is reaching out to minorities
THK ASStX lAThl) i'KI SS
TROY, Mich. - Ailing Kmart Corp.
launched a new marketing campaign Monday
that targets black and Hispanic shoppers.
The campaign, which will be released in
stages, begins with radio advertising in markets
with a strong black consumer presence. The .30
and 60-second spots feature original music by
Chaka Khan and BeBe Winans.
"Music plays such an importantQole in the
lives of the African-American community, and
the world in general." said Khan, known for
such jongs as "I'm Every Woman" and "Ain't
Nobody."
In the coming weeks, television commercials
will be released in black and Hispanic markets,
with Spanish-language spots featuring music by
Jose Feliciano. The TV ads will launch April 7.
As with the retailer's recent general con
sumer campaign, the tag line for the new ads will
be "Kmart. The Stuff of Life." or "Kmart. Las
Cosas para La Vida."
The radio ads play up that theme, with lines
sueh as "Kmart, with all its great brands, is shin
ing a brand new light on the stuff of life. The
stuff you just can't do without."
The Troy-based retailer filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in January, after lower
than-expected holiday sales, downgrades by sev
eral credit rating agencies and a slumping stock
price. Kmart has struggled to compete with less
expensive Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and trendier Tar
get Corp. in the discount market.
Steven Feuling. Kmart's senior vice presi
dent of marketing, said the retailer appeals to the
multicultural marketplace.
Multicultural consumers make up 39 percent
of Kmart's customers each week, with blacks
and Hispanics making up 32 percent of its shop
pers.
"We understand the value of these Scry loyal
consumers and know our continued commit
ment to their shopping needs and their commu
nities is a crucial element in Kmart's growth and
success." Feuling said in a statement.
Chaka Khan
i tm- I, ..I, ? i
Photo by Courtney Gaillard
Left to right: Mark Rigsby, Ph.D., and Philip A. Berry address WSSU students at the BEEP seminar.
Top black executives
visit WSSU classrooms
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
THE CHRQNICU ,
Students at Winston-Salerh
State University . were given a
chance to receive expert advice
from local and national African
American executives from top
corporations and government
agencies through a career aware
ness and planning seminar called
the Black Executive Exchange
Program (BEEP) on March 20
21.
The program, sponsored by
WSSU's Office of Career Ser
vices, involves two-day class
room visitations by BEEP execu
tives, who give candid talks and
answer questions from the stu
dents themselves. BEEP gives
students an opportunity to net
work and plan for life in the job
force after graduating.
Representatives were on
hand from the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York. Philip Mor
ris. DuPont. Colgate-Palmolive
and Knoxville city government,
to name a few. to make presenta
tions to students studying for
degrees in business, communica
tions. computer science and
other disciplines.
Executives of BEEP, a com
ponent of the National Urban
League, aim to serve as role
models to black students by vis
iting four-year historically black
colleges and universities
(HBCUs) around the country.
Efforts to diminfsh the gap
between the classroom and
boardroom are made as they dis
cuss the numerous issues facing
students in the real world.
Mark Rigsby. human rela
tions manager for Knoxville.
Tenn.. city government, and
Philip A. Berry, vice president of
global employee relations for
Colgate-Palmolive Co., spoke
with students in Dr. Greg Tay
lor's Structure System Building
class.
"1 think it's important for you
to understand that the world is
out there for you." Rigsby said to
the small class of business stu
dents. Emphasizing the impor
tance of a career path. Rigsby
explained that it may take sever
al tries and various jobs to reach
the level of professional status
and satisfaction that one aspires
to obtain.
Rigsby studied communica
tions as an undergraduate and
went on to receive a master's
degree, certain that he would
become a successful journalist
despite his father's advice to
look into education. When that
did not happen. Rigsby soon
found himself teaching his first
year out of graduate school and
found it to be a very noble and
rewarding profession.
"Never say what you're not
going to do because there are
jobs that you will say you're not
going to do and you may have
to." Rigsby said. Oftentimes a
college degree does not guaran
tee an automatic seat in a plush
jot with exceptional benefits.
"Don't limit yourself and don't
ever belittle a profession or a
career."
Berry also shared experi
ences from his own early work
history, recalling days when he
worked for IBM in high school
during the late 1960s. Pulling out
a palm pilot from his suit jacket.
Berry said. "Technology is
changing all of the time. So it's
extremely important that you set
goals for yourself, and graduat
ing doesn't mean that you stop
learning: your learning is just
beginning."
Since 1969 BEEP's mission
has been to share learning and
experiences across generations,
cultivate new leaders and inspire
achievements "beyond the possi
ble" through committed involve
ment and operational excellence.
The 32nd annual BEEP Confer
ence will take place June 13-15
in Atlanta.
Minorities
file suit
against
automobile
plants
I HI \SSOC I \ll l) PRHSS
DETROIT - Minority .
workers at two General ,
Motors Corp. plants have
filed a $10 million discrimi
nation lawsuit that includes
allegations that a white co
worker once dressed in Ku
Klux Klan garb and nooses
were hung near workstations.
The Circuit Court suit was
filed March 15 on behalf of
14 black, Hispanic and Amer
icag Indian workers at the
plants in Pontiac, Mich., and
one person whose job appli
cation was rejected.
In addition to the $10 mil
lion, the suit seeks class
action status and $7.4 billion
in punitive damages,
"I know the amount we
seek is astonishing, but so are .
these incidents," said the
workers' lawyer, H. Wallace
Parker.
Supervisors made racial
slurs, the company discrimi
nated in hiring, a white work
er dressed as a Klan member
and nooses were hung around
the plant between 2000 and
last year, the lawsuit said.
At the height of the coun- '
try's racial turmoil before the
civil rights movement in the
1960s, blacks were often
harassed, beaten or even hung
by members of the white . *
supremacist group.
The worker who dressed
in Klan garb was suspended
for 30 days without pay. After
that incident. GM said it went
over its nondiscrimination
and diversity policies with all
workers at the plant.
"GM does not condone
these acts, which are not
indicative of the work envi- '?
ronment of Pontiac or else
where at GM." spokesman
Tom Wickham said.
He said the company
believes some incidents cited
in the suit did not occur.
Automakers Ford Motor
Co. and Mitsubishi Motor
Manufacturing of America
also have recently faced dis
crimination complaints.
Two Philip Morris execs receive honor
SPEOAI loTHt: CHRONICLE
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The
YWCA of the City of New York
has inducted two senior African
American executives from the
Philip Morris family of companies
into the ranks of its Academy of
Women A&hevers. a distinguished
group of more than 2.(KK) of the
country's most prominent women
recognized for their outstanding
professional accomplishments.
Tina Walls of Miller Brewing
Company and A. Shuanise Wash
ington of Philip Morris Manage
ment Corp. were among the 80
executive women chosen to join
the acade
my's Class
of 2001.
"The
Philip Mor
ris compa
nies are truly
fortunate to
employ
these
remarkable
women, who
day in and day out exhibit an
extraordinary passion for what they
do. delivering results for our com
pany and shareholders and quality
for our customers." said Shirley
Harrison, vice president of diversi
ty manage
ment for
Philip Mor
ris Manage
ment Corp.
"Tina and
Shuanise set
af^ sterling
example for
all Philip
Morris
employees.
particularly the many women with
in our organization, and their out
standing contributions in their
respective fields have helped the
company maintain its position as
the nation's leading consumer
products company."
Walls is vice president of cor
porate affairs at Miller Brewing
Co. Walls, based at Miller's Mil- -
waukee. Wis., headquarters, has
held a variety of government and
public affairs positions with the
company since 1985. Before join
ing Philip Morris, she worked for
the Colorado Legislative Council.
Walls received her bachelor's
degree from Mills College in Oak
land. Calif., and graduated from the
Rocky Mountain Program for
Senior Executives in State and
Local Government and the Execu
te Execs im A9
Walls
Washington