Norfolk State University Making Waves February 2015

NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY®

WWAAVVEESSMAKING

February 2015, Issue 33

A Newsletter for Faculty, Staff, Alumni and Friends of Norfolk State University

Vice President Joe Biden took a first-hand look at Norfolk StateUniversity students’ skills and knowledge in stopping cyber attacksduring a visit on campus, Jan. 15. Biden, along with Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, was at Norfolk State University

to hold a round-table discussion on building a cybersecurity workforce and to announce a $25-million grant to support cybersecurity education.

Biden said that Norfolk State University is leading a 13-member cybersecurityconsortium consisting of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs),the Department of Energy National Laboratories and the Charleston CountySchool District in South Carolina.

“The demand for cybersecurity professionals is growing 12 times faster thanthe rest of the U.S. job market,” said Biden. But he pointed out that there is adire need for African-Americans, women and other minorities to enter theprofession. “Norfolk State, you are at the vanguard here,” he told the students.

NSU offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science with aconcentration in information assurance. A new online master’s program incybersecurity has been approved by the State Council of Higher Education forVirginia and is expected to start at the University in fall 2015.

The University has been recognized by the National Security Agency and theU.S. Department of Homeland Security as a national center of excellence ininformation assurance education since 2009.

Norfolk State University is the lead institution in a $25-million effort toeducate, train and develop the nation’s next generation of cybersecurityprofessionals.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administrationawarded the grant to the University as part of its efforts to expand and diversifythe cybersecurity workforce, part of multi-pronged initiative advanced byPresident Barack Obama.

The grant aims to foster partnerships between HBCUs, federal laboratories, andstudents interested in science, technology, engineering and math as early askindergarten. NSU leads a 13-member consortium of the nation’s HistoricallyBlack Colleges and Universities, Department of Energy National Laboratories,and the Charleston County School District in South Carolina.

“This grant is a prime example of how Norfolk State University is forging onwardas an institution,” said Interim President Eddie N. Moore Jr. “As the worldbecomes more dependent on technology and information is shared digitally, thethreat of online hackers and data breaches are daily realities. Norfolk State is poisedto provide the expertise in cybersecurity sought by many employers.”

NSU and its partners will use the funds, which will be distributed over a five-year period, for training students and faculty; course development; researchin cybersecurity fields; and expanding cybersecurity programs.

Norfolk State University – An Equal Opportunity Employer

Photo courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Energy/NNSA

NSU Interim President and CEO Eddie N. Moore Jr. (seated third from the left) in Washington, D.C., atthe Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration as part of a roundtablediscussion of new funding to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity expertise.

Vice President Joe Biden (seated), Congressman Bobby Scott and Gov. Terry McAuliffe listen to NSUgraduate student Aaron McFall explaining cybersecurity measures.

NSU Leads $25M Cybersecurity Effort

Vice President Biden Visits NSU

The 2015 Administrators, Faculty andStaff campaign has started with abang! The response to our first weekhas been great. Over the past 79years, NSU’s support fromadministrators, faculty and staff hasbeen remarkable. And we thank youfor your generosity.

This is the University’s 80thanniversary year, so let’s do evenmore for our students!

Our goals are:

• 100% Participation

• 90 Leadership Gifts of $1,000+

• $250,000 in Support of Students

Join your colleagues who havealready made the commitment anddonate today. Fill out your pledgeforms or for more information,contact Noelle N. Cook, assistantdirector of annual giving, at (757) 823-2306 [email protected].

Making Waves 2

Making Waves is publishedby the Office of Communications

and Marketing.

(757) 823-8373

Eddie N. Moore, Jr.Interim President and CEO

Deborah C. Fontaine, Ph.D.Interim Vice President

for University Advancement

Stevalynn AdamsInterim Director

Communications and Marketing

Regina LightfootEditor

Stan Donaldson, Jr.Christopher SetzerLayout and Design

MAKING

[email protected]

WAVESWAVES

Groundbreaking Jurist Followed King’s Faith of Service

I AM NSU…Because I Believe in the University Campaign Kicks Off

Federal Judge Arenda L. WrightAllen, who struck down Virginia’sban on same-sex marriage, toldstudents at the NSU’s annual

Martin Luther King Jr. observance thatKing’s messages of hope, love and thefaith of service shaped her life.

Introduced to his teachings as a child,Wright Allen said she understood thedeeper meaning of them. “Dr. King wasnot speaking of child-like faith—the safe and quaint admissions of love. Dr. King offered no illusions that the hearts of our oppressors could bechanged quickly. Or that if we prayed hard enough, marched far enough or suffered cruelly enough that we would be liberated from the shackles ofsorrow and through our sheer will would free ourselves from the violence and pain visited upon those of us who are different from those of us who are ignorant.”

What King did, Wright Allen said, was to ignite a passion within them. “Dr. Kingarmed me, and children like me, with cause to pursue the courage of an active,passionate and fierce faith of service.” With that passion, Wright Allen began ajourney that would lead her to become the first African-American womanfederal district court judge in Virginia and to make the groundbreakingdecision on same-sex marriage nearly a year ago in Bostic vs. Virginia.

Wright Allen did not reference her historic ruling. Instead, she recognized thosewho came before her in their faith of service — the Norfolk 17, who integratedNorfolk public schools; Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial coupleprosecuted because they married; and Bayard Rustin, the architect of theMarch on Washington. “Their faltering steps blazed a trail for others like Tim Bostic and Tony London.”

Wright Allen then encouraged the audience to become what King calledcreative dissenters. And she gave thanks to the slain civil rights leader. “Dr. King continues to fill my heart with grace and continues to generate my soul with love.”

Arenda L. Wright Allen

MLK Observance

Making Waves

NSU Actors to Compete in National Theater CompetitionThree NSU theatre performance students will represent the University whenthey compete in the acting category at the American College Theatre Festivalbeing held in Georgia in February.

The students, Briyana Guadalupe, Christopher Lindsay and Juspin Jones, will be among the 18,000 students participating in this national competitionsponsored by the Kennedy Center. A representative from the Kennedy Centerreviewed NSU Theatre’s production of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.

Here’s what Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival RespondentJoel Williams had to say about the actors:

“Juspin Jones, as Walter Lee Younger, brought a strong sense of a manstruggling to find his way. Juspin appeared to have carefully delved into theperiod to understand the sensibilities and pressures that Walter Lee wouldhave had to struggle to overcome. In the most intense emotional moments,Juspin managed to navigate the edge of controlling the performance withoutbecoming a caricature.”

“Christopher Lindsay, as Joseph Asagai, dealt very effectively with thechallenge of playing within the period and also with the challenge of playing anative African dealing with the conflicted emotions andintentions of Beneatha. Christopher’s dialect workand mannerisms were evocative of a stranger in astrange land. His character objectives were clearand believable.”

“Briyana Guadalupe transformed herself into the brash and often confused Beneatha[Younger]. She was a clear standout in theensemble of actors as she made very bold and interesting choices that clearly reinforcedBeneatha’s journey throughout the show. The attention to physicality and contrast within character.”

Photo Credit: Anthony Stockard

Briyana Guadalupe, Juspin Jones and Christopher Lindsay

Lecture Series HonorsFormer�Department�Chair

Norfolk State University’s Group for Microgravity and EnvironmentalBiology research center has honored a former biology professor anddepartment chair with a lecture series in his name. Dr. Maxwell Bempong, who served as department chair from 1999-

2003, is an environmental toxicologist and was a pioneer in toxicology. In 1990,Dr. Bempong received the prestigiousteaching award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Inaddition, he was editor for Beta KappaChi National Scientific Honor Society and has been awarded funding by theEnvironmental Protection Agency,National Institutes of Health andNational Science Foundation.

“Dr. Bempong was a visionary inenvironmental science,” said Dr. Camillia Moses Okpodu, professor of biology,“I wanted to pay honor to someone who was part of the HBCU (historicallyblack college and university) experience and went a long way in shaping thenational discussion on environmental issues such as clean air and water.”

During a day-long celebration, which included two lectures, the greenhouse,located just outside Woods Science Building, was dedicated with the help of Dr. Bempong.

The Group for Microgravity and Environmental Biology is a center that Dr. Okpodu first brought to NSU in 2002 through a National Aeronautics andSpace Administration grant and has continued after the grant expired. In 2004,the group established the lecture series and started the Strategies for EcologyEducation Development (SEEDS) in 2009. SEEDS is open to all NSU students.For more information, contact Dr. Okpodu at [email protected].

NSU Provost Dr. Sandra J. DeLoatch applauds as former Biology Department Chair Dr. MaxBempong (center) cuts the ribbon on the new greenhouse and Biology Professor Dr. Camillia MosesOkpodu looks on.

Photo credit: Keisha Reynolds

Unless noted, all events are free and open to the publicFor more information, contact Dr. Khadijah O. Miller,

[email protected] or 757-823-2864

feBrUary 2Healthier You Living SeriesLocation: NSU, Gill Gymnasium, Dance StudioTime: 5:15–6:30 p.m.

Fourth Annual “Conversations in the Kitchen: Black Women Speak on Contemporary Issues”Location: NSU, Student Center, Rm 138BTime: 6 p.m.

Honors College Perpetual Film Festival “Out of (Artificial) Africa: Africa in the PopularImagination” film showing and discussion Hotel RwandaLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rm 149Time: 7 p.m.

feBrUary 4LEGASI Film Festival Film/discussion. Burning BlueLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rm 149Time: 7 p.m.


feBrUary 9Diaspora and Caribbean Transnationalism: The Haitian Experience in Cuba Film and discussion.Reembarque/Reshipment Location: NSU, Student Center, Rm 149Time: 6 p.m.

Healthier You Living SeriesLocation: NSU, Gill Gymnasium, Dance StudioTime: 5:15–6:30 p.m.

feBrUary 10SGA Presidents: A Legacy of Leadership Panel discussion featuring past NSU studentgovernment presidents. Location: NSU, Student Center, Rm 149Time: 6 p.m.

feBrUary 11Department of Nursing and Allied HealthAnnual African American Health Fair &Blood DriveLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rms 138B & CTime: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

feBrUary 12NSU Faculty & Staff: A Legacy ofResearch, Education and Empowerment.Showcase.Location: NSU, Student Center, Rm 138ATime: 12:30 p.m.

NSU Theatre Company “For Colored Girls...”Location: NSU, Brown Hall TheatreTime: 8 p.m.Cost: $10 General Admission, $5 Groups of 10 or more, $5 MilitaryBox Office: 757.823.9009, Ext. 5


feBrUary 13“Educational Achievement in the African American Community.”Presentation featuring Tyren Frazier ’06,Director, Higher Achievement RichmondLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rm 138Time: 12 p.m.

“Investigating the Legacies of CulturalExchanges Between African American and Russian Artists and Intellectuals.” Dr. Edith Clowes and UVA Ph.D. candidateMichael Marsh-SolowayLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rm 138Time: 2 p.m.

NSU Theatre Company “For Colored Girls...” Location: NSU, Brown Hall TheatreTime: 8 p.m.Cost: $10 General Admission, $5 Groups of 10 or more, $5 MilitaryBox Office: 757.823.9009, Ext. 5

feBrUary 14NSU Theatre Company “For Colored Girls...” Location: NSU, Brown Hall TheatreTime: 8 p.m.Cost: $10 General Admission, $5 Groups of 10 or more, $5 MilitaryBox Office: 757.823.9009, Ext. 5

feBrUary 15NSU Theatre Company “For Colored Girls...” Location: NSU, Brown Hall TheatreTime: 3 p.m.Cost: $10 General Admission, $5 Groups of 10 or more, $5 MilitaryBox Office: 757.823.9009, Ext. 5


Honors College Perpetual Film Festival“Out of (Artificial) Africa: Africa in the PopularImagination” film showing and discussionBlood DiamondLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rm 149Time: 7 p.m.

feBrUary 17“Cover of the Czar,” Oscar MicheauxFilm/discussion featuring film director Bayer Mack.Location: NSU, Student Center, Rm 149Time: 7 p.m.

feBrUary 18A Legacy of Activism: Civil Rights Panel discussion featuring NSU students,faculty and staff.Location: NSU, Student Center, Rm 138BTime: 6 p.m.

feBrUary 1932nd Annual Images in Black VoicesLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rm 138BTime: 12:30 p.m.


feBrUary 20“Educational Achievement in the AfricanAmerican Community part II.” Presentationfeaturing Dr. Anne Charity Hudley,Department of English, Education, Linguisticsand African American Studies, The College ofWilliam & MaryLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rm138Time: 3 p.m.

feBrUary 22HBCU Choral FestivalLocation: Wilder CenterTime: 5 p.m.Cost: Advance-$20 Adults, $10Students/Children*; Day of Concert-$25Adults, $15 Students/Children* (No childrenunder 8).Tickets: nsuchoirs.com or 757.823.8565.


Honors College Perpetual Film Festival“Out of (Artificial) Africa: Africa in the PopularImagination” film showing and discussion Last King of ScotlandLocation: NSU, Student Center, Rm 149Time: 7 p.m.

feBrUary 24NSU Dance Theatre. Featuring alumni dancers.Location: NSU, Student Center, Rm 149Time: 6 p.m.

feBrUary 26The Role of the Local Black Church and NSU in the Civil Rights Movement in Norfolk, Virginia. Location: NSU, Brooks Library, ArchivesTime: 6 p.m., reception immediately following.

Healthier You Living SeriesLocation: NSU, Gill Gymnasium, Dance Studio

Time: 5:15–6:30 p.m.

Black History MontH at norfolk state University:

A Legacy of Educational Empowerment, Enrichment, and Enlightenment

– A Century of Black Life, History and Culture

Documents

Norfolk State University Making Waves February 2015