Renowned speaker and higher education leader Walter Kimbrough, Ph.D., will deliver the keynote address at 快猫app短视鈥檚 celebration of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 life and legacy on Friday, Jan. 17. 

鈥淒r. Kimbrough is an established leader in higher education and has recently emerged as a voice on free speech, which is a timely topic and a hallmark of campuses of higher education,鈥� said Associate Vice President for Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership Development, and Inclusive Excellence, Dominique Quarles, Ph.D. 鈥淚 am excited to have Dr. Kimbrough, someone who has served as a college president for two decades, discuss the challenges and importance of free speech within our community.鈥� 

A champion for student success and economic development for historically Black colleges and universities, Kimbrough has served in student affairs roles at Emory University, Georgia State University, Old Dominion University and Albany State University, among others. He was named the 12th president of Philander Smith College in 2004. In 2012, he became the 7th president of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he served for 10 years. Presently, he serves as the interim president of Talladega College.

“Being asked to give a Martin Luther King, Jr. address is one of the engagements I accept with the deepest humility because it is an awesome responsibility,鈥� said Kimbrough. 鈥淚t is an opportunity to place in context the work of Dr. King which has been watered down to predictable sound bites, sharing parts of his work we never mention.”

Georgia Southern鈥檚 celebration of King鈥檚 legacy is open to the University community. The breakfast celebration event will be held on the Statesboro Campus at 8:30 a.m. in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room. The lunch celebration will be held on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah in the Armstrong Center Ballroom at 12:30 p.m.

Georgia Southern students are also encouraged to attend the King Holiday Celebration Parade in Statesboro Jan. 18, as well as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Parade in Savannah Jan. 20.

He has authored 12 books, including the award-winning 鈥淐ollege Students鈥� Sense of Belonging鈥� and over 200+ peer-reviewed journal articles and academic publications. His research has been cited, endorsed or financially supported by over $10 million from the most premiere agencies in the world including Lumina Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, National Science Foundation and others.

One of his core passions is translating research-to-practice in ways which improves the material conditions and lived experiences of vulnerable populations. He has given more than 2,000 public talks, distinguished lectures and keynotes across the globe. Strayhorn鈥檚 research has been cited in many outlets including The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Huffington Post, Essence, and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Additionally, he鈥檚 a contributing writer for Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, AllBusiness and Psychology Today where he leads the 鈥淏elonging Matters” blog.聽

快猫app短视 has been awarded a $1.6 million grant to help provide childcare subsidies for eligible student-parents over the next four years through the Child Care Access Means Parents In School (CCAMPIS) program. 

Written on behalf of the Office of Inclusive Excellence by Corine Ackerson-Jones, director of TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah, the CCAMPIS grant will serve no less than 30 student-parents per year on the Armstrong Campus and the Liberty Campus in Hinesville by providing a maximum amount of $150 per week for childcare services to be paid directly to the childcare provider.

The grant, a first of its kind at Georgia Southern, is fully funded by the Department of Education and will work with centers licensed and accredited through the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. To apply for CCAMPIS assistance student-parents must be eligible.

鈥淎ccording to recent data, the annual price of childcare can exceed the annual cost of in-state tuition at a public four-year university,鈥� said Ackerson-Jones. 鈥淲ithout financial assistance, it is next to impossible for economically challenged student-parents to attend school and pay for quality, affordable childcare.鈥� 

Amanda Brandmire, a student-parent studying natural resource and wildlife conservation on the Armstrong Campus, said balancing her role as a parent and a student can be challenging emotionally and financially, especially when it comes to childcare. 

鈥淭here have been several times where my husband and I had to get very creative with our funds to make it because of our childcare costs,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y husband and I may skip meals or go a week at a time without food because childcare is a necessity for us to work and go to school. In addition, I have to give up study time or time with my kids to go pickup a shift delivering for DoorDash just to get by. Right now we don’t have an income and we are a week behind on childcare expenses, but thankfully our daycare is working with us.鈥� 

A subsidy for childcare would change the trajectory of Brandmire鈥檚 education. 

鈥淔or me this would be an amazing opportunity,鈥� Brandmire said. 鈥淚 am so close to finishing my undergraduate degree and plan on applying to grad school in March. Being a first-generation college student, my education is extremely important and this would help me make graduation a reality.鈥�  

Brandmire feels this resource would appeal greatly to other student-parents in the greater Savannah area. 

鈥淭his is also a huge selling point for potential students and moms like me who want something better but can’t get over the childcare hurdle,鈥� Brandmire said. 鈥淚 appreciate Georgia Southern for taking the time to reach out and serve their non-traditional students.鈥�

Ackerson-Jones has worked on the Armstrong Campus for 17 years and assists low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities through the TRIO SSS program which is also funded 100% by the Department of Education. Through her role, she saw a need for student-parents like Brandmire and sought ways to make a difference in their educational journeys. 

鈥淚t has been evidenced in the data that the four-year graduation rate for Armstrong and Liberty campus PELL recipients falls below that of non-PELL recipients,鈥� Ackerson-Jones said. 鈥淚t has been my experience that a great number of these students are not graduating sooner due to financial hardship. They must work more hours, so oftentimes they cannot maintain a full course load. Taking less classes prolongs graduation. It was my goal to find some financial relief for these students because the threat of unaffordable childcare was a threat to them remaining in school.

鈥淭here has never been a child care facility on either of these campuses nor has there been any access to financial support for student-parents to help pay for child care,鈥� she continued. 鈥淭he time seemed right to try to rectify this.鈥� 

The objective of the program is that student-parents will persist from one academic year to the beginning of the next, or that they will earn a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern, Ackerson-Jones added. 

鈥淚 am excited about the addition of the CCAMPIS grant to the array of programs that serve underrepresented students, this one serving Pell-eligible students who are also parents, which complements our work in the Inclusive Excellence cluster,鈥� said Dominique A. Quarles, Ph.D., associate vice president for Inclusive Excellence and chief diversity officer at Georgia Southern. 

鈥淢rs. Jones went beyond what鈥檚 required of her to respond to a need she saw on campus, which resulted in securing $1.6 million in grant funds to serve students in a way that will have a real and immediate impact on their ability to enroll and complete their degree at Georgia Southern.鈥� 

The grant will be disbursed at $401,128.00 a year for four years for a total of $1,604,512.

More information on student eligibility and the application process will be available soon. To learn more, contact the Office of Inclusive Excellence by emailing oie@georgiasouthern.edu. 

快猫app短视 will celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. with events including a keynote speaker, an educational trip to Atlanta and participation in both the Savannah and Statesboro MLK parades. 

鈥淩ecognizing that we all have a role to play in the realization of Dr. King鈥檚 dream, this year鈥檚 celebration theme is 鈥榙o small things in a great way,鈥欌�� said Dominique A. Quarles, Ph.D., associate vice president for Inclusive Excellence and chief diversity officer. 鈥淭hroughout the celebration, we will be speaking to the impact of using one鈥檚 sphere of influence to transform their community.鈥�

Atlanta Metropolitan State College President , will return to Georgia Southern as the special guest speaker for the University鈥檚 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Day on Jan. 13.

Lewis, who formerly served as vice president for student affairs at Georgia Southern and Armstrong State University, will speak to students, faculty and staff on the University鈥檚 Armstrong Campus in Savannah and Statesboro Campus. A breakfast will take place at 8:30 a.m. in the Nessmith-Lane Conference Center ballroom in Statesboro followed by a lunch at 12:30 p.m. in the Armstrong Center Ballroom in Savannah. 

鈥淚 am excited to come back to a place that has been so meaningful to me personally and professionally,鈥� said Lewis. 鈥淔urthermore, I am more than honored to have a part in celebrating one of our greatest Americans, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.鈥�

Lewis has nearly 30 years of experience in higher education and his career has centered around the development of educational partnerships, student advocacy and the development and implementation of programs that promote professional development.

He moved to Georgia in 2002 to lead student diversity programming efforts at Georgia Southern and went on to serve as the institution鈥檚 dean of students. Lewis has served in leadership and cabinet-level positions since 2012. In May of 2019, Lewis was tapped to serve as interim president and, in November of 2019, was officially named the fourth president of Atlanta Metropolitan State College. His early higher education experience included admissions and multicultural affairs roles at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania.

Lewis has received several awards, and most recently was recognized as a 2021 Pillar of the Profession by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). He is also a recipient of the Paragon Award for New Presidents by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. 

He has recently collaborated on a book chapter in the 鈥淗andbook of Research on Black Males.鈥� 

Lewis is active in the Metro Atlanta community as a member of the board of directors of the ATL Airport Chamber, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Regional Educational Service Agency. He also serves as a subcommittee member of the Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance, Inc., and a Metro Atlanta Industry Partnerships Partner. 

In addition to the events with Lewis, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Leadership and Community Engagement will host Eagles in Action: MLK鈥檚 Legacy Weekend by providing a day trip to Atlanta on Jan. 14. While in Atlanta, participants will learn, engage and explore the connections between service and social justice through visits to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. 

On Jan. 16, the Georgia Southern community will participate in both the Savannah MLK parade at 10 a.m., hosted by the MLK Observance Day Association, and the Statesboro MLK parade at 2 p.m., hosted by the Bulloch County NAACP Branch. 

are available to students, faculty and staff for the MLK Celebration breakfast and lunch speaker presentations. Additionally, a limited number of parade participants are allowed to walk in each location. Please contact the Office of Inclusive Excellence at oie@georgiasouthern.edu for more information or accommodation requests.

After a national search, 快猫app短视 has hired alumnus Dominique A. Quarles, Ph.D., to be its next Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Chief Diversity Officer.

Quarles comes to Georgia Southern from Mississippi State University where he serves as the Assistant Vice President for Access, Diversity and Inclusion. In this role he provides leadership for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, and the Learning and Strategic Initiatives portfolio on behalf of the Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the Ph.D. in Educational Leadership (Higher Education) program.

He will start August 1, 2022, and serve as a critical member of the President鈥檚 cabinet as we continue prioritizing Inclusive Excellence as a strategic pillar and a core value at 快猫app短视. He has experience with large-scale initiatives, securing funding for programs and special projects, and collaborating across institutional divisions to maximize the impact of diversity, equity and inclusion work on college campuses. 

鈥淒r. Quarles鈥� journey has prepared him expertly to come back to Georgia Southern to continue our journey toward Inclusive Excellence,鈥� said Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero.鈥� We have made tremendous progress since Dr. Damon Williams first visited the university in 2018 to outline a plan to improve Georgia鈥檚 Southern鈥檚 climate and sense of belonging for all students, faculty and staff. Dr. Quarles will build upon the framework we created when we developed our 鈥�

Quarles has a B.S. in Biology and a M.Ed. in Higher Education, both from 快猫app短视. He earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia.

He previously served the University of Georgia as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion where he reported to the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion and Strategic University Initiatives. He also served 快猫app短视 as the Assistant Director of Educational Opportunity Programs and as Special Assistant to the Vice President.

鈥淲e want to acknowledge and thank Dr. Patrice Jackson for leading us as Interim Associate Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer this past year and the search committee for their successful efforts in identifying highly qualified candidates.鈥� Marrero said. 鈥淲e are engaged in the long-term, ongoing goal of Inclusive Excellence at Georgia Southern that supports the center pillar of the university鈥檚 strategic plan. We are confident that Dr. Quarles will be an effective leader in this journey of continuous improvement.鈥�

Quarles said he is eager to return to his alma mater.

鈥淚 am thrilled to join Georgia Southern and have the opportunity to directly enhance the experiences of faculty, staff, students, and alumni at an institution that means so much to me,鈥� Quarles said. 鈥淚 look forward to working alongside committed colleagues to build upon the foundation of inclusive excellence and positively impact the Georgia Southern community.”