Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

MOREHOUSE A CAMPUS NEWSLETTER FOR FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS SEPTEMBER 2008, ISSUE 1 to T'imkbt Morehouse Gets Million-Dollar Art Collection Williams and Worthy Honored as Employees of the Month Henrietta Yang Brings Mandarin Chinese Language to Campus Maroon Tigers Kick Off 2008 Football Season Tears and Cheers Abound as Families See Sons Become Men of Morehouse President Rearranges Top Administrative Positions in One-Year Pilot Program By ADD SEYMOUR JR. Charlo Bain stood in the center of campus, taking everything in. Watching all the husde and bustle of fellow first-year students and their parents moving clothes, stereos and other belongings into dorm rooms, Bain’s New Student Orienta tion during the last week of August turned into an eye-opener for the freshman from Nassau, Bahamas. “It’s a real wake-up call,” Bain said as his mother, Claudia, stood anxiously nearby. “I guess I’m a little anxious as to how he’s going to cope in this new environment,” she added. “But I'm happy that he’s made it this far.” Fifty feet away, 18-year-old Ryan Hobbs, his mother, Kimberly, and father, Alvin, were lifting boxes, a (Please see Tears and Cheers page 4) The class of 2012 marches into the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel to start the Parents' Parting Ceremony on Aug. 21. Proud parents snap photos while their sons march into the King Chapel. I'm Home' 97-Year-Old Returns After the Great Depression Forced Him From Morehouse By ADD SEYMOUR JR. Ellis Freeman (left), with his grand daughter, Jasmine Adams (right), stands in front of Graves Hall where he lived as a student in 1929. E llis Barney Freeman quietly scanned the immaculately cut lawns, the stately buildings and the golf carts zipping around the Morehouse campus during Summer Commencement. “Unbelievable,” said the 97- year-old former Morehouse stu dent. “Golf carts. When I was here, we walked everywhere. The cam pus is 66 acres now. Know how many it was then? One.” With that, Freeman laughed on what was a great day for him. After 79 years, he was returning to the place where he started as a fresh faced freshman in 1929, only to have to leave two years later as the country suffered through the Great Depression. Freeman was never able to return to Morehouse, but he kept the College close to his heart. “I feel like I’m home,” he said. Freeman came to Morehouse from Jefferson City, Mo. from a family of high-achievers. His father and step-father were entrepre neurs. Education was important. A high school principal told Freeman that Morehouse was the school he should attend. Freeman didn’t question the principal, even though he’d never heard of Morehouse and knew little about Atlanta. So after finishing high school in 1929, he boarded a segregated train to Georgia. “I had been conditioned for new adventures,” he said. “1 wasn’t worried. I said to myself, ‘I’m here and I’m supposed to learn.’” He remembers making new friends at Graves Hall where he lived, walking to the segregated Fox Theatre and going to socials with the Spelman students and other activities around campus. (Please see Tm Home' page 5) President Robert M. Franklin Jr. 75’ has announced a one-year pilot in which he has reorganized the College’s administrative structure and performance team. John Williams ’69, dean of the division of Business Administra tion and Economics, is now the senior vice president for Academic Affairs. Karen Miller, vice president for Administrative Services and General Counsel, is now senior vice president for administration. Associate general counsel Michelle Reid is the interim gen eral counsel while Alana Veal, director of Title III, becomes the associate vice president for Administrative Services. Cheryl Allen, associate dean of the Divi sion of Business Administration and Economics, is the acting dean of the division. The changes went into effect on Aug. 1. Franklin said the decision this summer by Howard University associate provost Alvin Thornton ’71 to remain at Howard instead of becoming the new provost at Morehouse allowed the opportu nity to “rethink and re-engineer” the administrative structure. “For some time I have been weighing the benefits of separat ing the duties of the provost and senior vice president for Aca demic Affairs, as well as the gen eral counsel,” he said. “I firmly believe that there are consider able advantages in having both a senior vice president who is tasked with focusing exclusively on the needs and developments of our faculty and academic pro gram, and a senior vice president for administration who will bring laser-like focus to improv ing the operations and customer- service profile of the College. In addition, the College needs a general counsel whose efforts will be concentrated on the legal integrity of the institution. “This deliberate interim ex periment will allow us to test and critically assess the effectiveness of a new and dynamic adminis trative model,” Franklin said. “Each of these colleagues has agreed to serve for one year, allowing sufficient time to formulate and implement plans for one or more searches during this period.” ■