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CO
N EWS
INSIDE MOREHOUSE, SEPTEMBER 2010
Marcellus Barksdale '65 Named
Morehouse Faculty Member of the Year
By ADO SEYMOUR JR.
Marcellus Barksdale '65
Marcellus Barksdale ’65, his
tory professor and chairman of
the Department of African
American Studies, may not look
like the part, but he is a big fan of
the hip hop culture.
“I’ve tried to embrace [stu
dents’] culture, not because I’m
pseudo or pretending, but pri
marily because I find that culture
to be interesting and important
and it shows cultural change,” he
said. “I’ve also tried to stay fresh
in accordance with my students.
They have ideas. They stimulate
me and motivate me to think
about the beliefs I hold and the
pedagogy I have. They keep me
young.”
It is that kind of connection
with students over the 34 years
Barksdale has been teaching at
Morehouse that has earned the
respect of students and colleagues.
That is why Barksdale has
been named the 2010-11 More
house Faculty Member of the
Year.
“He is very engaging, com
pelling and insightful,” said Anne
Watts, associate vice president
for Academic Affairs. “Marcellus
Barksdale is the consummate
master teacher. He’s long been
regarded as that.”
Sponsored by Vulcan Mater
ials Company, the award is pre
sented to a faculty member who
is deemed an outstanding teacher
through peer reviews and stu
dent evaluations; has served the
College on various committees
and other activities and provides
service to the community and
the teaching profession.
“I’m greatly honored,”
Barksdale said. “It’s a compli
ment to the work that I’ve done
with the thousands of students
that I’ve taught over the years.
When I accepted the award, I
mentioned to my colleagues that
I accepted on behalf of my stu
dents. It’s because of my stu
dents that my excellence in
teaching has been recognized.”
Barksdale has been a profes
sor at Morehouse since 1977. He
also has been a professor, lectur
er and instructor at Emory
University, Tuskegee University,
Clark College (now Clark Atlanta
University) and the Morehouse
School of Medicine.
Barksdale has written numer
ous articles and been a part of
several books. One of his most
ambitious projects will be chron
icling his alma mater. Barksdale
is heading the 150th Morehouse
Anniversary History Project, a
multi-pronged effort to use dif
ferent mediums to collect,
update and tell the Morehouse
story by 2017, the College’s
sesquicentennial.
► passages
Khalifa Muhammad Aspired Filmmaking Career
Rarely would the smiling Khalifa Muhammad be seen around the
Atlanta University Center without his camera.
He came to Morehouse to sow the seeds of a future career as a film
maker and screenwriter.
“I want to help to change the images of my people on the big screen
as well as raise the consciousness of the people with my films,” said
Muhammad told The Final Call newspaper in May 2010.
Muhammad, a 19-year-old freshman from Silver Spring, Md„ died on
June 23 in an automobile accident that also claimed the life of his older
brother, Idris.
A popular and well-liked student, Muhammad was recognized by his
classmates as the 2010 Morehouse Freshman of the Year for his involvement on and around campus
during the academic year. This fall, he was slated to be an orientation leader during New Student
Orientation for incoming freshman and transfer students.
Services for Muhammad were held in Silver Spring on June 28. A memorial service, where William
Bynum, vice president for Student Services, spoke, also was held at Northwood High School where
Muhammad attended.
The Maroon Tiger Was Griffiths' Passion
After spending last year as an office manager in The Maroon Tiger
newsroom, Michael Griffiths’ efforts were about to pay off this fall as he
was going to become the world and local section editor for the
Morehouse student newspaper.
“He was very unselfish and hard-working. He always wanted to do
more than he was asked,” said managing editor Gerren Gaynor. “When it
came time for him to be part of this year’s staff, I asked him to apply.”
The 20-year-old biology major died of complications from a chronic
liver disease on June 26 in his hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Griffith’s wake was held July 1 at Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring,
with his funeral following on July 2 at St. Andrew Aposde Church in Silver Spring. President Robert
Franklin ’75 and William Bynum, vice president of Student Services, visited with the Griffith family.
11th Breast Cancer Walk
Scheduled for Oct. 2
By VICKIE G. HAMPTON
Sandra Walker recently
received a call from Gwendolyn
Burton, a loyal Morehouse
College Breast Cancer Walk
participant who missed last
year’s walk because she was bat-
ding cancer for the third time.
“Is that walk on? Because I’ll
be there this time’,” Walker said,
quoting Burton, who had been
making the trip from Detroit for
years. “Gwen is always bringing
donations from Detroit from
her friends. She’s just been won
derful with this walk.”
Walker hopes Burton and at
least 25 percent of Morehouse
faculty and staff will join her at
8 a.m. on October 2 for the
two-mile walk around the
Atlanta University Center.
Walker, executive assistant to
the vice president for Business
and Finance, founded and
has organized each walk with
Mary Peaks of the Counseling
Research Center.
“The Morehouse family has
been involved in this walk since
the inception 10 years ago and I
want to thank everyone for
their contributions, for their
volunteering and their coming
out,” Walker said. “But I want
more and more people to come
out and get involved in this
walk. It would be heartwarm
ing for me if more people here
at Morehouse would pay the
$20 registration fee, which goes
to the American Cancer Society,
and be part of this great event.”
The walk has raised more
than $165,000 in the ten years
the event has been held.
But another reason the walk
is important to Walker is that
she, as well as Peaks, is a breast
cancer survivor.
“I’ve had cousins to die, my
grandmother died, my aunt
died from this disease,” she
said. “But I survived it because
of research and me getting
checked.
“People always come up to
me and say they know some
one who has been affected by
breast cancer,” Walker said.
“And more and more men are
being stricken. So it’s very im
portant that we raise money
and show awareness.”
Interested walkers can reg
ister by credit card in the cas
hier’s office on the second floor
of Gloster Hall or pay in cash in
room 212 in Gloster Hall. For
more information, call Walker
at (404) 215-2675.
Ethical Leadership is About Personal Integrity,
Says Boeing Executive James Bell
Boeing executive James Bell
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
Budding executives and
entrepreneurs need only rem
ember kindergarten lessons of
right and wrong to become eth
ical leaders, said James Bell,
corporate president, chief fin
ancial officer and executive
vice president of The Boeing
Company.
“It’s all about personal
integrity,” Bell said to nearly
350 students in the Bank of
America Auditorium on Aug.
30. “It’s all about personal con
viction. You must have a strong
desire to do the right thing.
What you learned about right
or wrong will serve you well.”
Bell was the school year’s
first speaker in the Leadership
Lecture Series, which brings
some of the nation’s top corpo
rate leaders to campus to pro
vide their thoughts on leader
ship. Past lecturers have includ
ed Federal Reserve System
Chairman Ben Bernanke, Coca-
Cola Company CEO Muhtar
Kent and Chick-fil-A founder
S. Truett Cathy.
“The series offers a remark
able opportunity to inspire the
next generation of organiza
tional visionaries and innova
tors,” said President Robert M.
Franklin’75. “Our scholars
eagerly seek their perspectives
on matters relevant to success
in the workplace and beyond.”
Bell told the students that
The Boeing Company, which is
the world’s largest aerospace
company, thrives because it has
a corporate structure that makes
integrity and ethics a vital part
of the working culture.
“In other words, we are
making ethics part of our
DNA,” he said. “Ethics is not a
spectator sport. Everybody
must participate and nobody
can sit on the sidelines.”