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MOREHOUSE Morehouse Research Institute Encourages Men to Live Healthier Lives By ADD SEYMOUR JR. WHILE “FRIED CHICKEN WEDNESDAY” is a favorite day around campus, Jamie Baird of the Morehouse Research Institute (MRI) likes to remind people that there are six other days for healthier eating. “I tell students, ‘You can eat fried chicken on Wednesday, but just think of the other days and think about balance’,” she said. “That’s at least starting to change their eating behavior.” The eating habits of students, faculty and staff - especially the males — have become a big focus for the Morehouse Research Institute and the National Minority Male Health Project. Morehouse is one of five historically black colleges collaborating on the federally funded Project, which promotes healthy lifestyles among minority males through research, education and service. MRI heads the Morehouse effort and is work ing on a variety of projects to get minority males healthier, both on campus and in the greater Atlanta community. That is one of the reasons MRI holds a Farmer’s Market on the Kilgore Campus Center plaza every other Tuesday in March and April. (continued on page 6) A student buys fresh produce from a vendor during a Farmer’s Market in Kilgore Plaza. to bring our considerable talents home to enrich the lives of our own children,” he said. “This neglect is among the reasons we are pushing our colleges and universities [and black neighborhoods] to extinction.” The plight of black boys and males took center stage during the 4th Annual Black Male Summit on Feb. 10. Some of the nation’s top scholars and educational practi tioners gathered to talk about how to deal with the prob lems facing black males today. “We have individual great educators in a system that is dysfunctional,” said Howard Fuller of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University. “If we are going to be serious, we have got to recognize we have to have a radical transformation of both our thinking and our practices.” That evening, Musiq Soulchild and vocalist Avery Sunshine thrilled nearly 1,500 music lovers in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. Saturday, Feb. 11, during Reflections of Excellence, stu dents got a chance to hear from the five 2012 Bennie and Candle award honorees - Howard University profes sor Herman Bostic ’49 (Bennie Leadership); former U.S. Congressman Earl Hilliard ’64 (Bennie Service) and cardiolo gist Calvin McLarin ’68 (Bennie Achievement); philanthropist Earl Stafford (Candle in Humanitarian Service and Business); and President Robert M. Franklin ’75 (Candle in Education). (continued on page 4) BY ADD SEYMOUR JR Morehouse students join President Robert M. Franklin 75 at the gravesite of the College’s founder William Jefferson White during their trip to Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga. N early 40 students were eager to take classes at the Augusta Institute in 1867. The Rev. William Jefferson White, with help from former slave Richard Coulter and the Rev. Edmund Turney, had successfully orchestrated the beginning of a place of higher learning for blacks in Georgia. One hundred and forty-five years later, the Institute, now known as Morehouse College, has grown from those humble beginnings to become one of the nation’s most renowned institutions with more than 16,000 graduates. Morehouse celebrated that distinguished history of lead ership and excellence with a week of activities during the 2012 Founder’s Day Observance, Feb. 5-12. Among a num ber of events, the United States Postal Service’s unveiling of a stamp honoring publisher John H. Johnson; R&B superstar Musiq Soulchild serenaded the College during the Founder’s Day Concert; and the Morehouse College Glee Club cel ebrated 101 years of song with their annual Spring Concert. “This has been an incredible week for Morehouse College,” said President Robert M. Franklin ’75, during the “A Candle in the Dark” Gala on Feb. 11. On Feb. 9 during the Founder’s Day Convocation, Donald Hense ’70, founder and CEO of Friendship Charter Schools of Washington, D.C., said black neighborhoods and institutions have been dying because of neglect. “Somewhere in the years since the civil rights era, far too many of us have received our degrees, yet we have failed A CAMPUS NEWSLETTER FOR FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS MARCH/APRIL 2012 % Students win first place in Innovations Expo Brooks honors her mother by encouraging kids to communicate Basketball team finishes No. 2 in Georgia Stephane Dunn blogs about Whitney Houston’s death ■■ 20/2 Celebrating 145 Ye of Excellence Inside