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p a g e 4 Spelman Spotlight
Dr. William Amoaku
Visits Spelman
by Angela Jackson
Dr. William Komla Amoaku
was the guest speaker at Sisters
Chapel on February4 in honor of
Black history month, which is
recognized annually during the
month of February.
A native of Ghana, Dr.
Amoaku attended the University
of Ghana; Akademie
Mozarteum at Salzburg, Austria;
the University of Illinois; and the
University of Pittsburgh.
Currently, he is an associate
Professor of Music Appreciation
and F4istory and the Chairman of
the Department of Music, State
University. Previously, he work
ed at the University of
Pittsburgh, Howard University,
Dayton Living Arts Center, the
University of Illinois, the Univer
sity of Ghana, and the Morning
Star International School in
Accra, Ghana.
Greeting the audience with a
continuous drum rhythm, Dr.
Amoaku began Spelman
College’s observance of Black
History Month. "Black History
Month is more than just a word,"
said Dr. Amoaku. "It means a
time to redefine my African
values and to reevaluate my
responsibilities to my people.”
He continued saying that we, as
members of the Black race, must
know where we came from and
where we are before we can
determine where we are going.
He noted that our history is
sacred. "It does not consist of
dates, months, years, or
statistics,” he said. “It is a history
of events.”
Dr. Amoaku gave the
audience some insight into the
African way of life. He asserted
that he was born African, lived
African, and would die African.
He didn’t realizethesignificance
of being an African until he came
in 1969 to the United States.
"Americans are filled with
stereotypical views of Africa,”
Dr. Amoaku said. He added that
Africans don’t run around naked
carrying spears as portrayed m
Tarzan movies.
According to Dr. Amoaku, in
Africa the traditional African
culture is suppressed. Dr.
Amoaku noted that he was
baptized Catholic under the
name William. Throughout
school, he was never allowed to
use his African name. In high
school, he didn't study any
subjects specifically related to
Africa because African studies
weren’t a part of the curriculum.
Similarly, his college entrance
test centered around English,
History, and Geography.
Dr. Amoaku stated that music
was the most important element
of our lives that no one can take
away from us. “Music plays a
very distinct part in an African’s
life-,,' he said. “It is more than just
a beat to stomp one’s feet to. It is
a link with the past.”
According to Dr. Amoaku, in
African society, a child ex
periences its first encounter with
rhythm from the movementof its
mother’s womb. Music is con
sidered the first language a child
speaks. Throughout his life, the
African child encounters music
in every aspect of life, from the
celebration of life to the mour
ning of death.
Dr. Amoaku revealed that
drums are not only a form of
entertainment but are also a
form of communication. “Drum
beats and certain speech
patterns have the same rhythmic
patterns,” he said. “By changing
the accents of the words with the
correct sequence of drum beats,
a drum can be used to convey
messages to a mass of people
over great distances."
With a standing ovation, Dr.
Amoaku concluded his speech
with a rhythmic adieu.
February 1982
photo by Gerald McKinney
Dr. Helaine Ordugba Appointed
To Morehouse Post
by Dawn Dickerson
On October 1, 1981, Dr. High
M. Gloster, President of
Morehouse College, appointed
Dr. Helaine D. Ordugba to the
position of Coordinator of the
Management Information
System at the Atlanta institution.
A native of Union, South
Carolina, Dr. Ordugba holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in
French and Political Science
from Hampton Instiute, a
Master’s degree in language
development from Washington
University, and a Doctorate of
Education in Administration,
Planning and Social Policy from
Harvard University.
Dr. Ordugba’s professional
experiences inlcude public ad
ministrator, language develop
ment specialist and com
municator and public relations
manager. While in Boston, she
coordinated the Title III
Programs at Roxbury Communi
ty College. She was also involved
with the Roxbury Multi-Service
Center as the Director of the
Division of Program Planning
and Development, teaching in
public school systems in both the
United States and Germany. In
addition to Dr. Ordugba’s
responsibilities at Morehouse,
she will also co-chair the
college’s long-range planning
process. "My main job is coor
dinator of ,the Management
Information Center. The four
undergraduate colleges have
gone together to purchase and
develop a centralized computer
system for storing data on stu
dent finances and facilitiesof the
colleges. There is a project
manager for all four col 1
who work from the Atlanta
University Center. Each of the
four colleges has an M.I.S. coor
dinator. I serve as a liason
between Morehouse and the
Atlanta University Center and
Solutions, Inc., which is our
vender for the purchase and
installation of our computer
system, With this new system, we
will be able to have more ac
curate information which will
assist the various administrators
in making intelligent decisions
about the operations 'of the
colleges. In addition, I am co -
chairperson of the long-
range planning process here at
Morehouse. This is a process by
which each unit of the college
will project its survival needs
over the next ten years.”
Dr. Ordugba has many
responsibilities entailed with her
position. She said, “I serve as
coordinator of the I.S.A.T.I.M.
(Integrated Systems Approach to
Improving Management) assess
ment team. This is an activity
sponsored by the United Negro
College Fund and supported by
the Kellogg Foundation and the
P.E.W. Memorial Trust. The
1SATIM teams have spent one
week at all of the AUC colleges
taking a look at the internal
management of the college. The
team will subsequently make
recommendations for manage
ment improvement and supply
financial support.
When asked if Dr. Ordugba
foresees any problems that
might occur with the Manage
ment Information System, she
said, "The M.I.S. system which
we have embarked upon is a
highly sophisticated system for
collecting, storing, and analyzing
data. The coordination of the
system, among the four in
stitutions has all of the problems
that we would expect. However,
we are fortunate in having very
sincere and talented people at
each institution who are deter
mined to insure that the system
workd. We intend to make our
Management Information
System one that will be a mode
for other institutions across the
country.”
Dr. Ordugba says that she is
satisfied and content with her
present position and intends to
grow with and support
Morehouse and other black
institutions. "I like it a lot,” she
added. "I think I’ve been blessed
to find myself in a situation
where I can grow and learn and
at the same time contribute in a
vital way. I will be offering a
presentation to the Operations
Management course, which is
taught by Professor William Nix,
who is on loan to Morehouse
from IBM. This will be an oppor
tunity to inform students of our
efforts to make the ad
ministrative side of Morehouse
run more smoothly and effec
tively in addressing their needs.”
Along with the publication of
two books, The Impact of an
Intervention Process on Ad
ministrator’s perception of the
Organizational Climate of an
Urban Predominantly Black
Community College, and Plan
ning and The Survival of
Traditionally Black Colleges and
Universities, Dr. Ordugba has
also set personal long-range
plans for herself. She stated, “I
would like to continue to im
prove my skills and understan
ding of the internal operations
of institutions of higher educa
tion, ^specially those which
serve predominantly black pop
ulations. I am especially in
terested in playing a significant
role in the survival of Black
colleges and universities.”
Dr. Ordugba said that it was
difficult trying to raise her thir
teen year old daughter Olayinka
and attend school at the same
time. "It was hard but I
somewhat perceive my coming
to Morehouse as a reward for my
hard work at Harvard.”
MLK Chapel
by Rosalyn Cary
The Martin Luther King, Jr.
Memorial Chapel has experienc
ed a recent name change to
reflect the prescribed expansion
of its ecumenical services. Now
known as the Martin Luther
King, Jr. International Memorial
Chapel, it accordingly seeks to
become an international
religious symbol.
Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter,
first Dean of the King Inter
national Chapel, recommended
the name modification. “The
name change provides the
Protestant churches of Christen
dom their first transcontinental
religious edifice so designated in
America and the world. By
making the chapel an inter
national, interracial, and in
terdenominational Christian
symbol, our work will better
acquaint others with Dr. King’s
views and emphasize him as a
man of the century.”
An alteration in programs was
inspired by the tumultuous state
of world and domestic affairs.
The words of the late Martin
Luther King, Jr. were, "Every
nation must develop an
overriding loyalty to mankind as
a whole in order to preserve the
best, in their individual
societies.”
It will also perpetuate the
original goals of this multipur
pose structure which was design
ed in an effort to broaden the
religious, cultural, educational,
and social development of
young people through the
fostering of an international en
vironment.