HBCU Professor, Abdulalim A. Shabazz, 87, dies
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Posted By: Reginald Culpepper on June 26, 2014 BY Deon Jones/GSU Media Bureau Abdulalim A. Shabazz, a distinguished professor at Grambling State University with a national reputation, has died. He had been hospitalized at Northern Louisiana Medical Center less than two weeks ago. “I’ve known Dr. Shabazz for many years,” said Grambling State President Frank G. Pogue. “He represented the kind of excellence Grambling is known for, and for the university it means a great deal that he was with us.” Pogue met Shabazz when Pogue was a graduate student at Atlanta University. He said his roommate, a math student, “idolized” Shabazz. Connie Walton, GSU’s provost and vice president of academic affairs, said it was 2005 when the university hired Shabazz as a consultant to help the faculty restructure mathematics courses, eventually increasing a standing student pass rate to above 80 percent. She said he challenged faculty and students to aim higher. “Dr. Shabazz always said it is important for African American students to see African American teachers with a Ph.D. in mathematics,” said Walton. Pogue recently visited Shabazz in the hospital. Shabazz passed away on Wednesday (June 25). After his consulting work at GSU, Shabazz formally joined the Gramblinite family in 2007 as an endowed chair for mathematics. He was the first to hold this position at Grambling State University. His career included time at Clark Atlanta University and Lincoln University, among other higher education institutions. Walton said he is widely credited with training nearly half of all African Americans who have earned doctorate degrees in mathematics in the United States. President Bill Clinton awarded Shabazz with a national mentor award in September 2000 for excellence in science, mathematics and engineering mentoring in 2000. He also received the National Association of Mathematicians Distinguished Service Award for his years of mentoring and teaching excellence. Walton said Shabazz was a great example of a master teacher, being active in the campus and wider communities, representing the university at national and international events and regularly mentoring junior faculty and students. Rod Seals, a GSU graduate student, was one of Shabazz’s recent students. “I met him the semester before last. Everybody was telling me go talk to Dr. Shabazz, that he was a good guy, very reserved man with knowledge, brilliant, a humble man,” said Seals, 39, of Homer, Louisiana. “He always wanted to know how I was doing, and more about me. … He was very kind and I’m very thankful for it.” “Dr. Shabazz mentored and guided me through two math graduate courses,” added Seals. “He was a man of high integrity and very courageous. He stood up for what he believed in; which in part, was to support the success of each and every student in all aspects of their lives, especially math. … He shared his time and his wisdom with me humbly, and for that I will be forever grateful.” Shabazz was born to Lonnie Cross in Bessemer, Alabama, on May 22, 1927 and earned a bachelor’s in mathematics and chemistry from Lincoln University in 1949, a master’s in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951 and a doctorate in mathematics from Cornell University in 1955. Services are pending. # # # About Grambling State University Grambling State University, located in Grambling, Louisiana, is a historically black university founded in 1901. The University has been accredited by 13 accrediting associations and holds accreditations in all programs required by the Louisiana Board of Regents. The 590-acre campus offers 47 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Grambling State University is a member of the University of Louisiana System. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Reginald Culpepper
President, Fulfillment and Web Services, HBCUCONNECT Clark Atlanta University class of 1998 Member Since September 2000 |
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