Rust College Observes 156th Founders' Celebration And Announces Convocation Speaker, Carol Moseley Braun
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Posted By: Reginald Culpepper on November 07, 2022 President Ivy R. Taylor is pleased to announce Rust College’s 156th Founders’ Celebration activities and that Former Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, the first and only African American woman to serve in the U. S. Senate and a former presidential candidate, will deliver the keynote address at Rust College’s 156th Founders’ Convocation. This year’s annual Founders’ Celebration will bring together the campus community, alumni, and friends, from far and near, for numerous exciting events to mark the college’s rich history of academic excellence and to pay tribute to its founders. The celebration will officially start with the traditional/ceremonial bell ringing which includes a symbolic ring for each year since the college was founded in 1866 in its birthplace, now Asbury United Methodist Church. The week of activities will also include: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 • President’s Day of Service - 10:00 a.m. -City of Holly Springs (on the square) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 • SGA Inauguration - 6:00 p.m. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 • Bearcat Cookout and Day Party THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 • Alumni Spotlight Interviews - 12:00 noon • Ribbon Cutting MI Suites & Wiff Hall - 1:00 p.m. • Alumni Career Mentoring Panel - 2:00 p.m. - BCS Building • Alumni Career Networking Mixer - 3:30 p.m. - BCS Building • Dr. Ishmell Edwards Classic Basketball Game - Kinzell Lawson Gymnasium • The Royal Court Coronation - 7:00 p.m. - Doxey Morehouse Auditorium FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11 • Student Leader + Alumni Luncheon - 11:30 p.m. • Alumni Baseball Game - 12:00 noon – RC Baseball Field • Young Alumni Mixer (2012-2022) -1:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Rec Center • Dr. Ishmell Edwards Classic Basketball Game - 1:00-7:00 p.m. - Kinzell Lawson Gymnasium • Alumni Philanthropy Awards Banquet - 7:00 p.m. – E. L. Smith Multipurpose Building – Guest Host – Jeremy Pierre • Renaissance Sneaker Ball & Silent Auction - 9:00 p.m. - E. L. Smith Multipurpose Building SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 • Rust College Day of Giving - ALL DAY • Alumni Tailgate - 8:00 a.m. – Guest Host – Joe Torry • Alumni Class Meetings - 9:00 a.m. • RCIAA Fall Meeting - 10:00 a.m. • Golden (‘73) and Silver (‘98) Class Planning Meeting - 9:00 a.m. - Doxey Fine Arts Building • Founders’ Parade - 11:00 a.m. • Battle of the Bands - 2:00 p.m. - Kinzell Lawson Gymnasium – Guest Host – “The Bell Ringer” Stan Bell • Founders’ Day Basketball Game (Bearcats vs Morris College) - 5:00 p.m. The week’s celebration will conclude on Sunday, November 13 with the Founders’ Convocation at 11:00 a.m. in Doxey Morehouse Auditorium. Keynote speaker Ambassador Carol Mosely Braun brings more than 30 years of experience as a trailblazing public servant and over a decade of private sector entrepreneurial success. Highlights from the Ambassador’s long list of career accomplishments include: serving as U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand from 1999 to 2001, pioneering membership for women and minorities in the U.S. Senate from 1992 to 1998 and founding an organic food and beverage company in 2005. A product of the Chicago Public schools, Ambassador Braun earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois in 1969. She holds 11 honorary advanced degrees and has participated as a Harvard Kennedy School fellow. She taught government at Northwestern University from 2017 to 2019. After graduating from the University of Chicago law school with a Juris Doctor degree in 1972, Ambassador Braun became Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Her work in housing, health policy and environmental law earned her the Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award. In 1978, she was elected to the Illinois General Assembly as a Democratic State Representative, a position she held for a decade. In 1992, Ambassador Braun became the first African American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate, (out of 1,944 Senators since 1789) serving for six years. As U.S. Senator, Ambassador Braun became the first women to serve on the powerful Senate Finance Committee and earned a reputation as a champion of women’s rights and civil rights. She also co-introduced the Brownfields Remediation Act – legislation that encouraged the cleanup and reuse of urban and rural brownfields across the country. Among other achievements as a Senator, Ambassador Braun co-sponsored the Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment and defeated a patent for the Confederate flag. She also helped establish the first public military high school and affected funding for infrastructure and housing projects throughout her home state of Illinois. In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed Braun the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. Her Ambassadorship was confirmed by the Senate in a 98-2 vote. Ambassador Braun ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 2004, becoming just the second female African American major party candidate for U.S. President. After returning to the private sector in 2001, Ambassador Braun founded Good Food Organics, a premium, certified-organic food and beverage company, in 2005. The company was in business for 11 years before she closed it in 2020. Today, she continues to serve the community as a board member for several foundations and grassroots organizations. Ambassador Braun enjoys modest French fluency and has travelled extensively in Europe, Africa, and Asia. She is a mother and a member of St. Paul and the Redeemer Church. The public is invited to attend all events. In her second in-person Founders’ Week celebration since taking the helm as the College’s 12th President, Dr. Ivy R. Taylor has expressed her excitement and has worked tirelessly with the Founders’ Committee to ensure a memorable event for all. More information about the 155th Founders’ Week Celebration can be found at www.rustcollege.edu. About Rust College Rust College is the oldest most prestigious historically black college in Mississippi founded in 1866 by the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Offering degree programs in business, education, humanities, science and mathematics, and social science. Rust College equips and inspires students for excellence and service in their communities and throughout the world. Located in Holly Springs, MS, just 35 miles southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Rust College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. 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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