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First Lady Michelle Obama Receives Honorary Degree From Spelman College [VIDEO]

Carol Blackmon — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:21:17 +0000

First Lady Michelle Obama was the commencement speaker at Spelman College over the weekend and received an honorary degree from Spelman president Beverly D. Tatum.

The First Lady told the 550 graduating seniors of the historically black women’s school that they have been eminently trained to change the world for the better.

Also in attendance were sisters Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad, who were also honored.

Take a look at Michelle Obama’s speech below:

Michelle Obama To Give Spelman College Commencement Address

Myronda — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:00:51 +0000

Spelman College has announced that First Lady Michelle Obama will be the keynote speaker at the school’s commencement address.

On Sunday, May 15, at 3 p.m., at the Georgia International Convention Center, the First Lady will inspire more than 500 graduates to also leave their mark on the world when she delivers the commencement address to the Spelman College class of 2011.

MichelleObama will also receive an honorary degree.

Honorary degrees will also be bestowed upon director, actress and choreographer Debbie Allen, and her sister, actress and director Phylicia Rashad. Wendy Kopp, CEO and founder of Teach For America will receive the National Community Service Award.

“Having Mrs. Obama as our 2011 Commencement speaker is a true honor because she embodies the Spelman College mission which is to prepare women to change the world in a meaningful way,” said Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D., president, Spelman College. “I know our students will be inspired by her powerful presence.”

Underscoring the important contributions made by all the honorees, Dr. Tatum said “Our honorees have made a significant impact on the world just as Spelman women do. They offer our graduates empowered examples of excellence in action with game-changing results. We could not be happier!”

Spelman College Students Win National Mobile App Competition

Denise Dunbar — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:00:36 +0000

In his first news conference after his midterm losses, President Obama reminded his audience that the important battle for the U.S. is remaining on top of global competition.

If he’s looking for a model, he need look no further than Spelman College in Atlanta — the private, independent, historically black school for women — and its strong science, technology, engineering and math program (STEM).

In October, undergraduates Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller won the 2010 AT&T Big Mobile on Campus Challenge for creating a next-generation e-learning mobile application.

Previous winners of the competition were from Harvard and Stanford universities. The women split a $10,000 scholarship and had their choice of a mobile device.

Read more at TheRoot.

Spelman Named Top HBCU In 2011 U.S. News College Rankings

Michael Baisden — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:20:29 +0000

For the fourth consecutive year, U.S.News & World Report has produced a ranking of the undergraduate education at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). These colleges were compared only with one another for these rankings.

How did we choose the schools to be part of the survey? In order to be on the list, a school currently must be listed as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities registry. The Higher Education Act of 1965 defines an HBCU as “any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.”

To qualify for the U.S. News ranking, an HBCU also must be an undergraduate baccalaureate-granting institution that enrolls primarily first-year, first-time students and must have been a school that was currently part of the 2011 Best Colleges rankings. In almost all cases, if an HBCU college was “Unranked” in the 2011 Best Colleges rankings, it was also listed as being “Unranked” in the HBCU rankings (see more details below). In total there were 80 HBCU colleges and universities eligible to be ranked, and 9 of those were “Unranked.”

Peer assessment (weighting: 25 percent). The U.S. News ranking formula gives greatest weight to the opinions of those in a position to judge a school’s undergraduate academic excellence. The peer assessment survey allows the top academics we consult to account for intangibles such as faculty dedication to teaching. Each individual is asked to rate peer schools’ academic programs on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). Those who don’t know enough about a school to evaluate it fairly are asked to mark “don’t know.” In the spring and summer of 2010, U.S. News conducted an exclusive peer survey among only the president, provost, and admission dean at each HBCU. Each HBCU received three surveys. The recipients were asked to rate all HBCUs, considering each school’s scholarship record, curriculum, and quality of faculty and graduates at schools they were familiar with. A total of 242 surveys were sent out, and 36.3 percent responded. Synovate, an international opinion-research firm based in Chicago, collected the data.

Retention (25 percent). The higher the proportion of freshmen who return to campus the following year and eventually graduate, the more likely a school is offering the classes and services students need to succeed. This measure has two components: six-year graduation rate (80 percent of the retention score) and freshman retention rate (20 percent). The graduation rate indicates the average proportion of a graduating class who earn a degree in six years or less; we consider freshman classes that started from fall 2000 through 2003. Freshman retention indicates the average proportion of freshmen entering each fall from 2005 through 2008 who returned the following fall.

Top 20 Rankings:

1. Spelman College

2. Howard University

3. Morehouse College

4. Hampton University

5. Tuskegee University

6. Xavier University of Louisiana

7. Fisk University

8. Claflin University

9. Dillard University

10. Tougaloo College

11. North Carolina Central University

12. (TIE) Florida A&M University & North Carolina A&T State University

14. South Carolina State University

15. (TIE) Jackson State University & Johnson C. Smith University

17. (TIE) Delaware State University & Elizabeth City State University

19. Winston-Salem State University

20. (TIE) Morgan State University & Tennessee State University

Find out the rest of the Rankings at USnews.com.

UPDATE: Spelman Shooter Gets Life Plus 25 Years

Denise Dunbar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:07:19 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

A Fulton County jury found Devonni Manuel “Devo” Benton guilty of murder and two counts of aggravated assault Saturday in the September shooting that killed Spelman College sophomore Jasmine Lynn.

Benton, 21, was sentenced to a life sentence plus 25 years for the random killing along with a weapons possession charge. In Georgia, a person must serve at least 25 years for a first life conviction before being eligible for parole.

The jury deliberated five hours Saturday, stopping for an hour lunch before returning the verdict at 3:35 p.m. This followed about nine hours of deliberation Friday.

Witnesses said Benton fired a gun into a crowd on Clark Atlanta University’s campus in the early hours of Sept. 3.

Lynn, witnesses said, was shot in the chest as she attempted to break up a fight outside one of the university’s dorms.

The 19-year-old from Kansas City, Mo., was the first in her family to attend college. She died with a 3.8 grade-point average.

The three-day trial came to a close Friday when jurors heard final arguments calling for them to either convict Benton, or “give him justice,” as defense attorney Jackie Patterson urged, declaring his client innocent.

Benton has 30 days to appeal the decision, Patterson told the AJC. “I believe he will,” the defense attorney said.

As the verdicts were read, gasps and sighs could be heard throughout the courtroom. Lynn’s mother, Constance Franklin, dabbed tears from her face and members of Benton’s family sobbed uncontrollably in the back of the courtroom.

Sheila Kitchens, Benton’s aunt, was led from the courtroom as Fulton Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. addressed the defendant.

“This is absolutely irreprehensible to fire a firearm in the direction of a crowd,” Bedford said. “This is totally a senseless loss of life.”

Bedford said the impact goes far beyond just Benton and Lynn, but to the families of both individuals as well.

“This will not bring her back,” he said to court room. “This is a wound that will never be healed.”

Jury Is Deliberating Spelman Murder Case

Denise Dunbar — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:55:30 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

The fate of Devonni “Devo” Benton, accused of murder in the September shooting death of Spelman student Jasmine Lynn, is now in the hands of a Fulton County jury.

Before Fulton Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. released the jurors, they heard final arguments calling for them to either convict Benton or give him justice, as defense attorney Jackie Patterson urged, declaring him innocent.

“Mr. Benton wants you to give him justice,” Patterson told the jury as he gestured to the Scales of Justice on the defense table. “There is no way Mr. Benton committed this crime.”

Fulton assistant district attorney Eleanor Ross was nearly choked up as she placed Lynn’s blood-smeared glasses on top of a photo of the slain Spelman College sophomore, displayed for the courtroom from a projector.

“For getting a scholarship, all that hard work paying off … this is what’s left. This defendant may not have intended to kill Jasmine Lynn on the night of Sept. 3. But when he raised that gun and fired into a crowd, he intended to kill.”

Bedford released the jury just after 11 a.m. Friday, with instructions on how to proceed with deliberations.

The six men and six women must now wade through two days of testimony, with a host of witnesses who were found to have been untruthful at some point, either during the investigation or on the witness stand.

The 12 must consider the circumstances of the fight that started early that morning on Clark Atlanta University’s campus, and the six shots that police and witnesses said were fired by a man wearing a Mohawk, a red jacket and khaki shorts, who dropped a tan and red book bag as he fled.

Patterson continued to blame Benton’s friend, Clarence Carter, for the shooting and pleaded with the jury to let his client go free.

“Mr. Benton is asking you to do something he can’t do for himself,” Patterson said. “That is clear his name.”

Lynn’s mother, Constance Franklin, and grandmother, Carolyn Williams, were in tears as Ross completed her summation.

“It’s a miracle that he didn’t kill anyone else,” Ross said to the jury. “Do not let him avoid taking responsibility for what he did.”

Check back here for updates.

Trial Underway In Spelman College Student Murder

Denise Dunbar — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:06:50 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

Today was the start of the murder trial of Devonni Manuel Benton, who is accused of fatally shooting Spelman College sophomore Jasmine Lynn in the early hours of Sept. 3 as she walked past a fight on the Clark Atlanta campus.

Benton wore a black pin-striped suit as he listened to Fulton County assistant district attorney Eleanor Ross preview evidence against him.

“He took that gun out of that American Eagle bag and fired it … not one, not two, not three, four or five times, but at least six times,” Ross told the jury.

She promised to present witnesses who would consistently describe a man with a mohawk haircut with reddish or blondish tips shooting, then dropping a tan bag as he fled.

Benton’s attorney, Jackie Patterson, told the jury that a witness named Clarence Carter was the actual shooter.

“Not only did he do the shooting, he confessed to several friends that he did the shooting,” Patterson said. “There’s no better way of knowing who did the shooting than the shooter admitting that he did it. He confessed to at least two people.”

The prosecution has called four witnesses so far. One was Atlanta Police Officer Jonathan Hanley, who was the first on the scene. Another was Jarvis Jones, who also was shot in the incident. Neither Jones, Lynn’s friend Tiffani Nixon, nor Keith Reid, a person who was involved in the initial altercation, were able to tell jurors that they saw a gunman.

Jones told the jury all he recalled seeing were the colors red and black from the direction of the gunfire. Witnesses told police that the shooter was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and dark colored jeans. Jones said when the gun was fired, he dove toward the ground, then went inside a dorm and pulled the bullet out of his right forearm. Jones had been standing in front of Ware Hall, which is across the street from where the shooting took place.

Reid told the jury he recalled seeing seeing a tall, slender, dark-skinned man flash a gun before the shooting started, but could not remember what the book bag that had contained the gun looked like. He also admitted to the jury that he had lied to the police during the initial part of the investigation. He had told police that he was in a dorm with Lynn, but he had been in a car with people who were involved in the altercation. He contends he was not involved in the fight.

Jasmine Lynn’s mother, Constance Franklin, wrapped herself in white shawl and rocked back and forth while listening to the testimony.

For updates, visit the AJC.com.

Spelman College Asks Alumnae To Help Students Pay Tuition

SiMan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:02:49 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

Spelman College officials have asked alumnae for donations to help students struggling to pay their fall semester tuition bills.

When the e-mail was sent last week, about 700 students — about one in three of the college’s nearly 2,150 students — couldn’t pay their balances. Donations started coming in and by Monday the number of students in need was down to about 400, said Reshunda Mahone, director of annual giving for the historically black women’s college.

This marked the second consecutive year the college reached out to alumnae to help students. Last year, about 500 students were behind on their bills. Alumnae who donated last year received plea e-mails and letters this year, Mahone said.

Some students have trouble securing their finances because of the recession and the tighter restrictions many banks and lenders have placed on loans, according to national reports.

As a result colleges are seeing a rise in students struggling to pay tuition. About 65 percent of those who responded to last year’s survey from the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers said they had seen an increase in unpaid tuition bills.

In its e-mail, Spelman asked alumnae to help make a student smile. “We need 2000 alumnae to STEP UP and make a gift of $20 or more to the College by December 31, 2009,” the note read. “While swiping your Visa card at Macy’s or writing a check made payable to Tiffany’s, we are asking that you remember your Spelman sisters and make their holiday a little brighter by making a gift to the College!”

Mahone said much of the college’s focus has been on seniors. These students have already spent thousands on their education and are close to graduation. After seniors are taken care of, Mahone said attention will turn juniors and other students.

Mayor Shirley Franklin To Teach At Spelman College

SiMan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:23:16 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin will begin a one-year professorship at Spelman College starting in January, college officials announced Monday.

Franklin will serve as a Cosby Chair, an endowed professorship program started by the comedian and activist Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille. The program supports professorships in humanities, fine arts and social sciences, according to the college.

“We draw on leaders in the community to come to campus for a year and share their expertise,” Spelman spokeswoman Angela Johnson told the AJC. “It’s a way to provide an out-of-the-box education for our students.”

Franklin, 63, was elected Atlanta’s mayor in 2001. She was the city’s first female mayor and the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major Southern city.

Franklin earned her bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Howard University and a masters of arts degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Parents Of Slain Spelman Student Sue Clark Atlanta University

Carol Blackmon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:00:24 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

The parents of a dead Spelman College sophomore want Clark Atlanta University to pay them for pain and suffering they and their daughter suffered after the 19-year-old woman was hit by a stray bullet while walking on the CAU campus.

Constance Franklin and Clint Ronald Lynn, parents of Jasmine Lynn, filed a lawsuit Thursday saying there should have been better security on the Clark Atlanta campus, which is in a high-crime area just west of downtown.

Attorney Roderick Edmond said the parents never expected their daughter to come home to Kansas City, Mo., “in a box.” And if there had been more security patrols, if more campus roads were closed and if there were more security cameras, “this element that wandered onto the campus wouldn’t have been there,” and Lynn would be alive.

Clark Atlanta spokeswoman Jennifer Jiles declined to comment. “We have not been served with the legal documents. And the university does not comment on pending legal matters,” Jiles said.

Lynn was shot Sept. 3 by a stray bullet moments after she left a dorm on the Clark Atlanta campus, one of four schools in the Atlanta University Center complex.

Devonni Manuel Benton, a 21-year-old ITT Technical Institute student, has been charged with her slaying. He and his family say that Benton was not the shooter. They say homicide detectives have the name of the man who fired the bullet that struck Lynn some distance away.

According to police, Benton and his friends were walking near the campus when they got into a fight with a group of Clark Atlanta students. Police said Benton fired six times as he retreated down the street, possibly trying to scare someone.

Lynn was hit in the chest, and a friend walking with her, 18-year-old Clark Atlanta student Jerome Jones, was wounded in the wrist.

Benton was arrested a month later and was indicted on Oct. 16.

According to the lawsuit filed in Fulton State Court, the college knew how dangerous the streets were but did nothing to warn students or to make the area safer.

“This is not the first time this has happened at Clark Atlanta. Something needs to be done, Franklin, the mother, said at a news conference.

She said there was much more security at the neighboring campuses of Spelman College and Morehouse College.

“They want accountability for the death of their child,” Edmond said.

Said Franklin, “no money amount can heal my pain.”

The suit said Clark Atlanta “failed to exercise ordinary care to properly secure” the campus even though this type of crime was “foreseeable.”

The suit said Lynn, a psychology major with a 3.8 grade point average, was careful but unaware of the dangers.

Without specifying an amount, the parents are asking to be paid for “the full value of their daughter Jasmine Lynn’s life, including economic damages of loss of earning capacity and non-economic damages, including loss of enjoyment of life.”

The parents asked to be reimbursed for funeral and burial expenses and any physical and emotional “pain suffering and anxiety” Lynn suffered before her death.