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Last year around this time I was interviewed as a part of Dafna Michaelson's 50 in 52 where she is traveled the entire country meeting all kinds of people. So this piece tells you a little about the college and my philosophy as a president.

http://www.50in52journey.com/states/arkansas8.asp

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Lydia turned 4 yesterday. Her birthday party was on Saturday, and on Sunday she got a bike.

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This year during the chapel service of Religious Emphasis Week, we had a recent graduate as the preacher. Kevin Cooper is a seminary student at ITC in Atlanta (also a UNCF school). He was a two-term SGA president, and member of Kappa Alpha Psi.

So it was great to have a young alum come back to share his message about not building a bridge to nowhere. Keeping with our social justice emphasis, he reminded us of all the people along the way who need our help, and we have to be sensitive to their needs as well. Good job, Coop!

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Last week was Religious Emphasis Week. This week is the centerpiece of our Black History Month. The week was filled with worship services, lectures, and service opportunities.

Our chaplain and the religious life organization have really done a great job over the past few years elevating this week. In the past we have had such notables such as Jeremiah Wright, Cain Hope Felder, and H. Beecher Hicks. In an attempt to raise the level even further, he brought in none other than...

Bishop Vashti McKenzie, the first woman Bishop of the AME church. We had a nice crowd on hand for her sermon, and of course she had major support not only from the AMEs but the members of Delta Sigma Theta. So look out for the week next February.

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Yesterday, Wesley Chapel UMC had a leadership retreat with our guest being Rev. Olu Brown from the Impact Church in Atlanta. Olu is a graudate of 2 UNCF schools- Jarvis Christian College and ITC. He led a new church start for the United Methodist Church in 2006.

With a core group of 25, they sought to launch a movement, not a church. This movement means they have small groups that meet throughout the city during the week. Their Sunday services are held at a local middle school. They use technology in a way I have never seen a church do before. In fact, their motto is "Doing Church Differently."

4 years later, over 1,000 people attend services there. This kind of movement is needed among all denominations as the news this week again pointed out that younger generations continue to opt out of church. Impact's core group is 20-40, so young people want church, but it needs to be different.

Check them out: www.ImpactDCD.org

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Yesterday we had our ceremonial groundbreaking for our new residential suites. We postponed because it was raining the first day, but yesterday was COLD!

60 students will be able to live in the suites, with private rooms. We will do some learning communities as well.

This building will be the first of 4, which will dobule our residential capacity. The building will be ready by mid-August.

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We kicked off Religious Emphasis Week yesterday with two sermons by Bishop Violet Fisher of the United Methodist Church. She preached two excellent sermons- both extremely powerful. We're preparing for a great week.

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