FVSU president Ivelaw Griffith shakes hands at 73rd annual Spring Commencement in May
Fort Valley State Pres. Ivelaw L. Griffith sets the stage for local, national and global student body
After serving his first year as the president of Fort Valley State University, Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith is on a mission to reposition Georgia’s only 1890 Land-Grant Institution for the future.
Inaugurated as the ninth president in April 2014, the Guyana-born and educated father accepted the leadership charge of Georgia’s No. 1 public HBCU last summer along with wife and first lady, Francille Griffith. Building on the successes garnered during his previous post as Provost for York College—where he increased the number of full-time faculty by 30 percent, reorganized the academic division, and raised the research and scholarly climate by creating a Provost Lecture Series, among other initiatives—the political scientist and former professor is braced to create an institution of rigorous academic offerings. In his words, “we advocate the three A’s—Academics, Athletics, but one more A—and it’s a big one—Affordability. In a time where students too often are saddled with high debt, we offer affordability. Some of our students graduated with little or no debt.”
With a Ph.D in political science, and educational acumen that includes a bachelor of social sciences degree from the University of Guyana, a masters of arts degree in political science and public administration from Long Island University, NY, and master of philosophy from the City University of NY, Griffith qualifies to be a thought leader. But he is also involved in business and community, and enjoys engaging with students. Wanting young leaders of tomorrow to be reminded daily about life, perseverance and other important philosophies, Griffith organizes periodic ‘Walls of Wisdom’ celebration events. “Each of these walls is a teachable space,” Griffith said. “People like Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, or Oscar De La Hoya are giants, and a good reminder to our students about Dreaming and Doing!”
So, what’s it like coming to Peach County? Many locals are familiar with the 100-mile drive toward Macon from Atlanta. Notable residents include singer Lena Horne, educator Horace Mann Bond, politician Julian Bond, civil rights leader A. T. Walden, and writer Judson Mitcham. It’s headquarters for the internationally known school bus giant Blue Bird Corporation—whose engineers developed the color we all know today as school bus yellow. With a small town population of some 27,000 people, it still boasts one of the best football teams in the state of Georgia—and only months ago during Super Bowl XLVIII, the Fort Valley State Wildcats did indeed go wild when one of their own—Ricardo Lockette, was part of the fast and physical Seahawks team that stopped five-time MVP Manning and the Broncos in their tracks. The new Wildcat-in-Chief does not have to look far for alumni that boast not only educators, veterinarians, teachers and engineers—but super achievers like Thomas W. Dortch, Jr. (Pres. and CEO TWD, Inc., and Chairman Emeritus of 100 Black Men of America), Dr. Traci McKenzie-Jackson (Principal of Shirley Hills Elementary—named by the U.S. Dept. of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School), and State Representative and business leader Calvin Smyre, among many others.
In an interview at Paschal’s restaurant on the eve of the 2014 HBCU Student Success Summit in Downtown Atlanta, the scholar and author recounted some of the programs and strategies put in place during his first year. “One of the first things that I did was to introduce an Honors Program. Secondly, an Undergraduate Research Program. It’s important that students in all disciplines—whether STEM, Humanities, Social Sciences, or Education—are able to have experiences in research methodologies. Participating in undergraduate research affords you the opportunity to enhance professional skills in your field. A research distinction on your transcript and degree is something worth achieving.”
With the goal of becoming a named Honors College in six years, the new Honors Program is already paying off. For the first time, FVSU students were selected to present their research work at an international forum. Headed by Prof. of Biotechnology Dr. Sarwan Dhir, and funded by the National Science Foundation, three scholar students were selected for a trip based on academic performance, internship experience, leadership qualities and research presentation skills. With a funding gift from Blue Bird Corp., recruiting is currently underway to attract the first 100 students.
Plant science biotechnology majors present research in Dubai at the 4th Annual International Conference on Biotech March 11.
In another strategy to expand FVSU’s international reach, Griffith launched the Global Initiatives Council in 2013. The purpose of the council is to leverage the talent, time and ability of individuals and organizations to build innovative programmic, resource and research partnerships with FVSU. The council meets three times a year at the university and within the Atlanta area. “We are also currently recruiting Hispanic and International Students, and will hire a Latino recruiter,” says Griffith.
The president’s goals were reflected in the theme for his inauguration: “Dreaming and Doing: A Vision for Excellence Engagement.”
Griffith and Carolyn Pitts, 1947 alumni who turned 100 on May 8, 2014
In his Inaugural Speech, Dr. Griffith acknowledged that the ninth presidency builds on the tremendous work of many, including previous principals, presidents, faculty, administrators and staff and alums who continue to pay forward. His eyes seemed to twinkle, as Griffith began another story. “I would like to tell you another great story—it’s about an alum named Carolyn Pitts. She lives in Macon. Her eyes are still good. Faculties are still there. She lived, until Feb of this year, by herself—she drove…she’s 100 years. I can resonate with that because my Grandma died in 1998, and up until the end she had all of her faculties. So I asked my Director of Alumni Affairs – Do we have other alums who are similar? He said yes! So my office is working with those families, for me to go visit them. Ms. Pitts comes every two years to campus—she makes these sneak appearances. I mean it’s amazing and an honor for me—she lived in the all-female Ohio Hall Dorm from 1943 until 1947. I’ve now made it into the Honors Dorm—and now, Ohio Hall is where the honors students will reside. Recently, I met a descendant of a family that was connected to the very beginnings of this great place. She brought lots of memorabilia that has been in the family, including a graduation diploma from 1903, and class note books from different years and decades. We have a historian right here on campus, and we’ve discovered another gentleman who was born in Rossville, Georgia named Lloyd Jones, who apparently remembers running the mimeograph machine while working in the registrar’s office, and babysitting four-year-old Julian Bond while his parents were tending to presidential duties. We have many fascinating stories. I’ve also recently learned about another gentleman, Wilson Gosier, who led the athletics department for our university. It has come to my attention that he has organized an annual golf fundraiser in support of Fort Valley for some years. I look forward to making many new connections.”
With the start of classes around the corner, the spark-plug president continues to live up to his commitment to ignite a world class university. Starting in fall 2014, FVSU will offer a new online degree. On May 20, 2014, the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents approved the university’s proposal to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in organizational leadership. The new program is designed for adults, nontraditional students, veterans and transfer students. In the organizational leadership bachelor’s degree program, students will study the practices, theories and issues of leading an organization or business. Instead of traveling to FVSU’s campus daily, students can fit online courses into a busy schedule.
Griffith has been busy gearing up for year two under his helm, and getting some raving reviews. For example, “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education,” a journal that tracks diversity trends within colleges and universities across America, ranked FVSU sixth in its Top 100 Degree Producers list for producing African-American graduates with degrees in both mathematics and statistics, and the areas of agriculture, agriculture operations and related sciences. Twitter at Wildcat Valley is rampant with important updates, like #FVSU‘s new class of freshmen will get the royal blue and gold treatment during Welcome Week: Aug. 14-17; or #FVSU students, we’re counting down for the start of school! Classes begin on Monday, August 18.
As FVSU attracts its newest students to a rewarding environment that produces something every grad wants, the institution may have to add another A……an A+ degree with high returns. More on the university ranking, events and other stories may be seen at www.fvsu.edu.
