Founder’s Week 2012 at Mississippi Valley State University will bring alumni back to the Itta Bena, MS campus to share memories and celebrate their alma mater in its 62nd year.
“This year’s Founder’s Week theme is ‘Sharing Our Legacy and Shaping Our Future,’” explains President Donna H. Oliver. “This spotlights the rich Valley legacy as members of the University family gather to reflect on the past, assess the present and envision the future of this great institution.”
Highlights of the Founder’s Week Schedule include:
Founder’s Day Breakfast, Monday, April 23, 7:30 a.m., Dining Hall IV, H.M. Ivy Cafeteria, featuring speaker Mr. Suresh Chawla, Past President, Greenwood-Leflore Chamber of Commerce. The cost is $15; RSVP to 662.254.3576.
Mr. Chawla was born in Burlington, Ontario Canada, and reared in Greenwood, MS. A 1986 graduate of Greenwood High School, he earned a BBA from Millsaps College in 1990 and an MBA from the London School of Economics and Millsaps College in 1991. For 20 years, he has served as Treasurer of Chawla Management, Inc., a company that owns 17 hotels in the Mississippi Delta. Mr. Chawla is Vice Chairman of the Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau; and a member of the board of directors of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, and the Washington County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Gravesite Ceremony honoring founding President James Herbert White and his wife, Mrs. Augustus White, will be held at 9 a.m., immediately following the Founder’s Day Breakfast.
‘Where Do We Go from Here: Ensuring Our Rights to a First-Rate 21st Century Education,’ Tuesday, April 24, 6 p.m., Sutton Administration Building Auditorium. Mr. Leroy Johnson, MVSU alum, will discuss “Where Do We Go from Here: Ensuring Our Rights to a First-Rate 21st Century Quality Education,” in the fifth and final lecture in the Ayers Distinguished Visiting Lecture Series.
Johnson is an expert in developing and leading community-based programs dealing with the environment, education, cultural events and community empowerment. He serves as Executive Director of the Rural Organizing and Cultural Center (ROCC) in Holmes County, MS, and Founder/Chairman of the Board of the Southeast Regional Economic Justice Network. Free and open to the public. A brief meet-and-greet reception will be held from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m., prior to the event, in the foyer of the auditorium.
Poetry Recitals/Reading, Wednesday, April 25, 6 p.m., Royal Room, featuring students and faculty from the English and Foreign Language Department sharing their literary works. Free and open to the public.
MVSU Symphonic Band Spring Concert, Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., H.G. Carpenter Auditorium featuring student performances of such favorites as “Overture in B Flat,” a spirited contemporary composition for the full ensemble; “Mekong,” based on the historic Vietnam War;
“Ignition,” a blindingly fast, raucously energetic composition that serves both as a metaphor for the “spark” of creativity, and as a “celebration in sound” for those who find and follow their own true life’s passion and pass it along to others; and much more. Free and open to the public.
Founder’s Convocation, Thursday, April 26, 11 a.m., H.G. Carpenter Auditorium, featuring speaker Dr. William L. Ware, MVSU alumnus and Community Activist. Prior to his retirement from Mississippi Valley State University, Dr. Ware held several titles from 1990 to 2001, ranging from department chair of education to assistant to the president to community outreach specialist/executive director of service learning to department chair of health, physical education and recreation. Dr. Ware’s professional contributions include involvement in creating the Mississippi Valley State University, University of Wisconsin, (MVSU/UWP) Partnership and involvement in creating the Mississippi Valley State University/Delta Superintendent Partnership.