On Wednesday, December 6, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania students, faculty and staff gathered in the auditorium of the Marian Anderson Music Center for an Accreditation Celebration, hosted by President Aaron A. Walton. The Cheyney pride day united the campus community and celebrated the significant accomplishment of the University retaining an additional year of accreditation.
“During this time, the pride exhibited by the entire Cheyne/CU_Retains_Accreditationy University community has been unparalleled . . . we have made significant progress over the last couple of months and we are on the path to the next level,” remarked Walton during his speech.
President Walton followed his statement with exciting updates on what’s in store for the University, including the creation of a state-of-the art, multipurpose center that will be collaboratively designed by the Cheyney community, via the use of campus wide, opinion-based surveys. Walton also announced plans to catapult a $44 million dollar corporate challenge to boost CU’s fundraising initiatives, which will ultimately contribute to the betterment of Cheyney’s future.
The University also intends to increase its career development efforts, with specific focus on sourcing highly-competitive, paid internship opportunities for CU students. The new efforts will begin with a February 2018 symposium, sponsored by the United Parcel System (UPS), to scout talent and identify future employees.
The Accreditation Celebration also spotlighted Cheyney Football players Samuel Anojulu, Chaplin Johnson-Davis, Keyson Dingle and Jamiel Hines, who will be heading to Daytona Beach, FL to compete in the Fourth Annual FCS Bowl. The FCS Bowl, to be played on Sunday, December 10, is an annual post-season college football, all-star game that consists of a team of top players from FCS and HBCU schools.
Senior Samuel Anojulu joined President Walton on the stage to give quick remarks, positively noting that he was grateful for the opportunity and looked forward to representing the nation’s first HBCU at the FCS Bowl.
The celebration closed out with a little friendly competition between students, staff and faculty as they filed down the aisles in search of yellow tickets, which were taped under the auditorium seats, to win special prizes. The Wednesday event was the start of a series of various activities and events scheduled for the Cheyney community beginning in 2018.