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(CHEYNEY, PA – June 23, 2020) – Two Cheyney University of Pennsylvania students were recently selected by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as 2020 HBCU Competitiveness Scholars – the initiative’s highest student recognition.

Kiyana Roberts, a rising senior, and Kevin Mwangi, a rising sophomore, join 42 other students from 33 HBCUs that will be part of the 2020-2021 cohort of Competitiveness Scholars. They were selected to join this elite list for their determination, resilience and commitment to excellence inside the classroom and out, which they continued to present and achieve even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Kiyana and Kevin are exceptional, distinguished students that maintain a high-level of academic performance while providing outstanding leadership through their roles on and off campus,” said Cheyney University President Aaron A. Walton. “They are dedicated to learning, improving the communities around them, and creating a successful path forward that helps all students achieve their goals.”

“We are extremely proud of Kiyana and Kevin and know they will apply their knowledge and skills to help lead important national discussions on behalf of Cheyney University.”

Throughout the upcoming academic year, Roberts and Mwangi will take part in virtual events hosted by federal and non-federal organizations where they will explore and exchange ideas, and share best practices around leadership, professional development and career pathways.

Roberts, who is from Jersey City, NJ, is majoring in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management and minoring in Recreation and Leisure Management. She is a first-generation college student and the oldest of four children. Along with being a Humphreys Scholar, she has been involved in Cheyney athletics, volunteer roles, campus jobs and several leadership positions throughout her college experience.

She was recently the 47th Miss Cheyney University for the 2019-20 academic year, President and Vice President of the Cheyney University Chapter of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH), and Keystone Honors Council Secretary. She will also be serving as the Vice Chair on the NSMH National Board and the Marketing Director on the Student Government Association at Cheyney. Her goal is to become a regional manager for a multinational hotel company, eventually operating entire hotel chains.

“As a representative of the oldest HBCU in the nation and the only student from New Jersey to be selected, I will wear this bade with honor,” said Roberts. “I look forward to joining a cohort of phenomenal individuals as we utilize our unique skills to ensure HBCUs and their students are well represented in higher education across the nation. Cheyney University has taught me to live a life of high achievement and it has allowed me to reach great heights of performance and success.”

Mwangi, who is from Easton, PA, is majoring in Business Administration Management. He is a member of Cheyney University’s Keystone Honors Academy, which seeks to graduate students who are academically accomplished, visionary leaders and responsible citizens. During his first year, he was involved in several service projects on campus and in the extended community.

In today’s world of constant change and developments unfolding, Mwangi sees the importance of knowing who you are, what you stand for, and what you believe in. His aspirations are to make an impact on a grand scale through his businesses, resources, voice and abilities. His goal is to become a philanthropist to make the world and society a better place.

“Being a Cheyney University student is an experience that is special and unique,” said Mwangi. “I believe being at the first HBCU provides you with all the opportunities and resources at your disposal. Representing an HBCU Competitiveness Scholar is an opportunity I am grateful to God for, my family and the administration of Cheyney University that has supported me throughout the process.”

Scholars were chosen based on their academic achievements, campus and civic involvement, and entrepreneurial ethos. Comprised of undergraduate, graduate, professional students, and international students from various academic backgrounds, the 2020 scholars were selected from among several highly distinguished HBCU students. In addition, each recognized scholar was nominated and endorsed by their institution president, which itself is a prestigious acknowledgement.

Competitiveness Scholars typically assemble during the annual National HBCU Week Conference. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars will not be able to convene in Washington, D.C., for the National Recognition Program in the fall. Plans are underway for an online recognition and virtual campaign to ensure the scholars receive their acknowledgement during the 2020 Virtual HBCU Week Conference.

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About Cheyney – Founded in 1837, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is the nation’s oldest historically Black institution of higher education. Building on this legacy, the vision for Cheyney is to become the premier model for academic excellence, character development, and social responsibility among not only

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but in all of American higher education. The campus is located on 275 acres straddling Delaware and Chester Counties. Read more at www.cheyney.edu.

(CHEYNEY, PA – June 15, 2020) – Sure-BioChem Laboratories (SBL), LLC, a Camden-based company that provides microbial and chemistry testing services, announced today that it signed an agreement with Cheyney University of Pennsylvania to operate a lab in the University’s state-of-the-art Science Center.

SBL, which is an Minority Women-Owned Small Business, conducts testing and analysis for a wide array of industries and businesses across the country such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology and manufacturing. The company ensures products like medical devices, medicines, cosmetics, food and water are developed and maintained in a sterile, safe environment that meet all federal guidelines.

“Partnering with Cheyney University is an excellent opportunity to nourish and grow a relationship that can cultivate new, young scientists,” said Rafiq Heigler, Chief Operating Officer at Sure-BioChem Laboratories. “We look forward to providing opportunities to introduce students to science and help them develop a career path in this field.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our students to learn and work in science-related careers,” said Cheyney University President Aaron A. Walton. “Sure-BioChem Laboratories will add to our ongoing corporate collaborations and provide more internships and career development opportunities for our students.”

SBL is one of several businesses referred to Cheyney by Mosaic Development Partners, a Philadelphia-based real estate developer, which was engaged by the University in 2019 to advise on its campus monetization efforts.

“We are excited that Sure-BioChem Laboratories will join the growing list of cutting-edge companies operating on Cheyney’s campus,” said Mosaic Partner Leslie Smallwood-Lewis. “This arrangement marries SBL’s lab testing expertise with Cheyney’s world-class infrastructure and bright, eager students.”

SBL will occupy its new space at Cheyney by the end of June. It will be a cohesive operation formed by several sectors working together, including lab technicians processing samples, project managers generating reports for customers, field technicians collecting samples and a sales and marketing team. Teams go into the field to conduct testing and the lab receives samples to examine and provide a thorough analysis.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been several new industries looking for assistance from services provided by SBL, especially with the heightened attention to having clean surface areas. This is a potential business surge for SBL, which has been specializing in surface sampling since it started more than 10 years ago.

“The purpose of our testing services is to validate businesses’ cleaning processes,” said Heigler. “The only way to know if a surface is actually clean is if it is tested. Fitness centers will need to verify if surfaces are clean. Companies that produce new disinfect agents will need to confirm that their products kill high-performing microorganisms. Our lab services can accommodate all of these new opportunities.”

Heigler indicated that Cheyney is an attractive location SBL wanted to partner with a leading Historically Black College/University. As a graduate of Delaware State University, Heigler holds a sincere passion for HBCUs.

“We have a strong desire to introduce the life sciences to the HBCU community,” said Heigler. “It is an underrepresented career and this is an opportunity to create a viable option for the students.”

“We are ready to present our campus with the passion and motivation that Sure-BioChem is offering our academic community,” said President Walton. “We could not be more thrilled to expand our efforts to prepare our students for their future careers while they are still matriculating at Cheyney.”

SBL is the latest business to locate its operations on campus as part of Cheyney’s successful monetization efforts. Also, several life science companies already located to the new Science Center, providing paid internships for students and conducting research in innovative areas such as cancer studies, analytical sciences and pharmaceuticals. The new corporate partnerships include:

· Epcot Crenshaw Corporation, a company that develops technologies to solve environmental problems;

· Navrogen, a bio-pharma research and development (R&D) operations company, focused on cancer research; and

· ASI Chemicals, a start-up firm that manufactures chemicals for pharmaceutical products.

SBL and the firms above will be joined by Advanced Alchemy Labs, a company that farms and processes hemp for medicinal purposes. It will begin operating a facility on Cheyney’s campus in the second half of the year.

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About Cheyney – Founded in 1837, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is the nation’s oldest historically Black institution of higher education. Building on this legacy, the vision for Cheyney is to become the premier model for academic excellence, character development, and social responsibility among not only Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but in all of American higher education. The campus is located on 275 acres straddling Delaware and Chester Counties. Read more at www.cheyney.edu.

About Sure-BioChem Laboratories – Established in 2009, it is a contract testing laboratory partnering with government, pharmaceutical, environmental, biotechnology medical device and food industries as an efficient outsourcing solution. The mission of SBL is to provide the highest quality microbiological and chemical analytical testing services by acting with high moral principle, adhering to the highest professional standards and maintaining the trust and confidence of all with whom we engage. www.surebiochem.com

Universities have a responsibility to support students who are protesting to end discrimination in the United States, university presidents said Monday during a webinar. But it is equally important that universities also create opportunities for students to effect change at their own institutions, they added.

And although students are residing off-campus during the pandemic, higher education has the opportunity to equip students with technology and resources to support their efforts and help bring students together.

“We called on our students to focus their energy on bringing constructive change to the society in which we live,” Aaron Walton, president Cheyney University in Pennsylvania, said during a webinar on higher education’s role in racial equality and opportunity as part of Ellucian’s online 2020 conference. “We asked them to use the modern technology and the resources that previous generations did not have as the means to adapt, to overcome inequities and to change our communities for the better.”

At Alcorn State University in Mississippi, university president Felecia Nave said that she and her staff have made sure that they reach out to students to support their efforts and make sure that students are equipped the tools and information they need to stay safe and make a meaningful impact.

“We need to be there and we need to be an avenue and a vehicle for them to be able to have expression,” Nave said. “We stand behind them ready to assist them, with programs, with interventions, with just having dialogue and conversation.”

But just as importantly as showing support for students’ actions in their communities, colleges also need to look inward and encourage students to lead changes on campus, she said.

“We don’t have all the answers so it’s very important that we sit down, that we listen, that we have constructive dialogue and we collectively come up with respectful solutions and resolutions and begin the process of what that healing looks like,” Nave said. “So it does mean at the university, we need to reevaluate the programs that we have to make sure that they’re speaking to the issues and the concerns that students have, and to the extent that they are not, that we’re making the necessary modifications.”

At Pearl River Community College in Mississippi, president Adam Breerwood said he and his staff are looking to create the same kinds of opportunities for students to help improve the school and encourage discussions and actions to make campus a safe and supportive environment for all students.

“In terms of specific programs that are geared at our minority students, especially our African American students during this time, we don’t have anything specific,” Breerwood said. But the need to change that is hugely important, he said, and should be lead by the students themselves.

“The truth is that I don’t know what’s best as president,” Breerwood said. “So I look forward to getting together with our student leaders, with people from our communities, and trying to see what we can do as an institution to make sure that those students feel valued, to know that they’re appreciated, as we work towards unity.”

Additionally, the university presidents stressed the critical importance of communication and dialogue between institutions to improve the student experience.

“The less time that we spend reinventing the wheel, and the more time we spend conversating, having real conversations and dialogues around what these issues are and strategizing and developing scalable activities that we can implement at many of our institutions, will go a long way with helping our students,” said Nave, the Alcorn State president. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all strategy. What works in inner city Philadelphia may not work in rural Mississippi. But there are some common things that we can all center and focus around.”

Higher education holds a unique position to empower students to effect change and be able to grow into community leaders, the presidents said, and even more so now given the social unrest currently seen across the country.

“What we’re trying to do is teach them to break down those barriers, to be part of a bigger community,” Breerwood said. “If our students feel safe, secure value, we can be an opportunity for hope and prosperity for the future to build a brighter tomorrow.”

 

• Betsy Foresman / https://edscoop.com/university-presidents-say-schools-must-encourage-student-activism/

As college students across the country finish their spring semesters at home or at other remote locations, administrators at local colleges and universities are considering what to do when classes resume in the fall.

Here’s a look at what college administrators have decided so far:

Cheyney University

Cheyney University administrators are monitoring how the pandemic evolves over the next few weeks before they make a decision about their fall semester.

School administrators are evaluating what do do about course instruction, on-campus living and university services.

“We will adhere to the guidance provided from the state as well as the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education,” said a Cheyney spokesman.

Community College of Philadelphia

Administrators of the Community College of Philadelphia were the first to announce their plans: They will start the fall semester with online classes.

“The online courses will be designed by our faculty in collaboration with their deans and department heads,” CCP president Donald Guy Generals said. “We think it’s important to let our faculty make the decisions they know will be best for each individual course.”

The tuition at CCP will remain flat for the fall semester, but the college provide an automatic scholarship to cover students distance fees, a college spokeswoman said.

The decision was based on local, state and federal health guidelines that recommend varying degrees of social distancing measures for the foreseeable future.

The school might offer some in-person classes for select majors requiring labs, clinics, or hands-on instruction if local, state and federal health guidelines change.

Students will be able to access advisors, counselors, financial aid and the school’s admission office from home via phone, email and Zoom appointments.

CCP will continue its laptop loan program and offer students a college experience, with online meetings for student clubs and organizations, guest speakers and lecturers, college events, and career services and job fairs.

Delaware State University

Administrators at Delaware State University also are still weighing their options, and plan to announce their decision in early July.

“We’re looking at everything right now,” said spokesman Carlos Holmes. “Whether it’s having our classes go online for a portion of a semester or shortening the semester itself to starting classes at a later date in September or October.”

Drexel University

Drexel University administrators have formed a Fall 2020 COVID-19 Task Force that is still working on recommendations for how to return to campus; they plan to make a decision based on those recommendations and announce it in the upcoming weeks.

Administrators are “working closely” with the task force and they have established a COVID19 Health and Safety Work Group to ensure that the university’s protocols and procedures meet federal, state and local public health guidelines, Drexel president John Fry said in a recent update on the school’s website.

The task force conducted an online survey in which students, faculty, and professional staff were gave their input on what would be the safest way to reopen the campus.

Some of the results from the survey included health and safety measures returning to campus, staggered scheduling for labs and studios to adhere to social distancing measures, and flexibility to work and learn from home if campus activities resume.

Lincoln University

Lincoln University administrators are planning to welcome students back to main campus this fall.

But “these plans are contingent upon continued reductions in the spread of COVID-19 and the state support required to mitigate, monitor, and contain any health risks to our community,” university president Brenda A. Allen said in a written statement on Lincoln’s website.

A group of faculty, students and other staff is developing protocols and policies for in-person instruction, but administrators also will develop alternate plans for instruction.

Temple University

Temple University administrators plan to have in-person instruction for the fall semester.

Students will be allowed to move into residence halls in mid-August and the fall semester will start on Aug. 24.

Administrators at Temple are requiring everyone to wear face coverings and will enforce social distancing. All students will be asked to monitor their own health.

Large classes will be held online with smaller breakout groups. The university will end in-person classes at fall break, moving instruction online after the Thanksgiving holiday.

University of Pennsylvania

Administrators at the University of Pennsylvania are considering several different scenarios for the fall semester, according to a recent article in The Daily Pennsylvanian, the university’s student newspaper. A university spokesperson declined to discuss the scenarios with the Tribune.

Penn administrators plan to make a decision about the fall semester by the end of June.

The scenarios under consideration range from a hybrid of in-person and online instruction, shortened in-person semester and online learning.

The hybrid experience will feature some in-person instruction limited to small seminars, research group meetings, experimental clinics and studios, and courses enrolling no more than 25 students, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported.

Penn administrators are considering in-person instruction ending at Thanksgiving break with additional class meetings scheduled in the evenings or on Saturdays, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported. The remainder of the semester would be conducted online in this scenario.

Other scenarios include expanding summer class offerings in 2021 and continued online-only instruction for the entire fall semester.

• Chanel Hill Tribune Staff Writer / chill@phillytrib.com 215-893-5716 / https://www.phillytrib.com/news/health/coronavirus/local-colleges-and-universities-begin-planning-for-fall-semester/article_00247028-5d05-58b8-beae-e9f05309fa62.html