Miles College and its illustrious leader, Dr. George T. French, Jr., have been moving miles forward at lightning speed. From Father of the Year, to Presi-dent of the Year, From Man of the Year to the antici-pated grand opening cel-ebration, of not one, not two, but three new build-ings, the good times are defi-nitely rolling at Miles Col-lege.

On Thurs-day, October 17, Dr. French will proudly present the three new build-ings during the Ribbon Cutting Cer-emony and Grand Opening, of the New W e l c o m e Enrollment S e r v i c e s Center, Stu-dent Dining Center, and the 204-Bed R e s i d e n c e Hall.

In addi-tion to the grand- open-ing, cer-emony, New Men’s Dorm will be renamed in honor of Bishop Paul A.G Stewart, Sr. and Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick III. The dorm will now be known as the Stewart Reddick Resi-

dence Hall. The new student activities center will be named in honor of the current President Dr. George T. French, Jr. The new residence hall, will be named in honor of the Chairman of the Board

of Trustees, Bishop Te-resa E. Snor-ton, and the theater in the Welcome and Enroll-ment Services Center will be named in honor of K i r k w o o d Balton.

A p p r o x i -mately 5,000

attendees are anticipated for the cer-emony. Guests will include hundreds of high school students, alums, board of

trustee mem-bers, com-munity lead-ers, political officials, stu-dents, fac-ulty and staff all gathered to celebrate and to hear s p e a k e r s such as Gov-ernor Robert Bentley, who

is among the impressive list slated for the dais.

All in all, every day is a great day, at Miles College. q

October 1, 1968 Attorney Arthur Shores is the first black elected to the Birmingham City Council

October 1, 1989 Colin Powell becomes first black chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

October 8, 1966 The Black Panthers Party founded

October 14, 1964 Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. awarded Nobel Peace Prize

October 20, 1958 Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, Reverend J.S. Phifer and 11 others arrested for protesting bus segregation

October 24, 1961 U.S. District Judge H.H. Grooms orders desegregation of all city facilities

October 29, 1969 U.S. Supreme Court orders desegregation of all public schools

October 30, 1979 Richard Arrington Jr. elected as first black mayor of Birmingham

November 8, 1960 John F. Kennedy elected president

November 11, 1960 Veterans Day

November 17, 1951 Denise McNair was born

November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy assassinated

December 1, 1955 NAACP member Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a public bus

December 14, 1959 Federal Judge H.H. Grooms rules that blacks can be seated anywhere on Birmingham buses

December 25, 1956 Bomb explodes at the home of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth

September, 2013VOLUME I • Issue 3

Miles College, Moving Miles Forward

Dr. French & students discuss plans for the soonto be dedicated buildings.

Dr. French among those honored as Father of the Yearby the American Diabetes Association.

Dates to Remember

On Saturday, July 27th, I attended the world premier of the documentary, STAND: The Story of Miles College and its’ leadership role in The Civil Rights Movement. The producer of the documentary, Donna Dukes, the daughter of Frank Dukes–the organizer of the “selective buying campaign” in Birmingham, AL, that began at Miles College. The evening was full of historical moments, guests that intrigued the audience with their stories and the sometimes comical moments that took place during the movement. The stories included people like Eugene “Bull” Connor and how he played into the hands of the organizers of the boycott. People like Dr. Lucius Pitts, the president of Miles College during that time, and the phenomenal role that Miles played in the movement that changed the world.

To take a trip down memory lane, Mr. Dukes, now 82 years old, was a student at Miles College and the president of the Student Government Association during 1961-62, and the creator of the selective buying campaign. During that turbulent time in American history, it was against the law to have a ‘boycott’. As a result, Mr. Dukes created another way to address the issues concerning the segregation that existed in Birmingham. The campaign began during Easter week of 1962. The strategy for the selective buying campaign was to stop all shopping by “colored” (African American) shoppers which hit the merchants where they lived- their financial means. The Wall Street Journal reported

that black people spent more than $4 million dollars in revenue weekly prior to this boycott-this was in 1962 (Stand: Documentary, 2013) The goal was to stop black shoppers from purchasing items from the segregated stores in downtown Birmingham, AL. The black people could shop in the stores but could not try on the clothes before purchasing them, nor could they eat at the delicatessen in the stores and they could not work in the stores. The people became motivated by the injustices that existed in Birmingham, mainly the way they were treated and the opportunities they were given-shopping, spending their money, but never shopkeepers, shop owners of the places that took advantage of their place in life.

It is difficult to capture in a limited amount of space the story of Miles and its leadership role, but there is a wonderful preview of the documentary on YouTube (type in Stand: Miles College Documentary). It will inspire and enlighten you….It is a great day at Miles! q

Gwendolyn Dees, Assistant Professor, Division of Humanities

Bill Cosby was in the Magic City this weekend as chair of the 50th Anniver-sary of the 1963 Civil Rights Movement. Saturday, he spoke at the “Changing Lives Education and Entrepreneurial Summit” at the BJCC.

But for a few minutes early Friday morning, he was just an ex-ballplayer, dropping some words of wisdom on the younger generation of ballers to get them ready for a big game. Cosby delivered an insightful and, of course, com-ical message to the Miles’ football team at the Golden Bears’ walk-through practice before they took on West Georgia on the road Saturday.

“My kids they were so excited,” Miles coach Reginald Ruffin said. “We grew up watching, you know the history of Bill Cosby, “Fat Albert” and “The Cosby Show” and all the stuff that they’ve done for people and communities and not just black and white but all communities. (Cosby was) just showing you life lessons. It was very special.”

The team huddled around Cosby near the 50-yard line at Albert J. Sloan-Alumni Stadium. He talked to players about the basics of football and, in many ways, life.

“No. 1,” Cosby said. “Know your assignment. And if you don’t know, go to the coach and say, ‘I need help’. There’s always somebody who knows the play. You don’t want to bother people when they say, ‘Break!’ and you come out and say, ‘Where do I go?’ You’re not doing your team any good.”

“You have 10 other people on the field with you. Do your job!”, Cosby exhorted. “Do your job. Don’t say, ‘Well, he’s good enough so he can do this and I can stay out of it. Put it in there.”

He left the team with two rallying cries---’Courage’ and ‘Make it happen’.He asked the players to repeat the mantras, not with a resounding shout

but with a reserved sincerity from within. He implored them to keep on fight-ing on the field until there was no time left on the clock and for each man to look to himself to be the catalyst to change things.

“I watch him all the time when I have a chance,” Miles quarterback David Thomas said of “The Cosby Show”. “Because my parents grew up off of it, my cousins and family members. So, it’s just been a part of my life, learning life lessons from him has just been great. Seeing him today was just a big moment in my life.” q

Bill Cosby Gives Pep Talk

The Miles Wire is a newsletter for the Miles College faculty and staff distributed by the Office of College Relations. If you would like more information about this publication, contact Alicia Johnson-Williams at 205-929-1641 or email at ajohnson@miles.edu.

ContributingWriter: Gwendolyn Dees

Graphics & Design: Bruce Thomas

Proofing:Tania Adams

Editor: Alicia Johnson-Williams

For the first time in school history, Miles College will offer golf as a sponsored sport the school recently an-nounced. The Golden Bears Golf Team begins its inaugural season dur-ing the 2013-2014 school year.

“This new golf team is a great opportunity for Miles College to show yet another component of the culture, class and ci-vility that we instill in our students.” says President George T. French. “It is a testament of the standard of excellence that we ex-

pect from our students academically and holistically”.Being charged with the task of building the Golden

Bear program is first year head coach Leonard Smoot. A retired 24-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps (USMC), Smoot brings over 20 years of competitive golf experience. He has several top-10 finishes in competi-tive tournaments throughout Southeast Asia and Europe, including wins at the Wago Championship (Okinawa, Ja-pan) as well as the Staff & Officer Championship (Awase, Japan). In 2002, Smoot became just the third African-American to make the United States Marines Golf Team.

The Miles College golf team will take part in non-com-petitive events during the fall semester, beginning with the National Black College Hall of Fame Golf Invitational, September 27th-29th in Atlanta, GA. The Golden Bears’ season will officially begin in spring 2014.

“The motto for our golf team this season will be P.M.A., which stands for Positive Mental Attitude. What this means is that regardless of the situation, we want our student-athletes to have a positive mental attitude as well as the will to win, whether it’s on the golf course, in the classroom, or just functioning in society,” Smoot stated.

Coach Smoot states that he has already successfully re-cruited four players, two from Atlanta, GA and two from Kimberly, Al. They are set to enroll as freshmen this fall and he looks to add more golfers to the team prior to the start of the upcoming season.

“My goal is to find good students that want to receive a quality education. We want to develop a successful golf program that can compete for SIAC Championships as well as NCAA Division II Championships,” says Smoot.

For inquiries about the Miles College golf program, contact Head Coach Leonard Smoot by email at lsmoot@miles.edu or by phone at 205-929-1617. q

Dr. Charles C. Woods HonoredInducted into The Society of the Golden Key

The University of West Alabama honored its top students for their academic achievement and lead-ership Wednesday, March 20, during the institution’s annual Honors Day convocation. In ad-dition to recognizing student honorees, the University inducted three alumni into the Society of the Golden Key, the highest honor bestowed upon a UWA graduate.

The Society of the Golden Key was established in 1963 to honor outstanding alumni who have brought distinction upon the Uni-versity by the quality of their lives and their achievements. Since the initial charter, only 205 members

have been inducted. Dr. Charles C. Woods of Alabaster received his bachelor’s and

master’s degrees in biology from the University of West Alabama in 1987 and 1992, respectively. He earned his Ph.D. in environ-mental microbiology at Alabama A&M University in 1996 and ac-cepted an Assistant Professorship in biology at Miles College in 1995. Over the next eight years, Woods achieved the rank of Pro-fessor, while teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses, and maintaining a significant and rigorous research portfolio.

Woods’ courses and special research interests include general and honors biology, environmental science, honors research, soil science, scientific writing, geology, embryology, bioremedia-tion, and phytoremediation. His publications and manuscripts in-clude topics such as the microbiological characteristics of mine spoils in Alabama and Tennessee and the relationship between soil enzyme activity, viable plate count, and respiration, biomass, and soil properties on microbial proliferation and wetland soils. He has presented on topics such as environmental sustainability, environmental justice, and African-Americans and science at sev-eral regional and national conferences and programs.

In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Woods has been exten-sively involved in professional development, leadership, and programmatic activities for student enrichment. He serves on a number of Miles College’s committees, including the Compliance Certification Team, the Institutional Planning and Assessment Team, the Judicial Council, the Honors Curriculum Committee, and the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee and serves as Chair for the Faculty Development Committee and the Grants Writing Committee.

Woods has experienced considerable success with procuring external funding for a variety of initiatives at Miles College, many

of which provide enrichment services for minorities in STEM fields. As Principal Investigator or collaborator, he has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Insti-tutes of Health’s Mentored Experiences in Research, Instruction, and Teaching (MERIT) Program, NASA, the College Fund, the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program.

A few of Woods’ personal accolades include Miles College’s Teacher of the Year, AAMU National Needs Scholarship Recipi-ent, Patricia Robert-Harris Fellow, and recipient of the 2001 UWA Alumni Achievement Award. He is a member of the American As-sociation for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Microbiology, the American Soil Science Association, the Na-tional Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, and the Agronomy Society of America. q

Miles College WelcomesDr. Kevin. P. Walsh

Coach Leonard Smoot

Miles College is proud to announce the new Vice Presi-dent of Institutional Planning and Development and new President’s Cabinet member, Dr. Kevin P. Walsh. Dr. Walsh is very excited about joining the administrative staff and the opportunity to expand current development efforts by con-tinuing to connect with do-nors, partners, and other com-munity support entities. He would also like to garner new relationships that will further strengthen the support of the college and grow additional resources.

Dr. Walsh has a strong background in Higher Education and nonprofit fundraising. He earned his Ph.D. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education with double minors in Philosophy of Education and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Walsh is a 14 time recipient of Excellence in Teaching Award at U.A.B. and has been featured in a 1992 New York Times article, “A Rising Argument That Teaching Values Should Rank With Les-sons” Published: January 01, 1992” He has served as keynote speaker at numerous national conventions including the National School Board Association in Arkansas and the School Board As-sociation in Louisiana School Board Association.

Dr. Walsh currently serves as the Greater Alabama Boy Scouts Council Director of Learning for Life and Director of Human Resources and previously served the organization as Director of Education in Birmingham. His work with the Boy Scouts of America, gave him the vision to begin Birmingham’s Youth Lead-ership Development Program in 2009. The YLDP soon grew to serve over 500 students representing 53 different high schools from around the greater Birmingham area. It also branched out to develop YLDPs in St. Clair and Blount/Cullman counties, and more are on the way! The YLDP was designed to give young peo-ple an in-depth experience in developing as students, leaders, and citizens.

The Walsh Academy of Leadership is a three night/four day leadership experience for rising seniors to expose them to many new and diverse individuals, ideas and situations that will chal-lenge them as leaders.

Dr. Walsh will lead the development team and its efforts at Miles College which include but are not limited to: grant writing, annual giving, donor cultivation, capital campaigns, and special fundrais-ing events. q

Dr. Kevin P. Walsh

Golden Bears Golf Team

Sunday11:00 a.m. Service at Miles Chapel (hand out Mardi Gras Beads and Masks) 3:00 p.m. Mask Decoration4:00 p.m. Coronation9:00 p.m. Masquerade Ball

Monday6:00 p.m. Talent Show8:00 p.m. Bonfire (Burial of the Thorobred)9:30 p.m. Hot Wing Eating Contest11:00 p.m. Club Sub

Tuesday11:00 a.m. High School Visitation Day/ fun fest8:00 p.m. STS Bus Skating 8-12

Wednesday11:00 a.m. Miles College Trivia8:00 p.m. Comedy Show

Thursday8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Dedication5:00 p.m. Community Service6:00 p.m. Fashion/ Talent Show7:00 p.m. Bourbon Street/Block Party

Friday11:00 a.m. Stroll Off9:00 p.m. Concert

Saturday9:00 a.m. Miles College Homecoming Parade4:00 p.m. Miles College Homecoming Game8:00 p.m. Step Show

Dr. Charles C. Woods

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