Southern University System celebrates scholarship support and student success at 2nd annual Southern Celebrates Scholarship Event

The Southern University System hosted its second annual Southern Celebrates Scholarship Event Wednesday at the Southern University Welcome Center, bringing together more than 300 benefactors, corporate partners and student scholars from across the Southern University System to celebrate the impact of scholarships, mentorship and partnerships on student success.

The morning brunch highlighted the contributions of supporters whose generosity provides direct support to students at Southern University campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport. The event also gave benefactors and corporate partners an opportunity to engage with student scholars and Southern University administrative and academic leaders.

This year’s event also marked Southern University’s 146th year of service to Louisiana and the nation. Southern University is the nation’s only Historically Black College and University system.

“Today is about the gratitude we have for our students who excel and raise the bar,” said Dr. Orlando McMeans, interim president of the Southern University System and chancellor of the Southern University Ag Center. “It is equally about gratitude for those who contribute to that excellence — those who give, mentor, provide a network, an ear, or a prayer. We thank you.”

The program featured a moderated panel discussion, “The Power of Partnership: Nutrien & Southern University,” facilitated by Alfred E. Harrell III, president and CEO of the Southern University System Foundation. Panelists included Ebonie Raby, senior adviser for community relations and investment at Nutrien; Dr. Robert Easley, director of advancement for the College of Agriculture, Human and Environmental Sciences at Southern University and A&M College; and Bryan Glass, a Southern University student scholar.

The discussion highlighted the Nutrien Scholarship Fund at Southern University and explored how sustained corporate-university partnerships can create educational opportunities for students from communities across Louisiana.

“Southern’s success is a shared success,” said Harrell. “Every gift, every mentorship, every partnership represented in this room is already at work in the life of a Southern University student. This event is our opportunity to say thank you, and to show our partners exactly what their investment makes possible.”

The second annual Southern Celebrates Scholarship Event was made possible through the support of Dow, Mele Printing, Aramark, Renasant Bank, the Southern University System Foundation and the Southern University System.

For more information about the Southern University System Foundation and its work supporting donor relations, major gift fundraising, legacy giving and corporate partnerships across the Southern University System, contact Biyaka Williams at biyaka@sutrueblue.org.