Tougaloo College Selected as January 2018 School of the Month by the Tom Joyner Foundation
Tougaloo, MS – The Tom Joyner Foundation (TJF) has selected Tougaloo College as the January 2018 School of the Month. As a result of this special designation, 20 Tougaloo students will be awarded scholarships. These scholars must exhibit academic excellence, leadership skills, and community service.
“We are privileged to have been selected as The Tom Joyner Foundation School of the Month for January 2018 and deeply appreciate this opportunity,” states President Beverly Wade Hogan. “We thank Tom and his Foundation for the work they continue to do to raise scholarship dollars for students who attend our Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Without this scholarship assistance, many of our students who are often the first in their families to attend college would not be able to do so.”
The School of the Month Initiative is the signature program of the Tom Joyner Foundation, Inc. Each year, the Foundation selects and partners with 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help raise funds in support of student scholarship and other initiatives that will help sustain these institutions.
Carlos D. Smith, Tougaloo College National Alumni Association president and newly appointed Board of Trustee member, remarks on the importance of this prestigious honor. “This is a tremendous honor for Tougaloo College! Any opportunity for the College to be promoted is counted as a “plus”. Scholarship dollars are few and competitive. This is even more magnified at small, private colleges: and when you add ‘historically black’ to that equation, the dollars really become obscure.”
“I recall the appreciative faces of students who felt dejected and rejected because they just could not find all the funds needed; then, a small $500 or $1,000 scholarship would be made available. These scholarships allow deserving students to continue their education. Many students have benefitted from the scholarships offered at Tougaloo College and current and future students are also deserving of that benefit through the generosity of our friends. With such support, Tougaloo College can continue offering education to those who otherwise may not have an opportunity and to those who want the luxury of attending a special place like Tougaloo College,” adds Smith.
One of the deserving students of the Tom Joyner Foundation scholarship validates this sentiment. Chelsea Luckett, a sophomore Biology major, shares how the scholarship aids her in continuing her family legacy. “I grew up in a single-parent household as the youngest of three girls, all of whom attended Tougaloo College on scholarship. This scholarship will help me to continue on my academic journey to becoming a medical professional and continuing the legacy that my older sisters left behind. Tougaloo College engraves in me a deeper appreciation for my culture and community that I will carry with me indefinitely,” expresses Chelsea.
Of the 20 scholarship recipients, four male students were selected as Hercules Scholars, named in honor of Tom’s father, the late Hercules Joyner, who had a passion for education. We are proud of Samuel Graves, a sophomore Computer Science major; Simeon Williams, a sophomore Psychology major; John Johnson, a junior Biology major; and Benjamin Parker, a freshman Economics major.
Tougaloo College is a private, independent, liberal arts institution, offering undergraduate degrees in 29 majors in the areas of education, the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, and graduate degrees in teaching and child development. Since its founding in 1869, the college has maintained a rich tradition of excellence, relevance, and influence, creating a legacy of distinction in higher education. According to the National Science Foundation, Tougaloo ranks among the top 25 U.S. institutions whose graduates earn their Ph.D. degrees in the science and engineering disciplines. The Washington Monthly lists Tougaloo among the top ten Best Bang for the Buck colleges in the nation. And, the Educate to Career College Rankings Index ranked the College #23 out of the 1222 U.S. institutions included in the rankings for best economic value. Tougaloo College is any student’s passport to success.