Fort Valley State University

January 31, 2010 - By: FVSU Office of Sports Information

“There’s something about you baby and your sweet love that’s really got a hold on me. I got a little taste of your love and I’m hooked on it,” sang popular blues artist Clarence Carter at this year’s Hunt-Bond-Troup Scholarship Gala. The master of the “cheatin’ n’ sneakin’ genre turned up the heat during a 90-minute concert at the Oct. 30 fundraiser with sultry hit songs such as, “Too Weak To Fight” and “Slip Away” to the delight of FVSU alumni and guests. “I’m hooked on you.

Nov. 5, 2009 - Miss 2009-2010 Fort Valley State University, Shandaleia Shephard knows how to captivate an audience. The 20-year-old senior psychology student exuded sophistication, confidence and grace while greeting special guests and former queens during a brunch held in her honor Thursday, Oct. 29. The event kicked off a day full of activities leading up to the much anticipated coronation.

Fort Valley State University’s graduating class of 1969 witnessed years of milestones that forever changed the nation. Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated the year before, the Vietnam War raged on and Richard Milhouse Nixon took office as the new leader of the free world. The late sixties also signaled a coming of age for Wildcat graduates. During Saturday’s homecoming festitivities, class members reunited to reminiscence at a brunch in the C. W. Pettigrew Center and to make a significant contribution.

A popular blues artist is the star attraction at an annual Fort Valley State University Homecoming event. Clarence Carter – the master of “cheatin’ n’ sneakin’” hit songs like “Slip Away”– will headline this year’s Hunt-Bond-Troup Gala at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 in the Health and Physical Education Complex. The formal, black-tie scholarship fundraiser is sponsored by the university’s National Alumni Association, Inc.

August 10, 2009—In an effort to enhance efficiency and consolidate resources— in the face of Fort Valley State University’s 15 percent budget reduction since the 2008 fiscal year— the offices of alumni affairs and career services have been consolidated to form a new Office of Career and Alumni Services (CAS), effective July 1. The merger, proposed and approved by the Administrative Council, will be staffed with a senior director and a director for career and alumni services (to be identified as part of an institutional search).

A May graduate of Fort Valley State University is on a mission to wipe out disease, malnutrition and illiteracy in his birthplace. Niger native Gagara K. Abdou, graduated with a master’s degree in public health and helped create the Kirker African Medical Relief Association (KAMRA). Abdou currently serves as the vice president of African affairs for the nonprofit organization which recycles and ships overseas used, but operational medical equipment and pharmaceutical medicines.

“I’ve met famous women from Oprah Winfrey to Coretta Scott-King. I can’t say I’ve met a woman who’s 107 years old,” said Fort Valley State University Mass Communications instructor Chata Spikes, while celebrating the life of author, writer and former Jeanes Residence Hall mother Nella Edgar Crooks. “For me, this is more than just an honor, it’s a blessing.” On Monday, at a celebration in Hunt Memorial Library’s lobby, Spikes, the FVSU family, and Delta Sigma Theta sorority honored the centenarian, who turned 107 on Oct. 1.

Ruby Solomon registered to attend Fort Valley State fifty years ago. Her mother, living on a meager wage, culled enough money to pay for tuition and books. During the first week of classes, the young math major worried if she’d stay in school: $15 a month for room and board stood between her and a college education. Today, at 67, the silver-haired retired educator made sure some FVSU students don’t have the same nail-biting experience. The FVSU alumnae made a $50,000 contribution to the university for student scholarships. “My dad died so there were limited finances in our family.