A novel pilot program is helping to spark high school students’ interest in engineering and STEM as well as show them the impact they can have on their communities. The students’ main assignment focused on historic Jefferson Street in Nashville. The program was started by Ghina Absi, assistant professor in the practice of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University. It is a joint venture with the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV), which is a partnership with Vanderbilt and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). Juniors from various Nashville high schools came together once a week for three…
Author: Lucas Johnson
By Lucas Johnson NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — When President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Supreme Court, for many it was more than just keeping a campaign promise. The historic move, in the eyes of civil rights groups and women’s organizations, is viewed as “long overdue.” Biden nominated Jackson on Feb. 25. If confirmed, she would not only be the first African-American woman, but also the third Black justice and sixth woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover, who also serves as vice chair of the President’s…
By Lucas Johnson NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — For more than a decade, Tennessee State University History Professor Learotha Williams has worked to highlight those unsung heroes of the civil rights movement in North Nashville. Now, with the help of Apple, Inc. and TSU’s National Center for SMART Technology Innovations, Dr. Williams is creating an app to do just that, and more. When completed, the app will guide people on a walking tour of key landmarks in the movement, including the cafeteria (now called Elliott Hall) where TSU students were recruited for activism. Along the way, people will be…
By Lucas Johnson NASHVILLE, TN — U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona, hosted a roundtable discussion at Tennessee State University on Friday, Feb. 18, to address teacher shortages and other educational needs. The highlight of the conversation was TSU’s Grow Your Own teacher pipeline initiative in the College of Education. TSU is the number one HBCU for producing teachers and a top institution in the field across the nation. TSU graduate and undergraduate students from the Grow Your Own program, faculty and local educational leaders participated in the dialog that allowed them to talk openly about issues impacting…
By Lucas Johnson NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — Aram Abubaker was presented with a challenge. A friend who worked with children with special needs was looking for something that would help enhance their social skills. Abubaker responded: He made an app for that. On Nov. 20, Abubaker joined nearly 800 undergraduate and graduate students who received various degrees at Tennessee State University’s Fall Commencement ceremony. Abubaker got a doctorate in computer engineering, where he improved his software developing skills that aided him in making the PeerKnect app. According to the app’s website, 93 percent of parents or therapists say…
By Lucas Johnson NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — Nearly 700 undergraduate and graduate students received degrees in various disciplines at Tennessee State University’s Fall Commencement ceremony on Nov. 20. The event was held in hybrid format with the live ceremony in the Gentry Center Complex, where U.S. Congresswoman Nikema Williams (D-GA.) addressed the graduates. The ceremony was also livestreamed. Before Williams spoke, TSU President Glenda Glover lauded the graduates for their achievement. “I applaud you for having reached this extraordinary milestone,” said Glover. “You have endured, you have withstood, you have survived. We salute you.” Williams, who took over…
By Lucas L. Johnson II For years, public schools have struggled with teacher shortages. But the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem, and triggered a spike in retirements and resignations that have school administrators scratching their heads. According to an Associated Press story that ran in September, Tennessee is among states with teacher shortages and difficulties filling openings. For instance, Metro Nashville Public Schools, one of the three largest school districts in Tennessee, reported more than 300 teacher openings in May. “This year has turned out to be the most challenging of my career,” English teacher Mary Holden told NBC…
By Lucas Johnson NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — Tennessee State University recognized Veterans Day with a special program that emphasized the benefits veterans bring to the workforce. Dr. Karon Uzzell-Baggett, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and former AFROTC Detachment commander at TSU, was the keynote speaker for the program on Nov. 11. “This is a wonderful day to set aside to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the ideals of democracy and freedom,” said Uzzell-Baggett. She went on to talk about the 4.2 percent unemployment rate for…
By Lucas L. Johnson II Supporters of more mental health resources for Tennessee students say the COVID-19pandemic has revealed even more the need for what they’ve been preaching. For years now, health care advocates have been calling for more resources to address themental health of K-12 students, such as more counselors in schools. In the wake of COVID-19, K-12 families, particularly those in underserved communities, are facing significant mental health issues. “Mental health resources were often not available, other than through schools,” said Dr. Sherry Blake, a licensed clinical psychologist and national expert on mental health. “When the schools shut…
By Lucas L. Johnson II NASHVILLE, TN — Thirteen-year-old Nivea McCloud was frustrated, and a bit worried. It was the height of the COVD-19 pandemic last year, and the seventh-grader’s school in Memphis, Tennessee, had switched to virtual learning, like others across the country. Some days, she said her math teacher would not show up, and when she did, “she might not teach us anything,” McCloud recalled. Needless to say, she started falling behind in math. She was failing. But a tutoring program based in Nashville, Tennessee, called Homework Hotline, threw her a lifeline. “I would be stressed out…