HBCU Summit 2017

Welcome

I am very delighted to welcome you to New Orleans, the birth city of Jazz, for the OLC/MERLOT INNOVATE 2017 conference, as we celebrate the launching of a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Summit on Affordable Learning and Quality Online program. I wanted first to thank the Southern University System (SUS) leadership, the California State University MERLOT and the OLC organizations for their dedication in supporting and enabling this first Summit. We would not be able to launch without the dedication and engagement of my colleagues, eLearning practitioners, members of the Summit Steering Committee composed of faculty and leadership from many HBCUs, including the four Louisiana HBCUs, Xavier University of Louisiana, Dillard University, Grambling State University and the Southern University System (SUS). We understood during our recurring meeting that a HBCU Summit was long overdue and that we could not find better host than INNOVATE, an excellent conference dedicated to online learning practitioners and institutional transformations.

Supporting Online Strategies

Research on the current state of online education at HBCUs boldly claim that HBCUs are still lagging behind their national counterparts in the adoption of online learning. As a result, proponents of equal access to distributed education and quality instruction may lead us to believe that HBCUs are neglecting the needs of their unique student populations and that online education is not considered as potential strategic asset. On the contrary, closer examination of student success at HBCUs shows that they are indeed addressing the needs of their students by introducing online programs at a modest pace. HBCUs have a lot to share and leveraging affordable learning solution for developing quality online programs at a lower cost could be an avenue for growing programs, increasing college access and success for minority students.

It is critical to have a national forum enabling these institutions sharing similar goals, challenges and interests, to network, share best practices related to their communities and build eLearning capacity. I am hoping that the INNOVATE HBCU Summit will help us fill this void.

Addressing HBCU Priorities

The HBCU Summit is a professional forum for practitioners and campuses leadership from HBCUs in the United States and partnering Higher Education Institutions in Africa (HEIA) to leverage current innovative technologies. HBCUs and HEIA participants will develop plans that they will be able to deploy within their own institutions, customized to the needs and goals of their own communities. The 2017 summit focuses particularly on the themes of increasing college access and success through the use of affordable learning solution and delivering quality online programs. We hope to have you join us in New Orleans. Come celebrate with us.

Prof. Moustapha Diack
Chair, HBCU Summit.

Keynote Speakers

Conference Themes

Affordable Learning Solution, AL$: Open Education Resources (OER) – based Teaching and Learning Environment that empower educational institution to design learning environment at lower cost and thereby enhancing college affordability, student access and success.

Quality Online Program: Using the right learning standards and institutional best practices to deploy quality online learning program – Showcasing the OLC Score Card for institutional adoption.

Announcing the HBCU Summit:

HBCU SUMMIT INNOVATE 2017: NEW ORLEANS, APRIL 5-7, 2017 from Moustapha Diack on Vimeo.

Steering Committee

Join the steering committee conversation at MERLOT Voices.

NAME	ORGANIZATION
Moustapha Diack	Southern University in Baton Rouge (SUBR)
Carlos Thomas	Southern University in Baton Rouge (SUBR)
Francesca William	Southern University in Baton Rouge (SUBR)
Dawn VENTRESS Kight	Southern University in Baton Rouge (SUBR)
Cynthia Bryant	Southern University in Baton Rouge (SUBR)
Sundée Winder	Louisiana Dept. Public Health||Tulane University
John Williams	Prairie View A&M University
Janue Johnson Seaton	Hampton University
Hamilton Eldrie	Grambling State University
Rona Tyger	Dillard University
Lynette Ralph	Xavier University
Marcus Cox	Xavier University
Colita Fairfax	Norfolk State University
Alassane Diop	Senegal Virtual University - SENEGAL
Moussa Lo	Senegal Virtual University - SENEGAL
Arletha McSwain	Bethune Cookman University
Coral Rojas	University Central Florida
Veronica McEachin	Southern University in Shreveport
Shelia Wood	Southern University at New Orleans
Gerry Hanley	California State University (CSU)

Ambassadors

Practitioners Summit for Advancing Affordable Learning Solutions and Quality Online Education for HBCUs at the OLC/MERLOT INNOVATE Conference on April 5-7, 2017

Dr. Ray Belton,
President Chancellor
Southern University System of Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana – USA

Pr. Marie Teuw Niane
Ministry for Higher Education and Research
Republic of Senegal, West Africa

Dr. Christopher Brown
Executive Vice-President for Academic Affairs & Provost
Southern University System & Southern University Baton Rouge, Louisiana – USA

Dr. Robbie Melton,
Associate Vice Chancellor of Mobilization Emerging Technology
Tennessee Board of Regents

Pr. Lamine Gueye,
President and Rector
University of Bambey, Senegal, West Africa

Dr. Gabriel Fagbeyiro,
Associate Vice President for Information Technology & Chief Information Officer
SUS/SUBR

Dr. Robert Blaine
Associate Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs
Dean of Undergraduate Study for Cyber learning
Jackson State University

Dr. Robert Ford, CEO
DRF Industries, LLC
5215 Palmer Street, Houston, TX 77004

HBCU Affiliates

There are 106 HBCU affiliates in the United States. Click here to see a list.

Summit Program and Registration

1. See the program and register for the Summit.
2. Download the Summit flyer (PDF) and share it with your colleagues.
3. See our suggestions for dining while attending the Summit.