A Look at PVAMU’s Top 15 Moments of 2022

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Two-thousand and twenty-two – what a year for Prairie View A&M University! As 2023 begins, let’s look at the most notable items accomplished on “The Hill” over the last 365 days.

PVAMU kicked off 2022 with a bang. The University attained the prestigious R2 Carnegie Classification (Doctoral University; High Research Activity). The honor represents excellence in teaching, research and innovation in institutions of higher education nationwide. It’s also the second-highest ranking for universities with a commitment to research.

PVAMU’s 2021-2022 writer- and activist-in-residence, Nikki Giovanni and Melina Abdullah, were featured during multiple events this spring, both on and off campus. They hosted public lectures, master classes and visits to local K-12 schools.

“I think that’s what both of you really represent: the call for us to be our authentic selves, whatever that authentic looks like. And I think more than anything, you all tell us that you don’t just end up a thing; you have to work at it. You have to do it. You have to practice it. And so, you might, at some point, be a writer, but the way you become that writer is that you actually write. And you might be an activist, and the way you become an activist is that you actually resist and stand up for things,” Melanye Price ’95, endowed professor and director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice, said during an event featuring Giovanni and Abdullah, “Teaching to Transgress: A Conversation on Activism, Writing and HBCUs.”

This fall, Kevin Powell and Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson were named the 2022-2023 writer and activist in residence, respectively.

“Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell set the stage for the second TEDxPVAMU conference. Speakers encouraged listeners to dig into stories of success, perseverance, personal growth and perspectives to broaden their experiences and go out and take action.

From performing with Houston legend Paul Wall during the Texans’ season opener, to Kirk Franklin during the Stellar Awards, and on The CW’s eight-part docu-series, March, it was a great year for the highest-ranked HBCU band in the land.

Alumni, students, employees and friends were definitely “Back in Stride Again.”

2022 titles were achieved by Women’s Softball, Bowling, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, as well as Men’s Indoor Track and Field and Outdoor Track and Field. PVAMU also claimed the 2021-2022 SWAC Commissioner’s Cup Award. Go Panthers!

This includes Antoinette R. Gant ’94, who made history as the first African American female active-duty engineer to be promoted to the rank of general officer, and Roshunda Jones-Koumba ’03 ’07, who received the 2022 Excellence in Theatre Education Award at the Tony Awards. Alums Erica Hughes ’03 and Tim Kinnard ’92 were also featured on Around Texas with Chancellor John Sharp, highlighting their inspiring career journeys.

The University is working with:

• Texas A&M University to recruit, prepare, develop and support a strong and diverse P-12 educator workforce across the nation;
• Princeton University, and four other HBCU partnering institutions, focusing on cybersecurity research; and
• Southern Methodist University and Goldman Sachs, also for cybersecurity research.

PVAMU also kicked off a huge research project of its own, delving into the institution’s rich history. Researchers are using archives, oral histories and technology to piece together what was and what has come to be on this hallowed ground.

The initiative aims to preserve and amplify the invaluable visual history of HBCUs.

Work at Impact Leadership Academy includes cultivating learning experiences rooted in identity, leadership, community and activism, all designed to address academic achievement and support social and emotional needs for young Black and Latino male students.

President Ruth J. Simmons presented the Presidential Medal to both. The medal is awarded to exceptional individuals who have attained the highest levels of success in their respective fields.

“When I took on this challenge, I did not know that the country would experience social and political upheaval unlike any I had seen in my previous leadership roles. I did not know that a historic flood would affect the community so grievously. I did not anticipate a pandemic that would upend the way we work and experience the educational environment. I did not imagine that I would feel so grateful to be able to lead PV through this series of challenges and that PV would emerge stronger after such a perilous period, gaining in resources and reputation. I am therefore grateful.”

You can read President Simmons’ complete letter here.

Dr. Tomikia P. LeGrande, vice president for Strategy, Enrollment Management and Student Success at Virginia Commonwealth University, will assume her new role as PVAMU’s ninth president at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

The over 640 students who walked the stage brought the total alumni count to nearly 81,000 Proud and Productive Panthers in the University’s 146-year history. Commencement speakers this year included the president of the Ford Foundation, Darren Walker, Tony Award-winning teaching artist Roshunda Jones-Koumba ’03, ’07 and philosopher, political activist and social critic Cornel West.

Judging from the picture above of the nearly full Baby Dome at the Fall 2022 Commencement ceremony, 2023 will be another year to watch at PVAMU.

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