Jackson State University and the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition (HBCU-CDAC) are holding a conference on campus Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 15-17, titled Anchor Institutions: Connecting Campuses and Communities.
To be held at the JSU Student Center, the conference will highlight how to build healthy communities and provide examples of public and private partnerships that work, according to Jason H. Brookins, director of the JSU Center for University-Based Development (CUBD).
“We’re serving as the host for the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition with our counterparts at other HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities),” Brookins said. Part of the purpose of the meeting is to showcase what JSU has done with community development, and part of it is to share solution ideas with other institutions, he added.
The conference begins at 9 a.m. with a welcome by Interim Vice President of Institutional Advancement Dr. Mary White and will feature HBCU success stories, heritage walking tours, panel discussions ranging from creating public and private partnerships to developing healthy, sustainable communities to “green” solutions to campus and community issues.
Registration is $75. However, a portion of the conference from 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the future of west Jackson is free to students, faculty and community members.
In addition to Jackson State experts in the fields of economic and community development, speakers include David E. Johnson, senior vice president and director of Community Development at BankPlus; Lowrence Haygood Jr., economic/business development specialist at the Tuskegee-Macon County Community Development Corporation; Jeffrey Higgs, president/CEO of LeMoyne-Owen College Community Development Corporation; and Robert K. Jenkins Jr., senior managing director of Renaissance Equity Partners.
A wide range of local speakers is also expected, including Dr. Bill Cooley, CEO of Systems Consultants Associates Inc.; John Hardy, owner and operator of the Penguin Restaurant; Roy Decker, principal of Duvall Decker Architects; Jeff Good, president of Mangia Bene Restaurant Management Group; and Beneta Burt, executive director of Mississippi Roadmap to Health Equity.
For more information, see: https://westjxn.com/2014/10/03/hbcu-community-development-action-coalition-conference-oct-15-17/
Or call CUBD at 601-979-5828.
For more information about HBCU-CDAC, see: https://hbcucoalition.org