{"id":94618,"date":"2020-09-24T08:03:04","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T12:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=94618"},"modified":"2020-09-24T08:59:28","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T12:59:28","slug":"call-to-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2020\/09\/24\/call-to-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Call to action"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Adrian Williams, a neuroscience major and the Student Government Association vice president, is working to endow the Retain the 9 Scholarship, which is part of the university’s initiative to address retention rates for all underrepresented students.<\/p><\/div>\n

Like most people around the world, Lorraine Hennigen was shocked and distressed by the tragic death of George Floyd, a Black man who was arrested in Minneapolis and killed after a white police officer pressed his knee to Floyd\u2019s neck for eight minutes, 46 seconds. Floyd\u2019s death on May 25 sparked protests against police brutality throughout the United States and across the globe.<\/p>\n

As Hennigen watched a live television broadcast of Floyd\u2019s memorial service, she was inspired by the words of Scott Hagan, president of North Central University in Minneapolis, who challenged \u201cevery university president in the United States to establish your own George Floyd Memorial Scholarship Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hennigen, who has three degrees from three universities, wrote to each of her alma maters to encourage them to establish a George Floyd Memorial Scholarship<\/a>. With each note, she enclosed a check to help start the scholarship. One of those letters landed on the desk of Wright State University President Sue Edwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to do something to add my voice in a meaningful way,\u201d said Hennigen, who graduated from Wright State in 1984 with a Master of Education. \u201cFor people who are invested in equity and righting the many wrongs of the past, I think this is one small way that we can behave as antiracists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hennigen hopes the scholarship will help make a college education more affordable and accessible for promising students from underrepresented populations, especially young African American students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can make an impact on the life of one future leader and increase the equity in our society, then it will be worthwhile,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Andrea Kunk, CFO at Peerless Technologies and a two-time Wright State graduate, directed the corporation’s gift to the Retain the 9 Scholarship.<\/p><\/div>\n

Like Hennigen, Andrea Kunk and the team at Peerless Technologies Corporation also felt compelled to support organizations that are fighting racial injustice. For Kunk, who is chief financial officer at Peerless and a two-time Wright State graduate, it was important to look at ways the company could help make a difference locally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a real passion for supporting Wright State students,\u201d said Kunk, who directed Peerless Technologies\u2019 gift to the university\u2019s Retain the 9 Scholarship. \u201cScholarships are probably the number one avenue to helping support student success and retention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launched in 2017 by Black Men on the Move, the Retain the 9 initiative was originally established to help retain the 9.9% of students on campus who are African American. Since then, Retain the 9 has evolved into a campus-wide initiative to address retention rates for all underrepresented students.<\/p>\n

In 2018, a task force identified four key components that contributed to the low retention rates for minority students: personal, cultural, financial and academic. Adrian Williams, Student Government Association vice president, chaired the task force, and Wright State student Kevin Jones served as vice chair.<\/p>\n

Working with university administration, faculty, staff and students, the Retain the 9 Task Force established the Office of Student Retention. The Retention Team, which is comprised of both staff and students, helps to identify and remove barriers to student success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat office is aimed at addressing and helping students combat any issues that they may face while in college that may hinder their path toward graduation,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n

Along with addressing the retention of minority students and any other students who might be facing economic and social disadvantages, Williams is committed to raising $10,000 within the next 12 to 18 months to endow the Retain the 9 Scholarship<\/a>. Gifts to an endowed scholarship fund are invested and provide income to continue to grow the scholarship in perpetuity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scholarship will be here as long as the university is here,\u201d said Williams, who is collaborating with the African American Alumni Society, the Wright State Alumni Association and various student organizations to raise money for the scholarship.<\/p>\n

Williams, who will graduate in spring 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience<\/a>, considers the scholarship part of his legacy at Wright State.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for students who are disadvantaged to feel like they\u2019re a priority at the university,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m one of those students who’s been given a platform to do a lot of good. I feel like it\u2019s my personal responsibility to advocate for those after me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lorraine Hennigen set up the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship at Wright State.<\/p><\/div>\n

As a young Black male, Williams knows firsthand the difficulties that many minority students face.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my field of study, it has definitely been challenging,\u201d said Williams, who is applying to M.D.\/Ph.D. programs in computational neuroscience. \u201cI\u2019ve never had a professor that looks like me in my field. I\u2019m often one of two or three Black students in my program. I\u2019m often the only person of color at tables of discussion for university decisions. It\u2019s taught me to never be afraid to let people know what your experiences are like.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Hennigan, listening to the stories of Williams and other African Americans is an important part of her educational process and her ongoing commitment to racial equality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t dismiss the calls that our Black brothers and sisters are making. They\u2019re not exaggerating. This is not a problem that is a one and done solution,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to be mindful and vigilant. And we have to make a daily commitment to a just and equitable society.\u201d<\/p>\n

To make an online gift to the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship or the Retain the 9 Scholarship, visit wright.edu\/give\/georgefloyd<\/a> or wright.edu\/give\/retainthe9<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State’s George Floyd Memorial Scholarship and Retain the 9 Scholarship help support students from underrepresented populations. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":71713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[733,4309,2064,2104,2040,744,725,2115,715,746],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-alumni-association","category-biology","category-teacher-education","category-giving","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-neuroscience-cell-biology-and-physiology","category-news","category-science-mathematics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94618"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94646,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94618\/revisions\/94646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}