|
ACADEMIC AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE FOR MEN OF COLOR TO BE HELD AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY A forum for young African-American and Latino men designed to teach them the skills and working knowledge necessary for success will be held on Saturday, March 27 at William Paterson University in Wayne. The Third Annual Academic and Leadership Development Conference for African American and Latino College Men will be held in the Student Center Ballroom from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $15; $60 for institutions who register fewer than five students; and $120 for institutions who bring five to 10 students. The conference, "Facing the New Economic Millennium: Men of Color Trading the Career Box for Professional Marketability," is being held in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Educational Opportunity Fund, a program which offers special admissions and other support for students who have experienced educational and financial disadvantages. Events include three guest speakers: Robert T. Johnson, the first elected District Attorney of Bronx County; Adam Clayton Powell, IV, a member of the New York City Council; and David Ushery, an anchor with Eyewitness News on ABC-TV in New York City. A series of workshops based on four topics: socio-economic, health, moral/ethical and education--will be held throughout the day. Presenters include professional educators, faculty, administrative staff and students from the tri-state area. More than 300 people are expected to attend the event. Powell will present the keynote address at 9:30 a.m. A member of the New York City Eighth District Council since 1991, he is the son of the legendary Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the first African-American New York City Councilman elected more than 50 years ago, who was also a member of Congress from 1945 to 1971. Powell has a solid record of political independence including voting against budget cuts affecting social services. A major accomplishment is COMPUTERS 2000, which has brought computer labs to school buildings in his districts which include East Harlem, Manhattan Valley, the Upper West Side and Mott Haven in the Bronx. Ushery is scheduled to speak at 10:30 a.m. in Science Hall 200B. An award-winning reporter, he is the morning and noon anchor on ABC-TV's Eyewitness News and is co-anchor of the Sunday morning edition of that program. Before joining ABC News, he was a reporter for WFSB-TV in Hartford and a reporter for the Hartford Courant and for the Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press presented him an award for Outstanding Reporting and he is the recipient of a National Association of Black Journalists award for a series of reports on children and violence. Robert Johnson will speak during lunch. District Attorney of the Bronx since 1991, he previously served as a judge in the New York City Criminal Court and was an acting justice in the New York Supreme Court. Johnson's record as district attorney indicates a tough stance on crimes involving guns, drugs and violence and in 1996-97 his office obtained more state prison sentences than any other district attorney's office in New York State. In 1991, he sponsored a drug abuse prevention program commended by the President. His program, "Youth Talking to Youth," offers peer mediation and conflict resolution skills to children at risk for violence. Assets seized in civil forfeiture proceedings from convicted drug dealers fund this program. For additional information about the conference, please call Darryl Smith, conference chairperson, at 973-720-2112.
###
|