  
Warren
Bell, Jr.
Associate Vice President,
UMR
(504) 520-7568
(504) 235-8706 (cell)
Carol
Dotson '82
Media Relations
(504) 520-5427
Irving
Johnson III
University Photographer
Media Arts Specialist
(504) 520-5426
Richard
Tucker
Director of Publications
(504) 520-5425
Trina Shelmire Vincent '85
Marketing and Special Projects
(504) 520-5428
|
UNIVERSITY
AND MEDIA RELATIONS
Rush Lose to Texas A&M-Kingsville in Holiday Tournament
Kingsville, Texas - Sophomore guard Adan Montalvo scored 15 of his career-high 27 points in the second half Sunday to rally Texas A&M-Kingsville to an 89-81 men's basketball victory over Xavier University of Louisiana in the Texas A&M-Kingsville Holiday Tournament.
Both teams are 10-2. The Javelinas won their fifth in a row and snapped the four-game winning streak of the Gold Rush.
Mark Stewart scored 22 points and Alfred Williams 18 for Xavier, and both were named to the all-tournament team. Ryan DeRousselle scored a career-high 14 points.
Stewart's 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Xavier a 37-34 halftime lead, but the Javelinas scored the first seven points of the second half to take the lead for good.
Montalvo, the tournament MVP, made a 3-pointer with 13:55 remaining to give TAMUK its biggest lead, 57-44. Xavier never got closer than three points thereafter.
Reggie Love scored 16 points and Clyde Johnson 12 for the Javelinas.
Gold Rush Iimprove to 10-1 with 72-54 Victory in Tournament Opener
Kingsville, Texas - Jarrel Lake and Kelechi Okoroha scored 12 points apiece Saturday to lead five double-figure scorers for Xavier University of Louisiana in a 72-54 men's basketball victory over Texas A&M International at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Holiday Tournament.
Alfred Williams and Shaun Dumas scored 11 points apiece for the Gold Rush (10-1), and Mark Stewart had 10. Williams was 3-of-3 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and the sixth of his career.
Reserve Tracy Johnson scored a season-high 13 points for Texas A&M International (3-5), an NCAA Division II member. Chris Swan, who entered the game averaging 20.6 points and shooting 54 percent from the floor, scored a season-low 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Swan was scoreless in 14 first-half minutes.
Xavier never trailed and outscored the Dustdevils 15-4 in the first seven minutes. The Rush led 29-19 at halftime and maintained a double-digit lead for nearly 18 minutes of the second half.
Xavier outshot TAMIU 49 to 38 percent from the floor -- 65 to 43 percent in the second half -- and outrebounded the Dustdevils 39-30. Both teams committed 18 turnovers.
The Rush is 10-1 for the third time in five seasons and the first time since 2003-04. Xavier has a four-game winning streak and has won 25 of its past 29 games.
Xavier will play Texas A&M-Kingsville at 7 p.m. Sunday in the final game of the tournament.
BET’s Jeff Johnson is Keynote Speaker for Annual MLK Week of Peace
New Orleans, La. - Social activist, international journalist, and executive producer, ‘Cousin’ Jeff Johnson, will be the keynote speaker for the 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Week for Peace, January 19-25, 2008.
The Martin Luther King Week for Peace is presented by Xavier, Tulane, Loyola and Dillard Universities. The theme for 2008 is “Are You Engaged, where do you stand?”
In addition to the featured Tuesday lecture – at which Lifetime Achievement and Student Community Service awards will be presented – other MLK week activities include an interfaith service, a community service day, a candlelight march and an Expressions of Unity celebration. All events are free and open to the public.
Jeff Johnson is a political motivator and a social commentator, most widely known for his appearance on Black Entertainment Television (BET) on the shows “The Jeff Johnson Chronicles” and “Rap City.” On these shows, Johnson is known to speak of and challenge the issues of violence and voting. He is currently a commentator for several radio shows as well as BET and CNN.
A native of Cleveland, OH, Johnson attended the University of Toledo. He was elected President of the Black Student Union twice, and played an integral role in the formation of black student awareness on campus. He has served as National Director for the NAACP’s Youth and College Division, and later, Vice President for the Russell Simmons Hip Hop Summit Action Network.
All of the Week’s events are free and open to the public. The complete calendar of MLK activities are as follows:
Saturday, January 19, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. - Community Service Day (MLK Outreach New Orleans)
Students choose from eight sites including schools, neighborhood clean ups, playground building and more. http://www.mlkoutreachnola.tulane.edu
Monday, January 21, 2008
Interfaith Service - 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
Holy Name of Jesus Church, 6331 St Charles Avenue
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
MLK Convocation: Reception - 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.; Convocation - 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Student Community Service Awards
Speaker: Jeff Johnson
Dillard University
Friday January 23, 2008
Candlelight March from Tulane Pocket Park to Xavier’s University Center - 4:45 p.m.
Expressions of Unity celebration follows in the XU University Center.
Nuggets Win Sixth Straight
Miami Shores, Fla. - Patrice Hawkins had career highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds Wednesday, and LaTashia Wise had career highs of 14 points and seven assists to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 79-47 women's basketball victory over Central Methodist in the Cruzin Classic.
Tiffany Norris had season highs of 13 points and 10 rebounds -- her second career double-double - for the Gold Nuggets (10-2), who won both their games in this event and their sixth straight overall. Xavier is ranked 21st in NAIA Division I. Stephanie Todd and Holly Wade scored 11 points apiece for Central Methodist (3-9), which was 0-2 in the event and has a four-game losing streak. Megan Hirsch scored 10 points.
Wise - who had a career-high 10 rebounds Tuesday in a victory over Sterling - scored 12 points to help Xavier build a 37-28 halftime lead. Hawkins scored 11 second-half points, including the final three of a 13-5 run which gave Xavier a 50-33 lead with 15:21 remaining. The Nuggets' biggest lead was 33 points. Xavier outshot the Lady Eagles 47 to 33 percent from the floor, outrebounded them 50-28 and held them to their lowest point total of the season.
Xavier's next game will be its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener at Belhaven at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 3. The Nuggets' next home game will start at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 against SUNO at The Barn.
Hammer Named CAT Director
New Orleans, La. - Elizabeth Yost Hammer has been named Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching at Xavier University of Louisiana.
Hammer, who is also a professor in the Psychology department, received a bachelor of science in psychology from Troy State University (Alabama) and both a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Experimental Social Psychology at Tulane University.
Her research interests focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning, and she has published on service learning, mentoring, collaborative learning, and the utilization of social psychological theories in the classroom in publications such as The Handbook of the Teaching of Psychology and the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.
She is a National Past-President of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology and was recently elected as Treasurer for the Society for the Teaching of Psychology.
She is a co-author on the textbook, Psychology Applied to Modern Life (9th edition). She is currently co-authoring a book entitled Psychology of Disasters for Blackwell Publishing.
The Center for the Advancement of Teaching is an academic resource for Xavier University's faculty and the broader educational community. The Center’s
mission is to advance the art and science of teaching and learning.
Nuggets Beat Sterling 68-56 for Fifth Straight Win
Coral Springs, Fla. - Jarryn Cleaves scored 15 of her 17 points in the first half Tuesday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 68-56 women's basketball victory over Sterling in the Cruzin Classic.
The victory was the fifth in a row for the Gold Nuggets (9-2), who are ranked 21st in NAIA Division I.
Cleaves, Xavier's only double-figure scorer, added five rebounds and three steals. Tiffany Norris scored eight points, and Erica Turnbull and Brittany Whitmore had seven apiece. Whitmore's point total was a season high, and LaTashia Wise grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds.
Jacci Tinkel scored 14 points, and Ashley Kraft had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Sterling (5-5). Britany Gasper scored 10.
Cleaves' 3-pointer at 9:20 of the first half put the Nuggets ahead to stay at 16-13. Xavier led 37-30 at halftime and took its biggest lead, 62-44, on a Norris free throw with 5:54 remaining.
Sterling outshot Xavier 41 to 39 percent from the floor, but the Nuggets had a 37-30 rebound advantage and gained 27 turnovers, six more than they committed. Xavier made 17 of 22 free throws for a season-high percentage of .773.
Xavier will play Central Methodist at 6 p.m. EST Wednesday (5 p.m. New Orleans time) at Miami Shores, Fla., to conclude its participation in this event, which includes 16 women's teams. Sterling, a 57-52 loser to Cardinal Stritch on Monday, finished 0-2 in the Cruzin Classic.
Growth Leads to Creation of Division of Business at Xavier
New Orleans, La. - Besides enjoying a national reputation as a school where students attend to major in the sciences and health related fields, one of the fastest growing areas at Xavier University of Louisiana has been in Business. That growth has resulted in the creation recently of a new Division of Business, to replace what had been an academic department inside the university's College of Arts & Sciences.
Nationally accredited, with more than 250 students enrolled as majors, the Business department was already growing and expanding before Hurricane Katrina came along and delayed this latest expansion. According to department chairman Anil Kukreja, because of its increasing enrollment and after being accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, there was even discussion into the possibility of becoming a college of business. Those plans have been scaled back, but Business at Xavier is nevertheless pressing forward.
The department's ascendancy in November 2007 to become the Division of Business makes it the second academic division in the College of Arts and Sciences (besides Education.)
“Our business program is unique in that we have four separate programs,” said Kukreja, adding that Xavier's programs of study in accounting, finance, management and sales and marketing cover the areas students want and where the demand is greatest in the business world.
“We’re excited about our change to a Division,” said Kukreja. “This new status will give us increased visibility and is a significant step towards our ultimate goal of becoming a college or school of business.”
For now the new Business division is focused on recruitment and building the program. Says Kukreja, "We've streamlined the curriculum, and we’ve done our homework to make ourselves ready for growth. There is a lot of growth potential in business, and we’re glad the University has shown its commitment by making us a division.”
Xavier students have consistently been successful in obtaining employment with Fortune 500 companies and they are also winning various regional and national business competition. A team of Xavier University business students won the 2007 Ford-HBCU Business Plan Competition, a national contest; plus, a team of Sales and Marketing students won recently at the Bayou Sales Challenge Competition.
The Xavier Division of Business currently hosts two pre-college programs, Business Scholars and Business Achievers for high school seniors. Students in both courses take an "Introduction to Business" course and obtain college credit.
The Division of Business has five endowed professorships and one endowed chair. In addition Xavier has three joint programs with Tulane University where students may obtain an undergraduate degree and a masters degree in finance or accounting or an MBA degree. Currently there are four business students enrolled at Tulane in the joint programs.
For more information, contact the Division of Business at (504) 520-7505 or visit online at www.xula.edu/business.
Stroger Selected for Alumnus of the Year Honors
New Orleans, La. - John Stroger Jr. ’52 was honored as the University’s top alumni at the annual Alumni Homecoming Gala.
Stroger, who recently retired as president of the Board of Commissioners of Illinois’ Cook County (Chicago), was unable to attend the event due to illness, but his daughter, Yonnie Lynn Clark, accepted the 2007 Victor H. Labat Alumnus of the Year award for him on his behalf.
A powerful Democratic political figure in Chicago for decades, Stroger rose to the level of chief executive of one of the most significant counties in the nation, a multi-city area with a larger population and bigger budget than 35 states. He presided over a workforce of 23,000. The billion dollar Cook County hospital was named in his honor.
Stroger was recognized for his extraordinary dedication and service to his alma mater. He served as both a member and chair of the University’s Board of Trustees. He has given of his time and resources to the many endeavors of the Chicago Alumni Chapter.
A faithful financial supporter of the University, he and his wife Yonnie are charter members of the Xavier 500 Alumni Leadership Initiative – a select group of individuals who have committed $10,000 or more over a 10-year period to support student scholarships. This past year – at the request of his family – his John H. Stroger Jr. Charitable Foundation contributed $500,000 to establish an endowed scholarship fund for deserving Xavier students.
The annual Homecoming Gala drew a sell-out crowd more than 460 attendees to the University Center Ballroom. Class Agents for the 14 special five-year reunion classes presented the University with gifts totaling $620,693. The Class of ’52 led the way with 21 individual donors contributing $392,275.
Xavier Team Grabs Seven More PRSA Awards in 2007
New Orleans, La. - For a second consecutive year, Xavier University of Louisiana's Office of University & Media Relations (U/MR) brought home seven awards from the annual Public Relations Society of America, New Orleans Chapter Awards banquet, held Nov. 14.
The U/MR team received Excellence awards for its online magazine "This Month At Xavier" (TMAX) and for a video production entitled “Norman C. Francis' 50 Years at Xavier: In His Own Words.” Both pieces may be viewed currently on the university's web site www.xula.edu.
In addition, Xavier photographer Irving Johnson III received an Excellence award in addition to a "Best in Category" citation for his photo promoting the university's “E-2 Campus sign-up" campaign.
The University & Media Relations team also received merit awards in the Feature Story category for “The Last Snap” about Xavier’s last football team, written by publications director Richard Tucker; in the External Publication category for its Xavier Gold alumni magazine; and in The Great Idea category, for the "E-2 Campus Text Messaging" campus sign-up campaign.
Associate Vice President Warren Bell, Jr. heads the University and Media Relations team for Xavier; which includes Tucker and Johnson, as well as Carol Dotson, media relations manager and Trina Vincent, marketing & promotions manager.
The U/MR team’s winning entries were judged in competition against entries from some of the top agencies and PR professionals in New Orleans.
Xavier Business Students Excel in Sales Competition
New Orleans, La. - Xavier University of Louisiana business sales and marketing students took home first place honors in the Fifth Annual Bayou Sales Challenge competition, held earlier this month. .
Giselle Rouson, a senior marketing major from Mobile, Ala. (McGill-Toolen High School), took first place in the Overall Competition; Christina Gilbert, a senior marketing major from West Des Moines, Iowa (Valley High School), won first place in the ‘Pressure Round’
Team Xavier took second place. Team members included Rouson and Gilbert, along with Jessica Taylor, a junior marketing major from Oxnard, Calif. (Oxnard High) and Tresa Northington, a senior Spanish major from Bellevue, Wash. (Newport High).
Bayou Sales Challenge is a sales role-play competition that gives students a chance to compete against each other and demonstrate their selling skills. Students compete on an individual level and also on a team level representing their university. The judges for the
competition are sales professionals from a variety of industries.
Dr. Joe Ricks served as the faculty advisor and coach of the winning team. Last year Team Xavier also took home two first place awards and placed second in the competition. |
