NC State to Honor Prezell Robinson at Annual Brotherhood Celebration

Dr. Prezell Russell Robinson, president emeritus and Charles A. Mott Endowed Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences at St. Augustine’s College, will deliver a public lecture on Friday, May 2, at 1 p.m. in the Witherspoon Student Center’s Washington Sankofa Room (Room 126) as part of North Carolina State University’s 26th annual University-Community Brotherhood Celebration.

The lecture is free and open to the public. The Witherspoon Student Center is located at the corner of Cates Avenue and Dan Allen Drive.

Robinson will receive the Benjamin E. Mays Memorial Award at the Brotherhood Dinner later that evening. The award honors an African-American who has made significant contributions to the United States as a scholar and humanitarian. The dinner is by invitation only.

Robinson has served St. Augustine’s College for 28 years. He has worked in a variety of capacities with the U.S. Department of State, serving as visiting lecturer in more than 20 countries and twice as public ambassador to the United Nations General Assembly. A member of the N.C. State Board of Education for more than 25 years, he retired as vice chairman of the board in 1999. In recognition of his exemplary service to public education in North Carolina, the board renamed the Challenge Scholars Program in his honor.

Robinson has also been awarded honorary doctoral degrees for his achievements by 12 colleges and universities.

In addition to Robinson, six African-American students representing NC State, St. Augustine’s College and Shaw University will be honored for their academic achievement and community service at the Brotherhood Dinner. They are:

NC State: Kristin Gore of Aiken, S.C., a junior majoring in meteorology and statistics; and Warren Perry of Wendell, a senior majoring in biological sciences.

Shaw: Taiwo Oki, a senior majoring in biology and chemistry; and Ari Cureton, a senior majoring in business administration.

St. Augustine’s: Rebecca Hubbard, a senior majoring in psychology; and Robert Jackson, a senior majoring in engineering mathematics.

The Brotherhood Dinner was established in 1982 to recognize important contributions that African-Americans have made and continue to make to the nation and the world, and to reaffirm the university’s and community’s commitment to providing for the economic, social and educational well-being of all members of the community. Previous honorees include former U.S. Rep. Eva M. Clayton; astronaut Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr.; historian Dr. John Hope Franklin; educator and civil rights pioneer Robert Moses; Bennett College president Dr. Johnnetta Cole; and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chairman Julian Bond.

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