A month of good deeds and great speakers

As President of BU, I often have an opportunity to talk about our students and share their inspirational stories of determination and success. It’s not as frequent that I have the chance to sing the praises of an important extension of our BU family: the parents and supporters of our students. I will take that opportunity now to say how fortunate we are to have such great students and families who are willing to go the extra mile on behalf of others.

In a recent post in one of our BU parent Facebook groups, it was mentioned that some of our students face food insecurity issues – and how heartwarming it was to hear of the positive response to this post! Multiple parents sent so many care packages and food donations to our campus, and BU was able to deliver more than three carloads of food to the Bloomsburg Food Cupboard, which collaborates with the University to provide food for BU students in need.

THANK YOU to all those parents who stepped up and supported this great cause. Because of your generosity, our students (and residents of the Town of Bloomsburg) were able to find the assistance they needed for a basic requirement we sometimes take for granted. Thank you again.

As we conclude the month of February, I’d also like to thank my colleagues who were instrumental in coordinating recent events in celebration of Black History Month. Two tremendously powerful speakers that visited us here at BU were Mr. Bakari Sellers, a lawyer and political commentator who spoke about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and
Mr. Yusef Salem, a member of the “Central Park Five” (one of a group of five boys whose convictions for a crime they did not commit were eventually overturned) who served as the keynote speaker at our annual Sankofa Conference.

Finally, we’re proud to share the story of Ms. Edith Angeline Dennis, Bloomsburg’s first African American boarding student and a member of the Class of 1919. Her – and her family’s – story is an inspiring one, and it’s one we share with the entire BU family in the latest edition of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine. Enjoy!

Bashar