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Monday, February 27, 2012

Alabama State University News: February White House Executive to Speak During Opening of HBCU Conference



February 15, 2012

John Silvanus Wilson Jr. will deliver the keynote address at the opening session of the national HBCU Entrepreneurship Conference, which will be held on ASU’s campus March 5-7.

This year’s conference theme is “Entrepreneurship: Transforming Education, Government and Industry.”

Silvanus works with the 105 HBCUs, the White House, federal agencies and private and corporate sectors to ensure that HBCUs are a significant force in helping the nation reach President Barack Obama’s goal of having the world’s highest proportion of college graduates by the year 2020.


Deborah Scott Thomas, president and CEO of Data Solutions & Technology Incorporated and conference event coordinator, said she is excited to have a member of President Obama’s White House address participants.

“Mr. Wilson is carrying out an important mission as executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs. He has spent a large part of his career in higher education and understands the need for the continued growth of HBCUs and the importance of improving corporate and higher education partnerships,” Thomas said.

Before working with the White House, Wilson was an associate professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education at the George Washington University.  

He also spent 16 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he served as director of foundation relations and as assistant provost.

Wilson received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University, and both a master's and a doctoral degree in administration, planning and social policy, also from Harvard University.
For additional information on the second annual HBCU Conference, visit the conference website at
www.asu-hbcu.org or watch for updates on Twitter and Facebook.


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