40 years of excellence: Du Bois-Harvey Honors College at Jackson State University hit an academic milestone

(JACKSON, Miss.) — The W.E.B. Du Bois-Maria Luisa Alvarez Harvey Honors
College is observing its 40th Anniversary at Jackson State University.
Founded in 1980, the honors college has a long history of preparing
students for success.

“What started at a dining room table with ideas and recruiting brochures
from other schools’ honors programs and societies were honed into the
DuBois-Alvarez Harvey Honors college, a program of academic excellence
that set a standard for HBCUs and other academic institutions across the
South,” said Rogelio V. Solis, son of founder Dr. Maria Luisa Alvarez
Harvey.

Before retiring, Harvey spent almost 50 years as an educator at the
university. She served as director of the honors college for 32 years,
ending her tenure as associate dean. She died in 2017, and her name was
added to the honors college in homage of her contributions. Harvey was
also posthumously bestowed the professor emeritus title by Dr. Rod Paige,
then interim president of JSU.

Two years ago, the Maria Luisa Alvarez Harvey endowed scholarship was
established with a $100,000 goal.

“What better time to raise funds and hit our mark than when we’re moving
into our 40th year?” asks Dr. Loria Brown Gordon, now associate dean of
the honors college. “We want to endow her scholarship so that it exists
forever in her honor.”

And rightfully so, it appears. Brown-Gordon described Harvey as a woman
dedicated to her students. She would act as a recruiter, calling and
talking to parents about why their child should attend Jackson State. If
students struggled, she would track them down and get them back on target.
She would also share any concerns with parents creating an open dialogue
about their child’s progress. Students thrived under her leadership, and
Harvey’s son co-signs.

“My mother called the students her ‘babies’ and mentored several thousand
of them, my ‘brothers and sisters,’ into becoming life-achieving adults,
many with advanced degrees. And doing so on a shoe-string budget while
never taking a backseat to any other schools’ programs. Her success is in
the biographies of so many of those students that proudly recall being one
of her babies and crediting her with pushing them to extend academically
and channeling that success into their professional lives,” said Solis, a
1977 mass communication graduate of Jackson State.

Harvey epitomized the idea that hard work achieved dreams. She was born in
Mexico in 1933 and lost her father early in life. She legally immigrated
to El Paso, Texas, and helped support her family by working as a shampoo
girl in her aunt’s beauty shop.

Later, Harvey earned a cosmetology degree and became a hairstylist. She
taught herself English and passed a college entrance exam for the
University of Texas at El Paso. She attained her bachelor’s and master’s
from UTEP before getting a Ph.D. at the University of Arizona.

She would then earn a master’s in education from JSU and was a visiting
scholar at Harvard University. She taught at JSU from 1967 until
retirement.

While there, she established the W.E.B. Du Bois Honors College with the
support of then-President John A. Peoples.

In 2012, Brown-Gordon became interim associate dean of the honors college.
She previously served as special assistant to the vice president for
student life/principal investigator and TRIO program director.

As a transfer student at JSU, Brown-Gordon recalls wanting to be a member
of the honors college. However, at that time, there was no portal of entry
for transfer students.

Building upon Harvey’s legacy, the associate dean said they increased the
entry methods for joining the honors college. Previously, all students had
to meet a college-prep curriculum requirement. However, Brown-Gordon said
that some high schools lacked advanced placement or international
baccalaureate courses.

“So, I think those students end up being penalized. What I have learned is
that that has nothing to do with intellectual capacity. It has much to do
with access and opportunity. And the honors college is definitely about
access and opportunity,” she said.

Now, the honors college offers several paths to membership. Admitted and
invited students must complete a college-prep curriculum, meet ACT/SAT
requirements, and have a 3.0 or higher high school GPA.

First-year students must earn at least 30 hours, with a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Transfer students must be members of Phi Theta Kappa and have maintained a
minimum 3.5 GPA and have earned fewer than 60 credit hours.

For Dionvieon Morgan, a biology pre-med major, grades were a priority
throughout her primary and secondary education. She was on honor rolls,
deans’ lists and in talented and gifted programs throughout grades
1st-12th, she shared.

“Going into my college matriculation, I wanted to continue making my
grades my priority, but I also wanted to push myself. Joining the honors
college challenged me to partake in internships and take more than the
average amount of classes,” the senior said.

The honors college has helped Morgan develop a professional resume and
curriculum vitae. It has also pushed her to interact with the community
through community service, she said.

Overall, Morgan shared, joining the honors college has prepared her for
the professional sector and has shown her that going the extra mile pays
off.

“We say this is leadership development,” Brown-Gordon said. “So, the
different organizations we have for students like the honors council, the
book club, the health club, the debate team, and the McNair Scholars
program are helping students develop those skills. We are just continuing
Harvey’s legacy and ensuring that it doesn’t dissipate. I think that has
been the most important thing.”

Together, Harvey and Brown-Gordon worked on the Ronald E. McNair
post-baccalaureate Scholars Program. The program was funded in honor of
McNair, an African-American astronaut killed during the Space Shuttle
Challenger’s horrific explosion. Seven people died aboard the flight,
including five NASA astronauts.

Federal legislation passed in 1987 to create the program. While funding
began in 1990, JSU received first-time funding of the grant in 1999,
Brown-Gordon said. The McNair program helps JSU students pursue doctoral
programs, among other benefits.

D’Iberville, Mississippi, native Ke’Jaun Leon-Wright said that he was
apprehensive about attending college, but the honors college became his
“home away from home.”

I had been hearing all the stories about college life and how it isn’t for
everybody. Different stressors come with the college experience,”
explained the 22-year-old. “I am the first male in my family to go, and
I’m setting the foundation for my younger brothers.”

Leon-Wright said he did not expect the honors college to provide him with
such a nurturing environment. “There were days that I was homesick or
stressed about class, and I was able to talk to Mrs. Venetia Miller, Dr.
Heard, or Dr. Gordon, and they would give me advisement, words of wisdom
or set me up with tutoring. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be
in that atmosphere. It was a blessing.”

Overall, the honors college serves approximately 550-plus students at the
university. Students are required to participate in enrichment sessions,
monthly meetings and community service.

“We receive a lot of opportunities for our students. Companies and
business organizations will contact honors colleges because they want
high-achieving students to take advantage of the opportunities they have,”
she said. “They want students to go above and beyond, and our students are
committed to going above and beyond.”

And Harvey’s “babies” have not forgotten the founding dean who went above
and beyond for them.