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UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA - PEMBROKE SITE VISIT REPORT
April 18, 2024
UNC Pembroke Meeting Participants
Ashley McMillan, PhD – American Indian Liaison to the Chancellor Edwin Cliff Mensah, PhD – Associate Dean/ Professor/ AACSB Director
JSF Meeting Participant
Bobby Krause – JSF CEO
Ashley and Cliff met me in UNC Pembroke’s American Indian Heritage Center (AIHC). The AIHC was funded through a $1.5 million grant from the US Department of Education’s Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institution Program. AIHC’s purpose was to centralize programming for American Indian students at UNCP. It was a beautiful space, and they were excited to show it off.
A desk audit of the JSF scholarship program found
the administration of the program to be in order and
compliance with JSF policy. The active scholarships for the
2023/24 school year include 14 returning JSF scholars and
4 new JSF scholarship recipients. UNCP was awarded $75k
for the 2023/24 school year. The program has distributed
$71,850 during the 2023/24 school year. The balance of $3,150 is projected to be distributed to students over the Summer 2024 session.
Ashley shared promotional material used for marketing the JSF program at UNCP. The material was well done and effective. A marketing flyer of the program is included in this report. Ashley has also initiated a requirement of scholarship participants to attend at least one UNCP sponsored social for Indigenous students. The event has proven to be instrumental in engaging students into the college community.
JSF scholarship recipient Travis Floyd joined our meeting and shared his appreciation for the scholarship. Travis is a junior at UNCP. He is a Business Administration major and a remarkable young man. He came to UNCP after working several jobs in middle management and wanting to invest in his career. He shared his enthusiasm for learning and giving back to his family and community.
A campus tour included a visit to the newly constructed home of the Thomas College of Business and Economics. There we met the Dean of the Business School, Dr. Mohamed Djerdjouri. Dr. Djerdjouri was both knowledgeable and appreciative of the JSF scholarship funding.
Dr. Mohamed Djerdjouri, JSF CEO Bobby Krause and Dr. Edwin Mensah.
An interior view of UNCP’s American Indian Heritage Center.
Education / A Powerful force for change Page 15