eMOLIS - International

Bobby Jindal's Failed Move on HBCUs

2011-07-22T12:17:00.001-04:00

Dr. Jason Johnson

I am finally convinced that the Republican Party has been taken over by secret Democratic operatives. A team of highly-trained, well-placed Obama/Saul Alinsky operatives have been working their way into the Republican party for years now with one single goal: To ensure Republicans lose the Presidential election of 2012.

With a bad economy and general discontent in their favor how else can you explain the apocalyptic incompetence of Republican governors since the 2010 election? In mere months they've blown more political capital than ("D.C. Madam") Deborah Palfrey.

Scott Walker in Wisconsin has managed to do what Democrats haven't been able to in 30 years, galvanize the labor movement in a non-election year. John Kasich in Ohio has managed to get teachers, college professors and cops all united in a mutual hatred of his new anti-labor policies. Now Bobby Jindal is galvanizing the almost 30 percent black vote in Louisiana against him with moves that are such political kryptonite that you'd think they must've come right out of a Democratic playbook.

I'm not saying that Jindal is getting absolutely horrible political advice but I will say this: If you can't find a way to convince the public to close a college that is only graduating eight percent of it's students, then you ought to be looking for a job outside of politics.

Gov. Jindal has pushed through the merger of Southern University of New Orleans, an HBCU, and The University of New Orleans, a majority white institution. With the skills of a blind lumberjack, last December he replaced all African-American members from the 16-member state board of regents and set about a plan to "study" the feasibility of combining the two colleges. Needless to say, the African-American community in Louisiana wasn't too pleased with his whitewashing of the board of regents, let alone his goal of "closing" or "merging" an HBCU, a trend that has become very popular amongst southern governors of late.

State Sen. Cleo Fields filed a lawsuit seeking to block the "study" on combining the schools and the local community was up in arms. Jindal could obviously see the writing on the wall, but not fast enough to avoid running into it. He pushed out one old white guy, who'd been on the board for 14 years, and appointed a black man, surgeon Albert Sam, to be the lone black member of the board of regents. Which would have been great, if it weren't for the fact that Sam openly admitted that with his busy surgery schedule that he didn't plan on attending many meetings about the SUNO / UNO merger.

Now the merger proposal has all but passed but the political fallout in the state will be felt for years to come. Students at SUNO are protesting, the state black caucus is crying bloody racism and the 30 percent African-American population is giving Jindal the side eye just as he's about to run for re-election.

You can't entirely blame Jindal for his gross incompetence; he's never seemed to be a guy that got a good measure of his own political prowess. He incorrectly viewed his 2008 election as an endorsement of GOP policies instead of a rejection of Katrina incompetence by Democrats. He bought the hype of Republican spinmeisters that he was the second coming to Ronald Reagan, only to die a death of a thousand clicking remotes as he botched his Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union in 2009.

However, his tin ear in the face of both a racial and educational hot potato will likely spell doom for the 15-minute face of the Republican Party. What's worse, his proposal isn't entirely wrong. SUNO has an eight percent graduation rate, the lowest of any public historically black college or university in the United States.

UNO has seen its attendance numbers dwindle as a result of hurricane Katrina and poor recruiting efforts. Schools performing that poorly, in a budget strapped state, need to be re-organized. Jindal's inability to make a cogent argument about these issues, which many others have been able to do, let alone the ham-fisted way that he's handled the entire controversy, has turned key constituents in the state against him just like Scott Walker and John Kasich have.

But I guess those arguments were too tough to make. Those Democratic operatives are certainly doing their job – three 2012 potentials down, one to go. I'm thinking (N.J.) Gov. Chris Christie might be next.

(Dr. Jason Johnson is an associate professor of political science and communications at Hiram College in Ohio, where he teaches courses in campaigns and elections, pop culture, and the politics of sports. He can be reached atjohnsonja@hiram.edu.)

HBCUs Receive a Helping Hand In Preparing Students To Become Global Citizens

2011-05-09T07:48:00.000-04:00

By Brittany Hutson
In a world where our everyday lives are influenced in some way, shape or form by the governments, businesses and individuals that are beyond our borders, it’s essential that educational institutions establish the roles they are going to play in preparing students to be global citizens.

It is for this reason that the U.S. Department of Education awarded the American Council on Education a grant to collaborate with historically black colleges and universities to identify the factors that will enhance their international policies and offerings.

Recently, it was announced that seven HBCUs have been granted an opportunity by the ACE to participate in what’s being called the Creating Global Citizens: Exploring Internationalization at HBCUs Project. For two years, the chosen seven will audit their campus international activities and identify policies, programs and structures to enhance curriculum, programs and initiatives on global opportunities for students. The chosen universities include Dillard University, Howard University, Lincoln University of Missouri, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Savannah State University, Tuskegee University and Virginia State University.

According to a press release by ACE, such strategies could range from “infusing international content into academic programs to developing strategic partnerships with institutions in other countries.”

Unfortunately, many HBCUs, particularly smaller ones, do not have the resources and the infrastructure to provide many study abroad opportunities to students, according to Marybeth Gasman, an associate professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I think it is wonderful that ACE has chosen seven HBCUs to participate in its internationalization project,” she said. “HBCU students need more opportunities to travel abroad and expand their perspectives through exposure to cultures outside of the United States.”
Sakita Holley, a graduate of Howard University, says that while examining the international activities of HBCUs is a good strategy, she is concerned about whether HBCUs will be able to receive more funding for study abroad programs.

“There are plenty of qualified minority students that want to travel abroad but the low participation rates are usually linked to whether or not they can afford to go,” said Holley, who is president of the New York-based PR firm, House of Success. “To remain competitive, schools will need to figure out ways to make these opportunities available to more of their students.”

She recommends that schools incorporate a one or two week trip to a foreign country into a capstone curriculum so that every student in a particular major can graduate with international experience.

USDA Support for HBCUs

2010-09-16T09:33:00.001-04:00

Release No. 0466.10

Contact:

Weldon Freeman (202) 690-1384

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY VILSACK ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND SMALL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS

Support Will Promote Economic Development, Training for Entrepreneurship and Business Growth

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced support for economic development initiatives and for educational institutions to help owners of small farms and rural businesses in 22 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The secretary announced the funding at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference.

"USDA and the Obama administration are committed to supporting small business and our nation's historically black educational institutions to ensure that all citizens have equal access to economic opportunities," Vilsack said. "This funding will help create the next generation of entrepreneurs and help small businesses better compete in today's global economy."

These awards are being provided through USDA Rural Development's Small and Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant Program and through a Rural Entrepreneurship Outreach and Development Initiative. Both programs support job creation efforts, business development and nurture cooperatives. Recipients of the outreach initiative funding are among the 18 institutions supported under the Second Morrill Act of 1890, a law providing for the establishment of land-grant institutions focusing on agriculture, home economics and the mechanic arts.

For example, Alabama A&M University has been selected to receive a $95,000 grant to provide outreach and technical assistance to help entrepreneurs, businesses and cooperatives. The university will develop educational materials concerning renewable energy sources, continue a rural entrepreneurial outreach and development program for youth, develop financial management training, and provide technical assistance to rural business cooperatives.

In Georgia, Fort Valley State University has been selected for a $105,000 grant to help rural businesses develop business and marketing plans that will help them more fully utilize sources of funding such as USDA Rural Development's Intermediary Relending Program. The grant also will help Fort Valley continue to operate the area's only small business incubator.

The Rio Culebra Agricultural Cooperative in Colorado is using a $175,000 Small and Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant that it was awarded in 2009 to help develop a business and marketing plan that will enable members to provide beef products in metropolitan areas. The cooperative also is helping producers sell specialty crops for Chicos and Bolita Beans. Additionally, it is working on a feasibility study for small-scale camelina production for a specialty cooking oil and use in a local biodiesel plant.

Funding of recipients announced today is contingent upon their meeting the conditions of the grant agreement. The following is a complete list of organizations receiving USDA Rural Development awards:

1890 Land-Grant Institutions Rural Entrepreneurship Outreach and Development Initiative Grants

Alabama:

Alabama A&M University – $95,000

Tuskegee University – $100,000

Arkansas:

University of Arkansas Pine Bluff – $105,000

Delaware:

Delaware State University – $115,000

Florida:

Florida A&M University – $105,000

Georgia:

Fort Valley State University – $105,000

Louisiana:

Southern University and A&M College – $115,000

Maryland:

University of Maryland Eastern Shore – $100,000

Mississippi:

Alcorn State University – $100,000

North Carolina:

North Carolina A&T State University – $100,000

Oklahoma:

Langston University – $104,000

South Carolina:

South Carolina State University – $100,000

Texas:

Prairie View A&M University – $70,035

West Virginia:

West Virginia State University – $100,000

Virginia:

Virginia State University – $80,965

Small Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grants

Colorado

Arkansas Valley Organic Growers – $93,000

Rio Culebra Agricultural Cooperative – $186,000

Hawaii

Hawaii Bio-Energy Producers Cooperative – $114,715

Louisiana

Louisiana Association of Cooperatives – $200,000

Michigan

Farmers on the Move Cooperative Inc. – $200,000

Mississippi

Mileston Cooperative Association – $105,824

Mississippi Association of Cooperatives – $200,000

Winston County Self-Help Cooperative – $200,000

North Delta Produce Growers Association – $177,417

Minnesota

Hillside Farmers Cooperative, Inc. – $113,865

New Mexico

Red Willow Community Growers Cooperative – $182,500

New York

North Country Grown Cooperative, Inc. – $62,175

Puerto Rico

Cooperativa Agro-Comercial De Puerto Rico – $154,360

South Carolina

People's Farmers Cooperative, Inc. – $100,000

Farmers Low Country Marketing Cooperative – $64,500

Federation of Southern Cooperatives – $146,595

Pee Dee Small Farmer Association Inc. – $34,500

SCF Organic Farms LTD – $100,000

South Dakota

Intertribal Buffalo Council – $175,000

Washington

Manzaneros Mexicanos De Washington Corporation – $150,000

Through its Rural Development mission area, USDA administers and manages more than 40 housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a network of 6,100 employees located in the nation's capital and 500 state and local offices. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers, and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $142 billion in loans and loan guarantees.

Rookie HBCU Presidents Undergoing Rigorous Leadership Testing

2010-08-26T08:54:00.001-04:00

by Reginald Stuart , August 24, 2010

For the past 18 months, Dr. Donna Oliver has been president of Mississippi Valley State University.

Dr. Donna Oliver hardly had time to savor her rise to the top ranks of higher education as a college president when she got the sobering news from her new bosses: cut the school's budget by 5 percent immediately and be prepared for more cuts later.

"My mouth dropped open," says Oliver, president for the past 18 months of Mississippi Valley State University, recalling the startling news she faced two weeks into her freshman year as a college president. The 60-year-old veteran higher education executive expected challenges, "but not instant budget cuts."

The budget cutting was done, however, as have several subsequent cuts, she says. They have been achieved without major damage to the school's core programs or employment rolls, she says, and with input from a university community advisory group she appointed. The group has helped her navigate the school through its tough economic times, challenges mirrored at colleges and universities across the state and nation.

Oliver is among a corps of career academicians making up the growing ranks of first-time presidents at historically Black colleges and universities. They are taking on the challenge of championing HBCUs for the 21st century as the schools face a growing chorus of politicians and others questioning their continued value as demands grow for the schools to beef up their academic performance and needed funds — from public and private sources — become harder to come by.

"They are very difficult jobs and more requirements are being placed on them," says Dr. Frederick Humphries, former president of Tennessee State University and Florida A&M University, where he is now a Regents Professor.

"Ultimately, it becomes a tenuous situation," says Humphries, citing the heavy turnover of presidencies in recent years.

Just this summer, 55-year-old Dr. David Wilson, formerly with the University of Wisconsin, joined Morgan State University in Baltimore as a freshman president. Dr. Harry L. Williams, 46, who got his start in university management a decade ago as director of admissions at North Carolina A&T State University, became president of Delaware State University in January. Nearly half a dozen HBCU first-time presidents are three years or less into their jobs, including the Southern University at Baton Rouge chancellor and the South Carolina State University president.

They have taken on the job of university chief executive during an era of heavy turnover of presidents, moves rooted in a variety of reasons. Some departures are simple retirement, as in the case of Dr. Benjamin Payton, president of Tuskegee University for 30 years.

Other departures short of retirement are more complex, say presidential consultants and higher education veterans, citing anecdotal information. The reasons range from frustrations and differences with governance boards and alumni to heightened demands for institutional performance amid shrinking public and private financial support, especially since the onset of the economic downturn.

Oftentimes, departures are a combination of these factors, they say, citing recent resignations of presidents at Tennessee State, Jackson State University, Edward Waters College in Florida and Alcorn State University, to name a few. All are on the hunt for a new president, as is Norfolk State University in Virginia.

"Being a president in this day and time is hard work," says Oliver, a former provost at Edward Waters College. "You are leading seven days a week. Don't get into it because you think it's powerful, famous or prestigious. It's certainly a labor of love."

A Pressing Need

For sure, the job of a college president has its rewards and perks. Usually, the position, which typically pays six figures, commands community respect, as most colleges generate millions of dollars a year in revenue and hundreds of jobs in their respective communities. Also, good fortunes prevailing, college presidents can have a positive, lasting impact on the lives of many people who enroll as students seeking to improve their lives and economic standing.

Still, challenges abound.

Dr. Reginald Avery, 63, who has been president of Coppin State University in Baltimore for two and a half years, and other leaders say the need to raise money has become a larger part of a president's job, even at state-supported institutions.

"It's not just going out asking for money, it's fundraising. For those who think it's an easy job, it's not. It's not at all," Avery says, adding that he spends more than 30 percent of his time fundraising.

Fundraising is also a heightened priority for Williams of Delaware State. "We have to look at different ways of generating revenue," Williams says, noting he sees a "niche" for his school in focusing on science, technology, engineering and math programs. DSU is pursuing partnerships with the National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation.

"The reality is that's where the money is," Williams says, acknowledging the complaints he hears from time to time, as do other school presidents, that the focused pursuit of STEM programs and money is coming at the expense of the traditional focus on liberal arts studies.

Williams has also been working more intensely with state officials to permanently secure scholarship funding to attract more in-state students to the school. The new "Inspire Scholarship" would guarantee tuition for two years for any Delaware resident with at least a 2.75 grade-point average, eliminating a state aid gap dating to 2006 when the Legislature approved similar scholarship funding for two-year college students.

Williams and his supporters had won bipartisan support for his Inspire Scholarship legislation. The proposal won House passage. However, it failed to win Senate passage on the final night of the legislature's regular 2010 session when a lone senator with the right to block legislation barred a vote on the bill, asserting he had not been properly advised of it. After protests from fellow lawmakers and voters, the senator relented and indicated he would seek a special legislative session this fall to vote on passage of the proposal.

"This is the kind of work presidents have to do, to get this kind of support and get this kind of bill," says Williams. "That's the exciting part. I look at what you can do to make an impact."

A Two-front War

Indeed, with HBCUs enrolling a high percentage of poorly prepared, first-time college students and carrying student bodies heavily dependent on financial aid, the freshmen presidents say they face a double-edged sword.

They want to hold on to their historic mission of providing educational opportunities for communities they have served in the past without compromising standards or goals. At the same time, they face pressure to raise admissions standards and graduation rates quickly or face losing more public and private funds as the performance and outcomes-based funding movement gathers steam. Already, they say, that movement is costing them millions in state and private funds and forcing them to eliminate financially and academically needy students who have the potential to succeed in college, if all else were equal.

Louisiana and Ohio lead the pack in fast-tracking the new thrust for performance-based budgeting for higher education. That shift in allocating funds to state colleges, on top of economy-driven budget cuts, has disproportionately impacted public HBCUs, chronically plagued with low retention and graduation rates. The new funding approach has caused them to be denied millions in state funds, educators say.

In Louisiana, already hit by the downturn in the economy, the performance-based budget approach takes 25 percent of the state allocation for higher education and reallocates it based on graduation rates. That formula has cost the state's HBCUs millions and, at his school, jeopardized its mission, says Dr. Kofi Lomotey, chancellor at Southern University in Baton Rouge.

Coppin State's Avery said Maryland is looking at performance-based funding and taking a cautious approach toward it. Still, he says, he's already instituted programs aimed at improving outcomes by strengthening freshman students' academic skills through a pre-college summer program.

"We've done this despite the budget cuts," says Avery, referring to state cuts in higher education support triggered by a slump in Maryland's economy and state revenue receipts. Budget cuts forced him to impose furloughs this past school year. This fall, Maryland's state colleges are raising tuition for the first time in four years.

In Mississippi, where funding cuts for state colleges could exceed a cumulative total of 25 percent by 2012 absent a major economic windfall, Oliver says she has asked her "Renaissance Committee" to come up with a plan on how the school could operate if it wound up with orders to cut its budget by as much as 10 percent.

"We don't want to be reactive," she says. "We want to be proactive."

Survival Instincts

Whether these freshman presidents and those appointed in recent years survive more than a few years is a hotly debated topic in academic circles. For sure, all the new presidents, especially the first-timers, sound ready for battle. Still, few observers give the 21st-century presidents the prospects of having tenures like Payton at Tuskegee or Dr. William Harvey, president of Hampton University. Possible? Yes, they say. Likely? That's another question.

Some observers say the turnover problem will continue to persist, absent some major attention on how presidential candidates are recruited and selected.

"There's a major issue we've never adequately addressed: How do we get the kinds of boards of directors we need for the 21st century?" says Dr. N. Joyce Payne, founder of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and a former director of the Office for the Advancement of Public Black Colleges, a unit of the Association of Public Land-grant Universities. "There's probably a greater unevenness (between governance board make-up and a president), if the outcome isn't working."

Payne says the success of a president hinges on how well the selection process was conducted and whether the board that selects a new chief executive is engaged in the process and develops the kind of "performance and selection matrix" that is more in keeping with a particular school's history, mission and vision of its future.

Whether looking inside for candidates or using a search firm, the recruitment and selection processes are essential to determining how successful a new president is likely to be, says Payne.

Humphries says selecting forward-looking presidents would help along with revisiting some outside pressures HBCUs face today, like performance-outcome standards. For example, Humphries says performance evaluation based on a 10-year graduation rate rather than six years would be fairer to HBCUs, given that many students "stop out" for a few years and return later to complete their studies.

The freshman presidents have their thoughts, too, about their prospects of surviving and thriving as institutional CEOs.

Oliver says new presidents can help their own cases by listening to their various constituents – boards of governors, faculty, alumni, students, legislators — and governing themselves accordingly.

"Put on your listening ears," says Oliver. "You have to know your vision, but you have to understand it remains your vision unless you can get their buy-in. Once you've accomplished that, you are ready to set your strategic priorities."

"Evaluate often," she adds. "Lastly, you must do it with excellence and integrity."

Oliver and other presidents sound eager to take on the challenges ahead, despite the storm clouds that abound.

"I'm sure the previous nine presidents (at Delaware State) had their challenges," says Williams of his predecessors. "If you are committed to education, the presidency is the job for you because you have the wonderful opportunity to promote quality education."

U.S. News releases 2011 HBCU Rankings; Spelman Named Top HBCU

2010-08-19T09:06:00.001-04:00

For the fourth consecutive year, U.S.News & World Report has produced a ranking of the undergraduate education at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). These colleges were compared only with one another for these rankings.

How did we choose the schools to be part of the survey? In order to be on the list, a school currently must be listed as part of the U.S. Department of Education's Historically Black Colleges and Universities registry. The Higher Education Act of 1965 defines an HBCU as "any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation."

To qualify for the U.S. News ranking, an HBCU also must be an undergraduate baccalaureate-granting institution that enrolls primarily first-year, first-time students and must have been a school that was currently part of the 2011 Best Colleges rankings. In almost all cases, if an HBCU college was "Unranked" in the 2011 Best Colleges rankings, it was also listed as being "Unranked" in the HBCU rankings (see more details below). In total there were 80 HBCU colleges and universities eligible to be ranked, and 9 of those were "Unranked."

Peer assessment (weighting: 25 percent). The U.S. News ranking formula gives greatest weight to the opinions of those in a position to judge a school's undergraduate academic excellence. The peer assessment survey allows the top academics we consult to account for intangibles such as faculty dedication to teaching. Each individual is asked to rate peer schools' academic programs on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). Those who don't know enough about a school to evaluate it fairly are asked to mark "don't know." In the spring and summer of 2010, U.S. News conducted an exclusive peer survey among only the president, provost, and admission dean at each HBCU. Each HBCU received three surveys. The recipients were asked to rate all HBCUs, considering each school's scholarship record, curriculum, and quality of faculty and graduates at schools they were familiar with. A total of 242 surveys were sent out, and 36.3 percent responded. Synovate, an international opinion-research firm based in Chicago, collected the data.

Retention (25 percent). The higher the proportion of freshmen who return to campus the following year and eventually graduate, the more likely a school is offering the classes and services students need to succeed. This measure has two components: six-year graduation rate (80 percent of the retention score) and freshman retention rate (20 percent). The graduation rate indicates the average proportion of a graduating class who earn a degree in six years or less; we consider freshman classes that started from fall 2000 through 2003. Freshman retention indicates the average proportion of freshmen entering each fall from 2005 through 2008 who returned the following fall.

Top 20 Rankings:

1. Spelman College

2. Howard University

3. Morehouse College

4. Hampton University

5. Tuskegee University

6. Xavier University of Louisiana

7. Fisk University

8. Claflin University

9. Dillard University

10. Tougaloo College

11. North Carolina Central University

12. (TIE) Florida A&M University & North Carolina A&T State University

14. South Carolina State University

15. (TIE) Jackson State University & Johnson C. Smith University

17. (TIE) Delaware State University & Elizabeth City State University

19. Winston-Salem State University

20. (TIE) Morgan State University & Tennessee State University

22 HBCU Students Win a Trip to South Africa

2010-08-17T16:29:00.001-04:00

ATLANTA, Jun 16, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- It sounds like a dream college course description: embark on cultural adventures against the backdrop of the world's biggest sporting event. No prerequisites, no professor, no syllabus, no books and no tests required. But for 21 students from 12 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), this "dream" is a real once-in-a-lifetime journey to South Africa later this month.

The students are winners of the Coca-Cola "Open Happiness Tour," a video contest that sought creative and inspirational answers to the question: How does the Coca-Cola RAIN program inspire you? As part of a multifaceted sponsorship program inspired by the first FIFA World Cup(TM) being held in Africa, Coca-Cola is inviting consumers to join its football-themed, global Coca-Cola RAIN "Water for Schools" initiative to help provide safe drinking water for schoolchildren in Africa and around the world.

"The Open Happiness Tour allows Coca-Cola the opportunity to engage and inspire young African Americans while connecting them with their roots," said Yolanda White, assistant vice president, African American Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. "We hope experiencing the diverse culture and meeting people who will be in South Africa for World Cup will inspire these students to view the world differently and make a commitment to creating a better place for everyone to live."

The 21 winners will head to South Africa on June 25, where they will spend five days soaking up the South African culture and learning more about Africa's water crisis. During their visit, the students will meet with executives from Coca-Cola South Africa, who will share what the Company is doing in support of the RAIN project as well as learn about other initiatives throughout Africa, including HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention, access to education, job creation and humanitarian assistance. In addition, the students will see first-hand the extreme need for potable water when they visit a local orphanage whose water system is in dire need of repairs. The Company will make a donation to assist with the repairs of the water system and, once the project is completed, the orphanage will have clean running water for cooking, bathing and other necessities.

The students also will have the opportunity to explore more facets of South African culture when they take a trip to the Nelson Mandela National Museum, go on a Safari and attend a FIFA World Cup match. The students will get another perk during their time in South Africa -- meeting with actor Idris Elba, whose father is from Sierra Leone and mother is from Ghana. Elba will spend time with the students throughout the trip, discussing water stewardship and its importance to Africa and his passion for the World Cup, as well as providing his unique perspective on the local culture.

"I look forward to sharing my love for Africa with the students," said Elba. "Through experiencing Africa's rich history and the wonderful diversity of its culture, the students will be amazed and enriched. I hope they grow to love Africa as much as I do."

"This tour, just like drinking a Coca-Cola, is a refreshing and simple moment of pleasure that we're able to give to these students. To be able to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience during FIFA World Cup is something they will never forget," said White.

For more information about the Coca-Cola water stewardship programs, including the RAIN program, please visit www.coca-colacompany.com/citizenship.

Meet the Student Winners

       STUDENT                    HBCU                STUDENT HOMETOWNS -----------------   -----------------------------   -----------------    Funbi Oluwole       Clark Atlanta University         Atlanta, GA                              (Atlanta, GA) -----------------   -----------------------------   -----------------     Alisa Routh         Florida A&M University        Tallahassee, FL    Justin Smith            (Tallahassee, FL) -----------------   -----------------------------   -----------------   Tatiana Mosley     Fayetteville State University     Charlotte, NC  Junious Smith III        (Fayetteville, NC)         Fayetteville, NC -----------------   -----------------------------   -----------------  Jasmine Singleton    Ft. Valley State University       Atlanta, GA   Graylin Taylor           (Ft. Valley, GA) -----------------   -----------------------------   -----------------    Jelyse Dawson      Grambling State University       Grambling, LA   Derrill Miller            (Grambling, LA)          Richton Park, IL -----------------   -----------------------------   -----------------     Lael Clark        Johnson C. Smith University      Charlotte, NC   Tremone Jackson           (Charlotte, NC)

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Jackson State Interns Blog About Their China Experience

2010-05-12T11:38:00.001-04:00

Several students from Jackson State University are spending time in China on internship, and are keeping a blog of their experiences. With a wide range of joy, wonder and sadness, the blog should be required reading for HBCU students who want to have an overseas learning experience.

A sample entry from Gabrielle P. Frazier:

The Pfrang trip to Northern Jiangsu Province, China was amazing. I didn't expect to experience anything like it. Pfrang is a nonprofit organization that started about ten years ago, sponsoring over six hundred students in need. These children that qualify for sponsorship have either lost both of their parents and are orphans, or their parents are disabled. I was actually in the home of a sixteen year old male orphan who lost his mother some time ago and his father just last month. He rents out rooms in the house for income for his food, which he cooks one week at a time.

I stood right beside his meal, so emotional I walked out. Most of the children applying for the scholarship wrote maybe a page of family history and why they should receive the scholarship. This young boy only wrote, "Both my parents died and I'm only a child."

I have so much to be grateful for!

An HBCU president reflects on Obama's initiative

2010-05-04T23:00:00.001-04:00

Readers of this blog will know that President Obama signed an executive order last week ago reaffirming and strengthening the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a document first signed by President Carter 30 years ago.

The Washington area is rich in HBCUs. The following letter, though, comes from Marvalene Hughes, president of Dillard University in New Orleans and a former member of the president's HBCU Advisory Board.

I asked her to explain the significance of the president's recomittment to HBCUs and especially to hers, a resilient survivor of Hurricane Katrina.

Here is her letter.

I want to personally thank President Obama for signing the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. His proposed budget includes $98 million dollars in new funds for HBCU programs in 2011. This is very good news for our students who need all the help the president can give them.

In the years since Hurricane Katrina, Dillard University has built back better and stronger than ever before, refurbishing nearly three dozen existing buildings and constructing two new LEED-certified gold environmentally sustainable buildings offering state-of-the-art laboratories, lecture halls, conference rooms and community health facilities. Our enrollment numbers are inching up. Our graduation rates remain steady. Over 40 percent of Dillard graduates enroll in graduate and professional degree programs. We are one of the top producers of African American physics graduates who earn doctorates. Our rate of student placement in graduate schools and the workplace is among the highest in the nation and has earned the university a place in the top tier of Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report 2009.

If we are to fulfill President Obama's goal of providing "competitive education from cradle to career," we need to make education loans more accessible to HBCU students. Most Dillard undergraduates come from humble beginnings and some are the first in their family to go to college. Although the president's proposed increase in Federal Pell Grant monies is laudable -an overall increase of $400 million dollars since taking office--a large percentage of families that apply for student aid at HBCUs cannot access parent and private alternative loans because they are credit-dependent. The cost of tuition, room and board for one student for one year often exceeds the average Dillard parent's yearly income. It is not the upper middle class parents who have trouble borrowing money to send their children to college, it is the parents of students at universities like Dillard.

Our students have the option to borrow money to go to school, but the debt load is great. Minor disruptions in student financial aid packages force our young people to "stop-out" and acquire a job as a bridge to return, or drop out of school for good. The effect on the student is disastrous. The effect on the University is more subtle but can be equally damaging. As retention rates fall, a university's reputation suffers, and people wonder why they can not keep students past their first year. We believe our academic programs are first-rate, but the financial options we can offer to a struggling student are few.

As the president works to strengthen our nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, I hope he will consider restructuring student loan programs to equalize the advantages for students at Dillard and similar institutions. This is the "Change" our students desperately need.

Small Business Assoc. to stand trial in discrimination suit

2010-04-11T16:11:00.001-04:00

FYI, This suit was against the previous administrator/Administration but the current Administrator will have to deal with it.

http://www.bizjournals.com/extraedge/washingtonbureau/archive/2010/04/05/bureau6.html

http://www.louisianaweekly.com/news.php?viewStory=2583

Posted: Monday, April 5, 2010 2:44 pm
WASHINGTON, DC - District Court Judge Kessler Monday ruled against SBA's attempt to dismiss Diamond Ventures, LLC's (Dia_mond) landmark lawsuit against the Small Business Administration (SBA), setting the stage for SBA to stand trial for discriminatory practices in its Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. (See case # 03-1449 Diamond Ventures, LLC V Hector Baretto and the United States Small Business Association (District Court of District of Columbia).

The judge's ruling marks a critical milestone in the suit between the SBA and Diamond. Judge Kessler found credible testimony and reports that the program had only .86 percent (two persons) of the 350 licensed managers in the program who were African-American managers, that SBA's own statistics show Black-owned firms received just 2.55 percent of SBA approved financings, that .49 percent of all SBA dollars were to Black-owned firms illustrating that SBA's policies for decades have had a disparate discriminatory impact on Blacks and minorities.

"The judge's ruling opens the door to providing funding to minority- and women-owned businesses. It will also open doors for other minority and women owned businesses to gain necessary access to capital, as managers with proven skills are approved to participate in the $5 Billion a year program" says C. Earl Peek, Managing Partner of Diamond Ventures, LLC. Industry experts note that the ruling will be helpful to the President and Congress as they grapple with ways to deploy capital to create jobs in underserved communities in the tough economy.

This monumental case against the SBA began in 2003 after Diamond managers applied to and was rejected from the New Markets Venture Capital (NMVC) program and the SBIC program. Court records show that SBA had concealed that Diamond was approved for the NMVC abundantlife@wi.twcbc.comprogram a year earlier. Judge Kessler also noted that during the lawsuit, "it was also discovered that the Report of the SBA Inspector General, issued March 20, 2003, concluded that 'the Division's evaluation of the application [of Diamond] and the decision to deny were not accomplished in accordance with the existing SBA procedures and criteria." See the full court opinion at www.dcd.uscourts.gov, https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opinions.pl?2010 or www.sba_li_ti_gation.com <http://www.sba_li_ti_gation.com/>.

/This article was originally published in the March 5, 2010 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper/

--
David E. Garnett, President
iAM Solutions, LLC
703.818-0859 (o)
703.926-9134 (m)
703.818-3101 (F)
www.emolis.com

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2009

2009-10-10T16:45:00.000-04:00

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

Oslo, October 9, 2009

Mideast hopes prize spurs Obama to fulfil pledge to Muslims

2009-10-10T16:39:00.000-04:00

By Jailan Zayan (AFP)

CAIRO — Some Middle Eastern leaders expressed hope on Friday that Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize will push him to fulfill promises made to the world's Muslims, though others criticised the award as premature.
In a landmark Cairo University speech in June, the US president promised a "new beginning" for Islam and the United States, laying out a blueprint for Middle East policy and vowing to end mistrust and forge a Palestinian state.
Arab League chief Amr Mussa said he is "very happy" Obama has won the award, which comes less than a year after he took office and with the jury hailing his "extraordinary" diplomatic efforts on the international stage.
"This is an expression that the world is convinced of what (Obama) talked about in his speeches," Mussa told AFP.
"We hope this prize will help intensify efforts to reach peace in the Middle East and contain negative efforts opposed to peace," he said.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas expressed a wish that "Obama will achieve his quest for peace throughout the Middle East by establishing an independent Palestinian state in the 1967 borders with its capital in east Jerusalem," top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.

But Islamist movement Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since routing forces loyal to Abbas in 2007, said the award is premature.

"He did not do anything for the Palestinians except make promises," said Hamas spokesman Samir Abu Zuhri. "At the same time, he is giving his absolute support for the (Israeli) occupation."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres were among leaders who offered their congratulations.
"This award also expresses the hope that your presidency will usher in a new era of peace and reconciliation," said Netanyahu.
"Nowhere is such a peace needed more than in the Middle East, a region that has been long marked by terror and bloodshed," the hawkish premier added.

However, Israel's parliament speaker Reuven Rivlin called the award "a very strange decision."
"I fear it will lead to an accord imposed on Israel, and peace concluded under coercion cannot last long," Rivlin said.
Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, praised Obama for "his extraordinary efforts in the service of international diplomacy and of cooperation among peoples."
Iran said the prize should prompt Obama to start working towards ending injustice in the world, an aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told AFP.

"We hope that this gives him the incentive to walk in the path of bringing justice to the world order," said Ali Akbar Javanfekr.
"We are not upset and we hope that by receiving this prize he will start taking practical steps to remove injustice in the world."
The Nobel jury attached "special importance to Obama's vision and work for a world without nuclear weapons" and said he had created "a new climate in international politics.

Emad Gad, a researcher at the Cairo-based Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, said Obama "created a climate of calm and used a language of reconciliation."
He added the prize will be a "tough challenge" for the president.
Obama said he was "humbled" by the distinction, but criticism quickly emerged over how the award could be given so early on in his presidential career.
"It's ridiculous. Obama is still on notice. It's like a payoff before the delivery," said Walid Kazziha, a professor of political science at the American University in Cairo.

"He made a very good speech (in Cairo) but we haven't seen any concrete results," Kazziha told AFP.
Obama's Cairo speech, peppered with references to and quotes from the Koran, was aimed at healing a deep rift with the Islamic world.

"I have come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," Obama said, targeting the globe's 1.5 billion Muslims via television, the Internet and on social networking sites.
"This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," said Obama, vowing to fight "negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear."

King Abdullah II of Jordan welcomed the award and noted the "positive effect" of the Cairo speech.

The Obama agenda

2009-01-08T16:39:00.000-05:00

By Paul Krugman

Published: November 7, 2008

But will the election also mark a turning point in the actual substance of policy? Can Barack Obama really usher in a new era of progressive policies? Yes, he can.

PRINCETON, New Jersey: Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, is a date that will live in fame (the opposite of infamy) forever. If you're an American and the election of the first African-American president didn't stir you, if it didn't leave you teary-eyed and proud of your country, there's something wrong with you.

Right now, many commentators are urging Obama to think small. Some make the case on political grounds: America, they say, is still a conservative country, and voters will punish Democrats if they move to the left. Others say that the financial and economic crisis leaves no room for action on, say, health care reform.

Let's hope that Obama has the good sense to ignore this advice.

About the political argument: Anyone who doubts that America has had a major political realignment should look at what's happened to Congress. After the 2004 election, there were many declarations that we'd entered a long-term, perhaps permanent era of Republican dominance. Since then, Democrats have won back-to-back victories, picking up at least 12 Senate seats and more than 50 House seats. They now have bigger majorities in both houses than the Republican Party ever achieved in its 12-year reign.

Bear in mind, also, that this year's presidential election was a clear referendum on political philosophies - and the progressive philosophy won.

Maybe the best way to highlight the importance of that fact is to contrast this year's campaign with what happened four years ago. In 2004, President Bush concealed his real agenda. He basically ran as the nation's defender against gay married terrorists, leaving even his supporters nonplussed when he announced, soon after the election was over, that his first priority was Social Security privatization. That wasn't what people thought they had been voting for, and the privatization campaign quickly devolved from juggernaut to farce.

This year, however, Obama ran on a platform of guaranteed health care and tax breaks for the middle class, paid for with higher taxes on the affluent. John McCain denounced his opponent as a socialist and a "redistributor," but America voted for him anyway. That's a real mandate.

What about the argument that the economic crisis will make a progressive agenda unaffordable?

Well, there's no question that fighting the crisis will cost a lot of money. Rescuing the financial system will probably require large outlays beyond the funds already disbursed. And on top of that, America badly needs a program of increased government spending to support output and employment. Could next year's federal budget deficit reach $1 trillion? Yes.

But standard textbook economics says that it's O.K., in fact appropriate, to run temporary deficits in the face of a depressed economy. Meanwhile, one or two years of red ink, while it would add modestly to future federal interest expenses, shouldn't stand in the way of a health care plan that, even if quickly enacted into law, probably wouldn't take effect until 2011.

Beyond that, the response to the economic crisis is, in itself, a chance to advance the progressive agenda.

Now, the Obama administration shouldn't emulate the Bush administration's habit of turning anything and everything into an argument for its preferred policies. (Recession? The economy needs help - let's cut taxes on rich people! Recovery? Tax cuts for rich people work - let's do some more!)

But it would be fair for the new administration to point out how conservative ideology, the belief that greed is always good, helped create this crisis. What FDR said in his second inaugural address - "We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics" - has never rung truer.

And right now happens to be one of those times when the converse is also true, and good morals are good economics. Helping the neediest in a time of crisis, through expanded health and unemployment benefits, is the morally right thing to do; it's also a far more effective form of economic stimulus than cutting the capital gains tax. Providing aid to beleaguered state and local governments, so that they can sustain essential public services, is important for those who depend on those services; it's also a way to avoid job losses and limit the depth of the economy's slump.

So a serious progressive agenda - call it a new New Deal - isn't just economically possible, it's exactly what the economy needs.

The bottom line, then, is that Barack Obama shouldn't listen to the people trying to scare him into being a do-nothing president. He has the political mandate; he has good economics on his side. You might say that the only thing he has to fear is fear itself.

Ford Motor Company Plant in Brazil

2009-01-04T19:55:00.001-05:00

I got this from a friend and it is a very interesting video. As you look at the video you will likely ask; why can't the Big Three Auto makers do something like this in the USA? The answer is stated at the end of the video.

Dave

*******************************************
Both Ford and GM have models of cars like the Cadillac that are manufactured outside of the U.S. and sold to the rest of the world that run on turbo diesels manufactured from state of the art materials that get 67 miles to the gallon and exceed the very restrictive emission requirements set forth by the stupid congress of the U.S.
Because of the powerful oil lobby and the communistic unions n this country these cars are NOT allowed to be imported for sale or even manufactured in this U.S. The result to date has been a failed U.S. auto industry that can't get well with the current mind set of congress, the oil industry and the unions. We can look forward to kissing millions of jobs goodbye forever as more manufacturing is moved offshore.

The other thing stuck in my craw is the price of diesel fuel, traditionally the price of diesel has always been about half the price of gasoline, in trying to discover why it costs at least a dollar more than gasoline I run across lame explanations of there is more demand in the world for diesel because most cars in other countries run on diesel and the demand exceeds supply. Which you might consider to have some rational but then you ask yourself why isn't more diesel refined? Crude has fallen to less than 36 bucks a barrel, last time it was at this level fuel was relatively cheap in comparison to today's prices. The explanation of the high price of diesel to me somehow loses all credibility when you consider JP-1 jet fuel , a higher refined diesel fuel and more expensive to manufacture due to the special additives required for hi altitude aviation use. The price of JP-1 has come down 63 percent, what happened to diesel?

Anyway this is an interesting video that certainly makes a point...

Ford Assembly Plant in Brazil

Interesting ...This is a video of a new Ford plant in Brazil. One look at this and you will be able to tell why there will probably never be another one built in the USA. It will also point out why more assembly plants will go offshore, and.. pay attention to the last few words. It says a lot!

http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189

Is MagicJack the new Skype?

2008-06-17T11:52:00.001-04:00

Internet-call device selling 8,000 to 9,000 units per day, company says

By Peter Svensson

The Associated Press

updated 4:17 p.m. PT, Mon., June. 16, 2008

NEW YORK - What's the fastest-growing fixed-line phone company in the United States?

It's not Verizon Communications Inc. or AT&T Inc. - they're losing lines. What about cable company Comcast Corp., which is raking in subscribers for its phone service? Even that company is being beaten by a small Palm Beach, Florida, company called YMax Corp., judging by its own figures.

YMax may not be well-known but the company has been running TV ads for its product, the MagicJack, which works with a broadband connection.

It's about the size of a matchbox and plugs into a PC. After plugging a regular phone into the MagicJack, the user can make and receive calls much like using a regular landline.

In January, just after the broad advertising campaign started, YMax was selling a few hundred MagicJacks per day, said Jim Donlon, its chief marketing officer. Now, it's selling 8,000 to 9,000 per day, and the company is on track to have half a million subscribers by the end of June.

That's a meteoric trajectory in the phone business, propelled by the pricing: The MagicJack costs $39.95, including one year of free calls in the United States and Canada. Another year of service costs $19.95.

"It's extremely low-risk. Most people I know are willing to gamble on 40 bucks," said TeleGeography analyst Stephan Beckert, who follows voice-over-Internet providers.

Unlike most voice-over-Internet Protocol - or VoIP - providers, YMax is licensed as a phone company in the continental United States and operates a wide network of servers to carry its calls. VoIP providers generally outsource that side of the business.

Comcast, the fastest-growing cable voice provider, signed up a net average of 7,100 customers per day in the first quarter, ending with 5.1 million on March 31. Vonage Corp., the leading independent provider of VoIP that works with regular phones was averaging 334 per day, for a total of 2.6 million.

YMax's subscriber numbers are "significant," Beckert said, but he noted that its revenue is much lower than that of competing providers because it charges about as much for a year of service as its rivals do for a month. Even eBay Inc.'s Skype, which uses computers for calling, charges significantly more.

It's unclear what effect the MagicJack is having on competitors.

YMax Chief Executive Don Burns said many customers buy a MagicJack as a complement to a cell phone, compensating for poor cell coverage at home. When the computer is off, the service can be set to forward incoming calls to a cell phone.

Burns and inventor Dan Borislow founded the company, financing it largely themselves. They're telecom industry veterans - Borislow pioneered selling long-distance service to AOL subscribers in the 90s and Burns was the CEO of Telco Communications Group, which provided discount long-distance calls.

Burns says YMax's structure helps keeps cost low and call quality high. In the future, the company plans to sell advertising that shows up on the PC screen while calls are being placed. It would use its knowledge of the customer's location to display relevant ads.

Even so, Beckert is skeptical of the business model. Like YMax, Vonage has recruited customers by TV advertising for years. But Vonage has consistently lost money.

"I'm still not sure how you make money at $20 a year," Beckert.

MagicJack's next moves are to get on the shopping channel QVC and possibly expand sales beyond the Web and call centers.

"We have big-box retailers jumping at this," Donlon said.

Chinese flocking in numbers to a new frontier: Africa

2008-04-28T17:36:00.001-04:00

LILONGWE, Malawi: When Yang Jie left home at 18, he was doing what people from China's hardscrabble Fujian Province have done for generations: emigrating in search of a better living overseas.<p>

What set him apart was his destination. Instead of the traditional adopted homelands in North America and Europe, where Fujian people have settled by the hundreds of thousands, he chose southern Africa, making his way to this small, landlocked country where Stanley and Livingstone's legendary meeting occurred.

"Before I left China," said Yang, now 25, "I thought Africa was all one big desert," a place forever bathed in terrible heat. So he figured ice cream would naturally be in high demand, and with money pooled from relatives and friends, created his own factory. Malawi's climate, in fact, is subtropical, but that has not stopped his ice cream company from becoming the country's biggest.

Stories like this have become legion across Africa over the last five years or so, as hundreds of thousands of Chinese have discovered the continent, setting off to do business in a part of the world that had been terra incognita for their compatriots. The Xinhua press agency recently estimated there were at least 750,000 Chinese working or living for extended periods on the continent, a reflection of burgeoning economic ties between China and Africa that reached $55 billion in trade in 2006, compared with less than $10 million a year a generation earlier.

Even when Yang arrived here in 2001, he said he could go weeks without encountering another traveler from his homeland. But as surely as his investments in the country have prospered, he said, an increasingly large community of Chinese migrants has taken root, running everything from small factories to health care clinics and trading companies.

During the previous wave of Chinese interest in Africa in the 1960s and 70s, an era of radical socialism and proclaimed third world solidarity, European and American companies held sway over economies across most of the continent. Here and there, though, the Chinese made their presence felt, often as a curious sight: drably dressed, state-run work brigades that built stadiums, railroads and highways, often crushing rocks and performing other heavy labor by hand. Today, in many of the countries the new Chinese emigrants have settled in, like Chad, Chinese-owned pharmacies, massage parlors and restaurants serving a variety of regional Chinese cuisines can be found; the Western presence, once dominant, has steadily dwindled, and essentially consists nowadays of relief experts working with international agencies or oil workers, living behind high walls in heavily guarded enclaves.

At first, this new Chinese exodus was driven largely by word of mouth, as pioneers like Yang relayed news back home of abundant opportunities in a part of the world where many economies lay undeveloped or in ruins, and where even in the richer countries many things taken for granted in the developed world awaited builders and investors.

Conditions like these often deter Western investors, but for many budding Chinese entrepreneurs, Africa's emerging economies are inviting precisely because they seem small and accessible. Competition is often weak or nonexistent, and for African customers, the low price of many Chinese goods and services make them more affordable than their Western counterparts.

You Xianwen sold his pipe-laying business in Chengdu this year to move to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, to join a startup company with a Chinese partner he had previously only met online.

"Back where I come from we are pretty independent people," said You, 55. "My brothers and sisters all supported my decision to come here. In fact, they say that if things really work out for me, they would like to move to Africa, too."

You said that before settling on Ethiopia, he had considered other African countries, including Zambia. "Luckily I didn't decide to go there," he said, explaining that he had been frightened by the recent anti-Chinese protests in that country.

His new business, ABC Bioenergy, builds devices that generate combustible gas from ordinary refuse, providing what You says would be an affordable alternative source of energy in a country where electricity supplies are erratic and prices high.

You's partner here, Mei Haijun, first came to Ethiopia a decade ago to work at a Chinese-built textile factory and has since married an Ethiopian woman, with whom he has a newborn child. "When I first came here you could go two months without seeing another Chinese person," he said. "But it is a different era now. There's a flight to China every day."

Air traffic has picked up between China and countries like Ethiopia, with Chinese carriers scrambling to add new routes, as the Chinese government and big Chinese companies increase their stake in Africa.

Much of that activity reflects an intense appetite for African oil and mineral resources needed to fuel China's manufacturing sector, but big Chinese companies have quickly become formidable competitors in other sectors as well, particularly for big-ticket public works contracts. China is building major new railroad lines in Nigeria and Angola, large dams in Sudan, airports in several countries, and new roads, it seems, almost everywhere.

One of the largest road builders, China Road and Bridge Construction, has picked up where the solidarity brigades of an earlier generation left off. The company, owned by the Chinese government, has 29 projects in Africa, many of them financed by the World Bank or other lenders, and it maintains offices in 22 African countries.

On a recent Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Beijing brimming with Chinese contractors, workers from Road and Bridge and other companies swapped notes on the grab bag of countries they work in, and debated about the difficulties of learning Portuguese and French in places like Mozambique and Ivory Coast.

Africans view the influx of Chinese with a mix of anticipation and dread. Business leaders in Chad, a central African nation with deepening oil ties to China, are bracing for what they suspect will be an army of Chinese workers and investors.

"We expect a large influx of at least 40,000 Chinese in the coming years," said Renaud Dinguemnaial, director of Chad's chamber of commerce. "This massive arrival could be a plus for the economy, but we are also worried. When they arrive, will they bring their own workers, stay in their own houses, send all their money home?"

In Zambia, where anti-Chinese sentiment has been building for several years, merchants at Lusaka's central market said that if Chinese people want to come to Africa, they should come as investors, building factories, not as petty traders who compete for already scarce customers for bottom-dollar items like flip-flops and T-shirts.

"The Chinese claim to come here as investors, but they are trading just like us," said Dorothy Mainga, who sells knockoff Puma sneakers and Harley-Davidson T-shirts in Lusaka's Kamwala Market. "They are selling the same things we are selling at cheap prices. We pay duty and tax, but they use their connections to avoid paying tax." Although Chinese oil workers have been kidnapped in Nigeria and in Ethiopia, where nine were killed by an armed separatist movement in May, the growing Chinese presence around the continent has produced few serious incidents.

Misunderstandings are common, however, and resentments inevitably arise. Africans in many countries complain that Chinese workers occupy jobs that locals are either qualified for or could be easily trained to do. "We are happy to have the Chinese here," said Dennis Phiri, a 21-year-old Malawian university student who is studying to become an engineer. "The problem with the Chinese companies is that they reserve all the good jobs for their own people. Africans are only hired in menial roles."

Another frequently heard criticism is that the Chinese are clannish, sticking together day and night.

In Addis Ababa, in what is a typical arrangement for most large companies, the 200 Chinese workers for China Road and Bridge all live in a communal compound, eating food prepared by cooks brought from China and even receiving basic health care from a Chinese doctor.

"After a day off you wonder what you're doing here, so we like to keep working," said Cheng Qian, the country manager for the road building company in Ethiopia. He added that his family had never visited him during several years of work there. "They have no interest in Africa," he said. "If it were Europe, things would be different."

Lydia Polgreen reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Solar power pays off for Chinese entrepreneur

2008-04-28T17:21:00.000-04:00

SHANGHAI: Shi Zhengrong, a physicist, spent the 1990s in an Australian lab studying solar power, a field he picked by chance. He expected to devote his life to science.

Still, Shi saw signs of a blossoming industry as Germany, Japan and other countries invested in cleaner power. Excited by a trip home that showed him China's rapid development, he startled friends by abruptly moving his wife and two Australian-born sons to his homeland in 2001 to launch a solar equipment company.

Four years later, Shi's confidence paid off when his Suntech Power Holdings went public on the New York Stock Exchange and investors snapped up shares, turning him into a billionaire. Last year, Shi ranked No.7 on the Forbes magazine list of China's richest tycoons, with a $1.4 billion fortune.

Today, he has traded his research smock for blue business suits, a chief executive's 63rd-floor corner office and a role advising the Chinese government on renewable energy policy.

"We believed the share price would go up, but not so quickly," said Shi, a 43-year-old with a boyish face, chuckling at what he says was a rise marked by lucky breaks and timing. "I never thought I would be a rich guy."

Shi is the leader of an emerging group of Chinese entrepreneurs who are striking it rich by meeting fast-growing demand in China and abroad for cleaner power.

They are getting a boost from China's efforts to curb environmental damage after two decades of breakneck growth that have left it with some of the world's most badly polluted air and water. Chinese leaders also are promoting renewable energy in hopes of reducing mounting dependence on imported oil, which they see as a strategic weakness.

"The technological prowess of China is growing a lot faster than people in the West reckon," said Andrew Wilkinson, co-manager of a fund at the investment bank CLSA Emerging Markets that invests in Asian clean-energy industries.

Suntech's 3,500-strong work force at four sites in China produces photovoltaic cells, the delicate, hand-sized black silicon panels that can transform sunlight into electricity.

At a time when China's Communist leaders are trying to turn lumbering state companies into nimble global competitors, Suntech already goes head-to-head with Japanese and European rivals in foreign markets. Shi says that all of Suntech's technology comes from its own labs.

As of last year, Suntech had risen to be the world's fourth-largest maker of solar cells, according to an annual ranking by Photon International, an industry magazine. Sharp Corp. of Japan is the market leader and other competitors include Q-Cells of Germany, Kyocera of Japan and BP Solar.

Worldwide, experts expect industry sales to grow by 20 percent to 40 percent annually in coming years.

Suntech's key markets are Germany, Japan and Spain, which subsidize renewable energy by requiring utilities to buy solar-generated power and to pay more for it than they would for electricity from oil or gas.

China accounted for just 10 percent of Suntech's 2006 sales of $599 million. The equipment is expensive enough that its use in the company's home market is limited to lighthouses, remote military posts and other sites far from power plants.

But Shi says that the Chinese, U.S. and other markets will grow quickly as governments respond to concern about global warming by rolling out clean-energy initiatives. Beijing has ordered Chinese utilities to generate at least 10 percent of their power from solar, wind, hydroelectric and other renewable sources by 2010, with the target rising after that.

Despite his science background, Shi talks like a tough-minded businessman, and people in the industry say he is an able entrepreneur who moves between East and West and the worlds of technology and finance. He shifts easily between English and Chinese, and broke off twice during a 30-minute interview to take rapid-fire calls on his cellphone, first in the Shanghainese dialect, then in Mandarin.

David Edwards, an industry analyst for ThinkEquity Partners in San Francisco, said that Shi "comes across as a strong CEO who has a strong vision for his company and the future of his industry."

Shi is part of a generation that left China by the tens of thousands in the drab 1980s to study or work. They are now trickling back, lured by the booming Chinese economy's new opportunities.

He is also part of a growing group of returnees who are benefiting from government support for technology and new protections for private business. A few, like Shi, have become very wealthy by selling shares in their ventures on foreign stock exchanges.

Shi works 10- to 12-hour days and spends eight months a year on the road in Europe, the United States or China. But he said that he wants to devote more time to charity work, including an environmental education program that he launched with his wife.

Shi said he has little time to enjoy his wealth. "I'm a scientist," Shi said. "My hobby is solving technical problems."

"I never thought this solar business could take off or become commercially viable," Shi said. "I thought I just needed to concentrate on my research and publish papers to do my job as a scientist."

In the mid-1990s, Shi started visiting China regularly from Australia, where he was working for Martin Green, the New South Wales professor and solar pioneer, to lecture on solar power. Friends lobbied him to return to China. Shi acceded.

Soon afterward, the government of Wuxi, a city on Shanghai's western outskirts with ambitions to become a high-tech center, put up $6 million to finance Suntech, which started with 20 employees, and helped to land $5 million in research grants.

Suntech's main 11,000-square-meter, or 120,000-square-foot, factory is still in Wuxi, though Shi bought out his state backers before the IPO with the help of private investors led by Goldman Sachs.

At the Wuxi factory, technicians in green Suntech uniforms, surgical masks and hairnets turn 10-centimeter, or four-inch, silicon discs into solar cells.

Suntech cells are coated with power-producing films and sandwiched between sheets of glass in groups of 72 to form solar panels, each capable of generating 175 watts of power. That is too little to power three typical 60-watt light bulbs, but Suntech notes that it will light many more energy-saving bulbs.

Production is growing so fast that just two years after the factory opened in a special high-tech zone, Suntech is building a new one the same size a block away.

Shi said that Suntech's goal is to develop superior technology, and not just rely on China's low labor costs. But he said lower prices for skills and equipment will give the company an edge by making its $20 million annual research budget go further.

Shi said that as technology improves, Suntech hopes to be able to cut prices within five years from the current $3.50 per solar panel to $2.50 — a level that he said would compete with traditional power in California, a big potential market.

A Chinese law that took effect Jan. 1 — Shi helped to draft it — requires local authorities to favor renewable energy. The government has ordered power plants and factories to start complying with long-ignored emissions standards.

Those initiatives will create opportunities in industries ranging from wind turbines and nuclear power plants to pollution control and raising crops needed to produce ethanol and other clean-burning fuels, said Jing Ulrich, the chairwoman of China equities for JPMorgan Chase.

"It's so huge," Ulrich said, "no one can estimate the scale."

eMOLIS

2008-04-25T11:44:00.000-04:00

In this area of the site we will discuss a variety of International subjects. We will start on 5/1/2008