GENERAL BODY MEETING SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2021 2:00 PM EST
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GENERAL BODY MEETING
SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2021
2:00 PM EST
CORNELL BLACK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Annual General Body Meeting
Saturday, January 30, 2021
AGENDA
• Call to Order/Welcome
• Lift Every Voice & Sing
• Executive Board Reports
o President: John W. Rawlins III ‘06
o Treasurer: Vincent McClendon ‘07
o Secretary: Shannon Cohall ‘14
o Vice President of Membership: Yvette Lapompe ’10
o Vice President of Programming: Kamillah Knight ’13 MPA ‘15 MBA ‘22
o Vice President of Scholarship and Fundraising: Jason Daniel Fair ‘07
o Vice President of Student Relations: Wilma Ann Anderson ‘92
• Updates from Alumni Affairs & Development
o Michelle Vaeth ’98, Associate Vice President for Alumni Affairs
• Updates from Ujamaa Residential College
o Jallissa Elias, Residence Hall Director
• Updates from Diversity Alumni Programs
o Matt Carcella, Director, Diversity Alumni Programs and U.S. Regional Alumni
Engagement
• Discussion
o Envisioning the Future of the Cornell Black Community
• Announcements/Reminders of Upcoming Events
o Black History Month Programming
§ Wednesday 2/3/21 7PM EST: Explore Black History in the Library’s Rare
& Distinctive Collections
§ Friday 2/5/21 8PM EST: Virtual Unity Hour: Black Love
§ Friday 2/26/21-Saturday 2/27/21 Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference
§ CBAA/CUGALA Joint Program (Date TBA)
§ CBAA’s “A Family Affair” Gathering (Date TBA)
o February 1-28, 2021: Alumni Trustee Elections
o June 10-13, 2021: CBAA Reunion 2021
PRESIDENT
John W. Rawlins III ‘06
president@cbaa1976.com
2020…what a year.
Since our last physical gathering as an organization, our country and our world has experienced
some unimaginable events. Through all of it, I have been proud to say that our organization
has responded in several ways. Like all of us, we pivoted to meet the challenges that both
COVID-19 and country’s uprising regarding race and Black lives presented. It is in times like
these that organizations like ours must step up to support our members and our community.
In these last twelve months, the board and I have been engaged in many programs, events,
meetings, conversations and the like working on behalf of our community. The following are
some highlights:
• Virtual Unity Hours
o In our attempt to pivot from in-person, the board and I have hosted 12 Virtual
Unity Hours to engage our alumni and to provide a break from this new normal.
In that time frame, we have had over 100 new members, a large number of them
joining at the Lifetime Membership level. I must shoutout the board for their
energy with this initiative, and of course Chavez Carter, PhD ‘14, our resident DJ
for his dedication and his energy.
• COVID-19 Panel Discussion/Conversations on Race at Reunion 2020
o We hosted an important conversation on COVID-19, where experts within our
community spoke to various aspects of the virus and its impact on the Black
community. I also worked with Alumni Affairs and Development to organize
several events during Reunion 2020 in response to national uprising and
murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others. This
brought CBAA to the main stage of Reunion and created spaces for alumni to
process, discuss, and to learn.
• CBAA Black Graduate Celebration
o We were in the midst of planning a Black Graduation Celebration with BSU and
others on campus when COVID shifted our plans. In response, the board and I
hosted a virtual Celebration for the class of 2020, providing an opportunity for
families and alumni to celebrate our graduates, to hear from speakers Linda
Gadsby and Korie Grayson, and to welcome them into the CBAA family. We
plan to revisit this event as we learn more on how the University will facilitate
Commencement for the class of 2021.
• Cornell Students 4 Black Lives
o In response to the unrest in our country, a dedicated group of students that
would become the Cornell Student 4 Black Lives (C4BL) organization started a
fundraising effort to support non-profit organizations working to support the
Black Community. They reached out to me to garner the support of our alumni.
After some strategizing sessions with Jason and I, we became their fiscal
sponsors for the fundraiser, assist the students in the execution of the fundraiser.
In the end, they raised over $100,000.00 that went to five organizations:
§ $25,000.00
• Greater Ithaca Activities Center – Ithaca, NY
• Multicultural Resource Center – Ithaca, NY
• Southside Community Center – Ithaca, NY
• The Audrey Lorde Project - New York, NY
§ $15,000.00
• NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund – New York, NY
We are very proud to have worked with this group of students and look forward
to partnering with them in the future on some other education and advocacy
initiatives.
• 1976: The CBAA Store
o A few comments during a Virtual Unity Hour asking for CBAA masks led to the
creation of 1976: The CBAA Store. We worked along with California-based
company theblackness.org for the clothing, as well as DC-based SDB Events for
the masks. This was not meant to be a fundraiser, but more of a point of pride
and opportunity for new CBAA gear, which many have desired over the last few
years. One thing to note is that the store was run by both Shannon and I
directly. Shannon manages the online store, the orders, produces and
troubleshoots the shipping. My guest room became the warehouse for our
inventory. I folded every item, stuffed each custom bags, and mailed out every
package. With a slight delay, we are working reopen the store with a few new
items later in February, as well as once again closer to Reunion with some
special 45th Anniversary offerings.
• Black Alumni Collective/Miles for the My Alma
o We were connected with the Black Alumni Collective through a personal friend
of mine who is an active member of the American University Black Alumni
Alliance. The Collective unifies and empowers Black alumni individuals and
groups through civic engagement, economics, and advocacy. Institutions part of
the collective include University of Michigan, Duke University, Clemson
University, and Louisiana State University. I will be participating (virtually) in their
upcoming National Conference in April. This organization is behind the August
Miles for My Alma Mater initiative we participated in with great success for our
organization.
• Fall Events Transition
o We continued to pivot programming in the Fall to continue in the virtual space.
We hosted events during Virtual Homecoming 2020, as well as our holiday
season event with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the performance of
their newest show, TESTAMENT, which celebrated 60 years of REVELATIONS.
While this year’s program was not a fundraiser, we were blessed by
performances from instrumentalist Tony Craddock Jr., ’10, as well as a
conversation with my longtime friend and composer of TESTAMENT, Damien
Sneed. We were also graced by the presence (behind the camera) of three
Cornell heavyweights in our community, Dr. James & Dean Janice Turner and
Ken Glover.
• Campus Engagement
o In addition to creating opportunities for engagement among our alumni, this
year was also about connecting with various campus partners and students. In a
difficult season for members of our community everywhere, I spoke with student
leaders to support them in their leadership and to help them strategize certain
initiatives. These student leaders represent various student organizations such
as:
§ Black Student United (BSU)
§ Student Assembly (SA)
§ Women of Color in Athletics (WOCA)
§ the Caribbean Students’ Association (CSA)
§ Black Graduate and Professional Students Association (BGPSA)
§ Cornell Students 4 Black Lives (C4BL)
§ Do Better Cornell
o I also interfaced with many campus partners:
§ Professors from the Africana Studies & Research Center
§ Ryan Lombardi, Vice President of Student & Campus Life
§ Dr. Vijay Pendakur, former Dean of Students
§ Marla Love, Interim Dean of Students§ Wayne Hilson, Executive Director of the Office of Academic Diversity
Initiatives (OADI)
§ Jallissa Elias, Residence Hall Director – Ujamaa Residential College
§ Kyle Downey & Richard Onyejuruwa, Undergraduate Admissions Office
(UAO)
§ Michelle Vaeth, Associate Vice President for Alumni Affairs
§ Matt Carcella, Director, Diversity Alumni Programs and U.S. Regional
Alumni Engagement
§ Regular monthly meetings with Calicia Mullings ’98, Associate Director,
Diversity Alumni Programs
o I also had several opportunities to meet with other Cornell alumni leaders from
our fellow DAP organizations, Cornell class officers, Alumni Affairs administrators
and alumni volunteers from across the country from institutions such as
Georgetown University, Michigan State University, Ithaca College, and other
institutions to share some of our best practices of our organization, operations,
and engagement in the virtual environment. CBAA is certainly a model of
excellence that many have looked to for insight. It is certainly something our
organization should be very proud of!
• Fresh from the Hill Podcast
o Cornell has a podcast entitled Fresh from the Hill: Inside Stories of Noteworthy
Cornellians, which is available on all podcast platforms (Apple Podcasts, Google
Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.). This podcast debuted in 2018 and highlights
the experiences of various Cornellians, their journeys, and how Cornell has
impacted them. For their fourth season, I have been invited to serve as the host!
For this particular season, the podcast will highlight and amplify the voices of
Black Cornellians, as well as commemorate and celebrate the 45th anniversary of
our organization. The first episode of Season 4, an interview with yours truly, will
debut February 17, 2021. Stay tuned to our communication channels for
information on other episodes and the Black Cornellians that will be featured!
Special Committees
In the midst of such a major pivot for us, the board and I continue to focus on the streamlining
of processes for the organization. At this moment, the pivot has caused technology to be a
major player in our work. I have organized a special by-laws committee to ensure that our by-
laws reflect our uses for technology, especially when it comes to our elections in June. As the
committee does their work and puts forth any amendments, I anticipate special call meeting on
those amendments, per our by-laws. Please stay tuned for any updates on that. As we are inthe final six months of this leadership term, I have also called a special committee for both nominations and elections to assist in facilitating the process of the next executive board of CBAA! I would ask that folks consider getting involved with our organization. During one of the early Virtual Unity Hours, we had a great activity that spoke to the various experiences our community had over many decades. From that, I have decided to establish a special committee on Campus Legacy. This committee will be tasked with helping our organization to tell the story of our experiences at Cornell. Today’s committee meeting with this group will help to establish some ideas, discover some areas of expertise, and help us to begin this process. I look forward to beginning this work and sharing our legacy as Black Cornellians. Executive Board Words cannot express my gratitude for the executive board that I am honored to serve with. This board is global…literally. Being spread out in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Georgia, California, and Israel have presented many challenges for us throughout our tenure. 2020 also presented personal and professional pivots, challenges, loss, and even some gains. But through it all, their dedication to CBAA has been steadfast. I have high expectations as a leader and each of them has risen to the occasion, which I appreciate. This is truly one of the most dedicated groups of leaders that I have worked with and I cannot thank them enough. What you have seen this year from CBAA is a testament to dedication of this entire community and this executive board. The Next Five Months For the last five months of this term, we will continue to lead our organization through the terrain of this unknown. We have dedicated ourselves to working on new programs and collaborations that will continue to expand our footprint and legacy. Our CBAA Career Connections series will help us to engage with one another in our various fields of expertise, as well with students looking to enter this fields. We will continue to develop a sustainable mentorship program where we can support our students through their experience at Cornell and beyond. I am also focused on working with student leaders and Cornell leadership and our campus partners on addressing issues around the Black student experience at Cornell. We will continue to grow our membership, with a continued emphasis on the future of our organization, our young alumni. These five months will also be about supporting our Reunion Chairs and committee as they plan for our upcoming CBAA Reunion, which will be held. We await a decision from the University to inform how we will proceed and will communicate once we’ve met with the Reunion Chairs.
A Personal Reflection This was truly a character-building year from me in my work in our communities. I have had to step into spaces to lead communities like ours and others in processing things we have seen and experienced, as well as educating and facilitating conversations on very fragile and difficult topics. I’ve had to do all of this while trying to also reconcile my own identity as a Black man with the images I was seeing, stories I was hearing, and emotions that I was feeling. At times, I wore the mask to get through these experiences and afterwards, allow myself the chance to take the mask off and feel, in my own way. But one of the things that helped me to walk through this was the support, energy, and love from this community. Whether it was check-in from friends in this space, the desire to be more involved in some way, the support to help carrying things over the finish line, or even texts and emails all hours of the day and night with numerous questions and requests, this community helped me get through 2020. Please know that I appreciate you all and hope to continue to help foster a strong sense of pride for our organization.
TREASURER
Vincent McClendon ‘07
treasurer@cbaa1976.com
Account Balances
This report reflects activity in our non-Cornell related banking accounts. We are in the process
of reconciling 2020 activity in our Cornell accounts with Alumni Affairs & Development (AA&D).
With the retirement of Kathy Davis, Finance & Procurement Specialist in AA&D, we are working
with Matt Carcella to secure the needed information to present the membership with the full
and accurate scope of financial activity that took place during the calendar year. These
accounts are:
• 1702 – CBAA Campus Operating Account
• 1802 – CBAA Lifetime Membership Dues (interest transfer account)
• 1902 - CBAA Lifetime Membership Dues (Principal & Untransferred Interest Acct)
Beginning Balance Ending Balance Net Change
PayPal $7,512 $17,335 +$9,822
Wells Fargo $6,768 $19,550 +$12,782
Accomplishments
• In-Progress: Setting up a checking account with Carver Federal Savings Bank…a black
owned institution! During the last G-body meeting, I along with the CBAA board made
the firm commitment to join the Bank Black movement and accomplish the goal of
opening an account with a Black owned bank. Despite COVID restrictions, we would
not be deterred, especially in the midst of racial unrest and a call for equity, inclusion,
and representation for Black people in this country. While we have not yet crossed the
finish line, we are in the last leg of the race and are confident that we will have a funded
interest-bearing checking account with an institution that is focused on encouraging
and supporting economic empowerment for communities of color.
• Worked with President and Secretary to launch CBAA store. While this was not a
fundraising activity, it did require great involvement in various stages of the process,
including e-commerce, product design, procurement, and order processing. For the
first run of the store which ran over the summer, we were able to fulfill 165 orders,
selling 382 items for net proceeds of ~$800.Areas for Improvement • Continue path to set annual operating budget Goals • Finish setup of Black Owned Bank acct • Finish creating annual budget process • Continued engagement with Cornell Alumni Affairs & Development
SECRETARY
Shannon Cohall
secretary@cbaa1976.com
Overview:
2020 was certainly filled with many ups and downs for CBAA. However, through
creativity, innovation, and technology we were able to substantially increase our connections to
our alumni, students, faculty, and staff. As Secretary and Communications Chair, I have
thoroughly enjoyed using the many technology and social media platforms to reinvent CBAA’s
image and networking ability. I attended zoom and social media branding trainings to get a
better understanding of how best to use these platforms in a remote/virtual world. In fact, I
feel more connected to CBAA this year, than any other prior years. #CBAALegacy
Accomplishments:
• Prepared minutes of bi-weekly Executive Board meetings
• Update CBAA Website and iModules information
• Developed and designed our CBAA Online Store: 1976. Worked with the President and
Treasurer to organize pricing, style, and implementation of the website.
• Switched all e-board email accounts to Gmail
• Created marketing material for our sponsored using Canva, PosterMyWall, Paperless
Post, Eventbrite, and Photoshop
• Participated in Cornell Alumni Volunteer Trainings on virtual engagement for alumni
events.
• Developed a CBAA zoom account and managed our zoom virtual unity hours
• Maintained our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, GroupMe and Twitter.
• Created a Clubhouse Club: “Black at Cornell”; host weekly rooms on Thursdays
o 4 alumni volunteer moderators
• Revamped LinkedIn Group with Industry discussion boards
• Created marketing materials for Cornell Alumni recruiting events
• Renewed the CBAA Quarterly Newsletter that includes regional and national events,
volunteer opportunities, and Cornell events.
• Coordinated the “Miles for My Alma Mater” Challenge using the Nike Run Club app in
August 2020. We collaborated with the Black Alumni Collective for this competition and
came in 2nd place.
o Total CBAA Miles: 4548.32 Mi
o Total Runners: 132 participants
• Host monthly Communications Committee meetings
• Helped to develop Zoom virtual games and activities for our biweekly Unity HoursSocial Media/ Communication Tools Data:
Platform Followers/Members Handle/URL
iModules Emails 6,525 Users Cornell Alumni Database
Instagram 1,013 Followers @cbaa1976
Facebook Page 1,065 Followers www.facebook.com/CBAA1976
Facebook Group 2,603 Members www.facebook.com/groups/cbaa1976
LinkedIn** 1,029 Members www.linkedin.com/groups/697267/
Twitter 737 Followers @CBAA1976
Clubhouse* 238 Members/ “Black at Cornell” Club
22 Followers
* New Platforms (2020)
** Need Ownership
Goals:
• Audit the CBAA Google Drive folder
o Update and review all subfolders, minutes, flyers, files.
o Update the Secretary transition file
• Start CBAA Virtual Book Club
• Create a CBAA GroupMe
Open to the floor: What would you like to see in our communications? Other than emails and
social media, are there any other suggestions for engaging alumni across generations?
Please email Shannon Cohall at secretary@cbaa1976.com if you have any questions,
suggestions, concerns, or if you would like to join the Communications Committee.VICE PRESIDENT FOR MEMBERSHIP
Yvette Lapompe ‘10
vpmembership@cbaa1976.com
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
January 1, 2020 - December 31,2020
2020 New Lifetime Members 53
Total Lifetime Members 434
2020 New Annual Members 61
2020 Annual Total Members 168
TOTAL 2020 NEW CBAA MEMBERS 114
TOTAL CBAA MEMBERS 602
Current CBAA Membership Dues Cost
Alumni Individual $35
Alumni Couple $50
Lifetime Membership Dues $325
In 2020, we had a huge jump in our membership numbers due to our virtual unity hours and we
hope to keep the same momentum in 2021.
Whether you are a recent graduate or about to celebrate your 40th Reunion, paying CBAA
membership dues helps your volunteer CBAA officers and regional representatives to plan and
implement initiatives to connect alumni with one another and with Cornell. CBAA Reunion,
CBAA Homecoming activities, CBAA Literary grant, CBAA Outstanding Student Leadership
Award, regional activities and workshops are just a few ways that we come together.
In addition to supporting CBAA initiatives, paying CBAA membership dues will entitle you to
receive exclusive access to specific events and special discounts coming in the near future.
Lifetime members also receive special discounts and incentives.
In 2019, CBAA launched a new membership platform through the Microsoft platform
Memberplanet, a web-based group management system that provides online tools used by
organizations for managing membership, streamlining communication, and increasing
fundraising and participation in events. Throughout 2020, we rolled out the platform to all
lifetime and new annual members. We’ve updated our database of email addresses for the
majority of our Lifetime Members. If you are a lifetime member and not receiving our email,
please reach out to me to make sure we have the most up to date contact information.
We are currently evaluating an alumni-based membership platform founded by Cornell alum.
More information on that will come soon.For 2021, we are looking to leverage the membership committee to assist with ideas in increasing our membership and a membership drive. You are our greatest advocate for why Black Alumni should join CBAA. If you are interested in helping with this Membership Drive, please contact me at vpmembership@cbaa1976.com. We will need volunteers across the decades to make this happen.
VICE PRESIDENT FOR PROGRAMMING Kamillah Knight ’13 MPA ‘15 MBA ‘22 vpprogramming@cbaa1976.com This past year of my term has been dedicated to continuing to develop strong relationships, maintaining key programming events while adapting to the changes and challenges that 2020 presented us in light of COVID. I have also focused many of my efforts and that of the programming committee to helping to develop events that seek to engage undergraduate and graduate students, introducing them to the powerful organization that CBAA is, in addition to helping alum stay connected across all class years, during the lock down. I have also focused a lot of attention on bridging conversations and relationships with other organizations across the university to encourage more partnerships and facilitate more dynamic programming events. I will spend the final months of my term focusing on the development of a different structure for the programming committee and creating avenues for programming that is centered around building a CBAA legacy. Regions and Regional Events: We currently have regional reps in many areas, though not all are active. Over the last year there has been an increase in the consistency and engagement of the programming committee overall. This has helped to keep things exciting and to alleviate some of the pressures on the board in conducting all of the programming that has taken place over the last year. Below is a listing of cities and regions where Black alumni have self-reported their information to the university, including the number of alumni in that region. These areas are considered CBAA Regions, as defined in the constitution. Regional rep below means a Cornell regional rep.
Each city has seen an average increase of 9% from last year, which speaks to the increase in
programming that has spanned across all regions during the pandemic. There is still work to be
done to help maintain the numbers and to help them increase. There is always a need for the
support and service of regional reps. Regional reps are responsible for helping to gather
alumni together through programming, volunteer opportunities, and networking, in addition to
providing support and insight to the VP of Programming for different events. Currently there is
a monthly programing committee meeting hosted every third Thursday at 9PM EST.
I am continuing to look for more volunteers to help me and the current regional reps step it up
over the next several months. No prior experience is needed. If you would like to volunteer to
be a CBAA Regional Rep, to be part of a regional committee, or if you have an idea for
programming in your area, please email vpprogramming@cbaa1976.com and let me know as
soon as possible.
Events Hosted Jan 2020 – Dec 2020
Below please find a short recap of events that have occurred over the course of the last year:
• CBAA Family Affair: Vegas Edition (February)
o Given the general body meeting was held in Vegas last year as a part of the
Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC), we hosted a happy hour at the
107 Sky Lounge at the Strat Hotel and Casino, where several Black alumni who
were in attendance joined for appetizers, drinks, and mingling. The goal of the
event was to provide a touchpoint at CALC for Black alumni which we had never
done before, hoping to set a tradition and encourage more Black people to
attend CALC.
• Black History Month Regional Events (February)
o To help encourage more engagement within the different regions a list was
shared of several different local events in areas where we have the most
concentrated populations of Black alumni. Many alumni reported that they were
able to attend and enjoyed several of the events that were shared.
• Unity Hours
o We hosted our first CBAA unity hour in person centered around the Harriet
movie screening in November of 2019. We continued with the CBAA Unity
hours virtually at the start of the pandemic as a means of providing ongoing, fun
and engaging events that alumni could look forward to joining each month while
being stuck at home. Each unity hour featured a different theme, live DJ-ing
from DJ Third Degree, games, and discussions. They included the following:
§ Social Distancing and Chill (March)
§ Remember the Time: Represent Your Decade (April)
§ Regional Roll Call (April)
§ CBAA’s Got Talent (May)§ Smart Funny and Black (May)
§ Creating Space (May)
§ Networking Night (July)
§ College Wars! (September)
§ Stay Homecoming (October)
§ Black TV Night! (November)
§ Virtual Alvin Ailey Night! (December)
• A Community in Crisis: The Impact of COVID-19 on Black People in America (April)
• In light of COVID-19 and its impact on the black community we hosted an event
featuring different Cornell Black alumni with expertise in different fields where
they shared different facts and insights. The session was moderated by Janel
Forte '14 and included Sonja Hutchins '79, Valda Crowder '86 MD, Anthony P.
Browne '88, Christine Sainvil '06 and Ernie C. Jolly '09 as panelists.
• Celebrating Black Excellence: #CornellBlackGrad2020 (June)
• In partnership with the Black Student Union and the Black Graduate and
Professional Student Association, we hosted a virtual graduation to highlight and
celebrate graduating Black undergraduate and graduate students. The
celebration included features of each student, their accomplishments, and what
they were going to be doing after graduation, in addition to special shout outs
from their family and friends.
• Cornell Virtual Reunion (June)
• In partnership with Mosaic, the CBAA executive board lead, hosted, and/or
participated in several different events during the virtual Cornell reunion that
were open to and shared with all Cornell alumni. Those events included the
following:
§ Unity Hour: Family Reunion
§ Library: Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of The Bluest Eye
§ Mosaic: Lawyers in the Best Sense: A Fireside Chat with Congresswoman
Sharice Davids, JD ’10
§ A Racial Justice Teach-In
§ Reflections on Ahmaud, Breonna, George, and Others: A Community
Conversation
§ Diversity Alumni Programs: Virtual After-Hours
2021 Upcoming Events
Below please find a list of events that are scheduled or being developed for the rest of the
year. Please look for more information on how to register and attend the events, soon.
• Black History Month (February)
o Explore Black History in the Library’s Rare & Distinctive Collections
§ February 3rd (7-830PM EST)§ In partnership with the Cornell University Library and the Cornell Black
Lawyers Alumni Network, CBAA will be hosting a live webinar to share
stories that will showcase rare archival materials from Cornell’s Rare and
Distinctive Collections.
§ https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_I_o4z0C_QeSoNa6p8TXIh
Q
• Unity Hour: Black Love
§ February 5th (8PM-11PM EST)
§ In the spirit of continuing the new tradition and in celebration of BHM
and Valentine’s day, we will be hosting a Unity hour that highlights and
celebrates Black Love.
• CBAA/CUGALA Event
§ Week of February 22nd (Time TBD)
§ In partnership with CUGALA (Cornell’s LGBTQ Alumni Association),
CBAA will be hosting an event centered around the intersections of
being Black and LGBTQ, with a focus on self-care.
• Women’s History Month (March)
• Black Women in Politics
§ Date and Time TBD
§ In celebration and acknowledgement of the recent election of Kamala
Harris as the Vice President of the United States of America, we are
looking to host and event that allows for facilitated discussion around
Black women in politics.
• Career Networking
o Career Networking
§ Dates and Times TBD
§ The career networking event will highlight different fields and industries.
Each industry will have a panel of alumni speakers that will share insights
regarding their industry. The events will also serve as a foundation for our
career communities within CBAA for networking. The event will be open
to and offer pertinent information to alumni and current students.
• Virtual Black Graduation (May)
• In keeping with the tradition that was started in last year, we are looking to host
another Black graduation for Black undergraduate and graduate students, that
will be open to their family, friends, and alumni to join.
• CBAA Reunion 2021 (June)
• We have three co-chairs, Josina Reaves, Morris Melvin, and Chavez Carter who
have been leading the charge, along with the reunion committee, to plan this
year’s reunion. Reunion will consist of many things including some of the
following:
§ General Body Meeting
§ CBAA Executive Board Elections
§ Exercise Events§ Business Vendor Fair
§ Children/Family Activities
§ Panel Discussions
§ Cooking Class
§ Career Networking Events
§ Parties
• There is no final confirmation on whether or not reunion will take place in person
or virtually. We await confirmation from the university and communicate it out to
all of you.VICE PRESIDENT FOR SCHOLARSHIP & FUNDRAISING Jason Daniel Fair ‘07 vpfundraising@cbaa1976.com I am delighted to share that CBAA’s scholarship and fundraising activities for fiscal year 2019- 2020 was a year full of new ideas, partnerships, and incredible people. We raised CBAA’s fundraising profile significantly. I would like to thank CBAA membership and the Executive Board for supporting me as I stepped into this role for the first time in fall 2019 in order to complete the final year of my predecessor’s term. I also want to thank our new committee members. Together, we extended CBAA’s fundraising outreach to more people than ever before, streamlined fundraising operations, and began the process of modernizing our scholarship offerings; I want our scholarships to be known to many more Black Cornellians and to ensure that CBAA offers scholarships and awards which serve today’s ever-changing needs. I look forward to engaging with our membership during the remainder of this term as we look to meet our overall goals. KEY 2019-2020 ACTIVITIES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS Committee. We successfully began our year by forming an Events, Scholarships, & Fundraising committee. Three talented alumni serve on the committee: • Keziah Calmese, Hotel ‘07 • Sienna Dutkowski, Hotel ‘07 • Nichole Wiggins, Hotel ‘13 I would like to add 1-2 new committee members who graduated in earlier classes, recent graduates, and folks from backgrounds other than business or majors in the Hotel School. The Executive Board and I reached out to a number of alumni personally but are still looking to recruit. Events. Due to the pandemic, we were unable to host events. As a result, our committee took on new goals and responsibilities just weeks after formation. We decided that in lieu of event planning, we would use the year to explore strengthening our scholarship offerings and to do deep strategic planning. Strategy. This year, the committee has done tremendous brainstorming, testing, and strategic planning. We determined that as CBAA’s membership continues to grow, the general size of Black Cornell grows, awareness of CBAA and Black issues at Cornell increases and the needs for scholarships grow, we need to prepare for that growth and manage our increasing profile in the Cornell community at-large.
We identified eight key structural areas and priorities for the near future:
1. CBAA needs to better understand the giving motivations and priorities of Black Cornell
and community members through personal interviews as well as a community-wide
needs assessment survey,
2. We must identify the most effective methods and mediums to advertise and appeal to
our supporters,
3. The committee will develop a calendar for year-round seasonal giving appeals and
different impact-focused content so that our fundraising ability is more resistant to
external changes and more diversified than events.
4. The committee will develop an events plan for socially distanced fundraisers and
multiple years of virtual/digital-only capability,
5. CBAA should strongly consider raising money for a CRM database system will increase
institutional memory of past scholarship winners as well as who has given to CBAA,
6. Likewise, an apparatus for collecting and storing scholarship recipient testimonials and
additional marketing material should be created,
7. CBAA should continue and increase apparel offerings in order to drive traffic to the
website and create a culture/familiarity with the site or social media accounts,
8. There is significant potential to increase the number donors, particularly from folks
outside but supportive of the Black Cornell community if we increase awareness of our
impact,
9. Lastly, CBAA would be well served by more generally investing in additional
technological tools, such as systems to increase social media and visual presence, as
well as ease the creation of dynamic email content/imagery or apps.
A large common theme of the above findings is one of information accuracy and CBAA
fundraising and scholarship history. In addition, we frequently returned to identifying a weak
spot in our link to Cornell for certain scholarship purposes—requests for historical and current
information most often take too long. Further, using Cornell’s technology systems for basic
fundraising tasks such as generating email appeals requires 3 people at minimum and is
behind industry standard on integration and feature offerings.
Scholarship Highlights. We awarded seven (7) students with scholarships. The combined value
of the 2019-2020 scholarships was nearly $50,000.
The committee also formally named our longstanding graduating student leadership
scholarship to the “CBAA NextGen Leadership Award.” The NextGen Leadership Awards
celebrate and congratulate two new alumni who demonstrated exemplary leadership while
attending Cornell. By giving personal grants to new sensational Black leaders, we hope to aid
their continued excellence and social contributions as alumni. The committee chose to adapt
to 2020 by switching from a written application to a video-based application.The Executive Board also voted to approve a committee proposal increase of the awards from
$500 to $1,000 permanently, to adjust for inflation and the current, challenging world
graduating students are facing. Our 2020 NextGen Leadership Award recipients are:
• $1,000 Award: Temitayo Sanusi ‘20, College of Arts & Sciences
• $500 Award: Malik Scales ‘20, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Digital Updates. We switched to a new donation processor that is more visual and which
reduces the number of clicks needed to make a gift. Further, the visual content of donation
pages was updated as well as appeal language to best suit 2020 needs. The placement of
donation buttons and giving opportunities were also emphasized throughout the CBAA
website’s pages.
Thematic donor giving levels based around CBAA’s founding year and Black Cornell history
were created in order to increase the sense of community: $25.76 Groundbreakers, $50.76
Mentors, $76.76 Trailblazers, $125.76 Liberators, $500 Changemakers.
C4BL Partnership. In June 2020, Cornell Students for Black Lives (C4BL), a coalition of 185+
student organizations, came together with CBAA to raise over $100,000 in support of racial
justice across the country and at Cornell. CBAA was critical to the success of this effort. The
Executive Board voted to become the fiscal sponsor of the C4BL initiative and to provide the
students with daily fundraising and financial guidance.
This initiative is explained further in this report.
YEAR END SUMMARY OF CBAA’S ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS
The pages following my report provides an overview of the three (3) endowed scholarships
CBAA provides to undergraduate Black Cornell students. These funds are restricted in purpose
and the funds are invested as part of Cornell University's Long Term Investment Pool, which is
managed by Cornell and its Board of Trustees.
Similarly, the selection of recipients and payout amounts is determined by Cornell. All numbers
are rounded to the nearest dollar. Book values are listed the total of all gifts to a fund from all
donors plus reinvested payout and adjustments.
1. CBAA Cornell Tradition Fellowship, Est. 1989
2. John Henrik Clarke Cornell Tradition Fellowship, Est. 1999
3. James and Janice Turner CBAA Scholarship, Est. 2010CORNELL STUDENTS 4 BLACK LIVES (C4BL) FISCAL SPONSORSHIP This year, CBAA proudly undertook a huge initiative to support our young Black Cornellians. That is, we became the fiscal sponsor of the Cornell Students 4 Black Lives (C4BL) fundraiser. This grassroots, and undergraduate student-led initiative was launched in June 2020. A handful of Cornell students were motivated by this year’s demonstrations to reform policing and end systemic oppression of Black people in the United States. In a matter of days, these young people came together to create new informal organization, C4BL, and forged a coalition of 185+ student organizations to raise funds in support of racial justice. The students launched a GoFundMe page which quickly gained popularity and surpassed all expectations within days. At that point, the students then enlisted CBAA for additional guidance, fundraising outreach and operational support. Together, the project raised over $100,000. This total was donated by hundreds of generous folks—students, alumni, professors, parents, university staff—in Ithaca, NY, and around the nation who support Black liberation and racial equity. In line with the contract developed for and agreed upon with C4BL, CBAA held all funds and distributed them to the following nonprofit organizations: The beneficiaries of the project were: • Audre Lorde Project – Brooklyn (ALP) $25,000 • Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) $25,000 • Multicultural Resource Center, Inc. (MRC) $25,000 • NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) $15,000 • Southside Community Center $25,000 This fiscal sponsorship required near-daily meetings in June and over 100 hours of work to design, negotiate terms, and steward the funds during and after receipt from GoFundMe. CBAA also handled and created all formal correspondence with beneficiaries. Moreover, CBAA arranged for multiple students to be interviewed by Cornell and for Cornell to write two articles of updates about the fundraiser. CBAA will continue to collaborate with C4BL on programming towards education and advocacy for Black liberation at Cornell. The three articles and the original GoFundMe page at: cbaa1976.com/c4bl. More information about C4BL directly can be viewed at: https://linktr.ee/c4bl.
FUTURE GOALS
For the remainder of my term and in preparation for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, I would like to:
• Create a young alumni monthly program, as well as a young alumni scholarship. These
goals aim to create a stronger culture of giving that engages the next generation of our
supporters at an early stage.
• Create a uniform standard and system for personalization of scholarship and
endowments—and to increase awareness about the ability to name a scholarship.
• Reimagine the Literary Award (to be announced in February 2021) and add scholarships
that support other life goals alumni may have, such as a start-up grant,
• Explore creation of “giving circles” based on affinity for program, location, or
graduation years.
• Raise $10,000 in individual contributions. Explore corporate/employer-based giving.
• Better utilize Cornell Giving Day, graduation, and Cornell Alumni Affairs marketing
team.
* * * *
I want giving to CBAA to be more than just a donation—giving should be a moment of pride
and the sense of impact palpable. Giving is a unique, personal, and additional way to create
value for and further engage Black alumni.
The goals listed in this report can be achieved through the work of our members and
dedicated volunteers. If you have any ideas that you would like to submit or are interested in
joining the committee, please contact me at vpfundraising@cbaa1976.com.CORNELL BLACK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CORNELL
TRADITION FELLOWSHIP
This endowment is invested as part of Cornell University's Long Term Investment Pool. The
investment objectives and guidelines, the choice of fund managers, and the expense and payout
policies of this pool are determined by the Board of Trustees' Investment Committee. All
numbers, with the exception of share values, are rounded to the nearest dollar.
This fund was established on August 8, 1989.
Book Value Total of gifts from all donors plus reinvested payout and adjustments
June 30, 2019 (fiscal year 2019) $387,909
June 30, 2020 (fiscal year 2020) $398,147
as of September 30, 2020 $398,237
Market Value Value of endowment
June 30, 2019 $480,288
June 30, 2020 8,419 shares at $55.756752 $469,416
as of September 30, 2020 8,421 shares at $56.514742 $475,911
Support Provided
Provides Cornell Tradition Fellowships for undergraduate students who are African-American
with at least a 2.5 grade point average.
Fiscal year 2020 Payout: $20,238
Projected, fiscal year 2021 Payout: $20,630
Academic Year 2020-2021 Recipients
Chelsie Beavers '22, a junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is majoring in
Information Science. Chelsie can be reached at cdb95@cornell.edu.
Laura Holland '22, a junior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, is majoring in
Industrial and Labor Relations. Laura can be reached at lmh276@cornell.edu.
Olubunmi Osias '21, a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is majoring in
Global and Public Health Science. Olubunmi can be reached at oao8@cornell.edu.
Tamara Palms '22, a junior in the School oflndustrial and Labor Relations, is majoring in
Industrial and Labor Relations. Tamara can be reached at ttp9@cornell.edu.JOHN HENRIK CLARKE CORNELL TRADITION FELLOWSHIP
This endowment is invested as part of Cornell University's Long Term Investment Pool. The
investment objectives and guidelines, the choice of fund managers, and the expense and payout
policies of this pool are detennined by the Board of Trustees' Investment Committee. All
numbers, with the exception of share values, are rounded to the nearest dollar.
This fund was established on May 7, 1999.
Book Value Total of gifts from all donors plus reinvested payout and adjustments
June 30, 2019 (fiscal year 2019) $203,484
June 30, 2020 (fiscal year 2020) $205,471
as of September 30, 2020 $205,471
Market Value Value of endowment
June 30, 2019 $234,920
June 30, 2020 4,062 shares at $55.756752 $226,484
as of September 30, 2020 4,062 shares at $56.514742 $229,563
Support Provided
Provides Cornell Tradition Fellowships for undergraduate students who are African-American.
Fiscal year 2020 Payout: $9,862
Projected, fiscal year 2021 Payout: $9,952
Academic Year 2020-2021 Recipients
Daniel Perry '21, a senior in the College of Engineering, is majoring in C omputer Science and
Electrical and Computer Engineering. Daniel can be reached at drnp265@comell.edu.
Audrey Sackey '24, a freshman in the SC Johnson College of Business, School of Hotel
Administration, is majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Administration. Audrey can be reached at
aas332@comell.edu.JAMES AND JANICE TURNER CBAA SCHOLARSHIP
This endowment is invested as part of Cornell University's Long Term Investment Pool. The
investment objectives and guidelines, the choice of fund managers, and the expense and payout
policies of this pool are determined by the Board of Trustees' Investment Committee. All
numbers, with the exception of share values, are rounded to the nearest dollar.
This fund was established on November 16, 2010.
Book Value Total of gifts from all donors plus reinvested payout and adjustments
June 30, 2019 (fiscal year 2019) $355,297
June 30, 2020 (fiscal year 2020) $362,222
as of September 30, 2020 $362,472
Market Value Value of endowment
June 30, 2019 $396,301
June 30, 2020 6,905 shares at $55.756752 $385,000
as of September 30, 2020 6,917 shares at $56.514742 $390,912
Support Provided
Provides undergraduate scholarship support for African American students.
Fiscal year 2020 Payout: $16,752
Projected, fiscal year 2021 Payout: $16,943
Academic Year 2020-2021 Recipient
Njeri Kiritu '24, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, has not yet declared a major.
Njeri can be reached at nk585@comell.edu.VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT RELATIONS
Wilma Ann Anderson ‘92
vpstudentrelations@cbaa1976.com
The activities on Cornell University’s campus were greatly impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic. As this position relies on student activity, there was a reduction in their activities and
our interactions. As the activity of students and alumni resurged and CBAA established a
consistent online presence, a revamping of interaction occurred.
The two goals of the position moving forward include establishing and executing the
mentorship program and reviving the BSU/CBAA Cornell e-series.
Activity Date Objective
Liaised with leaders of Black December 2019 Brainstormed with leaders of BET and
Entrepreneurs in Training (BET) president of CBAA on how to reach the
alumni community to collaborate with them
on BET’s initiatives.
Attended CALC conference in February 2020 Networked with alumni volunteers,
Las Vegas, Nevada students, and Cornell Alumni Leadership
Conference (CALC) attendees to promote
the efforts of CBAA as a whole and learn
how to engage with alumni and students
more effectively.
Unity Hour March 2020–
January 2021 The global COVID-19 pandemic halted all
in-person CBAA activities due to the
closing of Cornell’s campus temporarily.
Most students were evacuated, and the
focus shifted towards health and safety. The
Office of Alumni Affairs released a mandate
that activities should cease at least until
December 2020.
During the in-person hiatus, during which
networking would occur, CBAA continued
the Virtual Unity Hour initiative. Unity Hour
included CBAA Board introductions,
networking, fellowship, and community
building. One of the events was the CBAA
Unity Hour Talent Show which I participated
in.Advised new student group May 2020 Met with members of a new student
group—a male singing group—to assist
them in establishing formally and
developing a constructive action plan. I will
mentor them as requested.
50th Anniversary of Toni June 2020 Participated as a panelist in the daylong
Morrison’s The Bluest Eye virtual reading of “The Bluest Eye” to
celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Cornell
alumna Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest
Eye. Readers, including Cornell faculty and
scholars from around the country
participated.
Women of Color Cornell July 2020 Conferenced with WOCCA and CBAA
Athletics (WOCCA) president about partnering with them as
part of the CBAA mentorship program,
upcoming Unity Hour(s), assisting with the
formation of their advisory group, and
being a sounding board/partner for their
upcoming programming events.
Mentorship Initiative July 2020 Conferred with DAP about existing
mentorship efforts and using CUElinks to
connect mentors and mentees and track
engagement. I began compiling resources
to draft a curriculum and communicating
with volunteers toward assisting with the
ongoing effort.
New-Student Send-Off August 2020 Coordinated the CBAA end of the planning
of the New-Student Send-Off. In
conjunction with Diversity Alumni Programs
(DAP). The objectives were to welcome
incoming students to Cornell, introduce
students to Cornell’s local alumni
community, provide students with an
opportunity to meet and talk to each other.
With initiatives such as this, CBAA and DAP
strive to cultivate multi-generational
dialogue and community, leverage alumni
affinity communities to increaseengagement, and inspire more students to
embrace the alumni network.
CBAA Stay Homecoming 2020 October 2020 Assisted in the planning of CBAA’s Stay
Homecoming. The events provided a virtual
alternative to the traditional in-person
homecoming events CBAA and the Cornell
community have enjoyed for years. A staple
Homecoming event for the Black
community at Cornell. The event included
many campus student organizations at the
undergraduate and graduate levels as well
as alumni, faculty, and staff. Unity Hour
included CBAA Board introductions,
networking, fellowship, and community
building.
CBAA Initiatives Promotion 2020 Supported all CBAA events such as the
and Support Nike Run Challenge, Community Response
to George Floyd/Black Lives Matter Efforts,
Student Leadership Scholarship through
attendance; promotion; submitting
resources for the website and editing
official documents and promotional
material.
Cornell Black Leadership and January 2021 Facilitated Mentorship Committee
Engagement Summit Conversation and supported eventsYou can also read
