Alabama State University News January 12, 2015 ASU to Celebrate 115th Founders' Day Alabama State University will celebrate nearly 150 years of educational excellence during its 115th Founders' Day Convocation on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, at 10 a.m. in the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. This year's theme is "Onward and Upward: Seizing the Opportunity." The Convocation's featured speaker will be Fred Gray, one of the most iconic figures of the Civil Rights Movement. Gray, a 1951 alumnus of ASU and a 1954 graduate of Case Western Reserve law school, is best known as the attorney who represented many stalwarts of the Civil Rights Movement, including Claudette Colvin and later Rosa Parks, who were charged with disorderly conduct when they were arrested at separate times for refusing to relinquish their seats to a white passenger on the segregated buses of Montgomery, Ala. Parks's arrest led to the year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott, and litigation that followed (Browder v. Gale) was instrumental in ending segregation in public transit systems. Gray served as Dr. Martin Luther King's first civil rights attorney. He also represented plaintiffs whose suits ended segregation in Alabama's public schools (Lee v. Macon). He secured injunctive relief to protect the marchers from Selma to Montgomery, and in remedying the exclusion of African-Americans from jury service (Mitchell v. Johnson). He protected the NAACP from Alabama legislation and litigation seeking to exclude that organization from the state. He represented plaintiffs that established due process rights for students being expelled from state educational institutions (Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education). Most recently, Gray was involved in disclosing and securing remedies for victims of the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study. A native of Tuskegee, Gray was one of the first African Americans to be elected to the Alabama Legislature since Reconstruction. He was elected as president of the National Bar Association in 1985 and inducted to its hall of fame in 1995. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and has been awarded honorary degrees by a number of academic institutions. Black Tie Gala Founders' Day will include several traditional activities, as well as a new event -- the Founders' Day Black Tie Gala, which will be held on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. in the John Garrick Hardy Student Center Ballroom. Tickets for the Gala are $75 and may be purchased online<https://cs.psadmin.alasu.edu:8401/hornetexchange7.php> or by calling ASU's Development Office at 334-229-4431. The Gala will feature the presentation of the first President's Medallion Awards. "These awards are an opportunity to recognize various individuals or organizations for their commitment to and support of Alabama State University," said President Gwendolyn E. Boyd. "I felt it appropriate to make these presentations as we celebrate our legacy and look toward the opportunities in our future as a truly global institution. Spirit of Marion and Spirit of Tullibody Awards Also during the Founders' Day Convocation, the University will present the annual Spirit of Marion and Spirit of Tullibody Awards. These two awards honor the memories of William Burns Paterson, one of ASU's longest-serving presidents, and the group known as the Marion Nine, who co-founded a pioneer educational institution that evolved into what is now Alabama State University. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.