Alabama State University News October 23, 2014 Radio Personality Tom Joyner Visits ASU Syndicated talk show host Tom Joyner spent time with Alabama State University President Gwendolyn E. Boyd and other Hornet Nation faithfuls during a visit to the ASU campus on Thursday, Oct. 23. The popular radio personality drew a crowd at the Equinox sculpture located at the center of the academic mall. This year, ASU is the Tom Joyner Foundation School of the Month for October. Throughout the month, the "Tom Joyner Morning Show" is sharing highlights and information about ASU to its listening audience nationwide. In addition, 16 ASU students will receive Hercules Scholarships provided by the Tom Joyner Foundation (TJF) and announced each Thursday by Joyner on his morning radio show. Joyner, who is a Tuskegee native, said this is the third time ASU has been the School of the Month, raising $3 million dollars for the University. In total, the TJF has raised and donated more than $65 million since its establishment in 1998 to help keep students enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Joyner, a graduate of Tuskegee University, hails from a long line of HBCU graduates, including both sets of grandparents, parents, sons, his brother and his brother's children. He said providing scholarships to students at HBCUs is something near and dear to his heart. "I always say it is one thing to get in school but another to stay in school, and we've done that over the years with scholarships to help students continue their education," Joyner said. "You have to love and be committed to HBCUs, and the Joyner family is committed to helping and serving students at Historically Black Colleges." Joyner said HBCUs are important because students are given the will to succeed and are more than just a number. "I was nurtured and given confidence growing up in Tuskegee ... you have a confidence that there is nothing in this world that you can't do, and that's the same thing you get when you attend any Historically Black College," Joyner said. "When you are expected to succeed, more than likely you will ... at an HBCU, you're a family, and family expects you to succeed." Joyner's co-host, Sybil Wilkes, who attended Northwestern University, said visiting an HBCU is always a great opportunity. "There is such warmth, there is such collegiality ... such a wonderful homecoming, even for those who can't claim this as home, and I thank you very much," Wilkes said. "Thank you for supporting my boss, our show and the Foundation." Boyd said she is grateful that ASU was selected as the TJF School of the Month and is thankful that Joyner is exposing the world to the University's world-class programs. "It is about family. All of the students here know that they are expected to succeed, and they are not only getting a quality education, but they are also getting the encouragement and the push they will need to know that whenever they go out into the world, they can do it," Boyd said. "We're excited and grateful to be the Tom Joyner Foundation School of the Month." 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.