In our first issue of 2026 published from our revamped website, we give an endowment fund update, spotlight alumni and celebrate the activation of the John Jackson Social Movement Leadership Fund
Welcome to the first issue of the BAA Newsletter hosted on the BAA's dedicated website.
This publication is part of the BAA's journey of infrastructure building, it's an element of how we evolve from a loosely organized affinity group to a fully functional institution in our own right, able to advance goals and aims of the association on multiple fronts from student success to alumni philanthropy, member networking and alumni association thought leadership
Here's some of what you'll find in this issue:
We publish quarterly. This is Vol. 1, No. 1. We're glad you're here.
~Aaron Laramore '88
Background: The Supreme Court's Harvard v. SFA decision prohibited the use of race in college admissions. Higher education uniformly interprets that case to also prohibit the administration of scholarships on the basis of racial identity. Prior to the Trump administration coming into office, colleges and universities had continued to administer such scholarships to one degree or another. The Trump administration adopted an aggressive enforcement posture and issued guidance from the Dept. of Justice stating their interpretation that identity-based scholarships are unlawful.
Current Status: Denison has asked the BAA to consent to an amendment of the gift agreement which governs the BAA Endowment to change it from an identity-based award to a need-based award. It would become a generic scholarship award no longer set aside for Black students, contrary to the BAA's intent when the scholarship was created. The BAA has refused consent to such an amendment and will not now nor in the future consent to any change that will diminish the Black-serving purpose of the BAA endowment. Based on our review of the legal information available, the BAA's preferred resolution is transfer of the endowment to a new steward that is not prohibited from administering the endowment according to its original donor intent. Based on preliminary legal research, the BAA concludes that there is a viable legal pathway for transfer of the endowment to a new steward. To date, Denison's response has been that they do not believe such a transfer is lawful. Denison has not provided the BAA with any legal analysis or legal opinion to support this assertion.
Going Forward: The BAA will seek a legal opinion to clarify the legal risks and issues involved with the transfer of a charitable trust and continue negotiations with Denison based on the results of that research. The BAA has issued requests for support to the legal clinics at Howard University, Ohio State College of Law, and the University of Cincinnati. The issues involved are complex, and we expect that this negotiation process will take some time. During this period, administration of scholarships from the endowment is suspended and will remain so until a resolution that preserves donor intent has been obtained. Suspension of the scholarship is not satisfactory to the BAA or to Denison. However, the resolution of the endowment is a generational decision, which cannot be undone once made. The BAA is committed to getting that resolution right for the generations to come.
In 2019, alum Elizabeth J.A. Siwo-Okundi, PhD, ThM, MDiv, had an idea: build something lasting in honor of Dr. John L. Jackson, who helped establish Denison's Black studies program more than fifty years ago and made a significant impact in her life and the lives of many students. She brought the idea to then-BAA President Eric Norris, who connected her with Denison Advancement and staffers Billie Handa and Ariel Johnson. Together, they put in place the fund's architecture. Elizabeth contributed the initial gift, wrote the first campaign letter, and in 2021 signed the fund's use agreement with a goal: reach $50,000 by 2026.
This spring, the BAA ran a focused push to close the gap before that deadline, kicked off during Denison's annual Day of Giving. On Day of Giving alone, 27 donors gave more than $7,000. In total, 151 donors gave $53,202.28, including pledges — with $50,202.28 already received. The goal wasn't just met. It was exceeded.
The Dr. John L. Jackson Social Movement Leadership Endowed Fund is now activated. It will support students pursuing internships, externships, conferences, and leadership training that help them become real leaders in social justice movements — a fund named after a man who helped build Black studies at Denison, now dedicated to building the next generation who will carry that work forward.
To Elizabeth Siwo-Okundi, for the idea and the six years of follow-through. To Eric Norris, Billie Handa, and Ariel Johnson, for helping make it real. Thank you to the 27 donors who answered the call for that final push, and thank you to all 151 donors. This is what it looks like when this community builds something that lasts.
"Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth"
— Shirley Chisolm
Dr. Amber Michelle Hill '09 is the founder and CEO of Research Grid (R.grid). After more than a decade in medical research, she saw firsthand how manual administrative work slowed clinical trials down and delayed patient access to treatment — the brightest minds in medicine, bogged down by back-office inefficiency. She set out to change that.
In 2020, she founded Research Grid to automate the clinical trial back office, from patient sourcing to trial management. The goal: compress trial timelines from months to weeks, so researchers spend less time on paperwork and more time on the science. Clinical teams use R.grid's tools to coordinate sites, stay on top of regulatory compliance, and keep participants engaged throughout a trial.
Before founding R.grid, Amber spent over 14 years in biomedical neuroscience and clinical research at institutions such as the University College London, Harvard, and MIT where she built neurological deficit-scoring technology. She also founded a global nonprofit supporting patient involvement in research, coordinating programs across the UK, Germany, the United States, China, and Africa.
Amber graduated from Denison in 2009 with a degree in Psychology, a minor in Chemistry, and a concentration in Neuroscience. She went on to earn her PhD in Biomedical Neuroscience from University College London. Her work has been spotlighted in the Lancet Neurology, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Essence and many other publications. Research Grid was recognized this year in the 2026 TechRound HealthTech 44 which celebrates the fastest growing and most innovative health tech and med tech companies. Amber is the recipient of multiple awards including the Women in Tech 2025 Innovator Award, and recognition as one of 100 Most Influential Women in Engineering by the Financial Times of London.
Since 1949, Denison University’s Alumni Citation has recognized the remarkable achievements of graduates who have dramatically shaped their professional industries, communities, and the university for the better. There have been multiple Black alumni honored with the Denison citation and this tradition of excellence continues with Martin Jones '86.
Martin is a two-time Emmy Award-nominated producer and the former head of Austin Studios, a production facility operated by the Austin Film Society, one of the nation’s leading media nonprofits. A creative innovator and founder of Day for Night Entertainment, Jones has produced numerous feature films, music videos, and national commercials for global brands. Before relocating to Texas, Jones was the CEO of MetroEast Community Media, a nonprofit aimed at providing multimedia training, studio time, and equipment access to underserved communities. He has worked in media production, studio management, and film since 1994. Jones generously gives his time to outreach within the film community and beyond as a trustee, juror, and board member, working to reshape storytelling through vision, strategy, and inclusion. He supports Denison as the vice president of the Black Alumni Association and served as chair of Denison’s Annual Fund for several years, encouraging thousands of Denisonians to give back to the university. He is a passionate advocate for Black student success and mentorship.
The Black Student Union is an organization, but more than anything it is a home. Since 1969, BSU has empowered Black students and the greater Denison Community through nourishment; whether that be through catered meals or curated education. It has been a necessary voice and force for Black students, faculty, and staff; pushing for change, equity, and justice. Our beloved organization has been a physical and metaphorical shelter, where Blackness is celebrated, authenticity cherished, and individuality embraced.
Due to recent administrative choices, BSU’s space, sign, and general activity have been embattled. While we can understand strategic change, we cannot and will not stray from our organization’s founding purpose, values, and ideals. Now more than ever, action necessitates radical unity, and love. During my term my hope is to unite, educate, and remember. Through intentional and educational programming I hope that BSU is able to unite all Black students across campus, as well as other C3 organizations. Finally, I want us to remember; to live by the principle of Sankofa.
The Adinkra symbol Sankofa of the Akan people means “it is not foolish to go back for that which you have forgotten” or in short “Go back and get it!” I want us to remember our roots and to learn from the past so that we can be intentional in education and the reclamation of our future. I want to keep BSU’s traditions while elevating our impact!
The most important and helpful thing that alumni can do is to connect with us and support us! We need your voices, leverage, and wisdom to be able to accomplish the mission of BSU in its entirety. We value all the guidance, stories, opportunities, and love you all give to us and look forward to further solidifying alumni and student relationships! Three specific and actionable items you can do to stay connected and involved are:
We look forward to a year filled with unity, love, and education.
Best,
Chloe Echols ‘26-’27 Chief Minister of the Black Student Union
Hello, BAA family. The 2025–2026 academic year brought its share of challenges to campus, but it also gave us a lot to celebrate — and the Black Caucus has some real good news to share.
Dr. Robert Bennett III earned tenure this year and was promoted to Associate Professor, a milestone worth celebrating in its own right. He also published a book: More Than an Athlete: Jim Brown, Black Capitalism and the Black Economic Union, available now through the University Press of Kentucky, Amazon, and other retailers.
Dr. Sydney Green and Dr. Chelsea Bowden both successfully completed their third-year reviews this year — an important step on the road to tenure, and a real vote of confidence in the work they're doing at Denison.
Dr. Diana Mafe, Professor of English, took on a new role this year as director of the Lisska Center for Scholarly Engagement, and she'll continue in that role through the 2026–27 academic year.
And Dr. Richard Brown, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Center for Belonging and Inclusion, earned his Ph.D. this year, successfully defending his dissertation, "Afrofuturism — It's a Different World: Exploring Tools for Culturally Relevant Black Student Leadership Development, A Mixed Methods Study." Congratulations, Dr. Brown.
The Black Caucus's membership shifts over time as people arrive and move on, but the mission holds steady: supporting students at Denison by supporting the faculty and staff who walk alongside them. We're grateful for every member who shows up for that work.
From the Black Caucus Leadership
Dr. Ayana Hinton, Associate Professor and Chair of the Biology Department
Dr. Ojeya Cruz-Banks, Associate Professor of Dance
Dr. Nicole Ausmer, Senior Associate Vice President of Student Life
Dr. Robert Bennett III, Associate Professor of Health, Exercise and Sport Studies
Makiva McIntosh '02 has accepted the call to serve. She has been appointed as Treasurer to serve out the remainder of the term, as provided for in the BAA bylaws. This isn't Makiva's first time at the table. She previously served two terms as BAA Secretary from 2010-2014, so she's stepping into this role already familiar with the work of the association. Makiva brings both financial and fundraising depth to the job. She's currently Chief Advancement & Engagement Officer at YWCA Columbus, and before that spent eight years in Advancement at Denison itself, where she led the Annual Fund and Legacy Giving — growing annual giving from $5 million to over $6.2 million along the way. If you visited campus in the past during her tenure for a reunion or gotten a call about giving back, there's a good chance her fingerprints were on it. Please join us in welcoming Makiva back to the table in this new capacity.
The BSU conducted its annual elections at the end of 2nd semester and elected the following student leaders:
We look forward to working with the BSU throughout this academic year.,
The BAA is preparing to launch the next generation of alumni giving: the BAA Capital Collective.
The Capital Collective will be the primary way Black alumni contribute to the BAA’s annual operating budget, which is currently approximately $12,000 per year. That budget supports the core work of the Association, including student programs, communications, alumni engagement, financial administration, governance, and other priorities approved by the Executive Board.
The idea is simple: instead of relying mainly on occasional fundraising appeals, alumni will be able to make recurring or one-time contributions into a shared pool of resources. Small and moderate gifts, combined across the membership, can provide the BAA with a more predictable and sustainable financial base.
The Collective will also support strategic priorities beyond the annual budget, including work related to the BAA Endowment, Black student life, organizational infrastructure, and other long-term initiatives.
The Capital Collective is not active yet. Denison currently serves as the BAA’s fiscal sponsor. Before launching the Collective, the BAA must establish a new fiscal-sponsorship infrastructure that provides clearer financial separation, reliable reporting, and full BAA control over how funds are managed and used. Our current fiscal sponsorship arrangement with Denison has served us well for many years, but is not sufficient to the task before us now. The BAA has made an application to the Social Good Fund for fiscal sponsorship, and our application is pending. Once that structure is in place, members will receive more information about contribution options, financial reporting, funding priorities, and the official launch.
The goal is not simply to create another fundraising campaign. It is to build a dependable way for Black alumni to finance the BAA’s work, strengthen its independence, and turn collective support into lasting capacity.
Some gifts arrive with a melody already written into them. Tehillah was a student a cappella gospel group at Denison — voices coming together across dorm rooms and rehearsal halls to sing achingly beautiful gospel in a way that was undeniable: as a shared testimony, built on more than one part. The choir crossed lines the way gospel music always has — Black and white students, holding different notes, making one sound together.
Tehillah is a Hebrew word which means “to sing a hymn of spontaneous praise unto the Lord”. These singers wanted to expose Denison community to a positive and inspirational message through gospel music and spread the gospel through praise and worship. Tehillah's offering was never only sound, either. Over their years together, the group quietly raised money — show by show, a little added here and there — and when the final class of Tehillah singers graduated in May 2023, they made one more decision before the group closed its songbook for the last time: to gift whatever was left toward supporting the BSU and Black student education at Denison.
That decision sat waiting for three years, until one of those graduating singers, Jen Clancey '23, reached out to the BAA to carry it through. She was one of the voices that made Tehillah's harmony what it was, and now is fulfilling that commitment of the graduating seniors of the Tehillah Gospel Choir, leaving a legacy of support for Black students at Denison.
It's a small story, but it's the kind worth telling. A gospel choir doesn't just sing in unison — it sings in harmony, different voices holding their own part so the whole can rise higher than any one of them could alone. Tehillah's final gift works the same way: one voice, years later, still carrying the whole choir's intention forward. Their music is a testimony and thankfully for us, their voices are not lost in time, but captured for all time for us to hear.
Pictured in the photograph:
Trang Thy ‘22
Kwaku Akuffo ‘23
Faith Sutton ‘22
Zora Kitwana Whitfield ‘24
Aniaha Ortiz ‘23
Gitu Degafa ‘23
Zora Kitwana Whitfield ‘24
Sarah Scheuer ‘22
Stefanie Rodrigues ‘22
Gabriela Rodriguez ‘22
Listen to Tehillah →My youngest nephew graduated from high school this Spring. It was a joyous occasion, but the 6 months prior was anything but as he scrambled to find scholarships which would put his college choices within reach. The experience highlighted the reality and fall-out of the end of DEI. Quite frankly, the whole college funding game has completely changed for minority students. Since the Supreme Court killed affirmative action, a massive wave of colleges panicked and started quietly axing diversity scholarships too—even though the court's ruling didn't actually mention financial aid. Here’s a brief look at the changes:
The Shrinking pool of DEI based Awards Colleges are changing their rules to avoid getting sued by conservative legal groups. The numbers show just how fast the door is closing:
The Drop: The National Scholarship Providers Association found that the share of scholarships looking at race or gender dropped from 15% down to just 11% in mid-2024.
The Pivot: Big-name public flagship schools have already wiped out or altered at least $60 million in race-conscious aid.
The Rebrand: Instead of targeting specific minority groups, schools are flipping these funds into strictly "need-based" or "first-generation" cash. For example, the University of Iowa completely shifted its $9.4 million Advantage Iowa Award away from underrepresented racial groups. Even private donors are changing their criteria. The Gates Foundation officially dropped all racial and ethnic eligibility requirements from its signature scholarship program and, instead, opened the fund to all Pell Grant-eligible students regardless of race.
The Takeaway Where you apply matters more than ever. Each of my nephew’s top choices eliminated DEI and race-based scholarships. However, a 2024 survey of 50 universities showed 13 completely changed or cut their race-conscious scholarships, while 22 decided to keep them. For example, the University of Alabama ended its National Recognition Scholarship, a full-ride scholarship for high-performing Black, Latino, and Indigenous students. On the other hand, Penn State kept its Educational Equity scholarships and race-based departmental awards, arguing that the court only banned race-conscious admissions, not financial aid. Relying on the same reasoning, the University of New Mexico kept its DEI based National Recognition award.
At the last minute, it worked out for my nephew. He was awarded a scholarship that covers the $13,000 gap between attending and not attending college. But my nephew was lucky. With an increasing number of schools voluntarily ending race-based financial aid, luck for minority students in the Class of 2027 may just run out.
Felice Harris '89 - Historian
TBD
Granville, OH