Connect with us

#NNPA BlackPress

Allen-Jones Scholarship Boosts Support For 1st-Generation Students

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “From her earliest years at UAA, I admired how Vara brought diverse perspectives together and created a shared vision for supporting students to achieve personal and academic success,” said UAA Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Bruce Schultz. “As she drew from her past personal and professional experiences in the South, Vara showed us how to serve students with grace and a never wavering commitment to excellence.”
The post Allen-Jones Scholarship Boosts Support For 1st-Generation Students first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

on

By Eric Olson, edited for Publication in The Savannah Tribune

In 2012, Vara Allen Jones’ colleagues surprised her by creating the Vara Allen-Jones Scholarship for Academic Excellence to support first-generation students and honor her service to the Anchorage community. Vara is a 2019 retired University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) tenured faculty member and past Vice Chancellor for Academic and Multicultural Services. She remembered that moment.

Today, Vara is striving to make the scholarship a permanently endowed fund. She’s enlisting the help of friends and colleagues she met in her 28 years at UAA, and a nationwide network to help raise her goal of $28,000 by this summer to enable the fund to provide at least $1,000 in scholarship support annually to students. “Everyone who really knows me knows how passionate I am about providing opportunities for that particular cohort of students to have financial, academic and social support — to be successful in an environment they may know nothing about.”

“I’m a first-generation college student,” said Vara. Her amazing story started as a first-year student at Savannah State College, now University (SSU), Georgia’s oldest historically Black public university. She worried that she was not prepared for the journey being the first in her family to go to college. “I know what it’s like to walk on a college campus and have no idea what’s expected of you. You don’t know what you don’t know. My exposure to academic advising, intentional mentoring and a clear expectation of excellence undergirded by support solidified my awareness of the impact these areas could have on student success. That awareness and passion began at Savannah State and continued throughout my career.”

After earning her bachelor’s at Savannah State, she completed a master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis in higher education counseling at Georgia Southern University. Vara accepted a job at her alma mater, SSU, where she honed her counseling and leadership skills and experiences with high-impact student success programs. Vara had a career plan that led her to UAA, and she moved to Alaska at the age of 29. “I wanted to do something different,” she said.

After joining UAA in 1991 as a tenure track counseling faculty member in the Advising and Counseling Center, she began building programs to yield academic success such as increasing students’ connections and inclusivity, mentoring, advising, and community engagement. She collaborated with colleagues, and revamped the Career Services Center, serving as its director. In 1994, she became the director of Minority Student Services and advocated a name change to better identify its purpose and positively reflect students’ identities. She founded AHAINA Student Programs (African American, Hispanic, Asian/ Pacific Islander, International and Native American) and the UAA Multicultural Center. She was also awarded tenure (1994) as an assistant professor of counseling.

Vara’s contributions to UAA include successfully authoring multimillion-dollar grants to grow programs like Academic Advising Coordinators, TRiO programs, Educational Opportunity Centers, Educational Talent Search, Upward Bound and Student Support Services. She expanded New Student Orientation, broadened the focus of AHAINA and the Multicultural Center, developed the UA Scholars and the UAA retention program, and advocated for improved learning environments and conditions for students with disabilities.

Awards received included a Noel-Levitz National Award for Student Retention and the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence for outstanding contributions to students. Her leadership led to TRiO services being available in targeted middle and high schools in the Anchorage School District.

“From her earliest years at UAA, I admired how Vara brought diverse perspectives together and created a shared vision for supporting students to achieve personal and academic success,” said UAA Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Bruce Schultz. “As she drew from her past personal and professional experiences in the South, Vara showed us how to serve students with grace and a never wavering commitment to excellence.”

She credits the generations of tenacious women, such as her mother, as the impetus to move to Alaska.

Interested in supporting Vara’s vision? Make a gift to the Vara Allen-Jones Scholarship for Academic Excellence at the University of Alaska Anchorage (http://bit.ly/uaaallenjones).

The post Allen-Jones Scholarship Boosts Support For 1st-Generation Students first appeared on The Savannah Tribune.

The post Allen-Jones Scholarship Boosts Support For 1st-Generation Students first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

#NNPA BlackPress

Federal Raids Target Migrant Kids, Split Families

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The Trump administration has reportedly removed at least 500 migrant children from their homes across the United States and placed them into government custody, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Published

on

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The Trump administration has reportedly removed at least 500 migrant children from their homes across the United States and placed them into government custody, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The children, many of whom were living with family members or other vetted sponsors, were taken during so-called “welfare checks” carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies. According to CNN, the operations are part of a larger campaign launched shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office, with federal authorities setting up a “war room” inside the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review data on children who entered the country alone and were later released to sponsors. Officials have used the room to coordinate efforts between agencies, including ICE and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which oversees the custody of unaccompanied migrant children.

Trump officials claim the effort is aimed at protecting children placed in unsafe conditions or with unqualified sponsors, pointing to cases where children were released to individuals with criminal backgrounds or those involved in smuggling. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the welfare checks have led to the arrests of some sponsors and the transfer of children into ORR custody. Federal data shows more than 2,500 children are currently in ORR custody. CNN reported that the average stay has grown significantly, from 67 days in December 2024 to 170 days by April 2025. Former Health and Human Services officials say new vetting rules—including income requirements, government-issued ID, and DNA tests—have made it far more difficult for parents and guardians, particularly those who are undocumented, to reclaim their children.

In some cases, reunifications that had already been scheduled were canceled. A recent lawsuit details how two brothers, ages 7 and 14, remain in government care because their mother cannot meet new documentation requirements under the revised policies. Mark Greenberg, a former senior HHS official, stated that the approach puts children in a difficult situation. “To the extent, the goal is to determine whether children are in danger or in need of help, this isn’t a good way to do that because it creates fear that anything they say could be used against their parent or family member,” he said. Immigration enforcement agents reportedly have visited children’s homes and asked about their journey to the U.S., school attendance, and upcoming immigration court appearances. Legal advocates say these visits, which sometimes include the FBI, are not standard child welfare procedures and can create fear and confusion among minors.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed the agency’s role, saying, “Protecting children is a critical mission for the FBI, and we will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to secure their safety and well-being.” Multiple outlets noted that the Trump administration has not provided clear evidence that large numbers of children are missing. Instead, it has referenced a Department of Homeland Security inspector general report from 2023 that noted more than 291,000 unaccompanied minors had not received notices to appear in immigration court. Former officials note that these figures do not necessarily indicate that the children are missing; some lacked updated addresses or were affected by administrative backlogs.

Within HHS, officials were instructed to expedite policy changes. Former ORR Ombudsman Mary Giovagnoli stated that a senior ICE official, Melissa Harper, was temporarily appointed to lead ORR. Her short tenure was followed by Angie Salazar, another former ICE official who now frequently communicates with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Trump’s team argues the Biden administration allowed thousands of unaccompanied children to enter the country without sufficient oversight. Jen Smyers, a former ORR deputy director, stated that all sponsors underwent thorough vetting, including Department of Justice background checks and reviews of the sex offender registry. “No amount of vetting is a predictor of the future,” she said. The Miami Herald recently reported that a 17-year-old foster child in Florida was removed from his home in shackles and transferred to ICE custody. The boy and his mother had crossed the border without documentation, but he had been living in a state-supervised foster placement. The case raised concerns about the state’s cooperation with federal enforcement and the message it sends to immigrant families. Concerns about federal custody of vulnerable children are not confined to immigration.

In North Carolina, a 7-month-old baby died after being left in a hot minivan by her foster mother, who now faces charges of negligent child abuse and involuntary manslaughter. In Hawaii, dozens of children have been forced to sleep in government offices and hotels due to a shortage of foster placements. In North Dakota, a foster couple has been charged in the death of a 3-year-old after surveillance footage showed the child being repeatedly assaulted. “These cases show what happens when systems meant to protect children fail them,” said Laura Nally, director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights Children’s Program. “There’s a growing concern that these welfare checks are being used to carry out mass detentions of sponsors and unnecessarily return children to government custody.”

Continue Reading

#NNPA BlackPress

Protests of a Costly and Historic Parade

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — President Trump is planning an elaborate and costly celebration for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army that coincides with his birthday.

Published

on

By April Ryan

It will rain on President Trump‘s parade on Saturday if most weather forecasts correctly predict the chance of storms. President Trump is planning an elaborate and costly celebration for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army that coincides with his birthday. When asked if he plans to attend the massive D.C. celebration, New York Democratic Congressman Greg Meeks exclaimed,” Heck no!” He elaborated, saying, “It is clear to me that what Donald J. Trump is trying to do is to emulate Vladimir Putin.” Trump and Putin, the Russian president, are friends. Meeks feels “that’s where he initially got the idea from when he saw the tanks going down the street and how people bow down to Vladimir Putin, how…that authoritarian runs his country where no one questions what he does.”

Meanwhile, around the nation 1600 protests are scheduled to coincide with what is happening in Washington, D.C. Democratic Congressman Al Greene confirms he will attend several “No King Day” protest rallies and marches in his home state of Texas. The congressman questions the president’s comments about using “force” for anyone trying to stop the parade. Reverand William Barber plans to be in Philadelphia on Saturday. “We are having a rally bringing people together,” the civil rights leader confirmed. The leader of Repairers of the Breach added, “Those rallies are gonna be massive and multiracial of every race, color, creed, religion, geographic area, so this is not a moment. We must have a constant movement.”

Weeks ago, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser warned the parade, and all its military might, and pageantry would cost “many millions of dollars” just to repair District streets after the heavy artillery tanks rolled down the historic roads in the nation’s capital. Tall gates and other barricades around the White House are part of the parade’s security measures. The Secret Service has warned of a high-security presence in the area for the parade. You can expect to see military tanks, dozens of other military vehicles, and thousands of service members marching along a route stretching nearly four miles from the Pentagon to the White House.

Continue Reading

#NNPA BlackPress

Critics Question 2024 Results as Musk Tactics Surface

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Now, a Wisconsin nonprofit has filed a legal complaint accusing Musk, his America PAC, and a Musk-affiliated group called United States of America Inc. of violating state election laws by bribing voters.

Published

on

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2024 has reignited questions about election integrity, particularly after his remarks thanking Elon Musk for what he called a “landslide” win in Pennsylvania. “He knows those computers better than anybody… all those vote-counting computers,” Trump said. “So, thank you to Elon.” The comment set off alarm, including Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett. “So, Trump is rambling on about he and Elon rigging the election?! Am I missing something or is he confessing to yet another damn crime?!” she posted on social media.

Now, a Wisconsin nonprofit has filed a legal complaint accusing Musk, his America PAC, and a Musk-affiliated group called United States of America Inc. of violating state election laws by bribing voters. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and two voters allege Musk handed out $1 million checks and that his PAC paid $100 to registered voters who signed petitions and gave their contact information. Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value over $1 to encourage someone to vote. The complaint also cites violations of the state’s lottery ban. The plaintiffs are asking a court to declare the actions illegal, prevent future violations, and award damages if applicable.

The lawsuit follows a failed attempt by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to block Musk’s actions earlier this year. Kaul argued that Musk’s conduct amounted to illegal inducement, but courts declined to intervene before the April state Supreme Court election. Jeff Mandell, president and general counsel for Law Forward, which represents the plaintiffs, said this new case is being filed under more typical legal timelines. “We’re trying to create … accountability in a more regular timeline, in a way that gives the courts the opportunity to look at this more carefully,” Mandell said.

Musk, who served briefly as a Trump adviser and led a short-lived federal agency focused on cost-cutting, has denied wrongdoing. He initially promoted the giveaways as rewards for early voters but later revised eligibility criteria following legal scrutiny. The controversy has added fuel to growing concerns over anomalies in places like Rockland County, New York, where Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly received virtually no votes despite Democratic victories in other races. “We know exactly what happened and how it unfolded, and we’re asking the court to say this is not acceptable,” Mandel has said.

Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.