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  • Learning with Purpose and Pride: Vernell Lewis’s Honoré Center Journey

    Vernell Lewis has traveled a difficult road to reach where he is today. The junior business administration major and Honoré Center for Undergraduate Student Achievement student at Southern University at New Orleans has transformed personal adversity into academic achievement and future aspirations. A graduate of George Washington Carver High School in New Orleans, Lewis’s path…

  • Matthews Automotive Group President Donates Two Sprinter Vans to Support Southern University Golf

    Southern University is celebrating another extraordinary act of generosity from Mr. Irving Matthews, Vice Chairman of the Southern University System Foundation Board of Trustees and President and CEO of The Matthews Automotive Group. Matthews, a proud alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology, has given more than $2 million to the Southern University…

  • Alton Harris’s Honoré Center Experience Was About More Than Education, It Was About Understanding His ‘Why’

    Alton Harris has a big dream, and it started when his teachers encouraged him to do something that fed his love of helping people. A 2022 graduate of Southern University at New Orleans, Harris was drawn to the University after taking a campus tour. Feeling SUNO’s signature supportive environment, he knew that he was in…

  • Catch Up on the 2024-25 Valdry Center Speaker Series and Register for 2025-26

    Watch the 2024–2025 Valdry Center for Philanthropy Speaker Series The Southern University System Foundation is proud to present the 2024–2025 Valdry Center for Philanthropy Speaker Series — an inspiring collection of conversations with some of the nation’s most thoughtful voices in philanthropy and community impact. This year’s series featured: Susan Taylor Batten Emmett Carson Elsie…

  • Exciting Opportunity: Southern University System Foundation Scholarship Program Now Open

    The Southern University System Foundation is proud to announce the opening of its scholarship program for the 2025-2026 academic year. This initiative is designed to offer substantial financial assistance to high-achieving students across all five campuses, including Southern University Agriculture and Extension Center, Southern University Baton Rouge, Southern University Law Center, Southern University New Orleans,…

  • Watch Susan Taylor Batten: Philanthropic Redlining: What Does the Data Show?

    The Valdry Center for Philanthropy recently hosted an insightful event, “Philanthropic Redlining: What Does the Data Show?” featuring Susan Taylor Batten, President and CEO of ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities. In 2023, ABFE released a groundbreaking report on foundation giving to HBCU’s. This event explored key findings from that report, shedding light on…

  • Discovering the Future: Mentorship and Innovation in STEM at Southern University of New Orleans

    In the heart of New Orleans, the Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) is fostering a legacy of academic excellence and impactful research through dedicated mentorship and pioneering projects within the Department of Natural Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Murty S. Kambhampati and Dr. Joe Omojola, esteemed professors who have worked…

  • Reaching New Heights: Southern University at Shreveport’s Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance Program

    Southern University at Shreveport (SUSLA) continues to make strides in higher education, particularly through its Division of Business, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (BSTEM). At the forefront of this advancement is the Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance program, a beacon of opportunity and innovation within the Aerospace Technology Center. One of the shining examples of this…

  • Watch Harry L. Williams: It’s a Movement – Not a Moment

    President & CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund shared insights into building capacity in communities of color and growing philanthropic support at the Valdry Center for Philanthropy. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) advances the nearly 90-year work and legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall, a double HBCU graduate, to provide direct resources to HBCUs, nurture…

  • Southern University alumnus, Irving Matthews, gifts Southern University $1MM to expand programming for the Southern University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center

    On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, Southern University alumnus and Southern University System Foundation (SUSF) Trustee Irving Matthews will gift $1M to expand programming creating the Southern University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. The gift will also provide seed funding for the construction of a new state-of-the-art 14,000 square foot building that will house the Center’s operations….

  • Southern University alums gift College of Business $1M as an endowed scholarship

    Southern University alumni Mark and Dawn Malveaux today announced a $1 million gift to the Southern University College of Business. The gift will establish an endowed scholarship and name the Master of Business program in honor of the benefactors. “Dawn and I owe so much not only to Southern University but also to the communities…

  • Scott’s Bluff

    The Southern University System Foundation has commissioned artist Terrance Osborne to complete an original painting of Scott’s Bluff. The original artwork will be displayed at the Valdry Center for Philanthropy, and limited edition signed and/or numbered prints will be available for purchase. The silkscreen created prints, using archival UV protected inks, measure 18” x 32”….