Campus Progress, part of the Center for American Progress will award Dr. Joanne Washington, associate professor in the department of mass media arts, journalism and communication studies and director of the Bakari Scholars at Clarion University, their national award for Best Planned Event of the Year for Clarion University’s Hip-Hop Symposium 2008: Global Impact.
The Center for American Progress is flying Washington and Erica Pickett to Washington, D.C., to present the award during the Campus Progress National Conference July 7-9. Pickett, a 2009 graduate of Clarion University was a member of the Bakari Scholars during the 2008-09 academic years.
Campus Progress, part of the Center for American Progress works to help young people make their voices heard on issues that matter through conferences, public events, an online magazine and student publications.
Rosanna Hererra, Campus Progress National Conference Director and Event Manager states, “Dr. Joanne Washington and the Bakari Scholars at Clarion University have been selected by Campus Progress as the winners in the category of "Best Planning of an Event" for The Hip Hop Symposium they put together. When selecting the award winner, Campus Progress took the following into consideration: organization, diversity (of speakers, attendees, and thought), and impact the event had on the campus and in the community.”
“This award came as a surprise because I did not know we were being considered,” said Washington. “We won over 300 colleges and universities including entries from Yale, University of Chicago, Lehigh, Wesleyan, University of Michigan, New Mexico State, University of Washington, University of Miami, American University and Swarthmore College. This national recognition affirms the hard work of the faculty and student scholar/leaders who worked tirelessly to demonstrate Clarion University’s commitment to diversity.”
From its inception, Clarion University’s hip-hop symposium has created a forum for scholars to engage in an academic discourse on hip-hop’s influence on American culture. Over the past three years, the hip-hop symposium has attracted scholars such as Dr. Denean Sharpley-Whiting, professor of African American and Diaspora Studies and French and affiliated faculty in Women’s Gender Studies and American and Film Studies at Vanderbilt University and Dr. Marcyliena Morgan, professor of African and African American Studies and Executive Director of the HipHop Archive to Clarion’s Campus.
Clarion University faculty presentations have included: "Critical Pedagogy and Hip-Hop" by Dr. Greg Goodman, assistant professor of education, "Hip-Hop Infusion into the Curriculum" by Dr. Susan Prezzano, professor of anthropology, geography, and earth science, Clarion University; and Dr. Laurie Occhipinti, associate professor of anthropology, geography, and earth science, and "Hip-Hop Literature and Lesson Plans" by Dr. Edna Reid, associate professor of library science.
Keynote speakers for the 2009 Campus Progress National Conference are President Bill Clinton, two-term U.S. President and the founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation; and Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
Clarion University is the high-achieving, nationally recognized, comprehensive university that delivers a personal and challenging academic experience.