Alumna and Higher Education Leader Addressed Honor Students
North Carolina Central University (NCCU) recognized the academic excellence of its students at the 73rd Annual Honors Convocation in McDougald-McLendon Arena on Friday, April 8, 2022.
NCCU conferred commendations to students in numerous categories, including the university’s top honors - the Chancellor’s Award for Academic Excellence and the University Award for Academic Excellence. The university also honored students receiving deans’ list recognition, departmental academic honors and membership in professional and academic honor societies.
Derrick Stanfield, a senior history and political science double major from Durham, N.C., was named recipient of the 2022 Chancellor’s Award for Academic Excellence, the university’s top academic award. Recipients must have completed at least seven consecutive full-time semesters at NCCU, taken a minimum of 15 semester hours each term, and earned at least a 3.8 GPA. The award also takes into consideration students’ who have demonstrated the capacity for real service to the nation.
Stanfield currently serves as NCCU’s 2021-2022 Student Government Association president, senior vice president for the UNC Association of Student Governments and a member of NCCU’s Board of Trustees. He has served the NCCU community through various roles, including president of the freshman class and as a liaison to the UNC Association of Student Governments. Stanfield is a White House HBCU Scholar, and member of the University Honors Program, McNair Scholars Program and NCCU’s African American Male Initiative.
Seven senior and recently-graduated students received the University Award for Academic Excellence, which recognizes students who attended NCCU for at least four consecutive regular semesters and earned a cumulative GPA of 4.0 while carrying a minimum load of three courses or nine credit hours. They included:
- Denise Berglind, ’21, pharmaceutical sciences major from Durham, N.C.
- Hannah Gaines, ’22, biology major from Kernersville, N.C.
- Sharice Garrard, ’21, psychology major from Kernersville, N.C.
- Madison Mifsud,’22, criminal justice major from Orange Park, Fla.
- Michael Slaton, ’22, information technology major from Henderson, N.C.
- Jailyn Smith, ’21, biomedical sciences major from Winston-Salem, N.C.
- Kylea Walker, ’21, psychology major from Raleigh, N.C.
The honor students were addressed by Harmony Cross, ’13, dean of Student Success at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, O.H. She supports the college’s strategic goals through oversight and leadership of the Center for Student Success and the implementation of a comprehensive student retention and persistence strategy. She has also held leadership roles with Holyoke Community College as the dean of student development, engagement and inclusion, and Marymount Manhattan College as director of the New York State Education Department’s Higher Education Opportunity Program.
While an undergraduate at NCCU, Cross served as Miss NCCU, where she was elected as a Top 10 Campus Queen by EBONY Magazine in Sept. 2012. She also founded the Lady Eagle Development Mentoring Program and its signature event, the Women’s Empowerment Symposium, which still exists today, more than 10 years after its inception on NCCU’s campus. Additionally, Cross was a resident assistant, a member of the NCCU track and field team, and a member of the Alpha Lambda Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
Cross holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from NCCU and an M.Ed. in educational leadership with a higher education concentration from Temple University. She is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in higher education administration from Bradley University.
A list of honorees is available here.
The celebration can be viewed online at bit.ly/NCCUHonors73.
