Charlie Nelms

Charlie Nelms, Ed.D., is a passionate advocate for college access and student success. He has held chancellor positions at Indiana University East, the University of Michigan-Flint, and North Carolina Central University. In retirement, he is a full-time advocate for HBCUs.

HBCU Alignment: 5 Critical Areas that Need Adjustments

HBCU Alignment: 5 Critical Areas that Need Adjustments

As a stalwart advocate and supporter of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), I have been thinking a lot lately about what ails this sector of the academy and what can be done to enhance its relevance, responsiveness and competitiveness. Although both critics and supporters tend to write and speak about HBCUs as a monolithic […]

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African American Basketball player with basketball

NCAA: Somebody Ought To Say Something and Do Something

Let me begin with this unapologetic acknowledgement. I am a black baby boomer who still believes in the transformational value of high quality education for all people, but especially those who look like me. Like many of my generation, I have experienced firsthand the sting of racial segregation, oppression and discrimination. I know what it’s

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Charlie Nelms after graduating from his alma mater Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (AM&N).

Why I Still Love My Alma Mater 45 Years Later

Forty-five years ago my college classmates and I became the largest class to ever graduate from Arkansas Agricultural Mechanical and Normal College, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). Like countless numbers of UAPB graduates before us, we have had successful careers in education, social services, government, business and Industry and the military,

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Class of 2018: Group of cheerful HBCU freshmen walking in building corridor.

Class of 2018: How to Have a Successful Freshman Year

Unsolicited Advice for Parents and Students from a Three-time University President As a university president, the annual ritual that I loved most was the opportunity to welcome new freshmen to campus. No matter how busy I was, I always made time to meet new students and their parents and to assist them with moving into

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