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Regional members of the National Black Graduate Student Association, which include UA students, are hosting a conference at the UA in October that will focus on issues in the Black community.

By University Communications
September 26, 2008

University of Arizona students affiliated with the National Black Graduate Student Association will be hosting a major regional conference in Tucson in October.

The western regional chapter, which represents 13 states – including Arizona, California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington – will host the three-day conference beginning Oct. 3 at The University of Arizona BIO5 Institute.

“This has always been a dream of mine,” Rowena Campbell, a University of Arizona doctoral degree candidate in medical pharmacology and a western regional representative for the national organization.

The theme, “His Dream, His Legacy, Our Destiny,” is reminiscent of Martin Luther King Jr. The conference, considered an interdisciplinary academic conference, will highlight issues in the Black community, including health disparities, education and economics.

“Those are some of the most prevalent reasons for separation within our own community,” said Tarryn McGhie, a master’s degree student in educational psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. McGhie is also one of the national association’s western regional representatives.

Even though the UA chapter of the national association is only one year old, Campbell worked to make sure that this year's conference would be held in Tucson. The regional conferences have be held for the last five years.

It is the first time UA students have hosted a regional association meeting, and the chance to host such an event happened after Campbell was elected earlier this year to be one of the western regional representatives.

“I wondered, ‘Why isn’t’ there a Black group of graduate students coming together to do this?’ And we just hit the ground running,” Campbell said.

The conference will feature a poster session with presentations by students in areas that include engineering, biological sciences, education, psychology and other areas.

The event will also include a career and involvement fair with representatives from local businesses and organizations as well as those from academic programs across Arizona and in nearby states.

Speakers during the conference include:

• Nameka Bates, the 2008-2009 NBGSA President
• David Hinds, an assistant professor of African and African American Studies at Arizona State University. Hinds is also giving the keynote address
• RJ Shannon, the minority AIDS coordinator for the Office of HIV/STD/Hepatitis C within the Arizona Department of Health Services
• James H. Pogue, director of the Education Opportunity Program at Binghamton University in New York
• E. LaBrent Chrite, the Gemelli Professor and a senior lecturer for the Eller College of Management where he is also associate dean and director of the master of business administration program
• Tony Finley, the chief financial officer for Long Realty Company in Tucson

Campbell said a good portion of the conference is devoted to community awareness.

“Graduate students get bogged down, but we have things that are near and dear to our hearts,” she said. “We want to get them involved and keep them involved in the Black community.”