- Posted in All University
- Category: Campus News
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA – Lincoln University, America's first Historically Black University, which has earned academic distinctions throughout its 147-year history, and President Ivory V. Nelson, who has achieved a national reputation for his distinguished leadership in higher education, will be honored with a Resolution for their accomplishments by the City Council of Philadelphia on Thursday, December 13, 2001.
The Resolution, which is being introduced by Councilwoman and Majority Whip Marian B. Tasco, pays tribute to Lincoln and President Nelson for their contributions to excellence in the region and nation. It will be presented during the City Council session at 10 a.m., in the City Council Chambers, Room 400 of City Hall, in Center City Philadelphia*.
"I am very honored and, of course, very pleased that the City Council of the City of Philadelphia is recognizing the outstanding achievements of Lincoln University," President Nelson said. "In honoring this venerable institution, City Council is also paying tribute to the Lincoln Legacy of excellence and dedication to its historic mission of successfully preparing generations of learners and producing leaders for their communities and professions.
"As Lincoln University prepares to celebrate its sesquicentennial – 150th anniversary - in 2004, my role as president is to build on the Lincoln Legacy and continue to lead Lincoln University to greater heights."
Founded in 1854, Lincoln University provides the best elements of a liberal arts and sciences-based undergraduate core curriculum and selected graduate programs to meet the needs of students living in a highly technological and global society. Besides its main campus in southern Chester County, Lincoln also operates the Center for Graduate and Continuing Education in Philadelphia. The University enrolls 1,871 undergraduate and graduate students. The University has achieved several recent national distinctions. Lincoln University is:
- ranked 2nd in the nation in graduating African Americans with baccalaureate degrees in the physical sciences.
- ranked 12th in the nation in graduating all minorities with baccalaureate degrees in the physical sciences.
- ranked in the top 2% in the nation in graduating African Americans with baccalaureate degrees in computer and information sciences. ranked in the top 2% in the nation in graduating African Americans with baccalaureate degrees in biological/life sciences.
- ranked in the top 3% in the nation in graduating African Americans in all academic disciplines.
- one of 20 universities nationwide where 40% or more of its physics graduates are women.
- noted for graduating 7% of African American physics majors in the U.S. in 1999.
- ranked first in Pennsylvania in graduating African Americans with baccalaureate degrees in the physical sciences.
*Please Note: All guests of the University, particularly Lincoln trustees and alumni, should first convene in the office of Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco at 9:30 a.m., in Room 577 of City Hall. Councilwoman Tasco will be introducing the Resolution honoring both Lincoln University and President Nelson. Once Councilwoman Tasco makes the presentation, Council President Anna Verna will introduce President Nelson for his remarks.
These national distinctions are continuations of the Lincoln University tradition of educating an impressive list of African Americans who have distinguished themselves as doctors, lawyers, educators, businesspersons, theologians and heads of state. Fifty-five of the 315 graduating seniors in May 2000 were admitted to graduate schools. Between 1989 and 1998, sixteen (16) Lincoln University chemistry majors earned Ph.D. degrees in chemistry and related fields.
Lincoln University is one of the largest employers in southern Chester County with 450 full and part-time employees. Seventy-two percent (72%) of Lincoln's employees are Pennsylvania residents. Fifty-four percent (54%) of the University's alumni reside in the state.
President Ivory V. Nelson, Ph.D., who has achieved a national reputation for his distinguished leadership in higher education, became the twelfth president of Lincoln University on August 15, 1999. Before coming to Lincoln, he had served as the president of Central Washington University (CWU) for more than seven years. He was formally inaugurated as Lincoln's president on April 14, 2000. A trained chemist, President Nelson is listed among the world's top scientists.
Under President Nelson's leadership, Lincoln University – America's first Historically Black University – is being restored as the institution of choice for students seeking a world-class higher education. President Nelson has a record of active community and professional involvement throughout his 30-plus years in higher education.
He is a member of the Oxford (Pa.) Mainstreet, Inc. Board of Directors; YMCA of the Brandywine Valley Board of Directors; Regional College and University Presidents Council; and the NCAA Division III Presidents Council. He served on the board of directors of Key Bank of Washington and was a member of the Washington State Commission on Student Learning, by gubernatorial appointment. He also was a member of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Arts, State of Washington.
President Nelson's career in higher education includes receiving the Fulbright Lectureship, teaching graduate and undergraduate chemistry, and serving as department head, assistant dean of academic affairs, and vice president for research. President Nelson has been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Kappa Delta Phi education honor society, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Phi Sigma physics honor society.
He has authored eleven technical publications in the field of analytical chemistry, a chapter in one book and a chapter in a monograph. He has secured extensive outside funding through grants and proposal writing. In addition, he has acquired significant funding from state legislatures to construct major academic facilities. His career in the corporate sector includes assignments as a research chemist for both Union Carbide and American Oil Company. President Nelson is profiled in a book entitled, Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century.
The Central Washington University Foundation honored President Nelson by establishing a $50,000 Ivory V. Nelson Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry, and the Board of Trustees of CWU passed a Resolution in August 1999 conferring on him the title of President Emeritus.
He graduated magna cum laude from Grambling State University, in Louisiana, in 1959, with a bachelor's degree in secondary education, chemistry. He immediately entered the University of Kansas, Lawrence, where he graduated with the Doctor of Philosophy degree in analytical chemistry with high departmental honors.