Excite the Dream Â鶹´«Ã½ is a pilot program designed to attract and ultimately recruit faculty of color. The Office of Faculty Diversity and Retention, along with Dean Bray, Dean Dodge, Dean Sandstrom, and Dean Van Lunen, invited 7 scholars to explore Â鶹´«Ã½, get acquainted with faculty and to share their research. Scholars who accepted this offer were: Dr. Natasha R. Howard, Miss Elisha Fogle, Miss Ashley Gray, Dr. Lorise Grey, Dr. Baltazar Cortez, Dr. Lekeah Durden and Dr. Abubakarr Jalloh. The scholars arrived here in Norfolk on Sunday February 9, 2020 and were welcomed by the campus community with a reception, which was followed by dinner at the Broderick dining room.
On Monday February 10, 2020, the group had breakfast with Provost Agho. Â鶹´«Ã½ faculty presented succinct information on the necessary components of becoming a successful faculty member. In these lightning talks, on hand, were Â鶹´«Ã½ faculty Dr. Annette Finley-Croswhite, who discussed faculty resources, Dr. Wie Yusuf talked on ethics in teaching, Dr. Helen Crompton shared her experience with technology, and Dr. Holly Gaff discussed grants and winning grants. These presentations were followed by a panel discussion of research and community engagement. Panelists Dr. Raul Briceno, Dr. Melvina Sumter and Dr. Delores Phillips shared professional and personal experiences to help guide the scholars in their professional development. After a short break, the talks resumed with another panel on the tenure process with Drs. Rick McKenzie and Ed Neukrug, who provided the scholars with information from their respective schools, the School of Engineering and the School of Education. Next, the scholars heard from Dr. Felecia Commodore who provided information on balancing their teaching and writing. Then, Dr. Lytton John Musselman delivered his talk on securing a Fulbright. The lightning talks came to a close with a panel discussion on journal editing with Drs. John Ford, Mark Rehfuss, Ed Neukrug, and Michael Clemons sharing their expertise.