Vera Shane Thompson ’39 Awarded Medal of Honor

On May 9th, the University of Evansville’s Office of Diversity Initiatives hosted a dinner in honor of Mrs. Vera Shane Thompson ’39. Ms. Thompson was the second African American female to graduate from the University of Evansville. At commencement ceremonies the next day, Ms. Thompson was awarded the university’s Medal of Honor making her the second  African American female to receive the honor. Rose (Cole) Mays ’67 was the first in 2004.

At the dinner Ms. LaShone Gibson, senior associate director of UE’s Global Institute, Mr. Watez Phelps, the current UEAAA President; UE faculty; students and several alumni attended the event. Mr. Phelps provided some historical background as to how a local Evansville black business had assisted in funding the move of Moore’s Hill College to Evansville in return for the university agreeing to begin integration efforts. Arnell Hill, UEAAA historian, explained how his June 2007 efforts to contact alumni from the era between 1939-1950 lead to a contact with Ken Thompson, one of Ms. Thompson’s sons and the eventual telephone interview of Ms. Thompson featured on the “Member’s Update” link of the UEAAA website. Ken, who accompanied his mother to the dinner, spoke about the values he learned from his parents and provided some background about his mother’s life.

Then Ms. Thompson shared with the audience how she had aspired to attending other colleges outside of the Evansville area. She recalled the faithful day her path to Evansville College was directed by her parents. Ms. Thompson recollected that her college years were not full of the social activities now common to most students. Her graduation from Evansville College was followed by a successful career in education, and her role as a mother and wife to her husband who was a Tuskegee Airman. Ms. Thompson’s experience as a student from 1935 to 1939 was a positive event in the integration of the student body at Evansville College.

Annual UEAAA Meeting a Success

Over 50 UE alumni, students and community members met on UE's campus to discuss relevent issues and just have a good time. See photos of the annual program and lunch here. If you are not a registered member of the online community, do so by clicking the first time user button.

The theme for our April 26th 2008 annual meeting was: Minority Student Achievement in Elementary, Middle and High School and the Recruitment and Development of Minority Teachers.  The discussion was lead by a group of teachers and administrators from the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation. In addition, special guests were Kathryn Lee, Education Program Director for the Indiana Civil Rights Commission and Carol Craig, Indianapolis Public Schools, retired Human resources Director. Ms. Craig is the Co chair of the Greater Indianapolis NAACP Education Committee. She has presented to the state board of education professional standards board concerning the shortage of minority teachers and equitable education for children of color. Ms. Craig and Ms. Lee served as committee members to assist with critiquing the recent cultural competency state statutes House Bill No. 11087 which requires school corporations and accredited nonpublic schools to develop policies concerning cultural competency training for school staff and students. 

As an auxiliary, the University of Evansville African American Alumni Association serves purposely to improve the social, cultural and civic consciousness of the Evansville community and the University of Evansville as an institution. To this end, UEAAAA has developed theme influenced annual meetings which address societal ills that affect the upward mobility of African American students, alumni and promotion of the common-good for society, in general. The subject matter generated form guest speaker engagements is utilized to develop strategies which mobilize solutions for progressive change.

Past annual meeting themes:

• “Succeeding on Your Own Terms” book (Author)
• Student and Alumni Symposium: Discussing the matriculation of African American students and institutional drawbacks;
• Diversity and the Process of Inclusion; Dr. Charlie Nelms, Vice Chancellor, Indiana University
• Diversity Purchasing and Corporate/Institutional Inclusion of minority suppliers; Gordon Fykes, Cummings Inc.
• Providing for the Success of Minority Students; Mrs. Janice Wiggins, Director Indiana University Groups Program

UEAAA 2007 Luncheon Highlights

On Saturday, April 14, the 2007 annual UEAAA Luncheon was held at the NCAA Headquarters in downtown Indianapolis, in the White River State Park. The event began at 11 a.m. EST, and the keynote speaker was Ms. Janice Wiggins, Director of Group Student Support Services at Indiana University. In Spring 2006, the Educational Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. selected Groups as a "best practice" for promoting student success. A panel discussion was held among students from IUPUI and UE to discuss their perspectives on diversity on their respective campuses.

The Zerah Priestly Carter University of Evansville African American Scholarship for Academic Year 2007-2008 was also awarded at the luncheon.

The first scholarship went to Larry James Reeder II, Visual Communications major, Business Administration minor '09, in the amount of $2,000.00.

The second scholarship went to Josephine Musisi, Nursing '09, in the amount of $500.00. This was the first time a second scholarship was given.

A list of attendees, more about the featured speaker, and photos from the luncheon can be found here.

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UEAAA Mission Statement

The Mission of the University of Evansville African American Alumni Association (UEAAA) is to maintain a close relationship among alumni, document the UE African American tradition and pass it on to students, and to maintain a close and nurturing connection with UE African American students by providing financial assistance, emotional support, and guidance.

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