Albany State University recently hosted and celebrated members of the Class of 1953, who took part in the university’s commencement exercises earlier this month.

“We are excited that the Florida Region along with the Broward County Chapter will serve as our hosts,” said Gregory Clark, 1st Vice President for the FAMU-NAA and Convention Chairman. “We invite the entire FAMU community to come and meet the officers of FAMU National Alumni Association, the current university administration and fellowship with Rattlers from across the country. It is imperative that we get involved and play an integral role in the future of the National Alumni Association and our illustrious university.”

“My immediate goal right now is to be a first-year starter and I believe I have the opportunity to do that,” he said. “That’s predicated on how well I articulate our defense and learn it and be able to be a leader and not act as if I’m a rookie on the field. I’ve known this defense for a couple of years and I’ll be seeing it again.”

- Former Howard University linebacker Keith Pough on his outlook as an undrafted rookie for the Buffalo Bills.

“The choice is yours to have the courage and compassion to lead us into the 21^st century,” Morial encouraged the students to remember those who are “locked out and left out.”

Omarosa Manigault also addressed the assembly of hundreds, there representing actor and former Alcorn State student Michael Clarke Duncan. Manigault received a posthumous degree awarded to her late fiance’.

“I am so honored that Michael Clarke Duncan, joins the class of 2013,” Manigault, who is now a Los Angeles minister, said. “In memory of Michael, I will give to Alcorn the first financial gift from the Class of 2013.”

The university also honored its golden class of 1963, which donated $90,000 to the ASU Foundation in honor of its 50th anniversary.

He received an honorary doctorate from TSU, an honor unanimously voted upon by the Board of Regents.

“He joked with the crowd and flashed his trademark, infectious smile after accepting the award which he said he did not take lightly.

‘When you earn a degree from TSU, you have met the standard of excellence,’ he said.”

Strahan is current co-star of the morning talk staple ‘LIVE with Kelly and Michael’ and is a former NFL all-pro defensive lineman with the New York Giants.

According to the Citizens for Change, the alumni are demanding the restoration of Dr. Johnson’s invitation to be the college’s sole Baccalaureate speaker, or risk the dismantling of the institutional legacy of free speech, political diversity and cultural critique built by prominent alumni like Dr. Marting Luther King Jr. From the release:

“If the goal here is to subject potential speakers to an ideological litmus test as a precondition for speaking during this historic weekend at Morehouse, the college administration should have done its due diligence in thoroughly vetting the potential speaker in advance of extending the invitation.  Dr. Johnson represents the best of the Morehouse tradition and the best of engaged political support of President Obama, even if at times critical of the President.  Whether one agrees with Johnson or not, the coalition of Obama supporters consists of people with varying viewpoints, and of varying points of agreement and disagreement with the Obama Administration.  Punishing the expression of political dissent is the wrong message to send young African-American men charged with being global citizens in a diverse world.”

The Morehouse president responded shortly afterwards. From the open letter:

“In brief, I extended an invitation to a distinguished alumnus to speak at our upcoming Baccalaureate service. I subsequently made a decision to adjust the format of the Baccalaureate program and opted for a more creative, multi-speaker approach that is used by many leading institutions.  This sharing of the stage comports with the spirit of upholding democratic ideals, including freedom of speech and expression, and is entirely consistent with the spirit of camaraderie that Morehouse holds dear.”

By his own words, Dr. Wilson either proves to be the world’s most ineffective planner and manager of personalities, or the world’s worst liar. He invites an alumnus to speak at the college’s most important commencement weekend since the graduation of Dr. King, only to decide after the fact by way of epiphany that the ceremony format the college has observed for generations is now not creative enough or in keeping with what other leading institutions do.

Most supporters would take pause at the sentiment from a Morehouse graduate and president that the college’s Baccalaureate traditions, among the most revered and beautifully orchestrated among all historically black colleges, aren’t good enough or in step with other leading institutions. But that pause could only come if they were naïve enough to believe that Dr. Wilson, a former Obama appointee, suddenly changed the Baccalaureate program to merely create a new way of doing business, and not as a measure to protect the Morehouse brand from a well-known Obama critic on the weekend of the US president’s appearance on the campus.

It is the kind of episode that could cause Team Obama to rethink the president’s invitation to Morehouse; after all, why would a president with a PR problem with Black America seek to heal it at an HBCU with this much infighting with its leadership?

Dr. Wilson’s talking point since arriving at Morehouse has been for the college and its supporters to separate the ‘signal-to-noise’ ratio; that is, to find points of pride in the college while diffusing and ignoring the qualms and concerns of outsiders. As good as that line may sound and for as much as the college may have paid for its development by way of a PR firm, it does not diminish the reality that most of the ‘noise’ has historically come from within the college’s own esteemed alumni ranks, and this case is no different.

The only difference with this latest Morehouse headline, is that the signal we all expected Dr. Wilson to broadcast has finally blared for the nation to hear. It is the sound of Dr. Wilson’s critical miscalculation of his own influence, leadership acumen and authority that has caused embarrassment for the college, and should cause examination of his ability to lead it.

Now, as the 2013 NFL Draft rolls through the weekend and the latter rounds open up opportunities for players from historically black colleges and universities, Warren is looking to make a name and career for his clients seeking NFL contracts, and for himself as a burgeoning sports agent. From GoDanRiver.com:

“This is my passion: to educate players,” he said. “I just want to be an assistant to prospective, future NFL players but also any current NFL players that are in need of an agent or an individual to turn to, that will take the time to educate them and show them how the business is so that they understand why they’re getting released or why their getting cut or why an initial price tag is this or what you should be doing to make sure you have a sustainable career after football.”