Dear Southernites:
Today is Alumni Pride Day! The Alumni Federation has planned a wonderful day of activities on the Baton Rouge campus to celebrate the pride we alums have for our alma mater. There will be a parade led by our marching band, a unity rally at the end of the parade, and a reception at the Donald Wade House to wrap up the night. This week was full of reminders of "Alumni Pride." On The Yard's latest episode was released, and it focused on the history of Southern as part of our Founders' Day celebration. If you haven't seen it, you should.
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Proud Alum Endas W. Vincent, Jr.
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I also attended Endas Vincent's funeral earlier this week. The audience was packed with his family, friends and so many members of the Southern family. He only retired a couple of weeks ago as the Director of Facilities Planning for the Southern System. Endas was also a graduate of Southern Lab and the Southern University School of Architecture. I have known Endas for years. He loved Southern and Southern Lab. Indeed, he worked for Southern almost until the day he died.
Four years ago, when I was president of the Lab School Foundation and we were working on ideas to renovate the school, he walked me through the Master Plan for the entire Southern University campus. He had an incredible vision for what our campus should look like. Ideas that I shared with him that I thought were novel and visionary, he had come up with 20 years earlier. Because our university always seemed to be strapped for cash, many of his wonderful plans never came to fruition. But, some did. Endas usually just quietly plugged away trying to make our campus more beautiful, and the architectural jewel he wanted it to be. One of Endas' last major projects on campus was the renovation of the fa�ade of the Lab School. He did a wonderful job and I am grateful for the hard work he put in to make his alma mater a better place. When I pass by Southern Lab and the many buildings he helped design, build and renovate on our campus, I am particularly proud to have known Endas and to be a Southern alum.
That said, Robert Mann, a NOLA.com reporter, wrote a troubling article yesterday about the deteriorating condition of our campus. He even posted pictures of several of the buildings. Ceilings were leaking and roads were crumbling. He correctly pointed out that this is the legacy of Louisiana's decision not to adequately fund higher education and our alma mater over the last eight years. But this is our chance to change history. Here is our chance to make our great university greater. As alums, we should not stand idly by and let our university crumble. Alumni Pride Day is a great time to renew our commitment to our beloved Southern University.
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| | Mr. Miles Potier and President Castille |
Finally, I also met with Miles Potier this week. He felt like we, as alums, should work to develop a greater connection between the university and the community. That we should work to develop a greater connection between our students and alums. He said he just wanted to help Southern. My conversation with Mr. Potier was not unlike many conversations I've had with so many proud alums. They truly see the tremendous value our school offers to the state of Louisiana and to the country. I look forward to enjoying Alumni Pride Day today, and hope to see you and many other proud alums there!
Feeling Proud, Jags and Knights, feeling proud!
Preston
Preston J. Castille, Jr., JD
National President
HBCU Alumni Coalition President | 
Questions? Contact Bridgette Richard, 
