DILLARD UNIVERSITY EMERGING COMMUNIVERSITY
BY KEITH HARRISTON
T alk long enough to Dillard University President Rochelle Ford about her vision for one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the state of Louisiana, and this word will come up often: “Communiversity.” “I think it's always important to center our conversations about Dillard and my vision for Dillard initially around the university’s mission statement, which is, as a historically Black institution, that Dillard University cultivates leaders who live ethically, who think and communicate precisely and act courageously to make the world a better place,” said Ford, who became Dillard’s eighth president in July 2022. “So my first year was really acting on that commitment. What does that mission statement mean and who do we want to become?
“And my vision, the university's vision, is to be a communiversity.”
certificates related to improving the status of mental health, especially for the Black community. “We are offering a master's degree in nursing,” Ford said. “It's nursing entrepreneurship, nursing administration and nursing education, training students to become nurse educators. Our vision is to continue to lean into that health care space. “There's a mental health crisis in America, and particularly around Black and brown communities. There's lack of sensitivity, there's lack of practitioners. And Dillard is going to have our next master's program to be a master's in mental health. But we're also launching certificates that will help support that mental health space that can be for members of our community, not just students enrolled at Dillard, but in
“We are really part of the community, meeting the community needs, and we're serving the community and ultimately cultivating leaders in our community,” Ford said. “So what we want to do is to advance healthy, safe and innovative communities. And we will do so by building on Dillard's strengths.” Those strong points, Ford pointed out in an interview with HBCU Times, include the nursing program, the oldest among HBCUs in the state and the oldest accredited nursing program in Louisiana, and other health-related programs at Dillard. Ford is working to broaden the nursing offerings at Dillard, along with offering degrees and
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