100 YEARS
THE OMICRON CHAPTER CENTENNIAL
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Past Northeastern Province Polemarch Ernest L. Dimitry (Omega 1925) be- came a member of the Omicron Chapter after he relocated to New York City. He served as Special Editor of The Kappa Alpha Psi Journal for the 24 th Grand Chapter hosted by Omicron. Dimitry was a stalwart member of the New York (NY) Alumni Chapter for decades. He passed into Chapter Invisible in 1973. Alvin R. “Skip” Miller (Omicron 1965) played football for Hofstra University, earning a B.S. degree in chemistry. After serving in the Vietnam War, Miller entered the entertainment industry, including working at Motown Records in various capacities for 17 years. In 1980 he received the Recording Industry As- sociation of America’s Music Executive of the Year award. In 1987, Brother Miller became President of Motown Records. At Lion Track, he managed Lionel Richie. He later organized Panda Entertainment Group and, in addition to Lionel Richie, managed R. Kelly, Lina, Nathan Stone, and Megan Peeler. William Grant Still (Delta 1915) stud- ied at Oberlin College, where he was awarded its first scholarship for music. He then studied at the New England Conservatory. His performances took him to New York City, where he affili- ated with Omicron Chapter. Still was “the first African American to conduct a professional symphony orchestra in the United States.” Still composed the Theme Song for the New York World’s Fair of 1939. Simon P. Gourdine (Omicron 1961) graduated from C.C.N.Y. in 1962 and earned his J.D. from Fordham Law School in 1965. Gourdine served in Vietnam as a captain in the U.S. Army. In 1974, the National Basketball As- sociation (NBA) hired Gourdine as its Deputy Commissioner, making Gour- dine, at that time, the highest-ranking African-American executive in American professional sports.
of the St. John’s University Track and Field Team. His many athletic achieve- ments included champion of the 1964 and 1965 Indoor Canadian AAU in the 300-yard dash. He competed in many major track and field meets, including the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden and the Penn Relays. Agard-Jones enjoyed a prominent career in education at William Paterson University at the New York City Board of Education. He rose from Assistant Professor in African and African-Ameri- can Studies and Chairman of the Black Studies Department to Dean of the Col- lege of Education at William Paterson University. From 1993 to 1995, he was Director of the Office of Multicultural Education at the New York City Board of Education. Brother Agard-Jones has lectured prolifically and has written a great many articles that were published in many publications. He has an exten- sive record of service in a wide range of areas related to education. Agard-Jones was a Fulbright Fellow in West Africa, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Senegal, in 1985. He was with a group of 10 Fellows who met with government officials, higher education faculty members and administrators, U.S. Embassy officials, community members, and villagers, primarily in Liberia. Dr. Claude J. Mangum (Omicron 1964) earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University. . He earned his B.A. and M.S. degrees at Queens College. Mang- um is the Emeritus Associate Professor of African American Studies and History at Fordham University. He specializes in African American and Caribbean History. His research interests and publications pertain to the education of African Americans and the experiences of African Americans in the Catholic Church. He serves as a Trustee for both the Uniondale Public Library and PLUS Group Homes (a non-profit agency that runs residencies for adults with autism). He served New York (NY) Alumni for
He had previously served as the NBA’s in-house legal counsel and later became Executive Director of the NBA. Players Union. Before his work at the N.B.A., he held several positions within New York City government. He served as Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, and Chairman of the Civil Service Commission. Dr. Albert G. Oliver (Omicron 1950) was Grand Strategus in 1956 and 1957. In 1970, Grand Polemarch W. Thomas Carter appointed Oliver as polemarch of the Northeastern Province. Professionally, Oliver served as Chair- man of the Board of Operation Cross- roads Africa, which President John F. Kennedy called the Peace Corps' " pro- genitor. A longtime member of the New York (NY) Alumni, Oliver later became a New York City Superintendent and established the Oliver Scholars program in 1983 to assist Black and Latino stu- dents obtain entrance into elite colleges. The Oliver Scholars program continues its operations, and New York City’s P.S. 93 – Albert G. Oliver, was named in his honor. B. Adolphe Barber (Omicron 1961) graduated from Columbia College with a B.S. degree in pharmacy in 1962. He spent his adult life in the pharmacy business. A longtime member of the New York (NY) Alumni Chapter, Barber and the late Oliver W. Parson, (Alpha Xi, 1941) are the only two men who served as the polemarch of New York (NY) Alumni Chapter for seven administrations. Dr. Leslie N. Agard-Jones (Omicron 1965) earned his B.A. in History from St. John’s University; his M.A. in His- tory, specializing in African Affairs from St. John’s University; and his Ed.D in Higher Education Administration and Supervision from Seton Hall University. Agard-Jones was an outstanding member
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