Ida B. Wells Institute

Advising

Dr. Amy Tillerson and Rev. Andrea Cornett-Scott serve as the faculty advisors for students in the Ida B. Wells program.

Amy Tillerson serves as a member of the history faculty; specializing in African-American history, U.S. twentieth century history, and African diaspora history. Before accepting her position as assistant professor of history and director of the Institute for Decisive Events in American History at Mary Baldwin College, Dr. Tillerson was the director of African-American Heritage Program at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities at UVA. Her experience in higher education also embraces a background in counseling.

Andrea Cornett-Scott, associate vice president for student affairs, has served the college as the director/ dean of African-American and Multicultural Affairs for 10 years demonstrating an expertise in student retention, student development, and student engagement. Rev. Cornett-Scott is a member of the religion faculty specializing in African and African-American religion. 

Curriculum

During the first semester, participants will be enrolled in a designated section of MBC 101 and a paired English class. Additionally, students will be enrolled in INT 177: Legacy and Tradition, a two semester course which offers students tools for college success, cultural exploration, self-discovery, civic engagement, wellness, and leadership development. This year's historical and cultural focus for the program is: Find your Own Voice and Use It.  

Black History Month Oratorical Contest

The Black History Month Oratorical Contest encourages community children to strengthen their public speaking skills by reciting African-American poetry and prose. The competition includes students from second through fifth grade. Applications are available through the Office of African-American and Multicultural Affairs.

Class Quilt Project

The Class Quilt Project is a part of the Ida B. Wells Program curriculum and the African-American MBC 101 curriculum. Class participants create an identity quilt square for themselves or another member of the class. The project is intended to get students thinking and talking about their identity — who they are and who they hope to be. The quilt is pieced together with a class theme and it is presented at their Kwanzaa celebration. The quilts are monuments for student success. When they graduate, the quilt becomes a backdrop for the annual Ajani celebration.

Wall of Honor

The theme for the Wall of Honor project: A Great Cloud of Witnesses, acknowledges the extraordinary voices of students, alumnae, college family, and friends who have shared sacrificially in the development of our very successful diversity program. When we rehearse the history of college diversity, certain names are always called: alumnae, administrators, faculty, staff, organizational founders, family members and community members who have given freely of their time, talent and treasure to support the work of the office and the cause of college diversity. In respect for the power of narrative, the Ida B. Wells Living Learning Community will be launching an oral history/visual arts project, to help put a face with the stories that are so lovingly passed down from class to class.

Black Baby Doll Day

The Black Baby Doll Day Project was started in 1996 under the leadership of Vashti Colson, the first president of the Black Student Alliance. The event is done each fall to collect African-American dolls for area children and to help raise awareness about the need to develop positive self esteem in African-American girls. The Black Baby Doll Day Project was adopted by the Ida B. Wells Living Learning Community in 2003. The project has received national acclaimed and has been featured in national magazines like Jet and Ebony. In past years the project has served more than 300 area girls a year.