Students from North Carolina Central University will once again compete against teams from 47 other historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge April 10–12 in Orlando, Fla. Now in its 22nd year, the All-Star Challenge is the nation’s only HBCU academic competition. Four-member teams from each school will field questions testing their knowledge of history, science, literature, religion, the arts, social science and popular culture as they compete for grant money for their schools. In all, more than $300,000 in institutional grants will be awarded.

After missing the first year of competition, NCCU students have taken part in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge every year since. Their best showings were second-place finishes in 2006 and 2009. Last year’s team fared nearly as well, making it to the “final four.” In the past six seasons, they have won $68,000 for the university.

The competition will take place at the Hilton Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. This year’s “Great 48” includes schools from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, South Carolina, Delaware, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, New York, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, Oklahoma, Virginia, Texas, West Virginia, and Washington D.C. The schools will be split into eight divisions and compete in a modified round-robin format. The top two teams from each division advance to the “Sweet 16” for a single elimination playoff competition. The final two teams will compete for the National Champion title and the grand prize of $50,000.

Daniel E. Clark, a senior majoring in computer science, is the NCCU team captain. His teammates are DeAndre Carter, a freshman art major, Julian Green, a senior political science major, and Kirkland Wilson, a senior biology/chemistry major. Their coach is Christopher Graves, assisted by Clayton Mack, special projects coordinator for NCCU’s Division of Extended Studies; both men were members of the 1997 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Team. The faculty advisor is Dr. Wendy Rountree, associate professor of English.

Note: The team has practices scheduled at 6 p.m. today, and on Tuesday, April 5, and Thursday, April 7, in Conference Room 2002 of the H.M. Michaux Jr. School of Education on the NCCU campus.

More information

For more information on the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge and a list of the 48 participating HBCUs please visit www.hcasc.com/nct11/great48.asp.

HCASC Electronic Media Kit: www.epklink.com/hondaallstar

HCASC on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HCASC

HCASC on Twitter: twitter.com/#!/hcasc

The Jazz Studies program at North Carolina Central University continued its tradition of musical excellence when members of the NCCU Jazz Ensemble competed in the Villanova Jazz Festival Collegiate Competition on March 25-26. The ensemble returned from the festival with six awards: Best Saxophone Section, Best Rhythm Section, Best Trumpet Section, Best Soloist, 1st Place Combo and 1st Place Big Band. As a result of their first place finishes, the Jazz Ensemble opened the evening concert for the American Jazz Repertory Orchestra, directed by Clem Dirosa.

“It was a safe and successful trip and the students did a great job,” said Dr. Ira Wiggins, associate professor in the Department of Music. “The competition was challenging.” Six universities and seven bands competed, including Norfolk State University (two bands), Central Connecticut University, University of Maryland – Baltimore County, Ashland University and Carnegie Mellon University. The last time the NCCU Jazz Ensemble participated in the festival was 2007.

The NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble is furthering its successful season with an invitation to perform at the N.C. Museum of Art’s “30 Americans” exhibit. The ensemble will perform as part of “Jazz on the City Block,” April 29, at 7, 7:30 and 8 p.m., and May 7, at noon, 12:30 and 1 p.m. Admission to the exhibit is $10 and college students are admitted free on Friday evenings, with a current college ID.

The “30 Americans” show highlights the work of contemporary African-American artists in an exhibition organized by and drawn from the Rubell Family Collection, in Miami. Presented in the NCMA’s Meymandi Exhibition Gallery, the exhibit includes 75 works of art using various media. Established and emerging artists are included in the exhibit, highlighting the influence of a previous generation of African-American artists on the current generation. Featured artists include Robert Colescott, David Hammons, Barkley Hendricks, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kerry James Marshall, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Nick Cave, Glenn Ligon, Kehinde Wiley, Mark Bradford, iona rozeal brown, Wangechi Mutu, and more.

For information on the exhibit or the Vocal Jazz Ensemble’s performance, contact the museum at (919) 664-6743.

The Durham Arts Council will host the Durham Art Walk Spring Market, a weekend event showcasing Durham businesses along with the latest creative endeavors of over 200 local artists. This event attracts thousands of art enthusiasts for two full days of enjoying great art, music, performances, food and all that downtown Durham has to offer. Event times are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 9th, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 10th.

“The Durham Art Walk Spring Market is a great way to walk around downtown, check out art in strange places, meet artists, buy some great art and spend time experiencing Durham’s vibrant arts and cultural community,” said Ann May Woodward, Executive Director of the local nonprofit reuse center, the Scrap Exchange. Visitors will discover new restaurants, shops and other interesting downtown businesses where artwork will be displayed.

Visitors to the Durham Art Walk Spring Market will also have an opportunity to see Durham’s own Scene of the Crime Rovers Marching Band making music in the streets and other performing artists like the W.G. Pearson Harp Ensemble and Mallarme Chamber Players. Durham Parks & Recreation hosts Durham Art Walk Rocks! all weekend at Durham Centre with diverse acts from local choirs to Latin bands. Little Jimmy and the Glendales will present Drumming for a Rain Dance, an audience-interactive performance art piece on Saturday and national cancer awareness organization drumSTRONG will present another interactive drum performance on Sunday.

Those who buy a spring plant at the Durham Arts Council will win a chance for raffle prizes including original artwork, craft classes or dinner for 2 at Washington Duke Inn. And while there, they can check out the “upcycled” art offerings of the designers in a special NC State and Scrap Exchange design program. There will also be a “parade” of food trucks along Morgan Street next to the Arts Council including: Only Burger, Pie Pushers, JAM Ice Cream, Blue Sky Dining and the Farmhand Foods Sausage Wagon.

This free event is open to the public and will be held rain or shine. All locations for the Durham Art Walk will be marked with a red dot in their window. Sites include retail stores, artist studios, cafes and other venues within a 10-minute walk from the Durham Arts Council building.

Patron-level sponsors of the event include: Carolina Theatre, City of Durham Parks & Recreation, Golden Belt, Hendrick Durham Auto Mall, Smitten Boutique, Through this Lens, TomSuey Design, Vega Metals, WorkSmart and Yelp! The Durham Art Walk Spring Market is presented and produced by the Durham Arts Council in collaboration with these and many other community sponsors.

For further information on the artists, performers, volunteer opportunities and participating businesses, visit the Durham Art Walk website at www.durhamartwalk.com or contact Barclay McConnell, Event Coordinator, at [email protected] or phone (919)560-2719.

The 21st annual North Carolina Central University Jazz Festival will take place on the campus from April 11 to 16, featuring the Roy Hargrove Quintet and jazz vocalist Rene Marie. The NCCU Jazz Ensembles II and III will also perform.

Grammy-award winning trumpeter Roy Hargrove began playing the trumpet in the fourth grade. Midway through his junior year at Booker T. Washington’s School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Dallas, he was discovered by Wynton Marsalis, who was conducting a jazz clinic at the school. Marsalis invited Roy to sit in with his band. Over the next three months, Hargrove performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson. Hargrove’s talent led to an invitation to perform in the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This led to a month-long European Tour.

In 1997, Hargrove’s Cuban-based band Crisol, which includes piano legend Jesus “Chucho” Valdes and wonder drummer Horatio “El Negro” Hernandez, won the Best Latin Jazz Performance Grammy for the album Habana. And in 2002, Hargrove, Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker won Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group, for their three-way collaboration Directions in Music. He has graced the stage and/or recordings of many artists, including Sonny Rollins and Jackie McLean, song stylists Natalie Cole, Diana Krall and Abbey Lincoln, veterans Diana Ross, Steve Tyrell and Kenny Rankin, younger stars John Mayer and Rhian Benson and jazz divas Carmen McRae and the late, great Shirley Horn. Hargrove and his quintet will perform on Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m. in the B.N. Duke Auditorium. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

Jazz vocalist Rene Marie has been called one of the greatest and most sensuous vocalists of our time. Her story of finding her voice and self through singing has made her a heroine, and her style incorporates elements of jazz, soul, blues and gospel. Her debut release, Renaissance, included powerful interpretations, electrifying deliveries and impassioned vocals. In 2007, Marie released Experiment in Truth as well as the single “This Is (Not) A Protest Song,” a fundraiser for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Two years later, she released the sound track for her touring one-woman play, Slut Energy Theory, which follows the character U’Dean Morgan on a journey from sexual abuse to self-esteem. Her latest release, Voice of My Beautiful Country, is a celebration of America and of Marie’s eclectic musical taste. The album runs the gamut in music styles, including everything from Jefferson Airplane’s psychedelic rock favorite “White Rabbit” to the traditional folk standards “John Henry” and “O Shenandoah.”

She has headlined several major festivals, including the Women in Jazz Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Edinburgh Jazz Festival in Scotland and the Shanghai Jazz Festival in China. Winner of the Best International Jazz Vocal CD by the Academie Du Jazz, she has graced the Billboard charts multiple times. She will perform with Doug Richards on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. in the B.N. Duke Auditorium. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

Under the leadership of Dr. Ira Wiggins, NCCU initiated the Jazz Festival in 1990 to expose the campus community and the city of Durham to America’s first indigenous art form, jazz. “The performance of our students at the festival this year will be symbolic of the academic excellence of the Jazz Studies program,” said Wiggins.

Tickets are $15 for the Friday performance, $20 for Saturday and $30 for the package. To purchase tickets, visit www.nccu.edu/jazzfest

The North Carolina Central University School of Law has been named one of the nation’s 10 “most popular” law schools in a ranking released by U.S. News & World Report this week. The listing is based on an analysis of admission yield — the percentage of students accepted by a school who choose to enroll.

In the rankings compiled for 2010, the NCCU law school placed ninth, with a yield of 49.6 percent; of 415 applicants accepted by the school, 206 subsequently enrolled. Yale Law School took the top spot, at 80.4 percent, followed by the law schools at Brigham Young University, Harvard University, Southern University, Liberty University, the University of Oklahoma, Regent University, the University of Memphis, NCCU and the University of New Mexico.

U.S. News surveyed the enrollment and acceptance data for 190 law schools to compile the list. The data encompasses 180,479 acceptances and 49,054 enrollments, making the nationwide yield 27.2 percent.

The NCCU School of Law has also been named the nation’s “best value” law school for two years in a row by National Jurist magazine in a ranking based on affordability, bar passage rate and job placement. The reputation for value has brought the school an increase in applications, and it now accepts just 20 percent of those who seek admission, compared with a national average of 39 percent.

“We’re pleased with this ranking,” said Raymond Pierce, dean of the law school. “It is further recognition of our quality of instruction, our affordability and our strong connection to practical applications of the law.”

The full U.S. News report, “10 Most Popular Law Schools,” can be viewed here.

During a two-decade career as a national and international reporter for the ABC and CBS networks, Vicki Mabrey has won a series of Emmy Awards for news coverage.

On April 8, Mabrey, a correspondent for the ABC News show “Nightline,” will address honors recipients at North Carolina Central University’s 62nd Honors Convocation.

The ceremony, at 10 a.m. in McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium, recognizes academic excellence by more than 200 NCCU students in a number of categories, from the Chancellor’s Award and University Award recipients — the university’s top honors — to deans’ lists and departmental academic honors.

Mabrey was selected as the speaker because of her obvious pursuit of excellence in her field, said NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms.

“For Honors Convocation, we want students who’ve worked hard academically to enjoy and celebrate someone who has sought excellence in their profession and has been recognized for that excellence,” Nelms said. “Vicki Mabrey fits that bill.”

Mabrey was a pioneer from an early age. At 8, she became the first African-American to integrate her local elementary school in Florissant, Mo. After her degree in political science, she took a job unrelated to the media, but changed careers after seeing a college classmate working on local TV.

She was hired as a production assistant at a Washington, D.C., station in 1983, and was promoted within a year to an on-air general assignment reporter. By 1993, she was a Dallas-based correspondent for CBS News. That year, she received a tip that developments were about to break at the standoff between federal agents and members of the Branch Davidian cult. During a span of 55 days, she provided often-continuous coverage of the standoff.

From 1999 until she joined “Nightline” in 2005, Mabrey was a correspondent for CBS’ “60 Minutes II.”

She is the recipient of four Emmy Awards, two for her reporting on the death of Princess Diana, and for coverage of the Atlanta Olympics bombing and the crash of TWA Flight 800.

NCCU also confers honors for performing arts distinctions, community service, and membership in professional and academic honor societies. Students receive a lapel pin that distinguishes them as honor students, which is worn during the week of convocation and on Convocation day. A reception for honorees, in Alfonso Elder Student Union, follows the convocation.

Homeowners in North Carolina facing foreclosure can receive free legal advice at a public forum, “Community Education Day: What to do When Facing Mortgage Issues,” on Saturday, March 26, at 10 a.m. in the Turner Law Building on the campus of North Carolina Central University. The event is free and open to the public and is part of the NCCU School of Law Foreclosure Prevention Project in partnership with Legal Aid of North Carolina.

“This event is for people who are facing foreclosure, who have questions about their mortgage or are seeking information about loan modification programs,” said Timothy Peterkin, legal writing professor and director of the NCCU Foreclosure Prevention Project. “We are excited to have the opportunity to serve North Carolina’s citizens in this manner. NCCU Law has students working to prevent foreclosure through a hands-on approach.”

The forum will offer individual meetings with foreclosure defense attorneys, information sessions on foreclosure prevention, explanations of government programs that assist homeowners in foreclosure and various foreclosure prevention strategies. Attendees should bring all foreclosure and loan documents to assist the attorneys reviewing cases.

Appointments are encouraged but not required. To schedule an appointment with an attorney or to attend the forum, call (919) 530-6079.

The North Carolina Central University School of Law is home to an award-winning, nationally ranked clinical legal education program. The clinic operates from a model law office that provides a professional atmosphere for clients. As one of the most comprehensive programs in the Southeast, the legal clinic offers law students a clinical experience that suits their professional goals. Professors supervise the live-client clinics and also teach the skills courses that are critical to advocacy. Eleven clinics are offered: Dispute Resolution, Civil Litigation, Criminal Defense, Criminal Prosecution, Domestic Violence, Family Law, Juvenile Law, Pro Bono, Small Business, Street Law and Veterans Law.