鈥淭hese outstanding young scholars reflect the very soul of Saint Augustine鈥檚 University鈥攐ne rooted in resilience, excellence, and the pursuit of purpose,鈥� said 探花精选 Interim President听Dr. Marcus H. Burgess. 鈥淭hey are living proof that our challenges do not define 探花精选, but by the greatness we nurture in our students.鈥�

Israel Pennerman, a senior Public Health Science major, and听Karly Heavens Gerome, a rising junior Engineering Mathematics major, have been selected as听Summer 2025 Research Scholars听补迟听North Carolina State University鈥檚 College of Natural Resources. These students previously participated in the听National Science Foundation鈥檚 Biomanufacturing Sciences Pilot Program and, in the Fall of 2024, visited Grand Valley State University to explore graduate STEM programs. Karly also completed a biomaterials research experience at NC State in the Summer of 2024. He recently participated in a two-week Quantitative Biology program at听Virginia Tech, focusing on experimental modeling and computation in biosystems.

Ashauna McClendon, a Biology major, was selected as a member of the of the听Duke Building Academic Advancement Research Training Pathway to Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences (BAA-POCS). Funded by the听National Institutes of Health, the 15-month program includes two intensive summer research experiences at Duke University and hybrid training during the academic year. Ashauna joins only two other students nationwide in this prestigious program, designed to diversify the future biomedical workforce.

Adding to this remarkable list is听Tyler Miller, an Engineering Mathematics major and NSF VA鈥揘C LSAMP Alliance STEM Scholar, who received acceptance into the听Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) 鈥� NC10 Science Education Alliance Summer 2025 Program听补迟听North Carolina Central University. Tyler is engaging in hands-on research in molecular biology and genomics. He previously attended the听Clayton Evans Memorial Lecture and Outreach Program听at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He visited Grand Valley State University in the Fall of 2024 to explore graduate study options in STEM.

鈥淭hese students continue to open doors for themselves and 探花精选 by stepping into prestigious research opportunities and advancing the university鈥檚 legacy in STEM,鈥� said听Dr. Tyrell Carr,听Associate Dean,听School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Allied Health, and Director of Sponsored Programs and Title III Programs. 鈥淭heir accomplishments are testaments to what鈥檚 possible through mentorship, perseverance, and hard work.鈥�

While external narratives have often focused on crisis, 探花精选鈥檚 students remind us of the powerful story still unfolding鈥攁 story of hope, scholarship, and transformation. These are the voices that will shape tomorrow.

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In total, 365 full-time students received recognition on the Dean鈥檚 List for the Spring 2024 semester, and 85 full-time students earned Dean鈥檚 List honors for the Fall 2024 semester. The academic distinction did not stop there鈥�292 full-time students achieved Provost鈥檚 List honors for Spring and Fall 2024, while 125 students earned a spot on the President鈥檚 List during the same time frame. An additional 50 scholar-athletes were honored for balancing rigorous academic standards with athletic commitments.

鈥淭hese results tell a remarkable story of persistence, excellence, and community spirit,鈥� said 探花精选 Interim President Dr. Marcus H. Burgess. 鈥淭hrough every challenge, our students have demonstrated a level of resilience that gives us all great hope for the future鈥攏ot only for Saint Augustine鈥檚 but for the communities and industries our graduates will serve.鈥�

As of the current Spring 2025 semester, 47 full-time students earned Provost鈥檚 List honors, and 31 students achieved President鈥檚 List recognition. Notably, half of 探花精选鈥檚 student body has earned Dean鈥檚 List honors for the third consecutive semester, a powerful testament to the university鈥檚 tireless commitment to academic excellence despite challenges.

鈥淭hese achievements are a testament to the hard work of our students and the support and dedication of our faculty and staff,鈥� said Dr. Verjanis A. Peoples, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. 鈥淲e proudly celebrate their successes and reaffirm 探花精选鈥檚 mission of preparing ethical leaders and changemakers.鈥�

In addition to celebrating academic honors, 探花精选 is proud to recognize three outstanding seniors who have earned top honors within their respective schools:

• School of Arts, Social Sciences & Communications: J鈥檔iyah Love (Criminal Justice)
• School of Business, Management & Technology: Cameron Moore (Business Administration)
• School of Science, Mathematics & Allied Health: K鈥橲hundra Holley (Public Health Science)

These students will cross the stage during 探花精选鈥檚 2025 Commencement and 94th Baccalaureate Exercises on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Wake Chapel Church鈥檚 Life Enrichment Center in Raleigh, NC.

This academic success comes when 探花精选 prepares for a resurgence fueled by the spirit, faith, and fortitude of its students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters.

Click here for a complete list of 探花精选 students receiving academic honors for the Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 semesters.
 for more information about 探花精选 and to support current and future Falcons through the Falcon Pride Initiative.

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Students named to the Dean鈥檚 List have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the semester. Students with a percentage (%) were named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2024 semester.

Students with a plus (+) were named to the Provost鈥檚 List and have earned cumulative GPAs between 3.0 and 3.64.

Students with a carrot (^) were named to the President鈥檚 List and have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.65 and above.

Students with an equal (=) were scholar athletes with a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Each list only awards to full-time students (who completed the semester with 12 or more credits)

NOTE: Students with an asterisk (*) earned a GPA of 4.0 for the semester. Students with two asterisks (**) earned a GPA of 4.0 for two semesters.

A complete listing of the students follows:

• School of Arts, Social Sciences & Communications 鈫�
• School of Business, Management & Technology 鈫�
• School of Graduate Studies 鈫�
• School of Science, Mathematics & Allied Health 鈫�
• Early College 鈫�

School Arts, Social Sciences & Communications

2025 Outstanding Senior: J鈥檔iyah Love

2025 Department Awardees:

Spring & Fall 2024 Academic Honors:

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School of Business, Management & Technology

2025 Outstanding Senior: Cameron Moore

2025 Department Awardees:

Spring & Fall 2024 Academic Honors:

鈫�

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School of Science, Mathematics & Allied Health

2025 Outstanding Senior: K鈥橲hundra Holley

2025 Department Awardees:

Spring & Fall 2024 Academic Honors:

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Early College

鈫�

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The 2025 鈥� Slayton Evans Memorial Lecture Speaker: Dr. Paula Hammond of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Hammond鈥檚 research focuses on designing polymers and nanoparticles for drug delivery and energy-related applications including batteries and fuel cells. Dr. Hammond is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Inventors. Recently, Dr. Hammond served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (Under 鈥� President Biden) and received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry and National Medal of Technology and Innovation. At MIT, Dr. Hammond serves as the Vice Provost for Faculty and holds the Rank of Institute Professor, the highest academic 鈥� faculty honor. Dr. Hammond was the first woman and person of color appointed as Head of the Chemical Engineering Department at MIT.

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Outreach Program: STEM Undergraduate Scholars from Saint Augustine鈥檚 University, North Carolina Central University, Fayetteville State University, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke met with UNC 鈥� Chapel Hill professors and graduate students from the Department of Chemistry to learn about careers in the chemical sciences, summer research opportunities, and the Ph.D. Program in Chemistry at UNC 鈥� Chapel Hill. Scholars also had a one-on-one session with Dr. Hammond before her lecture. After the lecture, scholars toured various chemistry labs and interacted with graduate students presenting their research during the poster session.

Tyler Miller: Is a 2nd Year 鈥� Engineering Mathematics Major and NSF LSAMP Scholar (VA 鈥� NC Alliance Group). Tyler was raised in Baltimore, Maryland and Tchula, Mississippi and currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. Overall, Tyler is embracing the Concept of Integrative and Interdisciplinary 鈥� Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) early in his academic career. During Fall 2024, Tyler connected with leadership from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) when they visited 探花精选 to initiate a HHMI 鈥� 探花精选 Biomedical Research Partnership and he visited Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan to learn about their graduate programs in engineering.

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Students named to the Dean鈥檚 List have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the semester with no grade below a 鈥淐.鈥� The Dean鈥檚 List is only awarded to full-time students (who completed the semester with 12 or more credits).

NOTE: Students with an asterisk (*) earned a GPA of 4.0 for the semester.

A complete listing of the students follows:

• School of Arts, Social Sciences & Communications 鈫�
• School of Business, Management & Technology 鈫�
• School of Public Health and Health Sciences 鈫�
• School of Graduate Studies 鈫�
• School of Science, Mathematics & Allied Health 鈫�
• Early College 鈫�

School Arts, Social Sciences & Communications

鈫�

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School of Business, Management & Technology

鈫�

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School of Public Health and Health Sciences

鈫�

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School of Graduate Studies

鈫�

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School of Science, Mathematics & Allied Health

鈫�

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Early College

鈫�

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Peter Musenge has received special recognition for his research. His project, entitled 鈥淎nalysis of Whole Genome Datasets to Elucidate Global Cellular Responses to Environmental Stressors鈥�, was conducted as a part of his capstone research at Saint Augustine鈥檚 University with Dr. Sarah Straud, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, serving as principal investigator of the study. Peter received notable recognition for his work at this year鈥檚 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Students, winning a cash prize in the category of computational research.

鈥淔or our study, we took an interdisciplinary approach, combining computational and biological research. Our study required detailed statistical analysis, and we thank Dr. Maria Vega and Dr. Frank Hunte for their contributions to the work. In this study, Peter looked for changes in gene expression patterns in response to two different environmental stressors, heat shock and oxidative stress, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Given that defects in protein folding, autophagy, and mitochondrial activity are implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, we reasoned that defects in common response genes might be implicated in Parkinson鈥檚 or Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Through this work, Peter identified two interesting genes. Of these, Hsp31 is a homolog of the DJ-1 protein in humans, which is implicated in the progression of Parkinson鈥檚 disease.鈥�

Mr. Musenge earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences last Spring and earned his second degree in Engineering Mathematics this Fall 2023.

Conference registration fees for Mr. Musenge were paid by Dr. Sarah Straud.

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On October 4, 2023, during Homecoming Week on the campus of Saint Augustine鈥檚 University, HealthLit4Wake (or HL4W) students hosted an event named 鈥淧ut that Heat on鈥�. The purpose of this event was to encourage students to put on their freshest outfits while receiving education on health-related topics such as mental health, STD/STIs, COVID-19, research, and other issues. The purpose of this initiative is to address COVID-19-related health disparities among minority populations through improved health literacy initiatives coordinated by HealthLit4Wake, a multisector health equity collaborative. The students who work within Health Lit4Wake are referred to as Community Health Student Ambassadors (CHSA), partnered with other organizations on campus such as Safe Falcons, Daughters of Saint Augustine鈥檚 University (DOSA), Delta Research and Education Foundation (DREF), and a few off-campus organizations such as Soy Milk & Hope and Southeast Promise.

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Students at Saint Augustine’s University ( 探花精选) are taking their research to the next level thanks to a

鈥淲e are thrilled to receive this grant from the National Science Foundation, as it will greatly enhance our ability to support undergraduate research and STEM education at 探花精选,” said 探花精选 President Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail. “This grant not only highlights the importance of historically black colleges and universities in advancing scientific knowledge but also demonstrates the commitment of the NSF to empowering underrepresented communities in STEM fields. We are excited to explore how virtual reality integration and enhanced printing capabilities will transform the way we teach and conduct research at 探花精选.鈥澨�

The planning grant project, titled 探花精选 STEM Ecosystem Analysis, is designed to conduct an institutional landscape analysis to understand and develop practical approaches to impact student persistence, STEM pedagogy, and undergraduate research. In addition, this grant is the second consecutive NSF award earned by 探花精选 Principal Investigator and Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Lawrence Flowers, who won a for the university in August 2022.听

“I’m excited for our students and I believe that successful planning endeavors are essential to produce substantive institutional change that results in higher retention and graduation rates,” said Dr. Flowers. “Ecosystem analysis utilizing survey-based assessments of various 探花精选 stakeholders (e.g., students, faculty, and administrators) will lead to effective identification of transformative initiatives applied to the STEM macrocosm and produce seminal data for future grant proposals.”听

The VRSLC will be equipped with immersive mobile virtual reality headsets (e.g., Meta Quest 2) and will have the potential to serve as an intervention site for pedagogical activities. In addition, pilot studies will explore the impact of immersive educational media on student learning to explore how instructional migration from the physical world to the virtual reality world impacts STEM student outcomes. Opportunities associated with the virtual reality integration include transforming how 探花精选 faculty teaches biology, chemistry, math, exercise science, human anatomy, and physiology and complementing how 探花精选 trains student-athletes for intercollegiate competition.听

The SCRC will feature a 24″ poster color printer and a 44″ poster color printer, allowing students to print professional quality research posters on campus. The SCRC, among other things, will close the student preparation-to-presentation (PtP) pipeline and enhance faculty mentoring during the poster production process to improve the quality of students’ scientific posters. Moreover, the SCRC will defray student costs of printing research posters for external conferences, symposia, and the Annual Research Day at 探花精选.听

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According to the NCDHHS, the workforce in North Carolina鈥檚 local health departments is 80% white, 90% female, with 60% over the age of 45. Nationally, of the public health workforce, and post-millennials were nearly missing from the workforce completely.

鈥淚 am extremely proud of our students for being selected to participate in the NCDHHS Internship Program this summer,鈥� said 探花精选 President Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail. 鈥淭he selection of our students for this program is a testament to their hard work, dedication, and excellence. It also reflects our university鈥檚 faculty, staff, and administrators’ contributions toward creating a more diverse public health workforce.

鈥淥ne of our  is , which starts with training the next generation of public health leaders,鈥� said NCDHHS Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. 鈥淧ublic health and human services are focused on making a difference in our communities and the world. We鈥檙e grateful these students are choosing to spend their time dedicated to making that difference with NCDHHS.鈥�

The students will be working on projects with the NCDHHS. The internship will last ten weeks and include work in their assigned project area, weekly seminars, presentation practice, and an immersion event at the end of the internship experience.

“With this internship program, NCDHHS makes a crucial workforce investment and builds upon our strong partnership with North Carolina鈥檚 HBCUs and MSIs to engage students in learning firsthand about public health and human services careers,鈥� said Angela Bryant, NCDHHS Assistant Secretary for Equity and Inclusion in the Health Equity Portfolio. 鈥淣CDHHS and its Division of Public Health are excited Jeremiah, Jennifer, Hannah and Lee have chosen to join 49 other students and recent graduates in making a difference for North Carolina residents through this internship.鈥�

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In addition to planning events, the labor these students execute includes evaluations with qualitative data. This work includes collecting data from Community Health Workers who use NC CARE360 doing their duty work in neighborhoods and turning that data into a codebook. Doing so helps narrow down the root problems of Covid-19 causes in the community and the needs these families face.

The CHSA鈥檚 also responsible for hosting communication events. Some examples are Ask the Doc and Listening Sessions. The Ask the Doc sessions provide an opportunity for people in the community to get answers in regard to health-related questions and services. The listening sessions help as informational meetings, helping increase the health literacy of the community, not only increasing health knowledge but also promoting the use of health services.

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