Gala honors standout faculty

FAMU honored three of its outstanding educational leaders Thursday at the 2002 Homecoming Gala.

The annual event, held at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center, recognized Margaret Williams Lewis, dean of the School of Nursing, Sybil Collins Mobley, dean of the School of Business and Industry and Henry Lewis III, dean and professor at the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The honorees were selected based on their continuous commitment to the improvement of educational standards at FAMU. Retired Colonel Ronald Joe, associate vice president of university relations, thanked the honorees for “their gift that keeps on giving.”

Margaret Lewis, who received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from FAMU in 1958, thanked everyone from her students and family to the administrative staff in the School of Nursing for her success.

Expressing her sheer gratitude to everyone who has supported her, Margaret Lewis said she will retire with assurance in the fact that progress has been made in the School of Nursing.

“I will be proud to leave this post in June knowing that there have been great improvements over the years.”

She also emphasized the impact of the men and women who paved the way for her achievements in the School of Nursing.

“I must pay homage to my predecessors on whose shoulders I have stood over the years.”

FAMU recently recognized Margaret Lewis as one of the 100 Outstanding Famuans of the Century.

Mobley, who holds honorary doctorate degrees from six institutions, and serves or has served on the Board of Directors for eight corporations, was overwhelmed with emotion.

“I have no words that could express my gratitude.”

Speaking to those in attendance, Mobley referred to a statement that her father made to her when she was a child.

He told her that the greatest gifts that God gave man were the ability to remember and the ability to forget.

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your ability to remember me and thank God for your ability to forget,” Mobley said.

Mobley, who will retire at the end of the academic year, has received national attention for her development of SBI and is a member of the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame.

Henry Lewis, a native of Tallahassee’s Saxon Street who holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from FAMU and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Mercer University told gala attendees that he epitomizes what FAMU is all about.

Henry Lewis said that FAMU has given him opportunities that he never imagined possible. “I have found something that I love. I hope FAMU is always here to give a young man from Saxon Street the opportunity to step in my footsteps.”

Henry Lewis thanked the audience and emphasized the fact that the people of FAMU are what mold the image of the university. “FAMU is not the words, it’s the people that make the institution.”

President Fred Gainous thanked the honorees for their contributions in making FAMU what it is today. “You are the beacon that will light the way forever. Because of you and your abilities and contributions to FAMU we are a better university.”