Florida A&M University held its second Desserts with Deans meeting Tuesday evening in the Grand Ballroom.
The School of Journalism and Graphic Communications, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of the Environment, School of Allied Health Sciences and many others were in attendance; each college was represented by its dean or associate dean.
Each dean took the platform to inform students about their college or to point out pivotal changes within the school, such new technology in the library for students.
School of Allied Health Sciences Dean Cynthia Hughes Harris noted that “allied health is on the move,” referring to the improvements in implemented changes in the program.
This years meeting was much different from the previous meeting that was spearheaded by FAMU’s Student Government Association. Last year, only FAMU-FSU College of Engineering was at the meeting to voice their concerns; more than ten schools showed up this time around.
The deans discussed implementing positive changes within their individual colleges. They thought of tactics to bridge the gap between schools, while acknowledging the continuous success of their current and former students.
Dr. Michael D. Thompson, dean of School Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said the community transformation program TLC program is steadily progressing in the urban areas.
“The college’s TLC program is continuing to enact its mission by transforming the lives of communities in Frenchtown and the south side of Tallahassee,” Thompson said.
In addition to the TLC program, the college has also adopted a children’s home in Soweto, South Africa that has cared for abused children for more than 60 years, according to Thompson.
Ann Kimbrough, Ph.D. and dean of SJGC, used her platform to discuss the evolving changes newspapers have undergone since it has been dominated by a digital world.
“Enrollment is growing due to the digital media. Graphic design is the core of illustration at CNN and ESPN … it’s shrinking in newspapers and growing in digital media,” Kimbrough said.
Kimbrough addressed the recent achievements of public relation students, who will be a part of the White House Initiative.
Students, like third-year FAMU business administration student from Live Oak Bria Herring, left the meeting feeling informed. They also had the opportunity to interact with the deans.
“I got to learn about the other schools, and I received a lot of words of wisdom from the other deans. I didn’t know the School of Pharmacy had adopted a school in Africa. I found that very interesting,” Herring said.