Black History Month

Michael Moore, CEAS ’96, is the founder, CEO and president of the non-profit professional networking association Black Achievers, and author of the book Achieve Your Dreams: The 9 Principles of African American Success. He was recognized in the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Making Black History celebration of seven Black leaders living, working and building legacies in the region.

Whitney Gaskins, PhD, CEAS ’08, ‘14, Bus ’10, is UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science Assistant Dean for Inclusive Excellence & Community Engagement. She started the Gaskins Foundation, a non-profit organization that increases STEM education opportunities for K-12 students of all backgrounds. In 2022, she was honored with the Women Who Mean Business Award by the Cincinnati Business Courier and selected as a fellow by Leadership Ohio, a statewide leadership development program.

Cheryl Grant, A&S ’66, Law ’73, built an impressive career in the continuous pursuit of a more just community. A social worker, Cincinnati police officer, aide to a Congressional representative, entrepreneur, 20-year judge on the Hamilton County Municipal Court, minister, and lifetime champion of justice, fairness and freedom, Judge Grant was the recipient of the 2023 Linda Bates Parker Legend Award.

Cynthia Johnson, Pharm ’18, demonstrates UC’s entrepreneurial spirit through Cindy J Cosmetic Labs, the company and formulation laboratory she founded to help cosmetic business owners start their own product lines in hair care, skin care, men’s care, baby care, and bath and body care.

Julius Wayne Dudley, PhD, A&S ’79, is above all else a champion of education and literacy, and their immense power to change lives. Through his efforts and influence, organizations and initiatives with which he’s been involved have sent more than 4 million books to citizens on the African continent.

Annette Echikunwoke, A&S ’18, became UC’s fifth individual national collegiate champion when she won the NCAA Indoor Track and Field title in the weight throw in 2017. She was a member of the Nigerian Olympic Team for the 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Lewis Johnson, A&S ’86, Hon ’17, has been one of the country’s most respected sports reporters for decades. Widely known and respected for his Olympic Games coverage, he currently provides color commentary of both track and field and college football for NBC and ESPN.

Rashida Manuel, A&S ’12, has carried a personal passion for community service and social involvement from an early age; the opportunity to help others simply spoke to her. Two areas of focus have been the work of the Ohio Innocence Project, which seeks to exonerate unfairly imprisoned individuals, and the interrelated issues of sustainability and environmentalism.

Laurence Jones, III, BUS ’00, is president of RiskVersity, a consulting firm that helps business clients with various aspects of risk management. He has also been an ardent supporter of others in the Black tech entrepreneurial space. A long-time UC Alumni Association volunteer leader, he is also a member of the UC Foundation Board of Trustees.

Stephanie A. Smith, DAAP ’87, is Fifth Third Bank’s senior vice president and chief inclusion and diversity officer. Through her work in these and other positions, she has led enormous growth in Fifth Third’s performance and become known herself as one of the “Top 25 Women in Power Impacting Diversity.”

P. Eric Abercrumbie, PhD, A&S ’87, served as an inspirational father figure and mentor to generations of African American students who came through UC for decades — a virtual personification of the African American Culture & Resource Center he helped to establish. His influence on campus and among the Black UC community will continue for years to come.

Rear Admiral Deborah Hopson, PhD, NUR ’77, served over three decades in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and led an international HIV/AIDS program. She was the first Black nurse to achieve the rank of Rear Admiral in the PHSCC and had numerous accolades that stemmed directly from her decision to pursue nursing at UC.

Linwood Marshall, ASC ’82, credits his success in life to being a multi-year captain on the UC football team during the early 1980s. To help other Bearcats benefit from a UC education and football experience, he and his late wife made a planned gift to support the UC Football Development Fund.

Jordan Thompson, CECH ’18, ’20, is the more decorated volleyball player in UC history. A two-time All-American, she has been a member of the U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team since 2019, bursting onto the international scene in competition leading up to, and including, the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. She is currently an outstanding professional player in Turkey.

Kathleen Battle, CCM ’70, ’71, Hon ’83, is a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning operatic soprano who performed with the Metropolitan Opera for many years. Best known for her distinctive vocal range and tone, she was described by Time Magazine as “the best lyric coloratura soprano in the world.”

Katrina Merriweather, A&S ’01, CECH ’02, is head coach of the UC women’s basketball team, returning to her alma mater in 2023 following successful stints at the University of Memphis and Wright State University. A rising star in the coaching profession, she was UC’s first women’s basketball player to advance to four consecutive postseason tournaments.

Beverly Malone, PhD, NUR ’70, A&S ’82, Hon ’15, is a long-time, widely respected leader in the nursing field, most notably through her current role as CEO of the National League for Nursing and as deputy assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the 1990s.

Paula Lampley, LAW ’92, is the Women in Engineering director in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, leading the colleges recruiting, retention and development of female engineering students. She has long championed efforts to help girls chart educational and career paths in the STEAM fields (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics).