Auburn Black Alumni Council wins Rising Star Award for their remarkable achievements.

By Auburn Alumni Association

The Auburn Alumni Association’s Black Alumni Council has made history once again by winning the 2023 Rising Star Award at the Black Alumni Collective in Charleston, South Carolina. This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of an alumni council that has been in existence for less than three years, and we couldn’t be prouder of the council’s achievements.

Established in September 2020, the Black Alumni Council has achieved so much in just two short years. With an inaugural cohort of ten members, the council worked tirelessly to create an operational foundation and framework, setting goals and objectives, creating operating procedures, electing officers, and forming committees.

In addition, the Black Alumni Council has established a number of initiatives that have already had a significant impact. These include Black on the Plains, a homecoming networking mixer targeting Black Alumni, the Donning of the Kente Ceremony, a special event honoring and applauding the academic achievements of students of the African diaspora by bestowing a Kente cloth stole, and the inaugural Franklin Brittain Matthews Legacy Award, which honors the legacies of Auburn’s first black student, Dr. Harold A. Franklin, Sr. and Auburn’s first Black graduate, Dr. Josetta Brittain Matthews, while also recognizing an outstanding Black Alumni who is a leader and contributor to the University and their local community.

With a current membership of seventeen members, the Auburn University Black Alumni Council continues to develop programming, activities, and initiatives that align with the organization’s goals. It is an honor to see their hard work and dedication recognized by the Black Alumni Collective with the 2023 Rising Star Award.

Congratulations to the Black Alumni Council on this remarkable achievement! We look forward to seeing all that you will accomplish in the years to come. War Eagle!