The Society of Black Scholars

The Marshall University Society of Black Scholars is a highly recognized honors program for Black students, having celebrated a rich tradition of success since 2003.  The program has a progressive focus on high academic performance, character development, integrity, professional leadership and service learning. Among the high graduation rate of former members, we now recognize several practicing physicians, lawyers, MBA’s, advanced STEM degree grads, and numerous other master’s degrees who have attained lofty professional stature.

The governing spirit of the Marshall University Society of Black Scholars is to help students strive toward success, both academically and in character development. The Society is only intended for students who aspire to the acquisition of critical behaviors, attributes, and practices necessary for strong academic performance, preparation for professional leadership, maturity, and service to others in a global society. This organization employs a progressive and personalized advising methodology that requires compliance and commitment on behalf of all members. Society members have enormous pride and can easily celebrate a history of great success by its former graduates.

We stand for success!

Eligibility

Membership consideration requires a formal application and a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA in a credible course of study, full-time student status and in good standing with the university. Membership renewal is based upon maintaining a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and compliance with attendance policies with regards to attending required events, meetings, and other functions and activities as planned each semester.

Admission

Formal consideration/interviews for admission to the Society occur once during the fall and spring of each academic year. Following the submission of the required documents, each student will be considered for Finalist Interviews if he/she meets the basic requirements. Interviews are fairly intensive and will in part be conducted by members of the Society of Black Scholars Advisory Council, making final recommendations to the Society Founding Director and Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Maurice R. Cooley.

Experiences & Programs

Society members are required to attend monthly business meetings (6 on average each academic year). Essentially, this time is utilized to promote/discuss the different dimensions of academic success, service learning projects, hear presentations from other scholars, guest lectures, and planning future developments. Semester events may include attending special lectures, art and cultural performances, participating in study abroad and other educational travel outings, attending the Annual Provost and Deans Reception for the Society, and participating in various other growth and development experiences. All students will receive personal and academic advising from the Director and assistance may be requested at any time, for any matter.

Authored by the Society of Black Scholars, welcome to Anthology on Racism, the Black Experience, and Privilege.”

This anthology is now published and accessible to users on a global scale through Google Scholar in addition to the Marshall University search engines and the engine affiliated with the BePress network.

  • Volume 1 of the Anthology is being cataloged in the MU Library’s institutional repository called Marshall Digital Scholar:  https://mds.marshall.edu/
  • Through this database, soon it will be
    • Listed as a scholarly/creative publication in the library catalog which is connected to a global network (OCLC)
    • Discoverable through our local library portal, Summon, and the Digital Commons network provided by the company that supports the repository:  https://bepress.com/products/digital-commons/
      • This multi-campus network is linked to about 70 institutions of which several are R1 and R2 schools.
    • Indexed through Google Scholar and discoverable to the world!
    • Because it is electronic, the multimedia content is linked to the document.
    • It can also be cited and shared easily by students and researchers.

 

For more information please contact Maurice R. Cooley, Distinguished Visiting Scholar and Founding Director, at cooley@marshall.edu.

Contact Us

Dr. Marcie Simms, Vice President

Intercultural Affairs & Student Affairs
2W38 Memorial Student Center
Marshall University
1 John Marshall Drive
Huntington, WV 25755
marcie.simms@marshall.edu
Telephone: 304-696-4677