Lesia L. Crumpton-Young

"I think there’s an opportunity for us to become one of the first R1 research HBCUs in the nation. I’m sure you’ve heard over the years, many institutions describe their research focused on rural America."

"Our research is going to be focused on helping urban America. We’re going to address issues of public health, health disparities, climate, poverty, the wealth gap, housing situations, all of the social determinants of health and wellness. This leads into my third priority, which is strengthen our partnerships with the community."

"We’re going to lead economic and community development. We’re going to look at issues of being in a food desert, issues of having retail, restaurants and other types of housing and other types of services available."

"One of the things I think is very important is to make sure our students have the internship opportunities, the externship opportunities and other experiential learning opportunities."

"We’re also going to work on what I’m calling distinguished professorship interaction opportunities. I had a conversation about having executives in residence, or corporate individuals on our campus interacting with our students, be it in person, which is what we hope."

"The biggest concerns I’ve heard were about students who’ve been adversely affected by the pandemic and who may not financially be able to return to campus. I was told about students who have good grades, but they might not be able to afford coming back to campus."