Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD), Project Still I Rise, Inc., and The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), along with other community partners, are combining efforts to construct an African American Male Academic Bowl. This event targets participation from students within all Texas School District.
The event is intended to accomplish the following:
This is an academic tour nament that invites teams of 3 youth and 1 team coach to engage in a single elimination tournament which will test them on a wide range of topics. There are two divisions: 4th - 5th grade & 6th- 7th grade. Each round is designed as a game that will quiz two teams within a designated time frame. A moderator will ask questions and it is up to a team member, from either team, to signal that he can give the correct answer. Judges will be on hand to acknowledge confirmation of the answers and the team that answers the most questions correctly before time has expired wins. The top two teams from both categories will meet in the championship round. The winners and their respective coaches from both categories will receive special awards separate from all of those who participate.
The 2011 African American Male Academic Bowl is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at the University of Texas at Dallas campus. The 2010 tournament boasted an astounding 100+ boys that stretched over twenty three teams from community groups, faith based organizations, public schools, and private school groups. The event is titled "Aiming for the Stars". Dr. Wright L. Lassiter, Jr. Chancellor, Dallas County Community College District |
 Dr. David Daniel President, The University of Texas @ Dallas |
Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr. became chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District in May 2006. He previously served as president of El Centro College for 20 years and as either CEO or administrator for several colleges across the United States. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Alcorn State University (Miss.); a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University; and his doctorate in education from Auburn University (Ala.), plus an honorary doctor of humanities degree from Dallas Baptist University. He serves on the board of trustees for Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas and is a member of the National Advisory Board for the College of Education at Auburn University. His current and past activities include: chairman of the board of trustees for the African American Museum; immediate past board chair and senior director of the Urban League of Greater Dallas and north Texas; and board member for several other organizations, including the YMCA Foundation, the DBU Foundation and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Foundation.
In 2002, he was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council to the National Endowment for the Humanities. He previously served as a commissioner for the United States Commission on Minority Business Development and as a member of the Texas Council for the Humanities. Lassiter also is a distinguished adjunct professor of management at DBU and holds an honorary doctor of humanities degree from that institution.
David E. Daniel is the fourth president of The University of Texas at Dallas. He received his bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees in engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, and served on the faculty at UT Austin from 1980 to 1996. In 1996, he moved to the University of Illinois, finishing his service there as Dean of Engineering before being appointed UT Dallas' president in 2005. Dr. Daniel’s professional work has been recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which awarded him its highest honor for papers published in its journals (the Norman Medal) and on two separate occasions awarded him its second highest honor, the Croes Medal. In 2000, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the nation’s most prestigious organization recognizing engineering achievement.
In 2005 through 2008, Daniel served as Chair of the External Review Panel of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which reviewed the facts surrounding the performance of New Orleans’ levees during Hurricane Katrina. In 2009 Daniel is serving as President of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas (TAMEST), which is an organization comprised of all Texas residents who have won Nobel Prizes or been elected to one of the three National Academies. Daniel serves on the Sandia Corporation Board of Directors, which oversees management of Sandia National Laboratory. He also serves on the Boards of numerous Dallas-area organizations, including the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce. During his presidency at UT Dallas, the University has doubled its research expenditures, initiated or completed $300 million of construction for new buildings, added 17 new degree programs, raised $100 million in private funds, and won two national collegiate championships in chess. He has advocated widely for UT Dallas to become one of the nation's top research universities, focusing on hiring world-class faculty members, attracting top students, delivering top-quality education, and partnering with the community in research, education, outreach, the arts, and technology commercialization.
