Ebony Bobcat Network
EBN Akron Event
Tune in at 12:00 p.m. on May 20, 2021, to attend the Ebony Bobcat Network Akron/Canton Alumni host a virtual celebration commemorating the 170th anniversary of the moment Sojourner Truth delivered her most famous speech.
History
The Urban Scholars Program was created by Dr. Roderick McDavis, the first African American president of Ohio University. The program provides scholarships and professional development support to high-achieving students from urban areas with demonstrated financial need.
In 2010, a group of Black alumni from the 1960s, inspired and challenged by Dr. McDavis, organized themselves to establish an endowment that would support the Urban Scholars Scholarship. They imagined that this organization would encourage alumni to participate in activities, leadership, and awards of the Ohio University Alumni Association. It was, as important, that the organization recognize the achievements and contributions to society of Black Alumni of Ohio University from all decades.
The alumni, realizing the impact in all areas and understanding the potential impact of organizing alumni across the country and the world, envisioned a national/international network with affiliate groups in various cities comprising the network. Dr. Patricia Ackerman, BA ’66, first African American female chair of the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees, proposed the name The Ebony Bobcat Network. The rest is history. The Ebony Bobcat Network became an official alumni group of Ohio University in 2011.
Our Mission
- To encourage and support full participation in Ohio University alumni activities
- To generate revenue/financial support for the Ohio University EBN Urban Scholarship Endowment and to involve alumni in EBN programmatic activities
- To support the University’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives with the goal of increasing recruitment, enrollment, retention, and graduation of African American students
- To honor the heritage and contributions of preceding and present generations of persons of color who attended or are attending Ohio University
Philanthropy
The Ebony Bobcat Network Urban Scholarship was endowed in 2019, and the first scholarship recipient was awarded in 2020.
A second endowment has been established as a result of the generous gift of Dr. Michele Curtis Penick. The Ebony Bobcat Network, Dr. Michele Curtis Penick, 1966 Endowed Scholarship will provide a four-year renewable scholarship for students majoring in early childhood education and meeting the established criteria.
The Ebony Bobcat Network continues to fulfill the tenets of its mission statement with affiliates operating in the following cities representing alumni across the country and internationally as well:
- Akron/Canton
- Chicago
- Cincinnati/Dayton
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Washington DC
The vision became a reality. Thank you.