News & Updates

    Donna Brazile said her family was so poor growing up in New Orleans that they became waterfront property owners after every significant rainfall. But, she said, she never lost hope.

    “It just goes to show that girls can aim high and be all that you can be,” Brazile, a political strategist, analyst and author, told 101 graduates during Jarvis Christian College’s 2019 Commencement Ceremony.

    Brazile, the first African American woman to lead a mainstream presidential campaign, implored graduates to never lose hope but it must be accompanied by faith and action.

    “Choose hope because hope is God’s gift to help counter discouragement, to dissolve cynicism and despair. Choose hope and believe that you can be the change that you want to see,” Brazile said.

    Brazile, who worked to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday, said it would be up this this generation to get to the mountaintop. She also told graduates they must be willing to speak the truth to power.

    “You can’t sit down and get anything. You’ve got to get up. You’ve got to step up, and sometimes you can’t wait for somebody to call. You’ve just got to be there because they know you should be there. And don’t wait for somebody to give you a seat at the table. Bring your own folding chair.”

    She told graduates that they must prepare to act. “You can pray over a pile of bills and when you open your eyes the bills are going to still be there. Prayer works, but... More

    The Jarvis Christian College Board of Trustees convened May 3 for its regularly-scheduled Spring Board Meeting, a day before the college graduated its largest class in its history.                                                               

    Trustees approved the 2019-2020 budget as a financial instrument to guide the college, said Torry L. Edwards, who serves as chair of the Board of Trustees.

     Edwards also said the board approved facility enhancements as well as an expansion of an existing building, the Student Success Center, to support academic programming at the institution.  The cost of the expansion totals $318,000.   Also approved were policies affecting students, including amending the Student Government Constitution, housing policies and a residential life manual.         

    After Friday’s Board of   Trustees meeting, Edwards and Trustee Glenn Etienne, at the invitation of President Lester C. Newman, attended graduation practice in the E.W. Rand Center and offered words of encouragement to graduates.

     “The Board of Trustees travelled from every corner of this country,” said Edwards, a retired city manager. “The Board continues to support the mission of the college and Dr. Newman, his faculty and staff.”

     The college graduated 101 students on Saturday May 4. About 76 percent of those receiving degrees were from the greater Dallas area. Donna Brazile, a political strategist, TV analyst, campaign manager and longtime member of the Democratic National Committee, served as commencement speaker.

    “With... More

                One of the country’s leading experts on preaching and sermon development will headline Jarvis Christian College’s annual celebration of the faith-based community.

                The Rev. Dr. Teresa Fry Brown, the Bandy Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, will preach during Chapel at 11 a.m. Tuesday March 26 in Smith-Howard Chapel.

                Brown’s presentation is part of Jarvis’ John D. Mangram Institute and Religious Emphasis Week Focusing on Women in Ministry. A group of local women will be honored.

                A reception is set for 6 p.m. today (Monday March 25) in the E.W. Rand Center’s Mirror Room.

                The Bandy Chair is widely considered one of the country’s premier endowed chairs in teaching sermon writing and delivery.

                The Chapel service will be followed by a colloquium entitled “Womanist God Talk: What is it and how does it empower women in the Age of Hashtags?” The panel, set for 1:30 p.m. in the Mirror Room of the E.W. Rand Center, will include Brown, The Rev. Dr. Carolyn Knight and The Rev. Dr. Brianna Parker.

                Knight is founder and president of “Can Do” Ministries, which focuses on the holistic development of youth and young adults. Parker is curator and founder of the Black Millennial Café Consulting and Data Resource Center. She also serves as an assistant professor at Jarvis.

                Knight also is set to keynote the Alphin-Hearn-Jarvis Women... More

            Roland Parrish’s journey to McDonald’s is similar to Michael Jordan’s road to the NBA.

            Parrish had worked at the Exxon Corporation for more than a decade when he applied to Mickey D’s management program. But like Jordan’s first attempt at his high school varsity, Parrish was told he didn’t measure up.

            We all know that Jordan went on to become the greatest basketball player in history. And after being embraced by McDonald’s, Parrish, who said he framed the rejection letter, is at least a superstar business owner and philanthropist.

            “So, I want to talk a little bit about rejection. How did I regroup? Perseverance, preparation and humility,” Parrish said as he shared his narrative during the Jarvis Christian College’s Business Colloquium and Luncheon.

            Parrish, president CEO and owner of Dallas-based Parrish McDonald’s Restaurants, said he called McDonald’s corporate office at 9 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for six months, trying to reach the author of his rejection letter.

            He also started networking, in search of someone with connections to the fast-food chain. He ended up spending a day with a franchisee in Indianapolis and visiting the corporate headquarters.

            As an example of humility, Parrish cited Chris Bridges, also known as the rapper Ludacris. Bridges was in high school working at a radio volunteering to do all the public service announcements. A rapper visiting the station heard Bridges’ voice and hired him to appear on his next album.

            “Chris will tell that this was his start to where he is... More

               When a black history exhibit was defaced at his overwhelmingly European American high school, Marc Morial was surprised not only by the vandalism but also by a question it prompted from his principal.

                The principal was getting questions from white students asking about having a white history celebration, and asked Morial and two of his friends how he should respond.

“I don’t know where this came from, but I told him if the Italians, Irish and Germans understood their own history, they wouldn’t be threatened by ours,” Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, said Tuesday during a Black History Program at Jarvis Christian College.

Morial, a former two-term mayor of New Orleans, challenged students to understand and embrace their history while being open to the history of others.

“Every ethnic group made contributions to the United State of America. If I know my own history, I am not threatened by the glorification of another group’s history,” Morial said. “We are not trying to take anything from anyone else but so much of our contributions have been suppressed.

“Now, whether we got here as immigrants or slaves, this was not our land.”

Morial said African-American history was somewhat different because of suppression and sharing of incomplete versions. He argued, for example that slavery didn’t start in 1619, which is widely held. He said data suggest there were people of color who arrived with Columbus in 1492 and that slavery had been practiced in the Caribbean’s and... More

View the Founders Homecoming Brochure and more information here.

A civil rights leader and one of Louisiana’s favorite sons is coming to East Texas.

The Honorable Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, will keynote Jarvis Christian College’s Black History Celebration, set for 11 a.m. Tuesday February 26 in Smith-Howard Chapel on the Jarvis campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

Morial, a two-term mayor of New Orleans, descends from one of Louisiana’s most prominent political families. His father, the late Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial, was New Orleans’ first African America mayor and also served two terms. His mother, Sybil Haydel Morial, was a teacher and university administrator.

Ernest Morial was the first African American to graduate from the Louisiana State University Law School in Baton Rouge. The junior Morial served two years in the Louisiana State Senate and was named its Rookie of the Year in 1992.

Marc Morial was the impetus for the city’s resurrection in the 1990s and left office with a 70 percent approval rating. During his tenure, New Orleans experienced unprecedented growth. Violent crimes and murders dropped 60 percent, the unemployment rate was cut in half and the city’s poverty rate also fell. On his watch, New Orleans won the All-American City Award in 1996 for the first time in half a century.

Marc Morial earned an undergraduate degree in economics and African American studies from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from Georgetown University. He has honorary degrees from Xavier University, Wilberforce University and the... More

Click HERE to view the Spring 2019 Jarvis Christian College Distinguished Guest Speakers brochure.

The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs Baccalaureate/Graduate Degree Board of Commissioners has awarded Jarvis Christian College accreditation of its business programs.

“Jarvis Christian College has shown a commitment to teaching excellence and to the process of quality improvement by participating in the accreditation process,” said ACBSP Chief Accreditation Officer Dr. Steve Parscale, who will present the Certificate of Accreditation at ACBSP Conference 2019 in Houston, Texas, on June 23. “This accreditation is evidence that JCC is committed to providing the highest quality business education for their students.”

Jarvis President Dr. Lester C. Newman said the designation reflects the excellence in the college’s business division.

“This is very significant for our students, the business faculty and the entire college,” Newman said. “This accrediting group has an international reputation. Receiving its seal of approval means we have a top-shelf business program.”

Jarvis offers a business administration degree with concentrations in accounting, management, computer information systems and cybersecurity.

“Program accreditation is one of our key goals,” said Dr. Glenell Lee-Pruitt, Jarvis’ provost and vice president of academic affairs. “It means an independent, prestigious body has said your program measures up. I am so grateful to our dean, Dr. Benson Kariuki, and his staff (the business faculty). This is an awesome achievement for us.”

Said Kariuki: “This designation sends a great message to our students and our faculty. To students, it says the education you are receiving at Jarvis will make you competitive with other business graduates in the workplace.... More

               The stars aligned for LaTerrian Wiley and Issac Bivins Jr. last Saturday in Hawkins.

                Wiley and Bivins were crowned Mr. and Miss Jarvis Christian College in a ceremony inside the Earl W. Rand Gymnasium themed “For One Night Only The Stars Align.”

                Wiley, 21, of Longview, is a senior chemistry major who is minoring in biology. She plans to attend the University of Texas at Tyler to pursue a doctorate in pharmacy. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Jarvis’ Student Government Association and the National Institute of Health’s Welch Program.

                Wiley also served as Miss Sophomore Class and Miss Junior Class. She enjoys spending time with family and friends. She also said she had been influenced by her mother, her family, her church family and the example of former First Lady Michelle Obama.

                “This is a great honor, not just for me but for all of those who had a hand in helping mold who I am. I am so grateful,” Wiley said.

                Bivins, 22, is a senior social work major from Dallas. He plans to pursue a masters in social work at Jackson State University. He has been involved in a number of campus organizations, including the Jarvis band, the Student Government Association, the Social Work Association, the Pre-Alumni Association and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

                “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you... More