African American Alumni Council
Franklin & Marshall African American Alumni Council Members
- Tony Ross '91
- Dorecia Phillip '98
- Intisar Williams '06
- Clifton Smith '04
- Janell Smith '05
- Keenan Smith '94
- Tim Stanfield '98
- Randy Wilkins '01
Homecoming Weekend Highlights
Trailblazers: African-American Women Creating New Paths and Opportunities
This session examined a rarely explored aspect of the College's history; the experiences of African-American women in the transition to co-education. Many of these women have led extraordinary lives and have played an important role in the history of F&M and the larger community. Several alumni will reflected upon their experiences and discussed how F&M has impacted their lives. Presenters included: Beverly N. Muldrow, Esq. '71, Mizan Roberta P. Kirby-Nunes '73, Paulette Thompson Ceesay '74, Brobbie L. James Wright '74, Sharon Martin Alston, Ph.D. '75, Gwendolyn Poles-Corker, D.O. '75.
African-American Alumni Council Meeting
The meeting served as a celebration of Dr. Henry Wiggins '55 on his 50th Reunion. During the meeting, moving tributes to Dr. Wiggins were offered by Art Taylor '80, Mizan Roberta P. Kirby-Nunes '73 and in a letter by Josh Dixon '91. Dr. Wiggins, one of the College's most prominent African-American alumni, has led an extraordinary life that includes being active in the civil rights movement and participating in the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
An honor student at F&M, Dr. Wiggins established the Henry W. Wiggins, Jr. '55 Scholarship Fund at Franklin & Marshall which has helped many F&M students obtain their education; many members of the AAAC. He established his scholarship fund in 1987 because he believed "that bright students with financial need should have an opportunity to attend outstanding schools like Franklin & Marshall. I benefited from such a scholarship, and I want others to do so as well." One of Franklin & Marshall's African-American pioneers, Dr. Wiggins was the only African-American student in his class when he entered F&M in fall 1951. He pledged Pi Lambda Phi fraternity (the only fraternity that accepted African-American students at the time), was elected to Student Council, participated in the Green Room Theatre, competed on the track and basketball teams, and was elected to Black Pyramid.
Dr. Wiggins majored in biology, graduated in 1955 and pursued his dream of becoming a doctor by earning an M.D. from Howard University Medical School in 1959. He later specialized in radiology and served as a lieutenant commander in the Vietnam War. In addition, Dr. Wiggins has been an active and generous alumnus for nearly four decades. He was president of the Chicago Alumni Club in 1969 and served as president of the National Alumni Association in 1972-73. He was awarded the Alumni Medal in 1974 and has been a member of the College's Board of Trustees since 1978. In 1990-91, he chaired the Joint Commission on Minorities and Multicultural Affairs, which developed a series of significant recommendations for change at the College.
Today, Dr. Wiggins lives in Chicago and works at St. Bernard Hospital, where he is chairman of radiology. He and his wife, Carolyn Kohne Wiggins, M.D., who is also a radiologist, have three children, including Henry Wiggins III '91, and six grandchildren.
During the State of the College Address on Homecoming weekend 2005, President John A. Fry bestowed the Presidential Medal upon Dr. Wiggins. The medal is awarded at the President's discretion to an individual for outstanding contributions to F&M.It is only the third time that this honor has been given.
