Put on Your Dance Shoes; New Dance Minor Pending Approval from Board of Regents

With Southern University being generally regarded as one of the hubs of the South for graduates within the STEM and nursing fields, new additions to Southern University’s Board of Supervisors have begun to develop the groundwork for similar efforts to be undertaken in the sector of dance.
The addition of this new minor into the Fine Arts curriculum could be accepting students as early as the Fall 2023 semester. According to Dean Cynthia Bryant, additional steps are needed. “While the Southern University Board of Supervisors graciously approved our proposal, the certificate program cannot be offered until we receive full approval from the Louisiana Board of Regents,” said Dean Bryant.
Dr. Doris Hall, Chair of the College of Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies Curriculum Committee at Southern and a Baton Rouge native with history within the HBCU community, is the creator of the Dance Studies course.
This new addition to the Southern University educational curriculum comes on the back of the induction of five new members of the Board of Supervisors as of last month’s January 6th meeting. The new members of the board include Zazell V. Dudley of Shreveport for District 4, Maple L. Gaines of New Orleans for District 2, Paul P. Matthews of Metairie for District 1, Christy O. Reeves of Baton Rouge, and Ann Smith of Kentwood for District 5.
While the Board of Supervisors is responsible for overseeing the operations of the campus, the Board of Regents holds the authority of ultimate approval for funding and implementation of policies that the Board of Supervisors brings before them.
“My hope is that I can add value to Southern University where I can, to learn, listen, grow, and help in any way that I can,” the newly sworn-in Matthews assured. While there are Southern alumni present on this incarnation of the board, there are members such as Matthews that have business and social roots within the state of Louisiana that, according to their remarks after being sworn in, will be used to promote Southern in their new roles.
Maple Gaines, a Southern University alumni of 1969, spoke briefly about her bonds and history within the university and how she views the opportunity to serve on the board of her alma mater. “I came early yesterday and just drove around campus, and thought about the influence that Southern had in my life and that of my children that makes me so excited about serving,” Gaines remarked.
With this latest version of the university leadership being comprised of voices from not just the Louisiana area, but from within Southern University itself, it was the consensus of all new members of the Board that they were ready to begin work on making the university better, while also listening to the voice of the students and staff to create new educational opportunities for attendees of Baton Rouge’s sole HBCU.