Dr. Nina Gilbert, founding director of the Morehouse College Center for Excellence in Education, recently served as a featured panelist at Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s national convention in Philadelphia. The event drew thousands of attendees to the Pennsylvania Convention Center and began with a powerful public meeting focused on advancing equity and empowerment in education.
As part of the opening program, Dr. Gilbert participated in a high-impact panel discussion titled “Advocacy in Education: Empowering Black Men for College and Beyond.” Moderated by award-winning journalist Jeff Johnson, the panel also included Dr. Walter Kimbrough, interim president of Talladega College; Dr. William Tate, president of Rutgers University; and Dr. Everett B. Ward, past general president of Alpha Phi Alpha.
William Tate, from left, Walter M. Kimbrough, Nina Gilbert, Jeff Johnson and Everett B. Ward speak on a panel
The panel addressed the stark underrepresentation of Black men in both college enrollment and the teaching profession. According to the American Institute for Boys and Men, Black men comprise just 26% of students at HBCUs and only 2% of all teachers nationwide.
For Dr. Gilbert, these statistics sharply contrast with her own upbringing. “We have two narrow definitions of what it takes to be an educator,” she said, reflecting on her father and his fraternity brothers—all of whom were community-rooted educators. “People like them have long educated our children—not just in classrooms, but in barbershops, on fields, in studios, and wherever Black people gather.”
As Johnson challenged panelists to offer real-world solutions, Dr. Gilbert underscored the urgency of innovation in education. “In this time, where education is under attack, science is being ignored, and civics has been dismantled—it is our time now to create something new,” she declared.
Dr. Gilbert’s participation highlights Morehouse College’s unwavering commitment to educational excellence and Black male achievement. Through her leadership, the Center for Excellence in Education continues to prepare future educators who honor both traditional and nontraditional spaces of learning.