Dr. Said L. Sewell III

• Said L. Sewell, an associate professor in the department of history, geography, political science, and criminal justice at Fort Valley State University in Georgia, was named executive director of the university's Academic Success Center.

Dr. Sewell is a graduate of Morehouse College. He holds a master's degree from Texas Southern University and a Ph.D. in political science from Clark Atlanta University.

Dr. Said Sewell, Assistant Professor, University of West Georgia

Prof. Said L. Sewell The State University of West GeorgiaWork Address: 1600 Maple Street Carrollton, GA 30118Phone: (770) 836-4573Fax: (770) 836-4665

- Said L. Sewell III is an assistant professor of political science and public administration at the State University of West Georgia.His doctoral dissertation was titled "A Quantitative Analysis of Black Baptist Pastors' Perceptions and Efforts Toward Community Development in Atlanta."His areas of specialty include American government, public budgeting, state and local finance, African-American studies and religion and politics.Contact 770-836-4573.

The discussion is led by Dr. Said L. Sewell III, an assistant professor of political science at the University of West Georgia.

Dr. Said Sewell, associate professor of political science, is the director of the CAMMRSL, and coordinates the lecture series.

"It is an honor to have such a positive African American male at this level in his career come and share some of his secrets to success with us," said Sewell.

With Sethna's backing, West Georgia assistant professor Said Sewell began a program four years ago to provide a support system for black male students on campus.

Through the program, called "Black Men With Initiative," Sewell became a mentor to the students, bringing them together for weekly study sessions and enrichment programs.He encouraged them to lean on one another for support.

"They're motivated," Sewell said of the students."But when they get here, if certain things are not in place to keep them motivated, it becomes a problem."

Sewell, who teaches political science, says he has seen the program make a difference.The cumulative GPA for members of "Black Men With Initiative" was 2.63 in 2004, he said.
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Support from Sewell and friends in the program kept him on track, he said.He made it to the mandatory two-hour study sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays and began to take the work seriously.
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Sewell rejects the suggestion that the students are segregated from other races and genders on campus.

Downs Hall houses almost 300 male students, many of them white.They also have classmates who are women and from other racial and ethnic groups.

"The idea was never to keep them from being a part of the broader population," Sewell said.

The men often come from similar backgrounds.Most are first-generation college students, and many are from single-parent families.There are seldom role models in their lives encouraging them to pursue an education.

Sewell brings in successful black men to show the students what they can achieve through education.

Speakers this academic year will include civil rights leader and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and Cornel West, a nationally known professor of religion and African-American studies at Princeton University in New Jersey, Sewell said.
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"Put the mentoring in place and put high expectations in front of them," Sewell said.