By Jeff Wilson

Kennard Tucker has long been dedicated to the development of the Dunbar Leadership Society – a collective voice for philanthropy aimed at inspiring giving and support within the SIU Black community.

“It’s important for Black alums to give back to SIU because the institution, for many of us, it changed the trajectory of our lives,” he said. “I was raised by a single mom. She scraped and saved every nickel to send me and my siblings to college. That opportunity was life changing. I don’t know where I would be today without it.”

A native of East St. Louis, Tucker graduated from Southern in 1991. Two of his siblings are Salukis, as is his son, and multiple cousins.

“SIU has been the family institution of higher learning. I made that venture down to the campus back in the fall of 1986,” he said. “I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the most rewarding experience and one I was grateful to have had.”

More recently, Tucker has made it his mission at SIU to establish and further the goals of the Dunbar Leadership Society (DLS).

“We really want to create an environment of African American philanthropic giving by creating a network of alums around the region, around the country that are like minded and want to give back to SIU,” he said.

The History
Founded on October 6, 1925, by SIU student Carl Lee and named after poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, the Dunbar Society promoted Black students’ literary, athletic, and social growth on campus. During challenging times of racism, segregation, and limited resources, the society emphasized racial equality and supported students’ aspirations.

The Dunbar Society has a rich history at SIU. Despite adversity, Black students created this society to foster a positive social climate. SIU’s commitment to educating Black students dates back to Dr. Alexander Lane, the first Black male graduate, in 1881. Records show two Black female students preceded him, but their identities remain unknown.

Since the 1960s, SIU has ranked among Illinois’s top state-funded universities for African American enrollment. The Dunbar Society’s advocacy led to the formation of organizations like the Black Affairs Council, which continues its essential work on campus today.

“It was an organization created by the university to provide social and educational support for African Americans, so we felt that entity and spirit fit very well with what we were trying to replicate,” Tucker said. “We added the “leadership” part to emphasize giving at leadership level of $1,000 or more.”

While not everyone can donate $1,000 or more all at once, Tucker pointed out that’s it’s possible to make a large impact through regular giving.

“You can always write a check for the full amount, or you can do a monthly pledge,” he said. “We can always come up with ways to make it more palatable.”

To learn more about the Dunbar Leadership Society, contact Sherrica Hunt at sherricah@foundation.siu.edu. To make a gift, visit siuf.org.

By Jeff Wilson

From Dr. Mitchel Livingston’s humble beginnings came great success and philanthropy with a clear cause: Lift others.

The path for a Black boy born in Decatur in 1944 was one filled with obstacles, but Livingston found a way to hurdle each one.

“Though we were poor monetarily, the richness of our experience coming up as children was fantastic. I didn’t know what poverty was until I was much older. It was a loving caring family, and a loving caring community,” he said. “Though we understood the issues of race and racism and the like, it didn’t have the pain that we have experienced since the late-60s.

“Community is the most important asset that you have. The ability to reach out to people who do look like you or don’t look like you,” he said.

Despite the low expectations set by some at the time, his competitive spirit and work ethic shone through enough and afforded him an opportunity to attend SIU.

“I can recall … visiting with my advisor who told me I was not college material. I would go vocational, and I would work with my hands,” Livingston said. “It was the kind of advice many young, Black boys got back then and many today. It was like a dagger, because I was a dreamer.”

After graduating high school, he attended a track meet where his younger brother broke his school record in the high jump.

“I had these mixed feelings of joy for him, then someone asked me ‘What’s it like being an old man at age 18?’ I took off my shoes and ran over and jumped over that bar right behind him. My brother owned that record for only a few moments.”

The night of his athletic display, his former basketball coach, Joe Russell, came to Livingston’s family home and asked his father if the story about the high jump was true. When his father confirmed it, the coach said he was traveling to Carbondale soon and would mention the accomplishment to the track and field coach, Lew Hartzog.

“That was what opened the door for me in higher education and launched me as the first member of my family to ever go to college,” Livingston said. “The connection with my community and my coach and his connection to SIU earned me a tryout. I went to Carbondale and had a great jump, and I was offered a four-year scholarship on the spot. I had a chance to compete, both academically and athletically.

“SIU had high expectations of me. I didn’t want to fail my family as the first one to go off to college. Every course I took, I read the book before I went into the classroom. I stopped counting myself out. I grew physically and competed and beat some of the best athletes in the world.”

After SIU

Now, Livingston is an emeritus professor and vice president at the University of Cincinnati, but SIU will forever have a special spot in his heart.

“I am so proud that I am a member of a community that helped launch me to academics, to service and community,” he said. “And none could have done it better than SIU, and for that I am eternally grateful. This is family for life.”

In 2021, he and his wife, Carol, made a $50,000 gift to establish the Mitchel and Carol Livingston Scholarship. This fund supports undergraduate students in the School of Education’s Teacher Education Program who have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and demonstrated financial need, with a preference for African American students.

“We have seen the light turn off in the eyes of young people way too early because of lack of opportunity, not lack of ability, not where you come from, just being passed over in so many different ways,” Livingston said. “My wife and I have learned there are ways to turn those lights on, and once you light up a person’s life in that way, they can make it. And we want to be one of those lamp lights for as many children like us as possible.”

Both Mitchel and Carol Livingston graduated from SIU’s School of Education, in 1969 and 1971 respectively.

“We are very much committed to the Teacher Education Program in the School of Education,” he said. “We are educators. That’s who we are. That’s what we do, and we want to make sure that our resources are focused in that way. I could not have done it without the investment SIU made in me.”

The Livingstons hope their gifts will inspire others to support students in similar ways.

“The advice that I would give to students or alumni about giving is that it must become a way of life. You did not get here by yourself,” he said. “Others were in our lives that help us get to where we are, develop a lifestyle of giving, not just giving presents or gifts or doing nice things, but a lifetime of expectation that it is your duty and your obligation to give back as it was given to you.”

The Livingstons hope their gifts will inspire others to support students in similar ways. Recently, Dr. Livingston received the Great Living Cincinnatian Award. He believes if students can make it, they can excel.

“Thank you, SIU, you are the gift that keeps on giving,” he said.

To make a gift, visit siuf.org.

By Jeff Wilson

Rob Beverly wants to provide SIU students with a role model that he didn’t have during his time at Southern.

“I think it’s important for Black alumni to give back to SIU, specifically,” he said. “I was the first person in my family to go to college. I don’t remember having very many images of Black individuals, let alone Black men, who had progressed through college and become what I would consider successful. We now become these images that we didn’t have.”

Beverly graduated from SIU in 2000 and is now the vice president of a medical device company, living outside of Chicago with his wife and four daughters.

“My connection to SIU goes way back to 1996 when I pursued and earned a bachelor’s in marketing,” he said. “I really, really enjoyed my time at SIU and the lifelong connections that were built. With that comes and obligation to come back and ensure that others have the same opportunity that I had.”

A couple years ago he and his wife, Onyhatte, established The Beverly Bridging the Gap Fund, which supports SIU students through the Office of Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, providing financial assistance to students in need.

“Inevitably, things happen, and you don’t have someone to bail you out,” Beverly said. “We want to help students through those unforeseen circumstances. Many people never make it back, for whatever reason. Had I gone home for any extended period, I may not have made it back. There is something about being in the academic environment consistently that starts to change you.”

Bridge the gap funds have been a priority for Chancellor Austin Lane and the SIU administration for years. One of the university’s largest fundraisers, the Saluki Ball, focuses on raising these types of funds to support students and increase retention.

“This is the stage of my life where my focus is on what I am able to give back. It’s fulfilling,” he said. “Something you’ve done or contributed to has had a meaningful impact on someone. That’s enough.”

While an SIU student, Beverly was involved with the Blacks Interested in Business group and was voted Homecoming king.

“SIU has definitely had an influence on my personal and professional journey. SIU for me was the first significant time I spent away from home,” he said. “It forces you to grow up quickly and be responsible and independent and teaches you how to make decisions that ultimately end up cementing your future.”

For Beverly, the “Once a Saluki, always a Saluki” mantra holds true.

“This is such a family. SIU is like nowhere else,” he said. “The bond, the relationship is still so strong. It’s like nothing I’ve seen. It’s different at SIU. Our bond is just different.”

To learn more or make a gift, visit siuf.org.

By Jeff Wilson

Dr. Randolph Burnside’s decision to give to MEDPREP at Southern Illinois University was driven by love – love for education, love for the program, and mostly love for his sister.

LaKeisha Teneka Brantley passed away suddenly in 2023 from a blood clot that traveled to her heart. She was only 42 years old.

“It hit me hard. She was a special person, the nicest person you would ever want to meet. She was such a joy, gentle spirit and a sweet person,” Burnside, the director of MEDPREP, said. “She lived in rural Mississippi, probably 30 to 40 minutes from the hospital and didn’t have great health care.”

That was the inspiration for he and his wife, Rhetta, to establish the LaKeisha Burnside Brantley Scholarship to support MEDPREP students who are interested in rural medicine.

MEDPREP, the Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program, is a nationally renowned post-baccalaureate academic enhancement program through the SIU School of Medicine. The program provides assistance to educationally and/or economically disadvantaged students to prepare them for health professions. It is located on the SIU Carbondale campus.

“SIU School of Medicine is really a rural medical school,” Burnside said. “We wanted to create a scholarship that gives back to students who come to SIU and are truly interested and invested in improving rural health care.”

Providing access to education is paramount for Burnside as he sees the impact it has every day.

“Education has played a key role in my career and allowed me to help other people achieve their dreams” he said. “It has given me a much better lifestyle than a lot of people that I grew up with. It has allowed me to give back and continue to help other people who find themselves in a situation where education can be a great value to them. I can help mentor and guide them through the process so they can have the success they seek.”

As is the case with many donors, Burnside started giving at a smaller level. Once he saw the fruits of his generosity, he knew he wanted to leave his mark at Southern.

“I started by giving $50 a year and then it went to $100 and then $200,” he said. “I decided to consolidate all of my giving. SIU is where I wanted to give. SIU is where I wanted to have my impact and have my legacy live after me. It’s not the amount that you give, it’s the fact that you give at all that matters. It shows the love and the care and the respect that you have for the very program that you used as a vehicle to your success.”

To make a gift to MEDPREP or another program, vist siuf.org/give.

By Jeff Wilson

Darius Robinson has made giving back a priority throughout his life, crediting his father for showing him the value of getting involved.

“My father, Johnnie Robinson, was a big giver in terms of leadership, discipline, and being a role model. He was my baseball coach in East St. Louis,” Robinson said. “There were a lot of kids on the team who did not have a father figure, so I learned to share my dad with the rest of the team. What is remarkable about my dad is that he did not get paid for that, and he gave many hours to bridge the gap for so many young people.”

Taking the lessons learned from his father, Robinson has stayed involved with Southern Illinois University and is now a member of the SIU Foundation Board of Directors.

“When I saw how Chancellor (Austin) Lane, his staff, and the SIU Foundation were bringing alumni together and breaking fundraising records, I realized that the Foundation board was the entity with which I wanted to align myself,” Robinson said.

Before joining the board, he established the Darius Robinson Scholarship, which provides financial support to students from his alma mater, East St. Louis High School.

“I have always wanted to help people have opportunities so that they can help themselves, better themselves and better their community,” he said. “You’re giving that student the opportunity to be the next Black inventor or to be the next leader. Many times, you need a role model that looks like you. Everybody brings something differently to the table.”

Robinson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SIU’s College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics in industrial technology and manufacturing systems, respectively. He works as an operations manager for Menzies Aviation. His role is to manage the jet fuel and hydrant system that is used to fuel the aircrafts at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

“SIU prepared me well for my career. Most of my professors were industrial engineers and they did a great job of teaching me how to analyze a situation and how to troubleshoot and achieve my objectives,” he said.

To make a gift, visit siuf.org.