{"id":4208,"date":"2025-02-03T15:02:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T15:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4208"},"modified":"2025-02-06T14:18:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T14:18:54","slug":"townsend-kappa-alpha-psi-provide-scholarship-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4208","title":{"rendered":"Townsend, Kappa Alpha Psi provide scholarship, opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SIU Donor Story: Reggie Townsend\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c1OJRCzLERk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Jeff Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When Reggie Townsend and his brothers in Kappa Alpha Psi <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Fraternity, Inc. \u2013 Gamma Upsilon Chapter<\/span> wanted to establish a scholarship, they found exactly what they were looking for at the SIU Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe felt that it was important to give back to an institution that had given to us,\u201d Townsend, a 1992 graduate of the College of Technical Careers, said. \u201cThe Foundation made it simple. I thought \u2018This is awesome, and oh by the way, it happens to be at the institution where the people are that we want to help.\u2019 All the planets aligned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Through that process, the fraternity established the Dream Achievers Scholarship, which supports Black men pursuing their bachelor\u2019s degree at Southern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted create avenues for young men who come from situations and conditions that we did,\u201d Townsend said. \u201cWe wanted to give them opportunities that we had envisioned for ourselves and allow them to do something bigger and better than we did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Townsend is the vice president of data ethics for the SAS Institute, which develops analytics and artificial intelligence software. He leads responsible innovation efforts globally, ensuring that technologies like AI and quantum computing are safe and trustworthy. He is a true leader in the field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeading a team around the globe, we make sure the software we create and products we develop don\u2019t hurt people,\u201d he said. \u201cI am also on the National AI Advisory Committee and have advised the president and White House on matters of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The son of an SIU alumnus, Townsend first visited the university during a Black Alumni Reunion in the 1980s. He was later admitted to SIU during his junior year of high school.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSIU was close enough to home to feel safe, but far enough away to feel independent,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was at SIU that I learned I could lead. People saw in me things that I didn\u2019t see myself. They pushed me toward opportunities that I didn\u2019t see for myself, and I\u2019m extremely appreciative of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Through the Dream Achievers Scholarship, Townsend and the Kappas aim to help students in financial need who maybe aren\u2019t at the very top of their class academically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLatent talent shouldn\u2019t go untapped because students lack financial wherewithal,\u201d he said. \u201cThose students in the top 1 or 2 percent, they usually have access to scholarships. What about those students who are every bit as talented but just need an opportunity? Why shouldn\u2019t we figure out ways to help those kinds of students?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a measure of empathy, especially for those who might be deemed vulnerable in our society. To the degree that I can assist, I\u2019m here to listen and do if there are those who have the courage enough to ask for help. I don\u2019t see a better model for society than each of us helping one another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging that not everyone has equal capacity to give financially, Townsend encourages others to consider the difference they can make in the lives of SIU students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOftentimes, all of us, feel like we need more than we already have. The act of giving to someone else brings a measure of fulfillment that the next dollar can\u2019t. I\u2019m extremely fortunate to be in a position where the next couple of dollars are not going to materially change my life. I realize not everyone is in that position,\u201d he said. \u201cI am an extreme believer that those of us who have benefited from the opportunity afforded to us by education \u2013 particularly those of us from historically marginalized communities \u2013 have an obligation to extend that opportunity to others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about making a similar gift, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/siuf.org\">siuf.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jeff Wilson When Reggie Townsend and his brothers in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. \u2013 Gamma Upsilon Chapter wanted to establish a scholarship, they found exactly what they were looking for at the SIU Foundation. \u201cWe felt that it was important to give back to an institution that had given to us,\u201d Townsend, a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4208\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Townsend, Kappa Alpha Psi provide scholarship, opportunity<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-stories","category-higher-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4208"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4230,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4208\/revisions\/4230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}