Executive Council’s Welcome

Greetings!

On behalf of the NBGSA Leadership Team, welcome you to our community! Our mission is to enhance the academic, professional, personal, and social development of Black people in higher education. For 30 years NBGSA has been a space for Black students and professionals to engage, connect, develop, and support one another. I am pleased that you have decided to connect with our organization. I encourage you to check out our website to learn more about out how you can get involved with our commitment to making things better for Black graduate students and professionals.

As a student-run and operated, non-profit organization we strive to build upon the legacy of our founders. In May 1989, University of Michigan graduate students Robert M. Sellers, Todd C. Shaw, Robert Brown, Daria Kirby, Lisa Brown, and Thomas LaVeist planned and hosted a national conference to “address some of the issues that the African American community faced.” The goal of the first National Black Graduate Student Conference (NBGSC) was to “provide an opportunity for African American graduate students to develop professionally as well as serve as a forum for future researchers and academic professionals.” We have affiliate chapters at schools across the nation, so there are tons of opportunities to connect, engage, and develop.

As students who have been entrusted with the honorable responsibility of leading your organization, the primary goal of the NBGSA Leadership Team is to create spaces where people like you, with shared experiences from different backgrounds, can engage, connect, develop, and find support in safe, affirming environments. Welcome to our NBGSA family!

In Service to All,

The 2017-2019 NBGSA Executive Council

National Black Graduate Student Association (NBGSA)