September 24, 2007 (Vol. 6, No. 3)

Tuskegee Airmen Help 'Eagles' Soar

Lehman's Associate Dean for Student Affairs John Holloway (left) and Rasheem-Ameid Rooke (right), director of Lehman's new Center for Urban Male Leadership, help celebrate the senior convocation of the Eagle Academy, held September 18 in the Lovinger Theatre. With them are the school's principal and members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen: from left, Airman Clayton Lawrence, principal David Banks, and Airmen William Wheeler and Austen Mackenzie.

During the program, Banks praised the heroism of the airmen, who broke new ground during World War II by becoming the first African Americans to serve as military pilots, amassing a record of 1,500 successful missions.

As part of the convocation ceremony, the airmen "pinned" volunteer mentors who will act as "wingmen" for the seniors from now through their graduation at the end of June. Among the wingmen present were Jeff Burns, Jr., associate publisher and senior vice president of Ebony Magazine; Charles R. Johnson, president and CEO of the Bronx-based Johnson Security Bureau; Dominic Carter, NY-1 News political reporter; Assemblymen Michael Benjamin and Ruben Diaz, Jr.; attorney Joel Motley, III; and Norman Seabrook, president of the New York City Correction Officers' Benevolent Association.

Opened in 2004, the Bronx-based Eagle Academy is one of the city's first all-male public high schools to be established in recent years. As part of the convocation, the 65 students in the first graduating class signed pledges to excellence and received senior jackets and ties. Close to 500 students, parents, and friends filled the theatre for the event, which also marked the start of an ongoing partnership between the school and Lehman College.

Rooke, who addressed the senior class, looks forward to creating "a beneficial relationship between the students at Eagle and our students here at Lehman. Tutoring, mentoring, and information-sharing will be our goals. Ultimately, we hope to foster a long-lasting relationship."

Lehman Vice President for Administration Derek Wheeler—who is the son of Airman Wheeler—welcomed the audience to the College.

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