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On Tuesday, Selma University commemorated its 147th annual Founders’ Day with a convocation ceremony and a banquet ceremony, celebrating the long-lasting legacy of the institution.

“Founders’ Day is our opportunity to connect with alumni, well-wishers and friends throughout the community to both inspire and to help us raise the funds we need to continue to do the work that we have been called to do,” said Stanford E. Angion, President of Selma University.

The convocation included several speakers including guest speaker Dr. Bobbie Knight, who is a Birmingham native and the President of Miles College.

“Today is not just about looking back,” Knight said. “It’s about looking within, around and ahead. It is about remembering the vision of those who dare to believe that even in amid impossibility, we can learn, lead and lift up generations. It’s about recommitting ourselves to the mission of educating not only minds but spirits. It’s about reaffirming our belief in the power of faith, community, education and unity to change the world.”

During Knight’s speech, she touched on her upbringing in Birmingham, saying that she was from a small community named Zion City and how the late 1980s was a time and place where Black Civil Rights was not history but a way of life.

“The unrest was real,” Knight said. “The pain was personal and yet so was the progress. I come from a community that believed in each other even when the world around us told us not to. We leaned on our faith, we held tight to our bellies, we poured into one another because that was the only way we could rise. That is the same spirit that gave birth to Selma University in 1878, just 13 years after we ended the civil war. Imagine that, a people barely free from bondage, still facing threats to their lives and livelihoods, and yet they said, “We will build with little money but abundant vision. Leaders of the Alabama State Missionary Baptist Convention founded this institution with the goal of training teachers and ministers, who would turn and build up the community. They knew that education was more than a pathway to prosperity. It was key to dignity, identity and liberation.”

During the event, there were also several recipients who received awards for their diligent efforts throughout the community who had an affiliation with the university, whether they were a student, faculty, staff or alumni.

Josephine Swift was the university’s 2025 recipient of the Procreant Servant Leadership Award for making an extraordinary contribution to Selma University in support of its mission to create servant leaders who help themselves, help others and their communities. Then, the Rev. John

Grayson was the university’s 2025 recipient of the Honorary Alumnus Award because he has routinely supported Selma University’s alumni related activities in an enthusiastic and extraordinary manner. Even though he was not an alumnus of Selma University.

Dieuliphete Mathieu was the university’s 2025 recipient of the Right-Fit Staff Award because he seeks self-improvement. He realized that his chief responsibility is to serve others, beginning with students and then other faculty and staff. Rev. Otis D. Culliver was the university’s 2025 recipient of the Right-Fit Faculty Award because he is a faculty member who epitomizes an outstanding instructor of servant leadership. He also has a propensity for meeting students where they are academically and socially while helping them to achieve the course requirements.

Mr. George Rhodes was the university’s 2025 recipient of the Outstanding Philanthropy Award because he has made generous financial contributions to Selma University in support of its mission to create servant leaders who help others. Including inspiring a spirit of generative servant leadership in the communities where he lives and works.

Lastly, the Rev. John L. Ward was the university’s 2025 recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award because he is an alumnus of Selma University who serves or has served diligently. He also has demonstrated a high level of commitment to helping others. Including inspiring a spirit of generative servant leadership in the communities where he lives and works.

According to Angion, Selma University’s 147th annual Founders’ Day was a success and he thanked everyone in the community who came out to help them celebrate.