Fiat Inclusivity
A special edition of the NFL Network’s Emmy-nominated NFL 360 series, Impact & Influence, which celebrates Black History Month, will be broadcast at 9:00 p.m. this Friday, February 22. Included in the piece is a segment on Alfred University’s Art Force 5, a program developed and led by Dan Napolitano ’93, School of Art and Design assistant dean, that uses community-based art to inspire discussion on topics of equality and social justice.
Alfred University has been inclusive from its start in 1836. In addition to being the first higher educational institution in the nation to admit women and allow them to pursue the same full course of studies offered to male students, our University was one of the first higher educational institutions to admit African American and Native American students.
It is fitting, then, that Alfred University is prominently included in the upcoming NFL Network feature recognizing the city of Atlanta’s first African American police officers, hired more than seven decades ago.
A group of Alfred University students, alumni, and staff representing Art Force 5 spent several days last month in Atlanta, leading a local art project. Members of the community painted canvas tiles used to create mosaics depicting the eight African American officers hired by the city in 1948. Trent Cooper ’92, a filmmaker and producer of original content for the NFL Network, directed the segment on Art Force 5 which will air as part of the NFL 360 piece (Press Release on Art Force 5 project in Atlanta).
Friday’s NFL Network program is but another illustration of Alfred University’s commitment to inclusivity, both on our campus and in the world beyond. We will be screening Impact & Influence on Friday, February 22, at 9:00 p.m. in Holmes Auditorium, Harder Hall. Please join us if you can. The Alfred University segment will be the final feature in the hour-long special, so those attending the 8:00 p.m. dance concert need not leave early to catch the national television debut of Art Force 5.
Fiat Inclusivity!
Mark