Oscar J. Underwood Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | Marion, Alabama, U.S. | August 18, 1949
Occupation(s) | Educator, pastor, community activist, author |
Oscar J. Underwood Jr. (born August 18, 1949) is an American educator, author, pastor, and community activist. [1]
Underwoood is the founder and President of Cornerstone Christian College Preparatory School and Cornerstone Christian Bible College International. His work in urban education spans over 40 years and includes becoming the first African American Indiana Teacher of the Year [2] and testifying before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Small Business on effective urban education methods. [3] [4]
Underwood's published works include Assassination of Human Potential, [5] Burden of Hope: Transition, Retention, and Collegiate Black Men, [6] and Bumblebees Can Fly: Developing the Inherent Power in Young Men of Color Needed to Achieve in Education and Succeed in Life. [7]
Oscar J. Underwood Jr. was born in Marion, Alabama, and relocated with his family to Fort Wayne, Indiana at age three. He obtained a B.S. in Elementary Education from Indiana University in 1972, [8] an M.S. in Educational Administration and Curriculum Development from Indiana University in 1978, and an Ed.S. and Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, Administration and Foundations from Indiana State University in 2007 and 2012, respectively.
In 1977, Underwood became the first Indiana African American Teacher of the Year. [9] In 1982, he accepted a principalship at Ralph J. Bunche Elementary School in Fort Wayne, a then- failing, low-income, 98-percent African-American, inner-city school. [10] [11] Within two years, student achievement test scores in every grade level rose to the highest they had been in the school's then-history. [12] [13]
In 1991, Underwood left Ralph J. Bunche and founded Cornerstone Christian College Preparatory School in Fort Wayne. [14] In 1998, Underwood testified before the United States Congressional Committee on Small Businesses regarding his strategies in urban education. [15] [16] In 1991 he opened c-prep and the firsy year
In 1985, Underwood founded and became Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Christian Worship Center (now, Destiny Dome Embassy at Cathedral of Praise Ministries International) in Fort Wayne. In 1993, the ministry purchased a 46,000 square foot building. In 2000, the ministry opened Cornerstone Christian Bible College International in Fort Wayne.
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles (29 km) west of the Ohio border and 50 miles (80 km) south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Indiana after Indianapolis, and the 83rd-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen and Whitley counties which had an estimated population of 423,038 as of 2021. Fort Wayne is the cultural and economic center of northeastern Indiana. In addition to the two core counties, the combined statistical area (CSA) includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Steuben, and Wells counties, with an estimated population of 649,105 in 2021.
Ralph Johnson Bunche was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Israel. He is the first black Nobel laureate and the first person of African descent to be awarded a Nobel Prize. He was involved in the formation and early administration of the United Nations (UN), and played a major role in both the decolonization process and numerous UN peacekeeping operations.
Mark Edward Souder was an American politician and businessman from Indiana. A Republican, he was a U.S. Representative from 1995 to 2010.
Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) was a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 1964, IPFW was a cooperatively-managed regional campus of two state university systems: Indiana University and Purdue University. IPFW hit its highest enrollment in 2014, with 13,459 undergraduate and postgraduate students in nine colleges and schools, including a branch of the Indiana University School of Medicine. During its last academic year (2017–2018), IPFW had a total enrollment of 10,414 students. IPFW offered more than 200 graduate and undergraduate degree programs through IU or Purdue universities. The university's 14 men's and women's athletic teams competed in Division I of the NCAA Summit League.
The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) is a major, multi-campus medical school located throughout the U.S. state of Indiana and is the graduate medical school of Indiana University. There are nine campuses throughout the state; the principal research, educational, and medical center is located on the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus in Indianapolis. With 1,452 MD students, 203 PhD students, and 1,356 residents and fellows in the 2022–23 academic year, IUSM is the largest medical school in the United States. The school offers many joint degree programs including an MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program. It has partnerships with Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, other Indiana University system schools, and various in-state external institutions. It is the medical school with the largest number of graduates licensed in the United States per a 2018 Federation of State Medical Boards survey with 11,828 licensed physicians.
The Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS) corporation is the Fort Wayne, Indiana area public school district, and is the largest in Indiana. The second largest is the Indianapolis Public Schools. It operates five high schools, ten middle schools, one intermediate school and over thirty elementary schools, serving 30,992 students in 2012-2013. FWCS's current superintendent is Dr. Mark Daniel. FWCS is divided into several departments, including Technology, Transportation, Academic Services, Continuing Education, Nutrition Services, and Public Affairs.
The News-Sentinel was a daily newspaper based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The afternoon News-Sentinel was politically independent. The papers suspended publication in November 2020, after the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Purdue University system is a public university system in the U.S. state of Indiana. A land-grant university with nearly 75,000 students across five institutions comprising six physical campuses, a statewide technology program, extension centers in each of Indiana's 92 counties, and continuing education programs. Additionally, there are another ~44,000 students enrolled in an online university. Each university in the system maintains its own faculty and admissions policies which are overseen by the Purdue University Board of Trustees. Purdue's main campus in West Lafayette is the best-known, noted for its highly regarded programs in engineering and adjacent subjects.
Ink was a weekly publication targeted to Northeast Indiana's Black community. Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Ink was published by Diversity Media Group, Inc., a locally owned, family-owned company founded in 2001 by siblings Vince Robinson and Terri Miller.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, is home to several sports teams. These include the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons, the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the Fort Wayne Kekiongas of the National Association of Professional Baseball
Milan Township is one of twenty townships in Allen County, Indiana, United States. Milan Township is located in east central Allen County, with the Maumee River meandering across the township. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,749. The township is highly rural, with only 1,137 houses in the 2010 census. Many of the residents of Milan Township are Swiss Amish who mostly speak a Low Alemannic Alsatian dialect. Milan township is generally demarcated by Schwartz Road to the west, Notestine Road to the north, Sampson Road to the east, and Gar Creek Road to the south.
Robert E Armstrong was an American politician who served as mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, former councilman of Allen County, Indiana, and former athletic director of Snider High School.
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Michael A. Wartell is chancellor emeritus of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), where he served as the eighth chancellor from 1994 to 2012. His 18 years of service was the longest tenure of any previous chancellor. Prior to this appointment, he served as IPFW's vice chancellor for academic affairs for one year.
Ogden Newspapers Inc. is a Wheeling, West Virginia based publisher of daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, telephone directories, and shoppers guides.
Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW) is a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A campus of Purdue University, Purdue Fort Wayne was founded on July 1, 2018, when its predecessor university, Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne formally split into two separate institutions: Purdue University Fort Wayne and Indiana University Fort Wayne.
Frost Illustrated was an independent weekly newspaper, featuring "News & Views of African Americans" in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Established in 1968, it was Fort Wayne's oldest weekly newspaper.
Chuck Surack is an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and musician, best known as the founder of Sweetwater Sound, a leading retailer of musical instruments and professional audio equipment.
The Fort Wayne Ink Spot is a biweekly newspaper published in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is the only African-American-owned newspaper in northeast Indiana. It is sold on a subscription basis and at newsstands around the city. As of 2019, the newspaper had a circulation of approximately 1,000.
{{cite journal}}
: |author=
has generic name (help); Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: |author=
has generic name (help); Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: |author=
has generic name (help); Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)