Charlie Nelms, Ed.D, a leader in higher education, civic activist, author and philanthropist, will serve as the 2024 UAPB Homecoming parade grand marshal.
The parade will be held at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 26 starting at Main Street and 15th Avenue. The parade begins on Main Street, turns on Sixth Avenue and onto Convention Center Drive, and ends at Ninth Avenue and Convention Center Drive.
Homecoming week is held Oct. 20-26 and the theme is “Fearless. Focused. Fired-Up!”
In retirement, Nelms serves as president-in-residence with the United Negro College Fund and the Millennium Leadership Initiative and as senior consultant with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.
Nelms’ career includes serving as chancellor at Indiana University East, University of Michigan-Flint and North Carolina Central University. More than 35 of his mentees have become college and university presidents and chancellors, according to a news release.
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Nelms earned his undergraduate degree in agronomy and chemistry in 1969 from Arkansas AM&N College (now UAPB). He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from Indiana University.
Nelms is the first African American to be appointed chancellor of an IU campus and vice president of the seven-campus university system. In 2019, IU awarded him an honorary doctorate, and he is also the recipient of its highest honors: the President’s Medal for Excellence, the Distinguished Alumni Service Award and the Thomas Hart Benton Mural Medallion for Distinguished Achievement.
Nelms is vice president and professor emeritus at IU. He also holds honorary degrees from Earlham College, Martin University and UAPB.
“I am immensely grateful to the faculty and staff of Arkansas AM&N College (now UAPB) for nurturing my dreams,” Nelms said. “The culture of caring they provided allowed me to excel and to become a three-time university chancellor. They emphasized that I was more than my GPA or my test scores. During my 50-year career in the academy, I never lost sight of what it means to be an agent of change. Every day, I seek to repay AM&N/UAPB for investing in me by investing in others.”
The educator has received numerous national accolades for his higher education leadership, including the Ford Foundation and American Council on Education fellowships. In 2012, President Obama honored him with the MLK Drum Major for Service Award as a testament to his impactful contributions, according to the news release.
Nelms is celebrating two milestones: his 55th class reunion and 55 years of marriage with his spouse, Jeanetta Sherrod (AM&N graduate of 1968). He, his wife and their son Rashad are philanthropists who have established scholarship endowments at UAPB, Indiana University, the University of Michigan-Flint and North Carolina Central University.
Each year, 30 to 40 students are awarded Nelms Scholarships. The Charlie and Jeanetta Nelms Alumni Scholarship Endowment is the largest at UAPB.
He is a life member of the NAACP, the UAPB Alumni Association, the IU Alumni Association and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
Nelms considers himself a “person of the soil,” wearing a UAPB Bell Tower lapel pin. He credits AM&N for creating the foundation that allowed him to make America a better place for all her citizens.
He will lead the UAPB parade that features a diverse range of participants, including campus and alumni royalty, marching bands and entries from local, state and out-of-state communities.
UAPB’s 2024 Homecoming parade can be watched in person or streaming live on UAPBTV at https://www.youtube.com/c/uapbtelevisionUAPBTV or the THV11+ app.
For UAPB parade details, visit https://uapb.edu/homecoming-2024.