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Tuskegee University Hosts Fall Convocation, Celebrates Legacy, Excellence, and a Record-Breaking Gift
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Tuskegee University Hosts Fall Convocation, Celebrates Legacy, Excellence, and a Record-Breaking Gift
Crystal Drake15 September 2026
4 minute read
TU President Dr. Mark A. Brown invites the Eminent Associates for a group photo after their impressive donation to the University.
Contact: Crystal Drake, Office of Strategic Communications
Eminent Associates give $4.1 million to support student success
Tuskegee University opened the 2026–27 academic year with its Fall Convocation inside the historic Tuskegee University Chapel, welcoming students, faculty, alumni, and families to a ceremony rooted in tradition, pride and progress.
As keynote speaker, Dr. Kimberly Manning ‘92, delivered an address intertwining personal legacy, institutional history, and a powerful call to action for the next generation of Tuskegee scholars.
Dr. Mark A. Brown brings greetings and introduces Convocation speaker.
Tuskegee University President and CEO Dr. Mark A. Brown introduced Dr. Manning, emphasizing her embodiment of Tuskegee’s core values.
“We will celebrate one of us today,” he said. “Her remarkable journey began exactly where you are, on the sacred grounds of Mother Tuskegee.”
He reminded the audience that, at Tuskegee, family is defined not only by bloodlines but by commitment, sacrifice, and investment in the institution’s future.
“And for some, it is generation after generation investing their children here,” he said. As members of Dr. Manning’s family stood, he added, “If there were ever a family that embodied this ideal, it would be the family of Dr. Manning.”
Dr. Manning—professor of medicine and vice chair of community and engagement at Emory University’s Department of Medicine—is widely known for her decades of clinical work at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital and her public health leadership during the COVID‑19 pandemic. She also co-hosts The Human Doctor Podcast, where she blends medical expertise with humanity-centered storytelling.
But on Sunday, her identity as a daughter of Tuskegee took center stage.
Dr. Kimberly Manning delivers Convocation address to the audience.
Her family’s Tuskegee roots stretch back generations. Her grandparents, Theophilus and Ernestine Cottrell, met on campus. Her parents, William Draper ’62 and Cheryl Cottrell Draper, continued that legacy. All three of her siblings—Dr. Will Draper, Darlene Draper Martin, and the late Deanna L. Draper—attended Tuskegee. Her grandmother and all of her sisters attended Tuskegee. Her brother and his wife graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1991, and her late sister Deanna earned her engineering degree the same year. Her youngest sister graduated with a finance degree in 1993. Now, her son Isaiah Manning, a member of the Class of 2027, represents the fifth generation.
To honor his class year, Dr. Manning launched a campaign to raise $27,000 for her alma mater. By Sunday, the campaign has surpassed that total.
Dr. Manning framed the convocation around “the power of one.”
“Ordinary people making ordinary decisions over time build extraordinary things,” she said.
She urged students to keep their word, operate with integrity, and demonstrate excellence even when no one is watching.
“Legacy is accumulated impact over time,” she said.
Dr. Kimberly Manning shown here with her family, accepts the gift of a BTW print.
Dr. Manning also addressed the importance of how the way they show up in the world can define or reframe the Tuskegee legacy. She used a personal example from early in her career about the complicated history of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and her ability to broaden others’ understanding and respect for the institution. When medical colleagues learned she attended Tuskegee and their only point of reference was the study, she redirected them to the triumph of the Tuskegee Airmen and then to the excellence embodied by generations of her own family.
She closed by challenging members of the audience to see in themselves the power to be a steward of Tuskegee’s legacy.
“What if you were the only person from Tuskegee someone ever meets? Would Tuskegee’s reputation be stronger or weaker because of you? Let us all remember, when all is said and done, that our powerful collective begins and ends with one.”
The ceremony reached a momentous crescendo when Lula Whigham-Marable ‘60, Chair of the Eminent Associates, took the podium. She warned attendees to remain seated because the good news coming might cause them to stumble.
She then presented a check for $4,183,926.56, representing the donor society’s FY 25–26 giving—more than triple the previous year’s total. Nearly 300 Eminent Associates donated this year's extraordinary total.
“We do this for the students,” she said as an ovation of applause and cheers filled the Chapel. “We do this for them!”
Founded in 1965 and formally organized in 1975, the Eminent Associates now include more than 5000 alumni and friends nationwide. Members meet each fall on the eve of Fall Convocation, continuing a tradition of philanthropic leadership that invests in student success, academic programs, scholarships and the university's overall growth.
