About Us
The African American Alumni Council (AAAC) of UCI is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It was founded in 2006 by Dr. Thomas Parham, former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Ken Bentley in response to the reduction of resources for Black students due to proposition 209.
The AAAC has a two-fold mission to generate sources of operating funds for:
1) Awarding academic scholarship grants to Black college students, enrolled at UCI, and
2) Promoting community service programs focusing on community outreach and mentoring for Black high school and college students.
Students and Scholarships
Our scholarships are named in honor of Dr. Joseph L. White, Former Professor of Social Sciences at UC Irvine. (For more info about Dr. White, click on his name from the menu selection.) Each academic school year since 2015, the AAAC has awarded 8-10 scholarships, in the amount of $1000 each. This totals over $62,000 awarded within this short period of time. Scholarships are made possible from the generous donations of alumni and supporters.
List of our 2022-23 Awardees includes: Jharrayne McKnight, Naja Sportsworth Christmas, Sahra Hassan Adan, and Akua Keseway-Agyeman
List of our 2021-22 Awardees includes: Nyah Beck, Isaiah Crosby, Breyah Matthews, Jharrayne McKnight, Wezam Paully-Umeh, and Arletha Saint-Jean
List of our 2020-21 Awardees include: Sydney Carter-Charles, Isaiah Crosby, Camille Edwards, Kaosoluchi Enendu, Amari Lewis, Nadjia Motley, Adaeze Oduma, Annique Session, Theron Smith, and Isaiah Thomas
Testimonials from
Scholarship Recipients
Jharrayne McKnight
“Thank you to the African American Alumni Council of UCI for honoring me with this scholarship on the merit of my academic achievements and community service. It means so much to be able to do service that I am passionate about in the African American community and to be recognized for that passion. The scholarship will help support my efforts of closing the disparity of Black students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as I matriculate in my doctoral program.”
Theron Smith
"It is with heartfelt gratitude that I thank the AAAC for awarding me the Joseph White Scholarship during my Ph.D. studies while at UCI. This scholarship made a tremendous impact on my academic journey and I feel honored and humbled to have received this award."
Naja Spotsworth Christmas
"I want to express my gratitude for being selected as the recipient of the African American Council of UCI Scholarship. It warms my heart and means even more to me that this act of kindness came from within my community. When I think of scholarship, I think of both the graciousness of providing students aid, but also the act of scholarship. I have always felt that any African American student I have attended university with is my family, so I push myself very hard to create space and opportunity for my Anteater family. For me, every moment I've spent progressing this environment here at UCI for African Americans and African Diaspora is time well spent. "
Board Members
Commitment, passion, and dedication to academic achievement and excellence.
Members work in collaboration with the Black Alumni Chapter (BAC) of the UCI Alumni Association to and support programming for Black Students. The BAC has firmly established itself as a support network for Black Students. It consistently supports students in the following ways:
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Provides mentoring services
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Supplies food for the university’s students' food pantry
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Participates in the BLAC gala
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Participates in the Fall Harvest
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Reviews student scholarship applications
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Works in collaboration with other student serving organizations, as well as faculty and staff.
Current Board Members
Tonya Burns, President
Ingrid Johnson, Vice President
Lolita Brown Fletcher, Legal Counsel
Donna Oats, Treasurer
Cheryl Brown, Secretary
The Black Alumni Chapter of the UCI Alumni Association proudly presents, "Black Excellence!" Highlights of this event include a tribute to alumni who have passed. Physicians and other health care professionals who brought us through Covid 19 will be honored and recognized for their hard work and dedication to our well-being. Lifetime and a Community Service award recipients will also be acknowledged and recognized. The UCI Gospel Choir will grace attendees with a performance. Lastly, there will be a passing of the torch ceremony to the next generation of young leaders. Of course there will be dinner and a dance.
