Latest / Voices And Visions Podcast / Kellogg BMA Conference Leaders Professor Will Town and Co-Chair Alfred Jackson on Voice and Visions Podcast

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Kellogg BMA Conference Leaders Professor Will Town and Co-Chair Alfred Jackson on Voice and Visions Podcast · Voices And Visions Podcast

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Voices and Visions Podcast, alumni Jeffrey Sterling and Lauren Lowry's interview series exploring the Black experience at Northwestern University amid a changing national landscape.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: Let's learn together.
• 0:29
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• 0:35
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• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: The podcast is powered by the Transforming Urban Media Network.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Greetings, I'm Jeffrey Sterling, and we are here with the Voices and Visions podcast.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: The purpose of this really follows the work that Lauren Lowry and I did on the book Voices and Visions: The Evolution of the Black Experience.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And with this podcast, we actually want to continue that work and explore both the breadth and the depth of what it's meant to be black and associated with Northwestern University.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: This particular conversation should be emblematic of that effort because what we're going to be talking about today represents the very best of our ability to succeed.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And our partners in Kellogg really epitomize opportunities.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't talk about that so much, and this is a great opportunity for us to do that.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: So with that in mind, we're going to have Lauren Lowry, my partner, introduce our guest and let's begin the conversation.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we are so happy today to have two Kellogg professionals here.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: One is a professional student and also a professional, Alfred Jackson, who is the uh co-chair of the BMA conference this year.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: And Will Towns, a professor at Kellogg, and uh a wonderful Chicago professional who's really changed the game in Chicago in a lot of different ways and contributed in a lot of different ways.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: So I was very blessed to meet Will recently, which is a shame because I should have known you quite a bit m longer, you know.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: But we just met recently, and you talked to us a little bit about what was happening at Northwestern.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you all both for coming.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you for having us.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna start with you, Will.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: If you could tell me a little bit about yourself, how you ended up at Kellogg, and uh why this conference is important to you this year.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, first of all, thank you for for having us.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think this is an incredible platform to allow us to kind of discuss, um, particularly in these days and times, sort of the black experience and the challenges that we're facing.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, looking forward to what I believe will, you know, be a solid and strong future as we go.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um so, you know, born and raised here in Chicago, uh here on the south side of the city, um, and you know, kind of started to think about ways in which our communities could be improved.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that oftentimes uh as growing up we saw people sort of waiting for someone else to sort of step in to try to assist or help and so forth.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it really came to me to this notion that oftentimes the hand that we need is at the end of our own arm, that we actually have the power and the skills and things that come together to sort of do that.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so that sort of uh sparked my curiosity and sort of really started my trajectory around sort of uh uh strategy, organizational transformation, impact, those sorts of things.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and while I was at the MacArthur Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust running a hundred million dollar impact investment fund, I came into Kellogg to talk to them about uh the investments that we're having impact and the notion that there was some interest uh from some students that would want to sort of know the things that we're doing and how we're being innovative with uh donor advice funds and some other things.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um this I think is an important story about being observant.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm sitting in the office of Professor Kushner and I'm looking on her whiteboard, and she has these sort of classes listed with no professors next to them.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, things are blank, it's like open, open, and open.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so after we finished our discussion, I said, Hey, you know, I didn't notice on your board there's a corporate social innovation class and some other things there uh that are open.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: What what's what's going on with that?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: And she said, Oh, you know, we're looking, we had some faculty leave and we're trying to fill some spots.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so that just opportunity uh opened up, and my curiosity of being observant around my space and asking the question um led to a long series of presentations and in-classroom lectures and so forth.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and then that started a seventh-year, seven-year um, you know, career as an adjunct professor at Kellogg.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, wow, that's quite a story.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, and I mean, again, leaving MacArthur and Chicago Community Trust to go to Northwestern, has that been a good idea?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let's just talk about that.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, no, when you look at it, I have an incredible ability of jumping out of frying pans into fire.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and so if you if I'm leading the way, you may want to wait and kind of see see what happens first.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but it's been phenomenal because I think ideally what you really find out is if we're gonna solve these deep-rooted problems that we have both within our community and society, it really is our students that give me sort of the passion and hope that whatever we're going through now can change.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and you know, tying that into why we think this conference is important, it really is this combination of both the future and our our students who really are going out being impactful, sort of Kellogg leaders and sort of having an impact on the world, and being able to reach back and get our alums who have been through challenges and things before.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: And it's this combination of both new students, you know, leaders and our past alums who are out in the field.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: That combination gives me a great sense uh that we can meet the challenge that's ahead of us and continue to rise each other up as both a group and a society.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: See, that's beautiful because I joked at the question because it's such a beautiful question, because Northwestern really does represent some masters of the universe stuff.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: We can create the world.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever we can envision can actually be created through the resources of Northwestern University.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And Alfred, I know you're the BMA conference co-league.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Did do you understand the gravity of that?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: This this is the place where you could actually justify having left the MacArthur Foundation because the power of what we're doing is that great.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you in creating this conference, you can do anything.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: You literally could have anybody in the world, you could talk anybody in the world to come to Northwestern to participate in this conference.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: You can create any portal of entry for the participants of this conference that you want to.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's the gravity of this situation.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So to be able to lead this conference, does that stuff weigh on you, or do you just small scale it and say, okay, let's just do a conference, let's do some good.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, talk to me about what your thought process is in developing the conference.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it's funny you say that because when uh my co-chair Inger Castor and I both uh were notified that we were selected to uh lead the conference, uh our now BMA uh co-president Draper was like, Alfred, you know what you signed up for, right?
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's a really good responsibility.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_03: Uh but I think I can speak for both of us when I say that uh the Black Management Association Conference was the when I think about what I was pursuing coming to Ketalog, and particularly when I was thinking that potentially I was not I don't have the resume for.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_03: I mean I have all these accolades to be able to fit into this uh ecosystem and community.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: Coming to the Black Management Association Conference in 2024, uh seeing all the different alums, seeing the current students, uh was the moment that I was like, oh this is exactly where I can be, this is where I need to be.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so when the opportunity became available to co-league at the conference, I was like, I have to do this because I wouldn't be here if I wasn't inspired that day by uh uh Janice Howard Bryant, uh by the name of uh Mr.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_03: J.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_03: Harry from uh the Ashoka Foundation, like seeing those three speakers and realizing that like, oh, like in my password, I worked at the Ashoka Foundation.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_03: Like I said, oh I can see where my story fits into this into this community.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_03: So it's a big responsibility.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_03: I do think about it every day.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: I I may have a little bit uh a little bit less than a year off my hairline after this all wraps up.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but you know, I can't I I can't think of a better way to be spending my uh time back at all.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: Well we are so excited for the conference this year.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll say personally, again, 30 years ago, I used to go to this conference year after year and just have so much fun.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: And eventually I was hired to assist in planning the after parties for the event, which were 500, 600 people.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: All people throughout the country and a lot of Chicagoans who are professionals, schools from all over the country came and just had a really good time and just enjoyed whatever was new in Chicago.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: We were there and we were taking it over.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: So it was great.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_02: What can we expect this year?
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_03: Uh for sure.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_03: So very happy to say that we have uh a full day of events that's gonna be really exciting.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: And what day does it give us the whole sort of eco thing?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_03: For sure.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_03: So uh the 40th and the 40th Annual Black Management Association Conference will be Saturday, October 24th, uh at the Kellogg Global Hub in Evanston, Illinois.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_03: Uh our keynote speakers will be Congressman Jonathan Jackson, Dr.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_03: Jesse Jackson, as well as uh Dr.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry, uh Jim Reynolds Jr., the uh founder, chairman, and CEO of the Capitol, and we have an amazing speakers in the towns.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um uh Candace Matthews, the CEO of the Lycan Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio, uh, where he also leads a black academic that brings together 70,000 black professionals in Cincinnati, Ohio, uh people uh for like Tessa Flippins, who's the founder of Capitalized BC here in Chicago, uh Jeffrey Beckham, the CEO of Chicago Scholars, uh a lot of you know, we have to also bring in a lot of alums coming in for the conference as well.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_03: So I think the overall theme for the conference is the marathon contention.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_03: If you're a rap fan, you may know Mip T Hustle, and he had this kind of motto of the marathon contenus.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I know a lot of people in my generation, we were inspired by that album so much, uh, and his you know motto.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_03: And we were kind of thinking about for us when Ingrid and I were first thinking about what does this conference need to symbolize, we started thinking about what are the things that my parents dealt with coming from Mississippi and my mom having her church bombed by KKK, just my grandfather registering the vote, or my father you know trying to break into a career, and then seeing things like affirmative action be one of those things that kind of help progress uh the generation that came before us into their own uh kind of professional advancement.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_03: But then what are we dealing with as late the people in their late 20s and early 30s entering uh entering business and artificial intelligence, you have this kind of whole focus around now like the advancement of black capitalism, like what is this like what do these conversations mean for us?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and we understand that there's gonna be 40 years from now, there's gonna be a whole set of different questions and problems that people look like us will be uh working through.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_03: But the one thing we do understand is we have people that we can learn from, we have things that we can be dealing with today, and going back to the theme, the marathon continues, there's gonna be a whole other set of things that we're gonna have to play like that next set of mentors for new generations.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think what's um important here and why the theme is so uh it's so uh ironic given today's times is that we are sort of in a point of continuous change.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: That there isn't a point where you put your strategy together and you're done and you sort of operate for the next 20 years.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're at a point of sort of continuous and constant change.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: And for a lot of our younger uh professionals and students coming in, um, you know, they also have to sort of realize that this isn't the first time we've been through hard times, right?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: And that we have, uh uh, as Alfred said, alums and others, family members and people we can lean on to kind of get us to understand, yeah, this seems tough, but we've been through tougher.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: And here's what you've got to look at, and here's what you've got to look for.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: Don't fall for this trap, you know, these sorts of things that help sort of guide us, you know.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: So this notion that our younger people don't want to deal with the boomers and all these other people, it's the exact opposite, in my opinion.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: That they're really standing on the shoulders of these individuals to help guide them as they go through.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: Because we know in order for them and us to be successful, our parents and other previous generations had to sort of lift and get through the crime to get to where we are today.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: And Alfred and his generation is gonna have to do the same thing, right?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so this notion of this marathon, right, really is, I think, something that we've got to sort of think about.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and you've got to prepare for the long run.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that you said that I love is you listed a lot of names that people who are listening casually may not know.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, very often we walk past a bank or another building and we don't know who owns it.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: You have a lot of those people who are here.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: And to people that are looking for notoriety in names, remember that there's a practicality here.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just networking, it's facilitating.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just being able to hear prominent people speak, it's being able to take something away from the conference that is going to help you in your endeavors.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, the the point that I wanted to make via the question that you'll answer here is you know, if you took Kellogg and Northwestern and put them on a thin diagram, it probably would exponentially increase instead of being inclusive.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we want have always, she and one thing, one of the things we have in common is that Northwestern is so much bigger than the sum of its parts in terms of the black experience.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: We want blacks from across all parts of Northwestern to appreciate what Kellogg represents, what Northwestern represents, and what this conference provides in terms of opportunities.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: On a practical level, what should any alumni who are Kellogg alumni who choose to come to this thing, what should we be able to tangibly expect that we're gonna take out of this experience?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: I think the first thing is you're gonna come into this being inspired.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_03: So whatever, like whatever you're working on, working through, at the end of the day, we want you to come in, experience conversations that inspire you and taking the next step or whatever you're doing with working through.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_03: The next is the network.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_03: You know, what we want to see from this conference is an ideal scenario, ideal world, and I hope that a year from now, six months from now, two years from now, talking to people that went to the conference and said, oh man, I you know, I met my next hire through this conference, or I met my next boss, or I met my next ambassador through this conference, or I met somebody that was able to help me facilitate uh this next deal that I'm working through.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, because we all know that careers are very winding and very uh long.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: So the the goal here is for people to be inspired, for people to get to know that they have to continue to go based off like you have to continue, the marathon has to go.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but also is really building a tangible relationship to the conference.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, not only for you know my classmates, but also for people that are Northwestern alum, Kellogg alone, but also just the people that are from Chicago or in the Midwest or in the nation that are coming in town for it, they want you to be able to build a real relationship with the conference.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_03: And one thing that I forgot to mention is that after the conference, we're gonna be uh having an awesome reception and dinner at the Obama Center that's gonna be kind of like the kind of cherry on top of celebrating the 40th uh year of this conference as well.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_03: So there's gonna be a lot of opportunities not only during the conference but after in the evening to continue doing those relationships and continue those conversations.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: That's gonna be amazing.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think people want to experience the Obama library, and now we can do it with a bunch of Kellogg black alums.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_02: So that's gonna be super fun.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you were gonna say something?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think to add to the question, um, we also got to realize one, uh Kellogg, again, as a phenomenal sort of world-class business institution, doesn't have a patent on business.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: And we know we get a phenomenal lot of business operators from the from the medical school, from the law school, from the engineering school, and this and that.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: And this is really, I think, a culmination being able to say, we're all purple.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: And how do we all sort of come together to sort of think about that?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: And what is the exponential impact of having lawyers, medical students, you know, medical alumni, doctors, physicians, engineers all in the same room really thinking about some of these challenges and opportunities that come forth.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's a really powerful statement on the impact that we have on the world globally through our institutions, varying institutions.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: I agree.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: We can't make change at Northwestern or anywhere unless we come together.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: And we have to recognize what we have in common and then utilize that to build and do different and unique things.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we met because you were talking about some challenges at Kellogg.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: We've seen the institution grow.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: I think Jeff and his administration with NUBA made Northwestern grow in unique ways, in positive ways, for people of African descent at Northwestern.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: But we've seen some things change that really do not negatively impact people of African descent at Northwestern.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: And how have you seen this change at Kellogg?
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: We've sort of tracked what's happening with the undergrads and what's happening there.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_02: But what's happening and with our scholarships and different things that are being impacted, what have you seen at Kellogg?
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I I think it it's the story is still being told.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not complete at this point.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: Again, we're still in um varying sorts of uh challenges as most uh higher education institutions are with this current administration, whether they're saying, you know, only certain schools now can accept GI bills and other things, they're finding other ways to at least try to impact and influence decisions that you know private institutions are doing with respect to their student body.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um and so we think it's been announced, you know, signed an agreement with the administration, we paid a fine or a fee.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's probably not legally called that, but we pay it some kind of some some service or something.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: A settlement.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then have a list of things that we've agreed through to an MOU to sort of comply, right?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that in essence, that's fine.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: And we can do that.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: The question then is, how do we look at the challenges and policies that are in place and still complete the mission?
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: And these two things aren't separately or or inclusive.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think we can still, if if an institution has the desire to see increased diversity, see women in leadership positions, see funding and scholarships to create the community that you guys often fought for to sort of create, um, that there are ways to sort of do that.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so what I'm looking for from the institution is trying to see if they're trying to sort of still complete the mission.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you just can't tell me these things are important, we still believe in this and that.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but where's the action, right?
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so we can have a lot of motion but no movement.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm looking to see the motion match the movement.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: And right now that I think is still sort of under review.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Faculty, I think, has been strong, the dean has been supportive, uh, but again, within the higher institution, how do you sort of fit in and work through those things, I think, become become challenging.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_03: You might as well add just one question.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I was talking uh about this with uh my co-chair Ingrid earlier about the other great thing about this conference is at the end of the day we are in America and we do have uh freedom of speech.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I think this conference is also protected by freedom of speech.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_03: Um so and in relation to why is the conference important, particularly when we do see funding uh attack for certain initiatives, conferences like the Black Management Association conference and the support of it from attendees but also the business community in Chicago is important because if we're not able to bring in a lot of attendees for these things, then we are not able to see that impact of our freedom of speech through using this conference.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_03: This conference has a vessel for that.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so I just wanted to add one more thing while this conference is important.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and this is why I think the attendance is important.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: We need people to show up.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: If you are concerned about these issues, if you are supportive of what the BMA has done over 40 years, which is the longest running, I believe, uh student-led conference.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or one of the longest running student-led conferences on campus, this is 40 years.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Oprah's first show was 40 years ago.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: And look how she should have grown.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: The Bears won the Super Bowl 40 years ago in 86.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of stuff that has happened uh over this period of time, and this student-led group has continued to grow uh and continue to grow in, but you gotta show up.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: People watch.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they look and see.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: When you demand or ask a question, if they don't see the attendance, if they don't see the people coming in, they kind of can wait and see, like, uh, it didn't seem to be that important to them.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: So why should we do something?
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: So this is why I think the attendance is going to be critical this year as we show the true sort of, you know, power that we have and we can command uh when we, you know, need some attention or or have questions that should be answered.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: So you're picking up what I'm about to put down.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: We don't just have freedom of speech, we also have freedom of power, and we need to exhibit that power.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's a quote in Voices and Visions from the former provost, Jonathan Holloway, where he talks about wanting the university to be a place where every student could enjoy the experience of just being a student.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, contrast that with the backdrop where, you know, President Trump was talking about the environment in Africa, where um I'll paraphrase to be polite, but the gist of it and the most favorable ways of describing.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: It was that we have to learn to move away from depending on charity and move toward more trade and development of commerce.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what he meant, but I'm paraphrasing the best interpretation of any of that.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's what this represents.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the evolution of the black experience at Northwestern University means that the students at Kellogg can't just wait for the generosity of Northwestern deciding to change its policies to be more favorable to us.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: We can abrace the power that we have within, create a conference like this, and build the environment that we need for ourselves.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent faculty, excellent alumni, the resources and ingenuity the Georgian generation has unto itself.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: That is what we bring to the table.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to depend, we don't have to wait.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: We can create, we can blend that freedom of speech with freedom of power and make it happen.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I'm so excited about this conference.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's why it's so important to have this as part of our voices and visions conversation.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: This necessarily is the evolution of the black experience.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Would you agree with that?
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I would agree.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: And again, I think Ingrid and Alfred took it upon themselves as being co-leads on the conference and started early.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is something we started, you know, last year and in March.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: Spring, yeah, of really sort of thinking about what's coming up, how do we have the impact that we want, how do we bring others to the table, how do we show the true reach and impact that we have.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I give it a lot of credit.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: They're also going to look for interns, they've got uh for internships, they've got a heavy you know, class credit load, they've got other things, family, other personal things too, and then to sort of take this on on top of that, um, I think it's really inspiring.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: But it also tells you what kind of person you get when you hire a Kellogg alum, right, that's able to sort of multitask and do these sorts of things.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a true sort of leadership stance that they're taking to kind of push this through.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's uh I admire it myself as a faculty member, uh, the amount of work and things that they sort of take on.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: And still, as you sort of said, have a little bit of opportunity to have some fun.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Sort of in between in between some of all of this stuff, which is important.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let me let me let me do one more thing here.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Pro tip for you, especially.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um I actually have you guys beat.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in 1982, um I was president on campus of an organization called One Step Before, um, the pre Black Pre-Medical Student Organization Northwestern.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I created an event called the Medical School Day.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that was in 1982, and it's still going on.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: And um the point of that is that you know I was president of the organization, and we famously, this is also in the book, we famously had a dean that would tell all the black students there's no way you're getting into medical school.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: Just blanket statement.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, hmm, we're going to test that theory.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I created this event called the Medical School Day, where we invited directors of admission from all over the country to come to Northwestern to give us accurate information and to recruit us.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, as president, I was the guy that they met.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: I got accepted to every medical school I applied to, and I did not have higher than a 3.0 GPA.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: So the point of me bringing that story up to you is that at this conference, slot yourself into that level of success such that you meet who you need to meet and you get the opportunity that you want to have come out of this.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: You will never have a greater opportunity to craft your future and to secure your future than being able to call upon the magnitude of what Northwestern and Kellogg both represent.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: So pro tip.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: And then share all the other great accolades of your classmates, you know, as you're meeting everyone else.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_02: You can say, hey, here's somebody else, here's somebody else.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think that is fantastic.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because not only did I get accepted to every medical school I applied to, our class had 15 blacks that got accepted to medical school, which was more than the prior three years combined, in that first year of doing the medical school day.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: So you can do well by doing good, take advantage of this opportunity, and actually make something practical happen out of it.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: How do we make it sustainable though?
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: So, I mean, you brought in, you know, you you were brought in last year or earlier this year, and you're planning.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_02: How do we make it such that next year it is seamless for all of us to come together, all the professors to come together?
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: They know what's happening, and they they want people are begging you to come and speak.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_02: How are you working on that?
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's uh that is the the big question that we're that Dr.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_03: Downs and I and Ingrid and I talked about on the first day of planning this conference, and Ingrid and I revisit every single time we're on a sponsorship call or trying to get a speaker to call.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um I think the core thing is understanding that after this conference does not mean that they'll work for the conference.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_03: So one is you know, for us is you know, once this conference is, we have all of our right photos.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_03: You know, there's a lot of big name speakers that we reached out to for this conference that we're not we're not able to come to this year, is making sure the one that we kind of follow up with them and say, here, okay, here's how the conference went, here's what we attended, here's the progress on that.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_03: One is just to kind of make sure we get back to it.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_03: Next is Andrew and I and Draper and Jamie from our BMA leadership is one just making sure that we start working on who will be the co-chairs uh for next year's conference and giving us even more time to kind of work with them on hey, here's the speakers that we were reaching out to last year, here are the sponsors that we reached out to last year.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_03: And let's get reached for teachers understanding this full totality of the Chicago the Chicago business community and uh uh Kellogg Black business leadership community, who can we be talking to earlier on from a sponsorship perspective to make sure that we get back and we're starting those conversations early.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_03: So I think for us is the moment that the conference ends, is the follow-up with the people that came, the people that wanted to come, let them know how great it was, and then immediately get back to figuring out who's the next, like passing the baton to the next set of leadership and making sure they have all the mentorship they needed to get the ground right.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: The the one thing I will add to that, which again, as I've observed this over the seven years I've been at Kellogg, is one thing is for certain, most likely, the faculty tends to stay about the same.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: There's not as much rotation in the faculty as there is in the students.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: Students come in one-year program, evening weekend, um, you know, two-year traditional programs, they're sort of in and out, and they've also then got to get jobs, some are in town, and they've got to get back, you know, to where they're going and all that stuff.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: And and so the faculty is pretty steady.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, one sort of finding key sort of faculty that are there that can sort of continue to work.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: So, faculty sponsorship, I think, is important.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then secondly, um this idea of setting up an advisory group that's external to the school, but of alums and others who are consistent that are there, that could really provide and keep the institutional knowledge year over year as students turn in, can turn over, graduate, and go out, this uh this uh advisory group can stay fairly consistent.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: And that's that's the group that can can call uh, you know, uh Obama and say, hey, are you available here?
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: and can call Magic Johnson and can call some of these bigger names who would love to attend, but for schedule conflicts.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're gonna schedule some of those individuals, you might be looking two years out.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so, in order to do that, you need some consistent body that can sort of work through that.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I think this advisory group might be a good thing to sort of think about as some key alums and others who can keep the historical knowledge and sort of keep the momentum going as students sort of uh shift in and out as they matriculate through uh Calop.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's fascinating that you've mentioned that because that's been a part of the greater conversation for a while.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um Northwestern necessarily has NUBA, which is a spirit club or has become a spirit club of sorts, the way that the NAA, the Alumni Association, has it set up.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: But there is a need, there has long been a need for an exogenous entity to address the specific needs of the alumni.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: So there's no better place to begin that conversation than here because there's no better place to actually pursue the interest of students and to make it multi-school.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: It is a beautiful um way to craft um the variety of concerns, needs, and opportunities that exist by all of us who love the purple.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: So um, shall we um offer you guys some closing comments and and pitch for the conference?
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is really going to be a great thing.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that people have enthusiastically received the information that you're providing.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: So give us give us your final thoughts and final pitch, if you will.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_02: And how they can register.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: All right, I'll I'll be I'll be quick.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: There's a QR code and the website, and Alfred can sort of give you that.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: My point is we are at a critical time in our society.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Both here in Chicago, we've got mayor elections and things sort of taking place, we've got businesses shifting and so forth globally and everything else.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: And this sort of coming together of these experts uh and alums and others who are sort of leaders in their spaces, uh this is an opportune time to come back, get re-energized, you know, instead of stressing the world, but get re-energized and really be able to go out uh and and be the leaders that we are in our spaces and network and find some things.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I I think there's no other place I will be uh on that Saturday, October 24th, than at at Kellogg in Evanston at the Global Hub and really looking forward to a dynamic, uh not only celebration, but uh opportunity to meet with others.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_03: Uh following up on that, you can follow us on Instagram at bmac at Kellogg.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_03: Our website is the uh bmac.org.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_03: Hopefully, if Ingrid's watching this, you will let me know if I said that correctly.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_02: And we'll put it in the show notes too.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_02: Is that B Mac B-M-A-C?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_02: What is that?
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_03: B Mac.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_03: And then also too, just you know, from uh you know why you should come out.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_03: I think there's from uh 8 30 a.m.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_03: check-in to an 8 p.m.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_03: having a nice glass of wine or champagne at uh the Obama Center uh Obama Library.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_03: I think there's no better way to have a day where you're one inspired, where you're one connecting with just like-minded people that are ambitious, that are compassionate, and value space, and whether how they're approaching their careers or their uh just life in general.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_03: Uh but it's also an opportunity to collect connect across the generation as well.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't I know at least for my class, I think that we're most excited about just meeting people from that came through the university from the 80s and 2000s, uh 2010 that you know that we can build relationships with, and then also think about the long tail of our careers and the long tail of the things that we're passionate about, and just know that we're gonna come out of this with the relevant next steps to kind of build relationships that can you know last not only for the next couple of weeks, but the next few years and decades as well.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think if I could add one other thing, and Alfred touched on this, which I think is incredibly important.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_01: If you believe or are thinking about attending a business school or getting involved in a larger sort of ecosystem or network, there's no better place to test that theory than coming to the conference.
• 33:07
  unknown: Right.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: Meeting students, talking to faculty, seeing others who are there.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: You'll get no better, I think, exposure uh to sort of the Kellogg way, uh the Northwestern way, uh than attending this conference.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you'll get free advice, you'll get honest advice.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: This is a way you can observe for yourself.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't a brochure or something that you're seeing, or some videotaped uh sort of commercial.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: This will be the real thing that you'll be able to experience.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I think there's no better way.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you're interested, as we need to continue to build our student base, uh there's no better way if you're interested than to come out uh and and attend this event.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_02: We are so excited, and we cannot wait for Saturday, October the 24th.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we're gonna also have you come out to the Black House October the 8th and 9th homecoming.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be a gang of black people in the black house mentoring, chatting with the young adults that are there, the undergraduates.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_02: So we want you to come and mark it everywhere you can between now and then, and we will do everything we can to make sure that the word is spread.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you all so much for coming.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_02: I am Lauren Lowry.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_02: This is Dr.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_02: Jeffrey Sterling, and you have been listening to the Voices and Visions podcast, the Black Experience at Northwestern, is examined right now.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_02: The Voices and Visions podcast is sponsored by Simco.
• 34:33
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• 34:39
  SPEAKER_02: Learn more at FP Commercial Advisors.com.
• 34:42
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