Educational Sessions

Scholarly Colloquium – Financial and Related Issues Among Historically Black Colleges and Universities

This keynote session is a component of the Scholarly Colloquium on College Sports. 

Keynote: Melvin Johnson, Former President, Tennessee State University

Melvin N. Johnson began his tenure as the seventh president of Tennessee State University June 1, 2005, and retired from that position January 1, 2011.  Johnson also served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and tenured professor of economics at Winston-Salem State University.  Before his appointment at Winston-Salem State, he served in senior academic roles at North Carolina A&T State University and was a lecturer on business and economic policy for the University of Maryland, European Division, in Germany.  Johnson also taught economics of defense at the U.S. Air Force Academy and completed a distinguished military career as a lieutenant colonel.

Johnson has served on the NCAA Committee on Academic Performance since 2008 and has chaired the Ohio Valley Conference Council of Presidents since 2010.

Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from North Carolina A&T and master’s degree in economics from Ball State University.  He earned a master’s in business administration and a doctorate in business economics and public policy from Indiana University.  He has pursued postdoctoral studies at the Institute for Education Management, Institute for Management and Leadership in Education, and The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge.  Johnson received the Thurgood Marshall Presidential Leadership Award in 2010.

Moderator: David Wiggins, Professor, George Mason University

David Wiggins is professor and assistant dean of the School of Recreation, Health and Tourism at George Mason University.  He has held numerous positions in professional organizations, including editor of the Journal of Sport History, history and philosophy editor of the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and editor of Quest.

Wiggins is a fellow of the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, and a fellow in the National Academy of Kinesiology.

Wiggins has published scholarly articles, book chapters, and several books on the history of sport, particularly as it relates to the involvement of African-American participation in sport and physical activity.  Among his publications are: “Glory Bound: Black Athletes in a White America” (1997); “Sport and the Color Line: Black Athletes and Race Relations in Twentieth-Century America” (2004, with Patrick Miller); “The Unlevel Playing Field: A Documentary History of the African-American Experience in Sport” (2003, with Patrick Miller); “Out of the Shadows: A Biographical History of African-American Athletes” (2006); and “Rivals: Legendary Matchups that Made Sport History” (2010, with Pierre Rodgers).

Reactor: Kenneth Shropshire, Professor, University of Pennsylvania

Kenneth Shropshire is the David W. Hauck Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the faculty director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative.  He served as chair of the school’s legal studies and business ethics department from 2000 to 2005.  Shropshire joined the Wharton faculty in 1986 and specializes in sports business and law, sports and social impact, and negotiations.

Shropshire’s consulting roles have included a wide variety of projects including work for the NCAA, National Football League and the U.S. Olympic Committee.  In 2000, the mayor of Philadelphia appointed Shropshire to chair Philadelphia’s stadium site selection committee.  Later, he led projects focused on Philadelphia’s bids for the Olympic Games.  He has also served for the past six years as academic director of Wharton’s Business Management and Entrepreneurship Program for National Football League players transitioning out of professional sports.  He is currently an arbitrator for the National Football League Players Association and USA Track and Field.

Shropshire earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and his law degree from Columbia University.  He joined the firm of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg and Tunney in Los Angeles and later served as an executive with the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.  While in private practice, he was the lawyer for a wide range of clients including the Comedy Act Theatre and The Baseball Network, which worked to overcome discrimination in baseball.

Shropshire’s current research focuses on sport and social impact.  He is particularly interested in how sport has been used to impact social conditions in the United States and around the globe.  This research has taken him frequently to South Africa, where he focuses on the Royal Bafokeng Nation, and Brazil and Jamaica.

Shropshire is a founder and member of the board of directors of the Valley Green Bank in Philadelphia.  He also serves on the board of trustees of the Florida Coastal School of Law, the board of directors of NutraCea, as a trustee of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and the board of directors of Peace Players International.  He is also a former president of the Sports Lawyers Association, the largest such organization in the world.

The most recent of his eight books are “Negotiate Like the Pros: A Top Sports Negotiator’s Lessons for Making Deals, Building Relationships and Getting What You Want” and “Being Sugar Ray: The Life of America’s Greatest Boxer and First Celebrity Athlete.”  His works include the foundational books, “In Black and White: Race and Sports in America,” “The Business of Sports” and “The Business of Sports Agents.”

Shropshire has provided commentary for a number of media outlets including Nightline, CNN, the New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and Sports Illustrated.