Introducing the 2024 Central State University Alumni Achievement Hall of Fame inductees

Congratulations to the 2024 inductees into the Central State University Alumni Achievement Hall of Fame! 

2024 inductees

• Evelyn Garrette Jackson, '69
• Suzanne F. Stantley, '71
• Dr. Jane R. Caulton, '78
• Gonzalo J. Rodriguez Jr., MD, '79
• Samuel P. Martin, '81
• Cronicle A. Jackson, '83
• Phillip Black, '86
• Manuel M. Brooks, '97
• Kimberly Johnson, '98
• Dawn Floyd, '99
• Wayne Knox, '08

Read on to learn more about these distinguished alumni. 

Celebrating Charter Day

Charter Day celebrates the 1887 establishment of the Combined Normal and Industrial Department at Wilberforce University, which later became Central State University. In past years, the Charter Day Banquet served as a fundraiser for various University projects.

In the late 1950s, the Charter Day Banquets were preceded by Charter Day Convocations held in Galloway Auditorium. A retrospective written by the 1965 Charter Day committee chronicles the history of the event in the following passage: "President Charles H. Wesley initiated the program of the college family and friends gathering to break bread together and to raise funds to aid the college. The first Charter Day committee, with (Dr.) Wilhelmina S. Robinson (History Department, 1943-1974), serving as the initial chairman, was appointed in November 1947. The committee worked closely with the President in planning the Charter Day observance and in raising funds for meaningful projects."

Through the cooperative efforts of the Board of Trustees, faculty, students, alumni, and friends, according to the committee, much was accomplished through Charter Day fundraising efforts, including the following:

• The beginning of the Student Loan Fund and the Student Scholarship Fund;
• The purchase of a concert organ for Galloway Auditorium and television sets for each dormitory;
• The repair and furnishing of a guest house and guest rooms on the campus;
• The reconstruction and furnishing, in cooperation with our National Alumni Association, of the Alumni Guest House;
• A Steinway Concert Piano for Galloway Hall;
• The furnishing of the Student Lounge;
• The increase of the Student Loan Fund;
• The installation in Galloway Tower of a chime clock;
• The creation of a fund for faculty research and student scholarship; and
• In 1965, the Charles H. Wesley Research Fund in Negro History.

By the late 1960s, the Charter Day observance became a convocation. In 1989, the Alumni Achievement Hall of Fame became a part of the Charter Day celebration. 

Meet the inductees

Evelyn Garrette Jackson, '69

Evelyn Garrette Jackson's hometown is Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1969, she graduated from Central State University with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education under Dr. Clara Henderson, then-dean and advisor in the College of Education. 

Jackson began her teaching career in the Princeton City School District in Cincinnati. Her third-grade class put on a play called "Just in Time for the King's Birthday" that was broadcast on the district's closed-circuit TV.

Over 30 years, she has taught in Delaware County at Scioto Village, Columbus Public Schools, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, finishing her last 12 years in Cincinnati Public Schools teaching the third through eighth grades. Over this period, Jackson wrote grants to enhance the classroom experience for her students. She engaged her students in the Young Authors Program in East Cleveland Schools.

Jackson began her master's degree work at Cleveland State University. Upon returning to Cincinnati, she was featured in the evening on the local TV channel WCET (PBS), highlighting "Family Math Night" activities that teachers could implement in their elementary schools, which was taped and broadcast around the Cincinnati viewing area. Jackson retired in May 2003.

Jackson's love for Central State University began in September 1965. Having lived through segregation from birth to age 10, then integration for seven years, she felt the beautiful awakening of love.

The campus, the classes, the professors, the students, and each thing Jackson experienced helped her value her education and what she learned about life.

She sang in the University Choir under the direction of Samuel Robeson and remained on the Dean's List her sophomore year through graduation. Jackson was elected the CSU Student Government corresponding secretary during her junior and senior years. After pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha Beta Xi Chapter and becoming a Soror in 1967, she engaged in the outreach programs they organized in Xenia, Ohio, schools, and Girl Scouts.

Upon graduation, Jackson returned to Cincinnati and then made it to every Homecoming regardless of where she lived in Ohio until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

Jackson became active in each Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati alumni chapter. She helped ensure deserving students received scholarships and support from the alumni of those cities.

In Cleveland, she worked on the chapter's committee to take high school students on annual bus trips to the campus. Her name is on the contributor's list of the Bill Cosby Challenge to erect the campus TV station. A few years later, she received the call to serve as chair of the then-General Alumni Association Scholarship Committee. After nine years, Jackson passed the torch to up-and-coming National Alumni Association Board members. Co-chairing the 2018 Annual National Alumni Meeting hosted by the Cincinnati Star Alumni Chapter was one of her latest acts of service before working with the planning committee for the Golden Class of 1969 reunion in 2019. She continues to work and support the chapter in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Jackson's family of siblings, children, grandchildren, cousins, in-laws, and more constantly reminds us of the blessings we receive as we travel and are encouraged through life.

Suzanne F. Stantley, '71

Suzanne Stantley has more than 45 years of experience in marketing and communications. After receiving a Master of Business Administration, Stantley began her career at Leo Burnett Worldwide, then the largest advertising agency in the world, where she became the first African American woman to enter its prestigious management training program. There, she worked on multiple brands manufactured by Fortune 500 companies, Procter & Gamble, and Nestle. She would later work at Burrell and Proctor & Gardner Advertising Agencies.

With a zeal to operate her firm, Stantley launched Image Advertising in the mid-1980s and would go on to operate several successful businesses. In 1990, she co-founded and served as CEO of National Black Expo, which operated Black Expo events in Chicago and other cities. During that time, she also founded the Black Expo Community Development Association Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation established to strengthen small and mid-sized businesses' operations capacity by imparting larger firms' business strategies.

As Stantley kept her finger on the pulse of business and ways to expand her brand, she became aware of the billions of dollars spent on construction projects throughout the country. Through extensive study of the building space, she realized that African American construction firms generated less than 2% of the spending in this category. With this knowledge, she launched Contractor Advisors Business Development in 2011 to expand the knowledge and capacity for small construction firms and become a surety bonding agent to address their surety bonding challenges. Programs executed through this company focus on construction industry engagement and are conducted through the Construction Development Institute division.

In 2013, Stantley launched the Construction Industry Conference to provide smaller construction firms a way to network and gain access to large construction firms and government agencies that were spending billions on construction projects. She launched BE Group Inc. to educate, train, strategize, mentor, and advise these firms on how to build their capacity to bid on and win contracts from private sector firms, large construction companies, and government agencies. The main divisions under the BE Group, Inc. are Contractor Advisors, Building Entrepreneur Magazine, and Building Entrepreneurs Online Marketing Portal. 

In 2022, Stantley saw how she could contribute her expertise to victims and survivors of gun violence in Chicago and launched a new program to offer crisis management to at-risk disadvantaged individuals.

Building Better Futures provides crisis intervention, victim services, remedial education, job readiness, and construction training. The program brings together business and industry community partners to create an employment pathway for program participants.

She has created over forty programs and events during her vast career.

Stantley served two terms as a director of the National Alumni Association and is active with the Chicago Alumni Chapter, where she chaired the most recent annual meeting in 2023. She also chaired two prior annual meetings and continues to advise chapter presidents. She is a widow and resides in Chicago.

Dr. Jane R. Caulton, '78

Dr. Janie (Jane) R. Caulton of Wake Forest, North Carolina, is a member of the Central State University Class of 1978, for whom she serves as team captain.

She is passionate about this role because she believes alumni support is crucial to continuing Institutional growth and sustainability. Caulton is a life member of the CSU National Alumni Association.

As a junior at CSU, Caulton discovered a love for writing and developed a proficiency in journalism that ultimately led her to a career in publishing and public education, culminating in her retirement as the head of the Publications and Media Section of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress (LOC). Caulton was the first minority and first woman to hold the position. She also served the LOC community on planning committees and as a sexual harassment policy trainer. She completed the Library’s Leadership Development Program in 2000.

After 28 years of service, she retired in 2016, where her work in promoting the braille and talking book program, overseeing its publishing arm, and updating its brand was recognized in the organization’s national newsletter, News.

Caulton is an author, speaker, and ecclesial leader residing in Wake Forest, North Carolina. She has expertise in followership studies and has contributed to several textbooks. She has also contributed articles to the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services, the Emerging Journeys Journal of Regent University, and Pneuma, the Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, of which she is a member.

Caulton holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from CSU and received her Master of Science in Organizational Development and Strategic Human Resources from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. She received a certificate in Leadership Development from Johns Hopkins and a graduate certificate in Leadership from Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, where she received her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership with a specialization in Ecclesial Leadership. In addition, she holds certificates in Biblical Study and Ministry from the Calvary Bible Institute, Washington, D.C.. She is currently working on a certificate in the Hebraic Context of the Bible through the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies virtual program.

During her 30 years of residence in Washington, D.C., Caulton was ordained as a minister of the Mount Calvary Holy Church of America, where she served as an elder in the Ministerial Alliance at Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church from 1992 to 2018. She also served as the church magazine editor and Calvary Bible Institute faculty member, as an adjunct professor at Trinity University, and as an inaugural docent of the Museum of the Bible. 

In 2018, Caulton relocated to Wake Forest, North Carolina, where she serves the Celebration Church, Raleigh, as a small group leader and a facilitator with Growth Track, the church’s New Member program, and is a Prayer and Altar Team member. She received her five-year service pin from the Wake Forest Town Hall, where she serves as a guest services volunteer, in 2023.

Gonzalo J. Rodriguez Jr., MD, '79

Gonzalo, J. Rodriguez Jr., MD, is a distinguished member of the Central State University Class of 1979, where he graduated Cum Laude with Senior Class Honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry, with a concentrated interest in Biology and Psychology. 

Rodriguez credits the esteemed professors at CSU with transforming his perspectives on life, building his confidence, and encouraging him later in life to be a catalyst for others by mentoring and supporting those interested in the journey of medicine. 

Rodriguez is a board-certified Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, where he has served for almost 30 years in a specialty that supports women's health care, and a member of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO). He has been recognized as one of the Top Doctors of America and the Best Gynecologist in America. He has received an Alpha Omega Alpha Society Community Service Award.

Presently, Rodriguez is a staff physician at the Center for Family Health in Jackson, Michigan, where he provides care for the medically underserved and serves on the Black infant mortality committee for Jackson County.

His recognition of the importance of community service is evidenced by his participation as a Life Member of Kappa Psi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, where he received the Brotherhood Award in December 2023. His involvement in his beloved fraternity began at CSU when he was initiated into the Delta Xi Chapter. 

Rodriguez embodies the motto of his Exeter alma mater, Non-Sibi, Latin for "not for oneself," as well as a slogan of CSU: "Truth and Light" and "Law and Honor."

Rodriguez and his wife of 35 years, Lisa Harris Rodriguez, reside in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Samuel P. Martin, '81

Samuel P. Martin was raised in Zanesville, Ohio. He is a 1981 graduate with a degree in Communications from the then-College of Arts and Sciences' Department of English. Martin has completed courses in strategic leadership at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusettes. He also completed the Newspaper Management AEP Program at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. 

Martin is a 40-year print media executive whose career has spanned nine newspapers across six states. He is semi-retired but runs a nonprofit, the Bronze Valley Foundation, a 501(c)(3) based in Birmingham, Alabama. Martin also serves as the president and publisher of The Birmingham Times, a weekly newspaper. The Birmingham Times is a historically Black newspaper that the Foundation purchased to save it from closing because of its historical importance to Birmingham and its role in forming the Black community during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Martin became the first, and to date, only African American to serve as president and publisher of a major daily newspaper in Alabama when he was chosen to lead the Montgomery Advertiser.

His appointment to leadership of that newspaper marked a significant milestone for a city and newspaper that had been on the wrong side of history regarding the equal treatment and civil rights of Black people. Martin also spent over a decade in several leadership roles with Cox Enterprises (Dayton Daily News) in Dayton, Ohio. 

Martin has also served on several newspaper industry boards. As a member of the Boston community, he co-founded the Nexus Alliance for professional African American men in the Boston area. It focused on youth mentoring and Black male presence. He also co-founded the Youth Success Series while residing in Boston. 

Currently, Martin is active in the Montgomery and Birmingham communities, serving on several boards, including the boards of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, the Montgomery County Cooperative District, and the United Negro College Fund Alabama/Mississippi Leadership Council. Martin is also on the board of the historic Cleveland Avenue YMCA in Montgomery. 
Martin is also active with the 100 Black Men of Greater Montgomery and serves on the board of directors for the Delta Zeta Alumni Foundation, providing scholarships to Central State students in the Honors College and other deserving students over the past five years. 

Martin is a 1979 initiate of the Delta Zeta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity at Central State University. He is an active member of the Montgomery (Alabama) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi.

Martin is a life member of the Central State University National Alumni Association. He was raised as a member of Equity Lodge 121 Free and Accepted Masons, the Miami Consistory No. 26, and Amer Temple No. 107 in Dayton. 

Martin is one of a long line of family members who have attended Central State, including his wife, Cathy (Hill) Martin, '82. He is the proud father of two daughters, Erinn and Jourden. 

Martin currently resides in Montgomery, Alabama.

Cronicle A. Jackson, '83

Cronicle Ann Jackson is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and a product of Dayton Public Schools, where she earned the Colonel White High School Principal’s Academic Scholarship to Central State University. She is a 1983 graduate of Central State University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Computer Information Systems. 

She retired from the Department of Defense in January 2019 after over 38 years of Federal Civilian service, having worked in multiple positions and organizations within the departments of the Army and the Air Force.

She began and ended her career at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) and worked one year at Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Jackson’s last position was as a contracting officers representative (COR). Her key role was documenting and communicating contractor performance and approving the contractors’ monthly invoices. She served as a COR for over 13 years in two high-profile program offices. 

Jackson is a member of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the Central State University Greater Dayton Alumni Chapter, and the National Association of University Women (NAUW), Dayton Branch. 

Jackson has been selected as a Legacy Honoree by the Dayton and Montgomery County Black Elected Officials, voted Soror of the Year by Beta Eta Omega Chapter, and voted Woman of the Year by the National Association of University Women, Dayton Branch. She is a life member of Phi Gamma Nu Business Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and the Central State University National Alumni Association. 

Jackson currently resides in Dayton, Ohio.

Phillip Black, '86

Phillip Black is an active and distinguished member of the Central State University Class of 1986, a life member of the Central State University National Alumni Association, a member of the CSU NAA Board of Directors, and an active member of the CSU Cincinnati STAR Alumni Chapter.

Black majored in Political Science at Central State University and earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1986. 

Arriving on the campus of Central State University in 1983, Black continued the family legacy of being one of seven to graduate from CSU. 

Black was an active member of the Political Science Club and the Student Government Association, Chief Justice in 1985, and is a proud life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, after being initiated into the Delta Xi Chapter in 1984.

As a student, Black worked in the admissions office, where he learned how to promote Central State University to high school and prospective students. This advocacy continues to this day. He continues to utilize the leadership skills developed at Central State University. 

Black has been the president of many organizations, such as The Sentinel Police Association, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Delta Gamma Lambda Chapter (Cincinnati, Ohio), and The Woodard Alumnal Association. 

In 1987, Black began an unexpected career decision with the City of Cincinnati. Encouraged by his former Dean of Students Samuel S. Jackson, Black became a sworn police officer in 1988. For the next 33 years, he served the City of Cincinnati in various assignments as a patrol officer, recruiter, detective, school resource officer, and executive aide to the police chief. On March 2, 2021, the former mayor of Cincinnati, John Cranley, declared March 2, 2021, as Phill Black Day in the city of Cincinnati. 

Black is a native Cincinnatian residing just north of his hometown of Liberty Township, Ohio. He is from an exceptionally large family of 12 with three sets of twins, with Black being a twin himself. He is married to fellow Centralian Monica V. (Williams) Black, '92, a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, initiate of the Delta Kappa Chapter, a life member of the CSU NAA, and active member of the CSU Cincinnati Alumni STAR Chapter.

Black continues to serve as an ambassador for our beloved Central State University.

Manuel M. Brooks, '97

Manuel M. Brooks is an active and distinguished member of the Central State University Class of 1997, a financial member of the local Columbus Alumni Chapter, and a life member of the CSU National Alumni Association.

A native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Brooks majored in Business Administration Management at Central State University. He was a proud member of the Student Ambassador program for incoming first-year students. 

Brooks has been employed in various departments and positions with the Ohio Department of Education for 25 years. He worked as a tutoring program coordinator for the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program Office of Non-public and Private Schools for 11 years, where he implemented and supervised before-and-after-school tutoring programs for grades K-12 in the Cleveland Municipal School District. 

After relocating to Columbus, Ohio, Brooks accepted a new position within the Ohio Department of Education in the Office of Pupil Transportation, where he worked for 10 years.

He was the first African American management program analyst/pupil transportation consultant to hold this state-level position.

Brooks consulted, trained, and conducted audits on School Pupil Transportation Departments throughout Ohio to ensure school bus safety and compliance with state and federal laws. 

Brooks is an educational program specialist in the Office of Non-public Educational Options. He consults with non-public school providers and scholarship parents, assists in directing and implementing policies and rules, and ensures that all providers follow state and federal laws. 

Since graduation, Brooks has been active in the Central State University National Alumni Association and various local chapters. He served as chapter president of the Cleveland Alumni Chapter from 2007-10, a member of the Board of Directors for the National Alumni Association from 2013-19, and chapter president of the Columbus Alumni Chapter from 2010-20. Currently, he holds the Recruitment and Retention Committee chair position for the Columbus Alumni Chapter. 

Brooks is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, and the Columbus Alumni Chapter. He is also a member of the following organizations: Prince Hall Free & Accepted Masons, Order of the Eastern Stars, Prince Hall Shriners, Sons of AMVET Post 2000, Harvey H. Alston Lodge No. 1755, Improved Benevolence Protective Order Elks of the World, and Past Exalted Ruler Council No. 11 — Improved Benevolence Protective Order Elks of the World. Brooks currently serves as chief antler for PERC No. 11.

Brooks, who resides in Pickerington, Ohio, is proudly engaged to Renee Bellamy and eagerly awaiting their spring 2024 nuptials. He is also a proud stepfather to two beautiful daughters, two handsome sons, and one handsome grandson. Brooks enjoys spending quality time with his family and friends in his downtime. His passion is participating in community service events and activities.

Kimberly Johnson, '98

Kimberly Johnson is an active Central State University National Alumni member through the Detroit Alumni Chapter, Class of 1998. She is a native Detroiter and a Detroit Public School graduate. After receiving her bachelor's degree from Central State University, she studied at the graduate level at Wayne State University, Central Michigan University, and the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. 

Johnson's professional career has always centered around positively impacting Detroit's youth through education, life skills, recreation, and mentoring. 

In 2005, Johnson received a vision, and during recovery from a life-threatening tragedy, she began to turn the vision into reality with her young children laboring alongside her.

Johnson is the founder, president, and CEO of Developing Kingdoms in Different Stages, also known as Developing KIDS. It is a nonprofit organization in Detroit that serves over 1,000 youth annually through four programs that provide high-quality activities: Youth Development, Family Engagement, Workforce Development, and Community Support. 

From 2008-2019, Johnson served in consultant and executive-level positions that have created positive and long-lasting impacts on city and state-wide systems that support youth educationally and during out-of-school time. A few of her significant accomplishments during this time have included the coordinated training of nearly five hundred youth development professionals, growing a youth-serving organization network from 10 to 150 organizations, and developing and implementing a re-granting program that distributed over $500,000 in grants to 78 organizations. Johnson has co-chaired the Summer Learning Table for five years. She is a Steering Committee Member of 313Reads, a citywide collective impact coalition to support literacy access, equity, and justice in Detroit.

Since 2020, in addition to leading extraordinary growth and leadership of Developing KIDS, Johnson has spent over a decade mentoring executive directors of grassroots organizations in Detroit. She co-founded BEDAD (Black Executive Director Alliance of Detroit), a network of senior Black leaders of nonprofit organizations in Detroit. Johnson has served on a subcommittee of the Governor's Student Recovery Advisors Council at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson is a member of the state-level advisory and design committees for the out-of-school time system building. Her most recent professional accomplishments are raising over $8 million and serving as the owner of the construction project to open a 23,000-square-foot facility for Developing KIDS that will open in the fall of 2024. 

Within her church home of Mount Hebron Missionary Baptist Church, Johnson serves as the youth department director and member of the Nurse's Ministry. She has been an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, for over 20 years and has received national, state, and local recognition and awards for her leadership and service to the community.

She is a resident of Southfield, Michigan. Johnson calls herself blessed and highly favored to be the wife of Charles Johnson and the mother of three adults: La Tressa, Serena, and Jamal Newberry Il.

Dawn Floyd, '99

Dawn Floyd is a native Detroiter and a proud graduate of Detroit Public Schools. She continued her education at Central State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1999. In the spring of 1997, Dawn was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Delta Kappa Chapter. In 2007, she earned a Master of Arts in Organizational Management (MAOM) from the University of Phoenix.

Floyd is actively involved in her community, having served as a Girls Scouts Southeastern Michigan troop leader, participating in activities like Meals on Wheels and Christmas Caroling at assisted living facilities. She was also an enthusiastic "band parent" for Cass Technical High School's Marching Band, earning the title "Parent of the Year" in 2023. Additionally, she is an active member of Greater Christ Baptist Church.

Professionally, Floyd has excelled as a financial aid advisor at Wayne County Community College District for over two decades, aiding students and families from underrepresented communities in their educational pursuits.

Her patience and empathy have made her an effective problem-solver for financial aid issues within the district.

Unfortunately, in 2015, Floyd was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment with remarkable courage. As a patient undergoing treatment, the physical side effects of the medication interfered with her ability to work, creating financial instability. Inspired by her own experience, she established My Sistah's Pink Journey (MSPJ) in 2017, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to supporting women battling breast cancer. The organization has provided numerous grants for essential expenses like housing, utilities, transportation, childcare, and insurance.

Floyd's dedication to the community has been acknowledged throughout Metro Detroit, resulting in her and MSPJ receiving recognition and financial backing for their ongoing work. MSPJ was selected as the DEFY the Odds community donation recipient. My Sistah's Pink Journey has also received several monetary donations from Hollywood Casino at Greektown. Additionally, Harper Ray Accessories contributed community donations, and Tux and Chucks, an initiative supporting small nonprofits in the Detroit Metropolitan area, named her organization a beneficiary in 2021. Floyd's efforts were further honored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. DAC MEDF with a grant in 2018 and 2023 and a nomination for the Torch of Wisdom Community Enrichment Award in 2021.

Floyd is married to Travell L. Floyd, a fellow Marauder. She is also the proud mother of Aniya Floyd, a student at Central State University and a member of the Dancing Belles.

Wayne Knox, '08

Wayne Knox is an active member of the Central State University Class of 2008 and is a life member of the Central State University National Alumni Association. Additionally, Knox proudly holds active membership in the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter of the National Alumni Association.

Knox is a proud native of the Queen City, Cincinnati, Ohio, with deep family and service roots in the city. He enjoys sports, traveling, mentoring young people, and photography.

Knox is the chief operating officer at One Million Degrees in Chicago, Illinois. He oversees the core operational functions of the organization, Finance, Budget and Financial Planning, Human Resources, Risk Management, Procurement, Facilities/Workplace Management, Organizational Data, and Information Technology. He is an adjunct faculty member at Huston-Tillotson University, teaching the concepts and theories of leadership, management, strategy, and international business.

Knox has served as a senior administrator for both private and public universities, overseeing/executing high-impact and high-exposure projects for an array of organizations across diverse student bodies. Before joining One Million Degrees, he was the senior vice president for Finance and CEO at Huston-Tillotson University, Planning and Community Relations manager for the Department of Safety and Security at the University of Chicago, a District-Wide IT project manager for City Colleges of Chicago, a special assistant to the vice president and chief financial officer at Central State University, and a Distinguished INROADS Scholar employed by U.S. Bank.

Knox is an active community member with leadership positions in several organizations.
He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the 100 Black Men of America. Knox serves on the Board of Directors for Workforce Solutions Capital Area (executive committee member), Leadership Austin — Essential Class 2020, Austin Area Research Organization — McBee Fellow, Austin Revitalization Authority Board of Directors (executive committee member), Saffron Women’s Trusts Foundation Board of Directors (treasurer), Texas First Education Charter School Board of Directors (treasurer), East 12th Street Merchant Association Board of Directors (vice president), and a peer reviewer for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Knox is a life member of the Central State University National Alumni Association, a member of the 1887 Legacy Society, vice chair of the Central State University College of Business, Business Advisory Council, and the current 1st National vice president of the Central State University, National Alumni Association. Knox chairs the annual meeting of the National Alumni Association and formerly served as chair of the Member Committee of the National Alumni Association.

Knox holds a magnum cum laude Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Central State University and a Master of Public Administration in International Public Management from DePaul University (Chicago, Illinois). Additionally, Knox is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Academy, hosted by the American Academic Leadership Institute, Harvard Graduate School of Education Institute for Educational Management, the College Business Management Institute, and the Treasury Institute of Higher Education, and he holds two certifications from the U.S. Institute of Peace in conflict analysis and negotiation and conflict management.