FAMU mourns loss of alumni president Alvin Bryant

Alvin Bryant, president of the FAMU National Alumni Association (NAA), died Friday afternoon after a lengthy illness.

Bryant, a 1959 graduate of FAMU, was a board certified surgeon who lived and practiced in Hampton, Virginia. He was also a retired Major General of the United States Army. A life member of the FAMU NAA, he was founding president of the Hampton Roads Chapter of the FAMU NAA and a member of the powerful Northeast Region of the FAMU NAA since 1967.

FAMU President James Ammons said, "in my eight years as a college president, I have not worked with a more dedicated and supportive national (alumni) president.

"He (Dr. Bryant) served as president during one of the most turbulent periods in FAMU’s history and will be remembered for mobilizing alumni to help restore FAMU’s legacy and reputation. He loved his alma mater."

"He showed tremendous support by sending hundreds of students from the Hampton area here. Our hearts and prayers go out to members of his family. The FAMU community will miss him. This is a great loss for the university” Ammons added.

Bryant's mantra as alumni president was “Money, Management, Membership, Political Savvy and effective Governmental/Public Relations”. As president, worked behind the scenes with the Florida political power brokers on behalf of FAMU.

In a statement, State Senator Al Lawson said “Bryant was a friend to many, a mentor, and an icon. He was a renaissance man, eloquent, fearless, and peerless in his pursuit of fairness and equality. He exhorted all of us to strive for excellence, stand fast for justice and yield to no one in the pursuit of a quality education or the most sacred principles of democracy."

"Nothing was too hard for him (Bryant) to accept as a challenge, and nothing was too hard for him to overcome. We lost him, but not his words or his message of hope and courage." Lawson said.

"I know of no one who loved his alma mater more or gave as much to Florida A&M University as Alvin Bryant,” Lawson said.

Some of the major initiatives undertaken by the FAMU NAA under Bryant were the ongoing One Million Dollar (scholarship) Campaign, FAMU Church Day, and the Band Instrument Drive. During his tenure the alumni raised over $750,000 for FAMU.

Funeral Arrangements
A wake for Dr. Bryant will be held on Friday, February 12,2010, at the Second Baptist Church East End, 3307 Chestnut Avenue, Newport News, VA. It will begin at 6:00 p.m. A military funeral services will be held, the following day in Hampton.

Full details on the funeral were not yet available.