Florida A&M University
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first Black
intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity, has selected several Florida Agricultural
and Mechanical University (FAMU) graduates to serve in leadership positions at
the national level.
Attorney Daryl Parks, of the nationally acclaimed civil
rights law firm Parks & Crump in Tallahassee, Florida, has been appointed
general counsel for the fraternity. Parks was initiated into the Beta Nu
Chapter at FAMU where he also served two terms as Student Government
Association president.
David Jackson, Jr., Ph.D., will serve as associate historian
for the fraternity. Jackson is the
associate provost for Graduate Studies at FAMU, a distinguished professor of
history, former chair of FAMU’s History Department and also a Beta Nu initiate.
John Ellis of Orlando will chair the Strategic Planning
Committee. Ellis is an attorney in
private practice in Orlando. Another Beta Nu initiate, Ellis was formerly the
district director for the State of Florida.
Joel Johnson, of Chicago, will join Ellis on the Strategic
Planning Committee. Johnson is the
president and chief executive officer of Human Resources Development, Inc., and
chairs the Midwest Region’s Committee on Social Development. He is also an
initiate of the Beta Nu Chapter.
Donald Jackson, a native of Quincy, Florida, now residing in
Houston was elected as the national comptroller of the fraternity. He also serves as the Southwest regional
comptroller and budget and finance chairman.
Jackson is a financial advisor with Exxon Mobil in Kilgore, Texas. He is a graduate of the FAMU School of
Business and Industry.
Keith Miles, general manager of WANM-FM (FAMU’s campus radio
station), has been appointed to the Strategic Communications Committee. Miles is associate editor of the Sphinx for the
Gamma Mu Lambda Chapter in Tallahassee and was voted as the chapter’s “Brother
of the Year” for 2016. Miles is also a
Beta Nu initiate.
One of the fraternity’s founders, Charles Henry Chapman also
known as “Jewels,” worked at Florida A&M College from 1924 until 1934.
Chapman was instrumental in the founding of the Beta Nu Chapter at FAMU.
The Beta Nu Chapter will celebrate its 85th Anniversary on
April 20-23, 2017 in Tallahassee on FAMU’s campus.