Having My Say: Reflections of a Black Baby Boomer

From a national leader in higher education diversity and equity comes a timely collection of compelling reflections on giving, leading, changing, and advancing. Charlie Nelms grew up as one of 11 children in the Arkansas Delta with parents who believed in education, voting, and land ownership. His parents never had the opportunity to graduate high school, but their faith in the power of education never wavered. They told Charlie and his siblings that they could grow up to be anything they wanted. The reality of apartheid-style racism said otherwise. Segregated schools and "Whites Only" jobs, hotels, restaurants, waiting rooms, restrooms, and water fountains were as common as air. While working in the cotton fields as a young boy, Charlie dreamt of a better life. Due to the deliberate racism of the time, he was among the countless Blacks who received inadequate college preparation. Despite low scores on standardized tests, Charlie graduated from an Historically Black College and University in three years and served as student government president. He went "up North" to earn his master's in College Student Personnel and Higher Education and his doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Indiana University. Charlie was among the first Blacks appointed chancellor of a predominately white university; a university chancellor in Indiana, Michigan, and North Carolina; and vice president of the IU system. He has more than 40 years of experience and leadership in student access, retention, and graduation; institutional effectiveness; and strategic planning. His blogs on these and many other issues, ranging from the personal to the political, have been widely read on the Huffington Post, HBCU Lifestyles, and other influential websites. Charlie's authentic passion for positive social change has made him a highly-sought speaker around the world. He has brought messages of hope and opportunity by sharing his personal story and by mentoring untold numbers of students and faculty, many of whom have gone on to serve as college presidents. In Having My Say: Reflections of a Black Baby Boomer, Charlie shares invaluable insights gleaned from his leadership journey that has taken him from the cotton fields to university board rooms and beyond. His memoir, All Eyes on Charlie, will be published by Indiana University Press.