Jasalyn Lucas, Communication Specialist
Itta Bena, Miss. - Mississippi Valley State University will host Founder's Week beginning Monday, April 11, through Thursday, April 14. This year's theme is "If It had Not Been for The Valley: Its People. Its Purpose. Its Progress."
One of the Week's highlights is the annual Founder's Day Convocation. The anticipated service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 14, 2022. In addition, it will mark the first in-person Founder's Day Convocation since 2019.
The keynote speaker for the event will be MVSU alum, the Rev. Marcus Mann. The Founder's Day Reception will follow at the James Herbert White Library- Foyer convocation.
A native of Walnut Grove, Miss. Mann attended MVSU, where he received a bachelor's degree in Health and Physical Education. He also received a master's in Sports Administration from Howard University. He graduated from both institutions with honors.
Rev. Mann has received countless accolades, awards, and honors. He has been inducted into the East Central Community College (ECCC) Academic Hall of Fame (1994) and Athletic Hall of Fame (2004), Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) Hall of Fame (2006), Mississippi Junior College Hall of Fame (2015), and Southwestern Athletic College (SWAC) Hall of Fame (2021).
Rev. Mann was a top draft choice in the 1996 National Basketball Association (NBA) with a commanding presence. He was the Golden State Warriors' 40th pick in the Second Round. However, after reaching his goal of being an NBA player, Mann suddenly lost interest in the sport he once loved and decided to leave the limelight to follow a call to the ministry, becoming an ordained minister in 1997.
Rev. Mann is currently the pastor of First Baptist Church (Carthage, MS) and a full-time Chaplain for Tyson Foods, Incorporated in Forest, Miss. In 2021, he recorded his first single, "Survivor," and established M3 Ministries (marcusmannministries.org).
Although Mann has had many titles bestowed upon him, his proudest title is dad. He has one daughter, Genesis A'Miyah Mann. Rev. Mann has consistently followed and achieved his dreams with unwavering family support.
Founder's Week kicked off Monday, April 11, with a campus clean-Up Project in the Jacob Aron Student Union-Vendor's Square. There was also a Passport to the World event in the William W. Sutton Administration Building- Claude G. Perkins Auditorium.
There was a Founder's Week Walk at 10 a.m. at the MVSU Fitness Trail on Tuesday. Shortly after, at 11 a.m., there was also a Café Cultural: Algeria presentation in the William W. Sutton Administration Building- Claude G. Perkins Auditorium.
Additionally, Wednesday events include the Founder's Week Panel Discussion at 10 a.m. at the W.A. Butts Social Science Building- Carver A. Randle Auditorium. Following at 11 a.m. will be the Incredible India event in the William W. Sutton Administration Building- Claude G. Perkins Auditorium.
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, the MVSU Jazz Band will hold a concert at the Walter Sillers Fine Arts Building- Band Hall.
At 9 a.m., a gravesite ceremony will memorialize Dr. James H. White and First Lady Augusta White outside the Lois Aron Chapel. Later that evening, at 7 p.m., the J.H. White Awards Gala will be held in the Robert W. Harris HPER Complex Gym.