Dr. Joseph Fox’s Legacy: the Minority Student Leadership Academy

When Dr. Joseph Fox recently retired from his position as Chair of Business Administration at A-B Tech, he left a legacy through his work with the Minority Student Leadership Academy.

When Fox founded the program in 2008, it was called the A-B Tech Minority Male Mentoring Program and had 16 members. Today, it has been renamed the Minority Student Leadership Academy, is open to all races and genders, and has more than 200 members, including 97 women.

Fox said students involved in the Academy tend to be more involved in their classes and campus life, which encourages them to complete their educations at A-B Tech. “Our retention rates have soared over the 80-percent mark and were 100% last semester,” he said.

Jeremy Jackson, a recent graduate who obtained three degrees, said his experience with the Minority Student Leadership Academy enriched his years at A-B Tech. “ It provided a lot of resources, and exposed me to a lot of people I’ve met, a lot of networking, and going to places I’ve never seen before. It’s really just a great experience,” he said.

Phyllis Utley, A-B Tech’s diversity recruiter and co-host of the College’s No Limits radio show on WRES FM, has worked with Fox in the Academy and will remain involved following his retirement.

“The Academy is a student-focused organization that helps students navigate their college experience and life,” she said. “It provides a lot of resources for students outside of the academics, the things that you need to create a very healthy life. It’s a smart start in their journey.”

Fox said the Academy also gets involved in the community, most recently creating a community service project focused on assisting middle school students.

“We are developing future male leaders,” he said. “Their story is also our story. Our A-B Tech students share their challenges growing up and how they overcame them with minority male middle school students.”

Fox said A-B Tech students were alarmed when one middle school boy told them he saw jail in his future. “Our members took him under their wing. They ended up learning more about themselves working through the group. They were shocked to recognize young people already think they are a lost cause and college was not in their future,” he said.

To learn more about the Academy, please visit http://videos.abtech.edu/msla.