After 41 years of service to Grambling State University, Charles Willie, associate professor of the Political Science Department has stepped down from his long-standing post. On Thursday, May 10 his Grambling family gathered to thank him for his many years of dedicated service to the cause of educating Black youth.
Willie began his career in 1958 at Wiley College. He taught political science for one year before coming to Grambling College in 1961, where he has been ever since.
Willie is also a retired commander in the U.S. Navy with 20 years of service.
The retiring professor has dedicated his life to the education of African American students and has guided many of his former students have gone on to pursue graduate and professional degrees. They have also become attorneys, professors, and university presidents.
The celebration featured a series of reflections from other members of the Department of Political Science, as well as a poem from GSU student, Tonjala Billups. As expected of a man with his dedication, Willie’s colleagues had nothing but good things to say about him.
Dr. Angelia Young Weaver said of her former teacher Willie, “He has had a hand on my shoulder my entire adult life.”
The praise of Willie continued with Dr. Nasir Ahmed, who said, “Mr. Willie is one of the few teachers that always challenges the status quo.”
When it was time for Willie to address those who turned out to say goodbye, he calmly said, “I’ve been here to see Grambling as a whole grow as well as the Political Science Department.” He went on to say, “We must nurture and protect institutions like Grambling; for if we don’t, we as a people are lost.”
Charles Willie has driven students to chase greatness throughout his career, as well as forcing them to look at the world as being much bigger than the place they grew up in. If you ask him what he is looking forward to the most in his retirement, though, it will probably be the fishing.
The Gramblinite
Friday, July 26, 2024