TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
The American Bar Association has granted provisional accreditation to the Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law.
The College of Law will have an enrollment of 300 students this fall. The ABA's announcement means that FAMU students will now be able to sit for Florida's state bar examination. According to the ABA, any school that is granted provisional accreditation is entitled to "all the rights of a fully approved law school. Graduates are entitled to the same recognition as those from fully approved schools."
In addition to FAMU's news, Florida International University (FIU) College of Law also received word of its provisional accreditation, according to the ABA. New law schools may apply for provisional approval after one year of operation. FAMU and FIU began the process in the fall of 2003 and hosted an ABA site evaluation team in November.
— Associated Press

Sonja Haynes Stone Center For Black Culture Opens New Facility at UNC

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History opened its new facility in August. The grand opening celebration included a candlelight vigil and processional and a dedication ceremony.
The center was established in 1988, and named for the late Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone in 1991.
The Stone center focused its attention on raising awareness of and appreciation for African American culture by the campus community. Outgrowing its 900 square-foot office in the Frank Porter Graham Student Union, the new tri-level 44,500 square-foot, freestanding Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History cost $9 million, which was funded entirely through private gifts.
The center's fall 2004 events calendar includes performances by poet Sonia Sanchez, jazz artist Nnenna Freelon, artist/activist/writer/performer/teacher Aya de León, writer Wole Soyinka and the opening of the Hewitt Collection of African American Art.

Wal-Mart to Award Journalism Scholarships to Minority College Students

BENTONVILLE, Ark.
In efforts to increase diversity in America's newsrooms, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has made a financial commitment of $500,000 to fund $50,000 scholarships to 10 select journalism programs at universities nationwide: Arizona State University; Columbia University; Hampton University; Howard University; Northwestern University; Syracuse University; University of Florida; University of Missouri at Columbia; University of Southern California; and the University of Texas at Austin. The universities were selected based on the quality of their journalism programs and student demographics.
Each university with an undergraduate journalism program will select four minority students to receive $2,500 scholarships in their junior year. At Columbia University, students enrolled in the graduate journalism program will qualify for the scholarship.
The Wal-Mart initiative was designed to fill the gap identified in recent surveys by two news industry groups, the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Radio and Television News Directors Association. The announcement was made at the UNITY 2004 convention in Washington, D.C., in August.