APRIL/MAY 2001
PROFESSOR WORKS AGAINST THE ILLS OF SOCIETY
An FSU professor who created a program to aid at-risk black male teenagers, and who is widely praised as a role model for students, has received the university's 2001 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award.
The award winner is Billy R. Close, 36, an assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
"For a long time, I have believed that Martin Luther King's greatest contribution was not the mere articulation of his dream, nor his ability to eloquently describe the pain and suffering of oppressed people throughout the world," Close said. "His true gift to humanity, in my humble opinion, was his willingness to actively engage in the process of correcting the debilitating human conditions of inequality, intolerance, indifference and injustice in America and beyond.
"Dr. King understood that correcting the social, economic, and political ills of our society required much more than dreaming; it required work. I hope that my life's work with students, colleagues, community organizations and the like contributes to the correction of America's continuing dilemmas."
Close's students often praise him "as a role model and
someone to emulate," said Thomas Blomberg, FSU School of
Criminology and Criminal Justice associate dean and professor.
In May 1992, Close created the Brotherhood of Pride Academy to
nurture the self-esteem, pride and value system of teen-age boys.
As its director, Close has been a teacher, adviser and mentor,
contributing to their success in college, the military and their
careers.
"He is a firm believer in being of service to the less
fortunate by empowering and assisting them to believe in themselves
and develop a sense of critical thinking that will allow them
to cultivate and build their dreams," said Brenda Jarmon,
assistant professor in the School of Social Work.
According to FSU religion Professor Emeritus William R. Jones,
Close inspires his students to continue their education beyond
the undergraduate level.
Since 1989, Close has been director of a graduate student summer orientation program, working to help black students entering graduate school. He not only obtained grants for the program, but he is known for being involved in the lives of the hundreds of students who have gone through the program.
"He stresses to his students the clear belief and commitment that they are not inferior, grafting in them those beliefs and values that are requisite for minorities to cope successfully in an oppressive society," Jones said.
Close was assistant director of the FSU Black Studies Program from 1994 to 1998. He also was a research consultant on the Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Comm-ission of the Florida Supreme Court from 1989 to 1991.
After earning his Ph.D. from the FSU School of Criminology
and Criminal Justice in 1997, Close joined its faculty.
- Jeffery Seay
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