Jay Roberson, Associate Athletic Director at Samford, decided a couple of years ago to make a run for a seat on the Birmingham City Council.  He won the race, and then he began, step by step, to make a positive difference within our community.  A few days ago he was recognized in Washington, D.C. by Kevin Jennings, Deputy Secretary of the U. S. Department of Education.  According to Deputy Director Jennings: 

"I met Jay last summer at a speaking engagement in Atlanta.  Appalled by the high rates of homicide in his community, he organized '100 Days of No Violence,' a community service initiative that was launched on October 10 and spearheaded by area youth in an effort to combat crime, especially among youth, in Birmingham and surrounding communities.  Nearly 3,000 students signed pledges to commit to influence their peers to abstain for 100 days from behavior that could lead to homicides or their going to jail, leading into the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday in January 2011." 

The world is better because of Jay Roberson. 

  

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.