New Issue of TBC Headed to Campus - Oct.

After some time off to prepare the new edition of THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Magazine, the editors have turned to focusing again on the blog and Blackcollegian.com, and we'll be posting our reflections on what's new and of interest in the upcoming issue.

Starting with the highlights, the First Semester Super Issue features a few of the seasonal, big special focus sections that our long-time readers have come to expect. We'll break these down later on the blog, but for now we've posted a few of the pieces in a sneak preview edition on THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Online, and can list some of specific interest here:

* Top 100 Diversity Employers 2006: In what's become an annual tradition, we've once again collaborated with the international research firm, Universum Communications, to produce a comprehensive survey and report identifying and ranking top employers across dozens of industries with a focus on diversity in the workplace and in management, and the desires and expectations of diverse student jobseekers -- both graduates and undergraduates. The section also features in-depth profiles of some of the highest ranking organizations, as well as a number of illuminating analyses of what different survey groups say they most seek and value from diversity-committed employers.

* Feature Interview with U.S. Senator Barack Obama on Black Student Political Power: In light of both several incidences of voter suppression at HBCUs and elsewhere, and a marked increased in Black student voter activity, we spoke with the Illinois senator to get his thoughts on how to raise Black student political clout. With a view to encouraging all citizens to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 7, we forged another fruitful collaboration with our friends at the Black College Wire to produce the feature, along with additional detailed illustrations of Black and other youth group voting trends and obstacles, and have released for it free reprint by other media online and offline.

* Hurricane Katrina: One Year After: TBC has published the third of our special collaborative projects with Black College Wire (www.blackcollegewire.org) focusing HBCU student journalists' perspectives of the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of New Orleans. In the "One Year After" section, student journalists, including returning contributors Shawn Chollette and Rebecca Roussell, examine the ongoing efforts to start over at New Orleans' HBCUs and in the city, as well as track a number of recent graduates from Dillard, Xavier, and SUNO to see how the Class of 2006 is faring now. Once again, the feature is freely available for reprinting by other media.

* Global Skills-Building, International Work and Study Abroad: During our summer 35th anniversary commemorations culminating in a special celebration in Anaheim at the National Association of Colleges and Employers convention, the editors determined to begin an earnest exploration of the role of the global workplace and how global skills-building stands to effect to competitiveness of young African-American jobseekers in the future. Throughout the edition, readers will find that the significance of international experience among students is a recurring theme that runs through feature articles, personal essays, and advice from employers alike. This echoes the reality on the ground that we observed speaking with scores of major employers in Anaheim: that fostering "diversity" in the workforce increasingly includes a diversity of languages, foreign perspectives, and experience navigating cultural landscapes outside the U.S. and the English-speaking world. yet, African-American students -- especially males, and especially those in certain technical sectors -- are among the least likely to take on international experiences as students, or to equip themselves with global skills that will give them an edge in entering the workforce.

More later. -- The TBC Crew