CEELO GREEN JOINS PAINE COLLEGE

2021年10月18日

Singer Ceelo 绿色 to aid 佩因大学 as artist-in-residence, recruiter, supporter

佩因大学 added a big voice to its efforts to recruit new students and restore its fabled choir.

Grammy Award-winning singer CeeLo 绿色 was the surprise guest at a student assembly Wednesday and will be taking on a musical and mentorship role with the historically black college and university.

绿色 described his position as a "visiting professor." 潘恩 Vice President Helene Carter said 绿色's title will be the school's Distinguished Artist in Residence and will help with recruiting and development. The famed singer will also help redevelop the choir, which had received both local and national acclaim and at one time toured nationally, and give it back some of its national prominence, 她说. 绿色 said a more formal announcement about his role will come later.

绿色 is friends with some 潘恩 alumni in Atlanta and, according to J.R. Henderson, a member of 潘恩's Board of Trustees, he saw an opportunity at 潘恩. "(绿色) said, ‘I am really going to effectuate some positive change at 佩因大学,'"

Henderson said 潘恩 has only recently emerged from accreditation problems caused in part by difficulties with funding and maintaining certain financial standards and handling external grants. But now administrators are looking to restore the glory that includes famed alumni like Civil Rights leader Joseph Lowery and novelist Frank Yerby.

绿色, whose real name is Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, has had a string of hits both as a solo artist and as a member of the groups Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley. He has appeared in videos and movies and served as a celebrity judge on singing competition shows like "The Voice" for several years.

"I'm at a point in my career where philanthropy is my passion,格林说. "How can I give back? How can I show the appreciation for what I've been given?"

Decked out in purple and white 潘恩 gear, the Atlanta native said he has a relative who attended 潘恩 years before, and he visited the school as a child. But it is really the city that drew him back.

"I've always had an affinity for Augusta, Ga.他说。. "The city just speaks to me. Every time I cross that line into Augusta, Ga., something comes alive for me."

Or perhaps it is someone that is drawing him, 绿色 joked.

"I call it the Ghost of James Brown, that's what I call it他说。. "I'm Soul Brother No. 要我说，是2个."

As someone who dropped out of high school and never got to go to college, "I have an affinity for education,格林说. "I come to aid and assist in every way possible."

That includes bringing more students to 潘恩.

"We want to see this gymnasium full他说。. "We want to see (enrollment) increase. We want to see success for our youth and for the future of our people. We want to see it transpire. We want to see it manifest and become a reality."

As for his musical influence on the school, "I want to be able to make your voices be more effective outside of these walls and outside of these limitations,格林说. "I believe that harmony is a vehicle to convey a message. I believe that all music, its origin and its intent is praise and acknowledgement."

It has a purpose, he said.

"How we can make songs about solution, songs about solidarity, songs about our strength, our plight and our perseverance,格林说. "How can we make those songs sound good and be effective and be influential."

He wants to be an influence with the students directly and get to know them and share his wisdom and experience.

"I want to be an encouragement," 绿色 told the students. "I want to be a fire in your bones."

在他的帮助下, 潘恩, whose mascot is the lion, will mount its comeback, President Cheryl Evans Jones said.

"We are truly going to restore the roar and move 佩因大学 forward," 她说.

Tom Corwin Augusta Chronicle