Bradley University Black Alumni Alliance

05/27/2026

Leadership Opportunity Alert! 🔔

The Bradley University Black Alumni Alliance has OPEN BOARD POSITIONS, and yes, juniors & seniors are welcome to apply 👀

If you love connecting with fellow alums, have ideas you want to see happen, or just want to give back (while having fun), this might be your sign ✨

💡 Help shape our alumni community
🤝🏽 Make a real impact
🚀 Build leadership experience

No experience needed—just good energy, commitment, and alumni pride 💛 Interest form closes July 31st.

👉 Tap the link in our bio to learn more & apply!
https://forms.gle/NiEg9ACHyuX5XQVs7

05/22/2026

And just like that, the Bradley University Black Alumni Alliance has completed another year of service.

We’d like to thank everyone who’s engaged with us, returned to the Hilltop, or supported our initiatives through donations (monetarily or by way of non-perishable items). Your commitment impacts our students and our alumni.

There’s much more to come this year and we look forward to continuing to connect with you.

Here’s a sneak peek at our tentative schedule 👀:

- BUBAA Call for Board Members
- BUBAA Out of the Office (June 1 - July 31st)
- BUBAA @ Back to School Orientation (August)
- BUBAA Fall Fundraiser
- BUBAA Takes BU Homecoming (October)
- BUBAA Jingle & Mingle Holiday Party (December)

If you’re interested in joining the board, reach out to us at [email protected] or fill out this form by July 31st https://forms.gle/VzQrJ8e6AwkXPhZM6

You can stay updated with us by:

📌 Joining BUBAA at https://www.tfaforms.com/4769383

📌 Attending Bradley and BUBAA Events (events are always listed here): https://alumnievents.bradley.edu/events

If you have any questions or comments, reach out to us at [email protected]

❤️🅱️

📸:

05/07/2026

We’d like to acknowledge and thank Tracy Walker ‘99 for establishing the Bradley University Black Alumni Alliance’s Hall of Fame. It honors and celebrates the remarkable achievements and contributions of African American faculty, staff, and alumni who have made significant impacts on Bradley University’s campus, within the community, and within BUBAA itself.

This year, we had the pleasure of inducting 15 alumni at our Trailblazers Brunch on Sunday, April 19th. We want to thank each of our inductees for their dedication, leadership, and outstanding service.

- Stephen C. Lewis ‘72 (not pictured)
- Dr. Carolyn Fitzpatrick ’91
- Jerrold Berry ‘91
- Dr. Randy Melton ‘93
- Dr. Teresa Davis ‘96
- Rhonda Potts ‘04
- Dr. Vannesia Darby ‘12
-Celso White ‘84 (not pictured)
- Attorney Melvin Flowers ‘90
- Leo Harmon ‘92
- Chris Smith ‘95
- Kerensa Jackson-Burton ‘96
- Jamaal Buchanan ‘99
- Tracy Walker ‘99
- Michelle Mills Clement ‘03

If you missed it, we also made a special announcement regarding our BUBAA Hall of Fame. Thank you to our Immediate Past-President, Stacey Rose ‘96 for her dedication in preserving our founding history and this integral part of celebrating our alumni. Stacey will be leading efforts to have BUBAA’s history (including our hall of fame inductees), showcased in the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center. 🎉👏🏽

If you know someone who deserves to be nominated, send your recommendations to us at [email protected] or wait for us to make the call once we began prepping for our 2028 BUBAA Reunion.

05/01/2026

The Scholarship Gala is a formal event that is dedicated to celebrating academic excellence, leadership, and scholarship.

This year we added a little twist 😏 We had so many people questioning the attire. What is western luxe? What do I wear? Let’s just say, you all understood the assignment because YOU LOOKED AMAZING!

Thank you to our distinguished guests and scholarship recipients for joining us on such an impactful evening. BUBAA would like to also send a special thank you to President Shadid for joining us and speaking on behalf of Bradley University. It was insightful to learn of the initiatives that you have to make our beloved Alma mater a place for all students.

We hope you enjoy a snapshot of the evening! If attending the reunion or engaging with us has fueled you to get involved with our alliance, please reach out to us at [email protected]

05/01/2026

We pride ourselves on many things as an affinity group, but the initiative that the Bradley University Black Alumni Alliance (BUBAA) excels at the most, is maintaining our commitment to support students by raising funds for their tuition at Bradley University.

This year, we awarded a total of $49,100 to 10 students that applied for our BUBAA Scholarships. Thank you to our alumni and community partners for joining us in raising $16k during our reunion fundraiser to continue the legacy of our scholarships.

Congratulations to our 2026 recipients 🎉👏🏽 Thank you to Dillon, Yahari, Nyah, and Nassir, for joining us at our Scholarship Gala on Saturday, April 18th during our reunion weekend ❤️🅱️

Dr. Barbara S. Penelton Endowed Scholarship Recipient (this is our top scholarship and it is only awarded to one student per year)

✨ Nyah Burnett (pictured)

Black Alumni Scholarship Recipients
✨Nassir Collins (pictured)
✨Leilani Coscio
✨Dillon Jones (pictured)
✨Sophia Pantoja
✨Mariah Powell
✨Yahari Smith (pictured)
✨Olivia Tristan
✨Brandy Valencia-Farias
✨Enrique Zamora García

If you applied to our scholarships and were not selected, we welcome you to apply again next year. Need help with your application? We invite you to attend our scholarship luncheon (hosted in February) where we discuss all things about the process and how to stand out on your application.

If you have any questions about your application or about our scholarships, reach out to us at [email protected]

📸 by

04/28/2026

This year, Alpha Photography(Jerrold Berry) captured amazing photos of alumni by decade. These will make the best throwbacks for generations to come, and we can’t wait to recreate this as the years go on!

- 60s & 70s Alumni
- 80s Alumni
- 90s Alumni
- 2000s - 2020s Alumni

BUBAA Reunions are held biennially. If you missed this reunion, we hope you’ll join us at our next one in 2028!

04/25/2026

What an incredible way to start the 2026 BUBAA Reunion! 🎉🤠

We’re still on cloud nine from the energy at last week’s events — from inspiring conversations and powerful moments to unforgettable connections. Seeing everyone come together, share memories, and create something meaningful was truly special.

A huge thank you to everyone who showed up, participated, and made it all happen. You’re what made this experience unforgettable. ❤️🅱️

Enjoy moments from our Student/Alumni Mixer and Just Kickin’ It Welcome Party on Friday, April 17th.

Missed it? Don’t worry — this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for more moments, more opportunities, and even bigger things ahead.

04/24/2026

04/21/2026

DAY OF GIVING 2026

Our challenge for the Decade Showdown has ended, but the goal of racing $20k is still in sight.

If you did not get the opportunity to donate to our fundraiser, we have great news, we’ve extended it throughout Bradley’s Day of Giving. You can until April 22nd. Your contributions of ANY amount will directly impact BUBAA as we develop action plans to support student engagement, alumni connections, and BUBAA initiatives.

Instructions to donate:
✨Visit BUBAA’s Reunion Giving Page here
Link: https://www.givecampus.com/schools/BradleyUniversity/bubaa-reunion-gala-the-golden-lasso-decade-showdown/?a=12323181

✨Select your donation amount (every gift counts)

✨Designation Box: select a BUBAA Scholarship or Support BUBAA.

If you’d like to split where your donations go, you can select an option, enter your donation amount. Then click +add another, select your other option and enter your donation amount. All selections will still count towards your decade’s total.

✨Fill out all other required information 

✨ Choose your affiliation. If you select alumnus/a, you will have the option to select your graduation year (from the drop down list). Selecting alumnus/an and selecting your year designates that month to your specific decade. (Challenge has ended by bragging rights are always great!)

✨Complete the payment process

If you have any issues, reach out to us at [email protected]