Taking no chances
The new chancellor at Fayetteville State University says it’s not enough for students to receive a college degree – he wants them to receive a competitive degree for today’s global workforce By Khary McGhee
I
t looked easy enough. At least that’s what James Anderson thought when he saw a fellow graduate school student practicing tai chi. The deliberate, fluid movements of the exercise look more like modern
dance than the Chinese martial art that it is. Even more, it didn’t look at all difficult, certainly not to the physically active and fit Washington D.C., native.
“I said, ‘Anybody can do that,’” Anderson recalled. “He said, ‘Well, why don’t
you come out and try?’” Turns out it was tougher than it seemed. That was 30 years ago, and Anderson, now the chancellor at Fayetteville State
University, has a much better understanding of tai chi, having practiced it for the last three decades. And he’s used it to grow personally and in his career.
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Above left | James Anderson takes questions as Fayetteville State University introduced him as the school’s new chancellor earlier this year.
