The First Five Years • Crossing The Line • Curtain Call

Alumni Profi le
A "First" Lady
28
A&T TODAY
Fall 2004
On September 30, 2003, Lillie M.
Robbins ’66 completed a highly
successful term as the fi rst African
American and the fi rst
female governor of the nearly
9,400-member Georgia District
of Kiwanis International, Inc.,
an organization that has been
around since 1918. Currently,
Kiwanis International has more
than 300,000 members in over
8,000 clubs in 80-plus countries.
Though white males founded
Kiwanis for business networking
Robbins
purposes, it fast became servicebased
and strives to improve the quality of life – with an emphasis
on youth – in communities around the world. Kiwanis has long
been multicultural but only invited women as members in 1987.
Recruited in 1989, Robbins has served as numerous “fi rsts” in
her rise through the ranks, including fi rst female president of
the Kiwanis Club of Metro Atlanta (1991-92), her home club;
fi rst female lieutenant governor of Division 16 (1993-94) and the
fi rst African American female lieutenant governor to serve in the
Georgia District; fi rst female and fi rst African American District
secretary-treasurer (2000-2001) and district governor-elect (2001-
2002). As immediate past governor, she is the fi rst female and fi rst
African American to become a member of the district’s Past Governor’s
Association.
Alumni Affairs Receives Grant
The Offi ce of Alumni Affairs was awarded a $5,000 grant by the
Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund (TMSF) to host a one-day
regional alumni training workshop. The funds were provided by
the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
“Loyal for Life: A New Generation of Alumni Donors” was held
Sept. 9 in Stallings Ballroom. The focus of the workshop was
to assist in increasing alumni participation and enhancing the
involvement of alumni representation in the fundraising process.
Participants were alumni of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCU) member institutions of the Thurgood Marshall
Scholarship Fund.
AlumniAggiePride
Robbins quickly acknowledges that her accomplishments in the
organization resulted from the outpouring of support and hard
work from the Georgia District. She credits the successes in her
life to her faith, her parents and her teachers.
“I fi rmly believe that God is always preparing us for something
better,” Robbins says. “I eagerly and excitedly look forward to
what’s on the next page.”
Robbins, a past national
president of A&T’s
Alumni Association,
has supported the university’s
annual fund for
more than 35 years, and
she has donated three
$1,000 freshman scholarships
to the university
through Cascade United
Methodist Church
(Atlanta) since the late
1980s.
“Aggie Pride means
giving back,” says the
Greenville, N.C., native.
August 2003 Georgia District of Kiwanis
International Convention held in Atlanta.
Alumni Affairs currently is collaborating with four other TMSF
schools – Fayetteville State, Elizabeth City, North Carolina Central
and Winston-Salem State – to assist in advancing the art
of fund raising, learning how to use the tools and techniques
effective in fundraising within the HBCU environment and to
share experiences with colleagues from other HBCUs. TMSF will
provide a certifi ed Fundraising School Trainer to conduct the
seminar as well as the training materials and workbooks.
N.C. A&T’s Offi ce of Alumni Affairs is one of 14 out of 45 member
schools selected to receive this grant.