Archon Melvin I. Douglass Appointed to New York State Cultural Education Trust Board

On June 1 Archon Melvin I. Douglass, a distinguished educator, was appointed to the New York State Cultural Education Trust Board by New York State Senate Majority Leader, Pedro Espada, Jr.

The New York State Cultural Education Trust Board was established in the enacted budget of 2006 - 2007. It is a five-member board, which is chaired by the chancellor of the Board of Regents. The other members were appointed by the governor, the speaker of the Assembly and the chancellor of the Board of Regents. The Trust Board is a volunteer advisory board composed of a distinguished group of civic-minded individuals who are interested in and committed to the advancement, promotion, stewardship and protection of the state’s cultural assets. The New York State Cultural Education Trust Board has oversight over libraries (including university library facilities), museums, archives and public television.

The purpose of the Trust Board is “…to prepare and recommend plans, in cooperation with the Commissioner of Education, to the Director of the Budget regarding projects to enhance the public display of the collections and exhibits of the State Museum, Library and Archives, and for the acquisition of a new storage facility for such collection.”

Each board member will play an essential role in promoting greater public awareness for the collections of the Office of Cultural Education. They will also direct the investment of the currently appropriated $20 million renewal of the museum’s galleries and $60 million to build the first phase of a new stewardship and research facility, as well as such additional funds as may be appropriated in the future. The gallery renewal will enhance the public displays of collections and tell the story of New York State, while the new facility will be an essential tool to store and protect our growing collections and further support our stewardship responsibilities for the collections.

Archon Douglass has a broad range of educational experiences. He earned his associate’s degree from Vincennes University in 1970; his bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University in 1973; his master’s degree from Morgan State University in 1975 and another master’s degree from New York University in 1977. Archon Douglass also received a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1978 and a doctorate degree from the same institution in 1981. His dissertation was entitled The Black Family as a Matrix of Achievement: The Historical Case of Dr. William Montague Cobb. While attending Columbia University on a full academic scholarship, he was elected to the prestigious Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society and, later, Golden Key International Honour Society. In addition, his outstanding academic performance qualified him for membership into Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society. Archon Douglass’s postdoctoral work earned him certificates in Urban School Leadership and Improving Schools: The Art of Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2003 and 2007 respectively. In addition, he was awarded two highly coveted fellowships. One from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which provided him the unique opportunity to study at Clare College, Cambridge University, England, in 2007 and another from the Goethe-Institut, Germany, which enabled him to study the German education system abroad in 2008. He was also selected as a Japan Fulbright Memorial Scholar in 2008, which allowed him to be a member of a distinguished delegation studying Japanese culture and educational institutions. Archon Douglass received a research study grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute on "The Role of Slavery in the Rise of New England Commerce, Industry and Culture to 1860." This purposeful research and study was accomplished with the cooperation of Brown University and the Rhode Island Historical Society in 2009.

His propensity for leadership is also evident in the organizations to which he belongs. Archon Douglass is a member of Lebanon Lodge No. 54 of Free and Accepted Masons. He is also a member of Long Island Consistory No. 61 (PHA). He received an honorary 33^rd degree, which is the (“last and highest”) degree given for exceptional service to Freemasonry by the Scottish Rite. In 2008 he was appointed to the Committee on Masonic Education of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York and selected for the editorial staff of The Prince Hall Sentinel. Archon Douglass is an active member of the Phylaxis Society, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (Alpha Sigma Boulé). In 2010 he was appointed to serve on the Grand Boule’s History and Archives Committee for 2010-2012 biennium. He is also involved in One Hundred Black Men of Long Island, Brooklyn Guardsmen, Comus Club of Brooklyn and Reveille Club of New York.