As the recipient of the James Lynn Powell Award, Obie Cleveland Hill, retired dean of the College of Education, has been chosen as Nicholls’ first Grand Marshall of Homecoming and will ride in the Homecoming parade today at 5 p.m. at John L. Guidry Stadium.
The James Lynn Powell Award is the most prestigious honor awarded by the Nicholls State University Alumni Federation to a graduate of Nicholls who has excelled in his or her chosen profession, Debbie Raziano, director of alumni affairs and university chairperson for Homecoming, said.
Hill is the 43rd honoree of the award, which is given every spring by the alumni association.
“It is an honor, of course, to be chosen,” Hill said. “I hope it will start a new trend.”
Raziano said the honor of Grand Marshall is given to the recipient of the James Lynn Powell Award as another way of recognizing the outstanding alumnus or alumna. It was suggested Nicholls begin the tradition of having a Grand Marshall because some other universities already do this.
“He is an outstanding individual,” Raziano said. “His love and care of people and of his alma mater is something that is to be admired.”
In addition to riding in the parade, Hill will be introduced at the Alumni Homecoming Buffet at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the quad. He will also participate in the coin toss before the game and will accompany University President Stephen Hulbert in crowning this year’s Homecoming King and Queen.
Hill attended Nicholls on a basketball scholarship from 1968 to 1972 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He earned a Master of Education in administration and supervision from Nicholls and a Doctorate of Education degree in higher education from the University of New Orleans.
While playing basketball for the Colonels, Hill was a three-time Most Valuable Player and served as team captain in 1970 and 1972. Hill was drafted into the American Basketball Association in 1972. He was a Nicholls assistant basketball coach from 1979 to 1985. Hill was inducted into the Nicholls State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981 and into the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1994. In that same year, Nicholls retired his number 56 jersey.
Hill then became an assistant professor of physical education in 1985 and went on to become the first African-American dean at Nicholls.
During his seven year term as dean of education, Nicholls became the only public university in Louisiana to have a teacher education program earn an exemplary rating on the Board of Regents report on accountability for three consecutive years. He worked to secure over $3 million in grants for Nicholls.
Since his retirement, Hill said he has been reading and taking care of some health problems. He is teaching a class on organization, administration and finance of higher education this semester.
“This is just a temporary thing,” Hill said, referring to his retirement.