The university celebrates 157 years with Carmen Wimberly Cauthen as keynote speaker

RALEIGH, NC – Black History Month begins with celebrating the founding of one of North Carolina’s prominent historically black colleges/universities (HBCUs). Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) will host its 2024 Founders’ Day Convocation on Thursday, February 1, 2024. The event will celebrate 157 years since the university’s founding by The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina on July 19, 1867. Raleigh native, author, and historian Carmen Wimberly Cauthen will be the keynote speaker. The event will air virtually at 11 a.m. on the university’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

“The 2024 Founders’ Day Convocation holds great significance for SAU, especially during this critical time in our university’s history,” said SAU Interim President Marcus H. Burgess. “It is another opportunity to reflect and build upon our historic relationship with the Raleigh community. We are honored to have Carmen Cauthen as the keynote speaker, whose expertise and commitment to community engagement embody our vision for the future of SAU.”

Carmen Wimberley Cauthen is a Raleigh, NC native who excels at community conversations. She is founder of Research and Resource and works with clients providing research and writing for blogs, podcasts, grants, and marketing; developing community engagement strategies; teaching about systemic racism while helping white people recognize what it takes to become true allies in the battle against racism and encouraging the writing of family memories so valuable history is not lost.

After graduating from North Carolina State University with a degree in Political Science, she worked in the North Carolina House of Representatives for over 20 years, writing the Journal. It was there she honed her talents as a copyeditor and proofreader. In the community at large, she is an excellent facilitator of meetings and conversations that spark ideas and action. As a historian, researcher and community activist, Carmen writes and teaches about the history of Black America, Black Raleigh in particular, and her experiences in articles and presentations. Her Amazon bestselling book, Historic Black Neighborhoods of Raleigh, was released in January 2023 and has sparked conversation about urban planning and its history and Black history in particular.

Click here to learn more about Carmen Wimberly Cauthen.