Alumnus Gilbert “Gil” Knowles, Class of 1976, president and CEO of KnowlesWhatToDo Mentoring Solutions, will be the guest speaker for the Lyceum Leadership Series program scheduled for Thursday, October 23 at 11 a.m. in Emery Gymnasium.

Knowles has mentored and/or positively influenced thousands of America’s youth. He is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, having served 20 years served; a former professor of Military Science for the U.S. Army ROTC; dean of students and later vice president for Student Affairs at Saint Augustine’s University; and former director of the Division of Community and Education for the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation. He is the author of Help Them Pull Their Pants Up…How Mentors and Communities Can Empower Young African American Men.

Knowles has managed educational programs supportive of underserved students for Departments of Defense, Energy and Justice; NASA; the Corporation for National Community Service; and the Royal Bank of Canada Liberty Life Insurance Company. He has facilitated lively interactive and motivational sessions supporting black male initiative programs at Concordia College, Selma, AL; Philander Smith College, Little Rock, AR; Benedict College, Columbia, SC; Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS; Livingstone College, Salisbury, NC; and a host of churches and schools. He recently facilitated a session for middle school teachers focusing on how to better connect with black male students.

Presently, he serves as a member of the Diversity Advisory Committee for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; chairman of the Board of Directors for Pre-College University, a non-profit organization; a deacon at Alfred Street Baptist Church, Alexandria, VA; and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.