Willie Taggart named head football coach of Oregon Ducks

EUGENE, Ore. — Willie Taggart, one of college coaching's brightest offensive minds and a proven winner, will be introduced as Oregon's next head football coach at a press conference Thursday morning in the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex.

Taggart, 40, coached South Florida to a school-record 10-2 regular-season mark this fall, three years after the Bulls went 2-10. He will be the 33rd head coach in UO football history, and will have the distinction of being the football program's first African-American head coach.

"We are thrilled to welcome Willie, his wife, Taneshia, their sons, Willie Jr. and Jackson, and their daughter, Morgan," UO athletic director Rob Mullens said. "Willie places an emphasis on ensuring a positive student-athlete experience and on winning, and his previous stops have proven his success at both. We have a very bright future under his leadership."

Mullens will introduce Taggart at a press conference Thursday in the main theater of the HDC at 11 a.m. The event will be streamed live on Facebook and Twitter via the GoDucks accounts.

"I am grateful for the trust that President Schill and Rob Mullens have put in me to be the next head coach of the Oregon football program, and I thank them for the opportunity," Taggart said. "Oregon has a strong national presence and a proud recent history of playing among the nation's elite, and I look forward to the challenge of upholding the excellence.  I can't wait to get started."

"I want to congratulate Willie Taggart on becoming the University of Oregon's next head football coach, and welcome him and his family to the flock," UO president and professor of law Michael H. Schill said. "I am confident that Coach Taggart fits with the UO's values and culture of excellence as it relates to supporting our student-athletes' personal growth and success both on and off the playing field.

"I also want to recognize athletic director Rob Mullens for his hard work and dedication over the last few weeks. He did not have an easy task, but he's delivered a wonderful outcome and hired a great coach. Welcome Coach Taggart, and go Ducks!"

A 1998 graduate of Western Kentucky, Taggart began his coaching career as an assistant with his alma mater from 1999-2006. He then spent three seasons as an assistant to Jim Harbaugh at Stanford from 2007-09, coaching running backs and helping Toby Gerhart win the 2009 Doak Walker Award.

Taggart returned to Western Kentucky as head coach in 2010, taking over a program that had lost 20 straight games and leading the Hilltoppers to their first bowl bid in 2012. Taggart then took over at South Florida and has the Bulls in their second straight bowl game this fall.

With Taggart calling plays in the "Gulf Coast Offense," South Florida finished the regular season seventh nationally in scoring offense (43.6) and fifth in yards per play (7.29). The Bulls also boast the nation's fifth-best rushing offense at 291.75 yards per game, and they have 29 explosion plays of 40 yards or more, third-most in the FBS.

Black employees file discrimination suit against CNN, Turner

Current and former black employees of Time Warner, owner of Turner networks including CNN, TNT and TBS, have filed a class-action racial discrimination suit against the company.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Georgia says there has been a pattern of discrimination against blacks, particularly black males, in evaluations, compensation and promotions, at CNN, its parent Turner and Time Warner. The lawsuit says African-Americans make up 30 to 35 percent of employees in mid-level managerial and staffing positions at Turner and CNN but are underrepresented at higher pay grades and in senior positions.

The plaintiffs are seeking lost wages and other damages. CNN and Turner spokeswoman Barbara Levin said the company had no comment.

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Meet Cameron Clarke: Howard University's Fourth Rhodes Scholar

Howard University President Frederick announces another Rhodes Scholar to add to its legacy of producing Rhodes Scholarship recipients.

Cameron Clarke has been selected as one of 32 students nationwide to receive the prestigious 2017 Rhodes Scholarship.  Clarke is a double biology and community health major from Jersey City, New Jersey, living in Richmond, Virginia.

When he first enrolled at Howard University in the fall of 2013, Clarke arrived on campus as a high achiever with 42 advanced placement credits.  Clarke’s mother played an instrumental role in encouraging him to attend the University.

“I was hesitant at first because I didn’t want to look like I was following my older brother to college, who is a 2016 graduate of Howard,” said Clarke.  “My mom was the one who persuaded me to even visit.  It wasn’t until I arrived on campus for the Weekend at Mecca that I realized how much black intelligence was on this campus.  Some of the smartest, most dynamic people I had ever met were here in the same place.”

It was that moment that reassured Clarke that he was at the right place to take advantage of the numerous scholastic and research opportunities the University offered.

As a researcher at Howard University’s W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory that maintains a national repository for African-American skeletal remains, Clarke has assisted in developing a database to combine information for the Cobb collection and the New York City African Burial Ground.

“Howard’s secret is that it has as many, if not more opportunities than a lot of Ivy League schools,” said Clarke.  “You have a lot of professors within your departments who will allow you to conduct independent research and gain publication experience as an undergraduate, which is amazing for both graduate school applications and your own intellectual development.”

With multiple research experiences already to his credit, Clarke has participated in faculty-led research at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia through a Howard-National Science Foundation grant, in addition to studying at Columbia University’s School of Public Health.  This summer, Clarke conducted research at the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Cancer Research, as an Amgen Scholar.  Currently he works as an intern in the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, conducting science policy research for members and staff.

“This is definitely a great opportunity,” said Clarke.  “I’m ecstatic to receive this honor, and to have the chance to study primary health care and public health.”                                            

After graduating from Howard next summer, Clarke will undergo a two-year program at the University of Oxford in England.  Ultimately, Clarke plans on going to medical school, working in public health policy and doing clinical research.

“We are extremely proud of Mr. Clarke's accomplishment,” said President Frederick.  “Mr. Clarke's academic pursuits will lead to solutions in the broader society that are needed ever more so today. Cameron is the epitome of Howard University's gift of solutions to the world.”

The Rhodes Scholarship program is designed to provide special educational opportunities for future world leaders over a two-year period at Oxford University in England.  Only 32 scholars (two from each of the 16 U.S. districts) are selected annually, based on scholastic achievement, leadership ability, strength of character and physical vigor among other qualifications.  Once admitted to Oxford University, Rhodes Scholars have the opportunity to read for the Oxford B.A. in any of a number of subjects or may be admitted to read for a higher degree. In some cases, study is extended to a third year.

“We are excited to add Mr. Clarke to our Rhodes Scholarship-caliber of students. He will be our fourth Rhodes Scholar that now includes scholars such as Mark Alleyne (1986), Carla Peterman (1999), and Marianna Ofosu (2003),” said President Frederick.

Media contact:

Assistant Director, Media Relations

Anthony Owens

anthony.owens@howard.edu

(202) 870-9208