CANTON -- SUNY Canton's Scholarly Activities Celebration kicks off Monday, April 13, with a virtual keynote speech by SUNY Canton alumnus and motivational speaker LaVon Williams, Ph.D., class of 1999.

Williams' speech is open to the public and is scheduled for 5 p.m. (EST) via Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/947865850. He is the founder and president of the non-profit organization The Men of the Tenth, whose mission is to teach high school and college students to become the next generation of leaders.

As a college administrator at Union City College and adjunct professor at Montclair State University, Williams' scholarly research aims to better understand, and offer solutions to, the unique challenges of male African American students.

Growing up in the Bronx, Williams encountered his own hurdles to education: poverty, violence, and a failing school system.

While attending SUNY Canton to receive his associate degree, he found a supportive network of faculty and staff who helped him succeed. He eventually went on to earn a bachelor's degree in Communications and Mass Media from SUNY Plattsburgh, a master's degree in Sports Management from SUNY Cortland and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Rowan University.

He said he began Men of the Tenth almost 20 years ago to "use history and hip-hop to educate students on how to achieve their dreams."

To learn more about Men of the Tenth, visit https://www.themenofthetenth.org/program.