GRAMBLING, LA. - Grambling State University is mourning the lost of Abdulalim A. Shabazz, a distinguished professor at Grambling with a national reputation. Shabazz had been hospitalized at Northern Louisiana Medical Center less than two weeks ago, he was 87.

"I've Known Dr. Shabazz for many years," said Grambling State President Frank G. Pogue. "He represented the kind of excellence Grambling is known for, and for the university it means a great deal that he was with us."

Pogue met Shabazz when Pogue was a graduate student at Atlanta University, he said his roommate, a math student, "idolized" Shabazz.

Connie Walton, GSU's provost and vice president of academic affairs, said it was 2005 when the university hired Shabazz as a consultant to help the faculty restructure the mathematics courses, eventually increasing a standing student pass rate to above 80 percent. She said he challenged faculty and students to aim higher.

"Dr. Shabazz always said it is important for African American students to see African American teachers with a Ph.D in mathematics," said Walton.

President Pogue recently visited Shabazz in the hospital. Shabazz passed away on Wednesday (June 25). He was 87.

After his consulting work at GSU, Shabazz formally joined the Gramblinite family in 2007 as an endowed chair for mathematics. He was the first to hold this position at Grambling State University. His career included time at Clark Atlanta University and Lincoln University, among other higher education institutions.

President Bill Clinton awarded Shabazz with a national mentor award in September 2000 for excellence in science, mathematics and engineering mentoring in 2000. He also received the National Association of Mathematicians Distinguished Service Award for his years of mentoring and teaching excellence.

Shabazz was born to Lonnie Cross in Bessemer, Alabama, on May 22, 1927 and earned a bachelor's in mathematics and chemistry from Lincoln University in 1949, a master's in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951 and a doctorate of in mathematics from Cornell University in 1955.

Services are pending.

The HBCU Campaign team sends out our condolences to the entire Grambling State University family.