Sigma Alpha Iota

Fall 2018 30 PAN PIPES awards awards awards F r a t e r n i t y 2018 SAI D R . G A I L R O B I N S O N - O T U R U C l a r k s v i l l e A l u m n a e , P s i C , R e g i o n I V T his year's recipient of the National Alumnae Leadership Award is Dr. Gail Robinson Oturu, from the Clarksville Alumnae Chapter, Psi C Province, Region IV. Gail began her SAI life in 1974 when she was initiated into the Delta Nu Chapter at Howard University. She has been an active SAI ever since, serving the fraternity both locally and nationally. Wherever she moved, Boston, Volusia County (FL), Washington, DC, and Clarksville (TN), SAI was always with her. She joined those local alumnae chapters, holding executive board offices in each chapter. In recognition of her dedication to the fraternity, she has been honored with the Sword of Honor, Rose of Honor, Rose of Constancy, Rose of Dedication, and most recently, the Diamond Sword of Honor. Gail is currently a professor of voice at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. Prior to teaching at Austin Peay, Gail was Coordinator of Vocal Studies and Director of the Opera Workshop at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. As an educator she has received many campus, state, and national honors and awards, including Faculty Member of the Year, multiple Excellence-in-Teaching Awards, Innovative Teaching Awards, Excellence in Community Service, and Academic Advisor of the Year. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in Washington, DC named her the 1988 Florida Professor of the Year and honored her as a silver medalist on the national level. She often worked with high school students and programs and served as adjudicator for local and state festivals. In addition to her teaching responsibilities and SAI, Gail is also an active member of the National Opera Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Clarksville Community Concert Association, and a charter member of the Negro Spiritual Scholarship Foundation. While at Bethune-Cookman, Gail served as the chapter advisor to the Theta Xi Chapter. After her move to Clarksville, she was instrumental in the re-chartering of the Clarksville Alumnae Chapter in 2006. At the national level of SAI, she served as a fraternity director for SAI Philanthropies, a timekeeper at the 2006 National Convention in Orlando, and a workshop presenter at the 2012 Convention in Atlanta and the 2018 Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to the Clarksville Alumnae Chapter's VP-Membership and former NVP-Collegiate Chapters, Yvonne Glass, "Gail is a shining example of all that is best about our fraternity. She leads the chapter in planning our year by reviewing our national objectives and striving to meet those objectives in our service to the chapter, the community, and the greater fraternity. She is a consummate performer, educator, and inspires others to strive to find their fullest potential. She regularly brings fraternity music to our meetings to practice and as a point of fraternity education. She is an inspiration to our very diverse chapter and has a rich fraternity history that reminds us of the far- reaching love and support of Sigma Alpha Iota. Throughout her 44 years as a sister of our beloved fraternity, she has always found a place to serve the greater good and remains passionate about spreading the love of music to her sisters, her students, and everyone she meets. She is well respected for her dynamic and tireless work." N A T I O N A L A L U M N A E L E A D E R S H I P A W A R D

• Cover