On Nov. 28, 2012, Rodney Gerald Holman ’85 took his final bow, as he departed from the arms of his committed, loyal, loving, praying mother, Sandra W. Holman, 239 Bingham and Parks Rd., Advance, NC 27006-7844, and entered into the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Holman, affectionately known as “Rod,” also leaves to cherish his memory an adopted father, Franklin A. Holman; one sister, Jenee’ Orr (Aaron); one nephew, Aaron M. Orr III; one niece, Jada Michelle Orr; two ‘sister-cousins,’ Deitra Toone (Damon) and Darlene Hinton (Mike); one aunt, Rosetta Williams (David); two uncles, Harold Wilson (Ethel) and Bobby Wilson (Louise); a host of cousins, loyal friends, colleagues, fellow “artists,” and the entire Holman and Wilson families.
Holman was a member of the Obama National Arts Policy Committee during the presidential campaign. He was a former writing consultant for the New York City Department of Education, and a former writing tutor at the College of New Rochelle, N.Y.
He also taught at Baruch College in New York and at Davidson as an apprentice teacher. Holman hails from Davidson, where he majored in political science, serving as the first minority freshman and sophomore class presidents.
He later completed his degree at SUNY Empire State University, N.Y. Holman more recently served as educational consultant with Carter G. Woodson School, as well as program director with Delta Arts Center. Holman also held positions as a regional program manager for VH1 Save The Music in Manhattan and Warner Brothers Productions.
As a teaching artist, he developed poetry writing workshops for grade school students and adults, including a writing workshop with the theme of creating community and racial harmony.
He trained school teachers how to incorporate poetry into their lesson plans. Holman is the author of several poems which have appeared in literary journals.
His most recent collection of poetry is The Universal Solvent, which may now be ordered on Amazon. Holman was a former CORO Public Policy fellow, HUD Community Development fellow, and Institute of Political Leadership fellow.
His current activities included: N.C. Governor’s School Foundation Board, life coach, Golden LEAF Scholars Program/Center for Creative Development, and a board member of the Winston-Salem Writers.