Contact: Crystal Drake, Office of Strategic Communications
Tuskegee requires every student to become workforce ready before crossing the commencement stage. While academic rigor across all eight colleges and schools at the university is the centerpiece of preparing them for success, university leaders recognize the reality that business attire required for many work environments can be an additional financial hurdle for many students. The Golden Tigers Community Closet is filling that gap.
“One of the key pillars of Tuskegee’s Renaissance Era is our focus on career readiness for our students,” said Dr. Mark A. Brown, president and CEO. “Academically, we are equipping our students to stand shoulder to shoulder with any candidates competing for roles in the global economy. The Golden Tigers Community Closet is an important way to ensure that every student can also feel confidently dressed when they step into those spaces.”
Tuskegee’s student success model requires students to be workforce ready
before they graduate. That includes a mandate that, as early as freshman year, every student complete at least one internship and take advantage of opportunities in the university’s Career Center to connect with potential employers and events across campus throughout the year where business attire is most suitable. Practice makes perfect and with access to these wardrobe options, students can get more familiar with the competitive edge that appropriate attire can be.
The closet is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and is located in Room 44-101 in John A. Kenney Hall. Student volunteers staff the closet which has been in operation since 2023.
“A critical part of being ready for and confident in business environments is being appropriately dressed,” said Walter P. Cooper, Sr., Director of the Career Education and Leadership Development Center. “We know that every workplace doesn’t require business attire – our center includes business casual and casual attire, too – but as our students prepare to enter those workplace scenarios that do, it is important that access to the right wardrobe is not a barrier.”
The Career Education Leadership Development Center initially operated the donation center as the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) COACH x TU Closet. When that collaboration ended last fall, a student organization called Rave Revue, which focuses on fashion industry opportunities, partnered with Cooper’s team to keep the operation running.
“The Community Closet is a great opportunity for alumni engagement,” said Cooper. “We also welcome faculty, staff and the community to add to this valuable resource to ensure that students can focus on pursuing their education without concern over clothing costs.”
As Tuskegee University continues to invest in student success initiatives, the Golden Tiger Community Closet stands as an example of how community engagement can help students transition confidently from academic life to professional careers. Supporters are encouraged to donate clothing, ship needed items, or make online gifts to assist the program and the students it serves.
To donate career clothing to the Golden Tiger Community Closet, ship directly to: Golden Tiger Community Closet, John A. Kenny Hall, Room 44-101, 1200 W. Montgomery Rd, Tuskegee, AL 36088. To donate financially to the Community Closet, visit
www.tuskegee.edu/TUGives and select The Golden Tiger Community Closet in the gift designation section.
© 2026 Tuskegee University
