ACT Results Show a Huge Racial Gap in College Readiness
Last week we reported that over the past five years there has been a significant widening of the racial gap in scores on the ACT college entrance examination. But the most shocking statistics from this year’s ACT report are the percentage of black high school graduates who have achieved benchmark scores for college readiness. These statistics show what percentage of all test takers are adequately prepared for college-level study.
Some 35 percent of all blacks who took the ACT were rated as being adequately prepared for college English courses. For whites, the figure is 77 percent. In mathematics, only 14 percent of all black test takers achieved the benchmark score for college readiness. For whites, 54 percent of all students were deemed prepared for college-level study in mathematics. This is nearly four times the rate for blacks.
The largest racial gap in college readiness is in science. Only 6 percent of black ACT test takers achieved the benchmark score for preparedness in science. In contrast, 37 percent of white students, more than six times as many, were deemed capable of handling a college-level science curriculum.
Only 4 percent of black ACT test takers were deemed to meet the college readiness benchmark in all subjects. For whites, the figure was 31 percent.
RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Fellowships, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University awards 50 funded residential fellowships each year designed to support scholars, scientists, artists, and writers of exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishment.
For more information, please contact:
Radcliffe Application Office
8 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-1324 fellowships@radcliffe.edu
Endowed Chair in Black Studies Named to Honor African-American Labor Pioneers
The John and Eula Cleveland Chair in Black History Studies at Howard University is the first endowed chair in the university's department of Afro-American studies. The chair was made possible from a $1.2 million gift from the couple’s estate.
John Cleveland was the first African-American vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Eula Cleveland was the first African-American women to sit on the executive board of a major union local.
At the ceremony announcing the naming of the chair, the couple’s lawyer stated, “John Cleveland was the Jackie Robinson of the Teamsters Union.”
Ohio University Partners With Private University in Ghana
Ohio University in Athens has entered into a partnership agreement with the African University College of Communication in Accra, Ghana. Under the agreement, the two universities will participate in faculty and student exchange programs. Study aborad programs for Ohio students will be available for the study of communications and Akan, a major language used in Ghana.
Total Ban on Smoking Instituted at Claflin University
Claflin University, the historically black educational institution in Orangeburg, now operates a completely smoke-free campus. Since August 2008, smoking has been banned in all campus buildings and vehicles. The new ban includes now includes any building or property on the Claflin campus including all outdoor areas.
Beginning September 16, violators of the no-smoking policy could be subjected to a $25 fine.
Professors at Two HBCUs Report Breakthrough in Heart Disease Prevention
Samuel A. Besong, associate professor of human ecology at Delaware State University, and Michael O. Ezekwe, associate professor of agriculture at Alcorn State University have made an important discovery that could be a major development in the prevention of heart disease. In a paper published in the International Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, the authors report that the ingestion of the leaves of the purslane plant can have a significant impact on lowering cholesterol levels in adults.
The two professors are now conducting research on the best way for humans to consume the leaves. They are investigating a freeze-dried process and also converting extract from the leaves into pill form.
The First Woman Board Chair in the 115-Year History of Voorhees College
Mary Ellen Moule was elected chair of the board of trustees of historically black Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina. She is the first woman to hold the position in the college’s 115-year history.
Moule is a practicing attorney and has been a member of the Voorhees board for four years. A 1991 graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Moule earned a master’s degree in African-American studies at Cornell and a law degree at Yale University.
Before practicing law, she taught in the public schools of Washington, D.C., and at Oregon State University.
TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Assistant Professor of Higher and Postsecondary Education
Position: Assistant professor with record of significant scholarly accomplishment and/or promise for tenure-track position in the study of higher education with active involvement in empirical research, excellent teaching and advisement, and commitment to program administration and development. Expertise in the organization and leadership of urban institutions will be especially welcome.
Responsibilities: Develop and maintain a vibrant program of research. Teach courses such as higher education organization and administration, leadership and others depending on expertise. Advise and supervise dissertations. Participate actively in program development, administration and public outreach.
Qualifications: Doctorate in higher education. Research that is and/or promise to be of the highest academic caliber. Abilities to conceptualize, carry out, and publish excellent research. Teaching and advisement of graduate students. Expertise in leadership/collaborative engagement with colleagues committed to an outstanding higher education program.
Mail the following materials to Professor Anna Neumann, Search Committee Chair, c/o Ms. Awilda Cabrera, Program Manager, Teachers College, Columbia University, Department of Organization and Leadership, Box 50, 525 West 120th St., New York, NY 10027-6696. Email: cabrera@tc.edu; Tel: 212-678-3946: (1) Letter of application specifying candidate’s areas of research and teaching expertise and interests, including future research plans. (2) Curriculum vitae. (3) Three writing samples (conference paper, article, etc.). (4) Three letters of recommendation. Please include names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers, and emails of the individuals writing letters of recommendation. Applications must be postmarked no later than October 15, 2011. Appointment begins August 2012. For copy of complete position announcement, email cabrera@tc.edu.
Teachers College as an institution is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment. In offering education, psychology, and health studies, the College is committed to providing expanding employment opportunities to minorities, women, and persons with disabilities in its own activities and in society.
Appointments, Promotions, and Resignations
• Ann Marie Whyte was appointed interim associate dean for administration and human resources at the University of Central Florida's College of Business. She has been on the university's faculty since 1998.
Dr. Whyte holds a Ph.D. in finance from Florida Atlantic University. Before coming to UCF, she taught at Cleveland State University and the University of Dayton.
• Carmen Sidbury is the new associate provost for research and resources at Spelman College in Atlanta. She was associate dean of undergraduate studies at the college. For the past two years Dr. Sidbury has been serving as director of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program at the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Sidbury holds bachelor's and master's degrees from North Carolina A&T State University. She was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech.
• Wanda Lester was promoted to associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. She was serving in the position on an interim basis. Previously, she was associate dean of the School of Business and Economics at the university.
Dr. Lester is a graduate of Florida A&M University. She holds a Ph.D. in strategic management/management information systems from Florida State University.
• David Marshall was named vice president of academic affairs at American Sentinel University, a distance educational institution based in Aurora, Colorado. Previously, he was the assistant vice president of academic affairs and an associate professor of communications at Edward Waters College.
Dr. Marshall is a graduate of Morgan State University in Baltimore. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Temple University.
• Danielle Gray-Singh is the new associate vice president of academic affairs at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. She was head of the biology department at Tuskegee University.
Dr. Gray-Singh holds a Ph.D. from Tulane University in New Orleans.
• Dave Huddleston has joined the faculty of the Mass Communications Center of Excellence at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Huddleston serves as anchor of two newscasts at Philadelphia television stations. He will teach a course on television production and operation.
• Talbert Myers has retired from his post as vice president of community development at Johnston Community College in Smithfield, North Carolina. He has been an administrator at the college since 1999. He previously taught biology at Montgomery Community College.
Myers holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from North Carolina Central University. He is currently completing his doctorate in higher education administration at North Carolina State University.
• Betty Pierce Dennis was named chair of the department of nursing at North Carolina Central University in Durham. She has been serving as professor and dean of the division of nursing at Dillard University in New Orleans. She was chair of the nursing department at NCCU from 1999 to 2004.
Professor Dennis is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. She holds a master’s degree in medical-surgical administration from Emory University and doctorate in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Grants and Gifts
• The University of Nebraska received a $149,579 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a partnership with two universities in Ethiopia. The grant will create a study abroad program for University of Nebraska students to work on food security programs in Ethiopia.
• Historically black Alabama State University in Montgomery received a five-year, $1.75 million grant from the National Science Foundation to strengthen the university's undergraduate programs in STEM fields.
• The University of Georgia and six partner institutions have received a five-year, $4.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to support the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM fields. Among the participating institutions are historically black Savannah State University and Fort Valley State University.
• Fayetteville State University, the historically black educational institution in North Carolina, received a $1.18 million grant to support its Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Grant program. The goal of the program is to increase the number of black students who teach science and mathematics in the public schools.
High Achieving Black High School Students Suffer More Academically From Bullying
A new study, recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Las Vegas, found that bullying victims often suffer academically. The data presented showed that students who had been bullied in the 10th grade had their grade point average lowered by an average of 0.049 points compared to students who were not bullied.
But the results show that the impact of bullying is most severe for high-achieving African-American and Latino students. They study found that black students who had grade point averages of 3.5 or higher in ninth grade and then were bullied in 10th grade saw their GPAs decline by 0.3 points by 12th grade compared to students who were not bullied.
The authors of the study are Lisa M. Williams, a doctoral student at Ohio State University and Anthony A. Peguero, a professor of sociology at Virginia Tech.
The Racial Gender Gap in U.S. Dental Schools
Nationwide, men are more likely to enroll and more likely to graduate from dental school than women. During the 2009-10 academic year there were 10,995 men and 9,057 women enrolled in U.S. dental schools.
But when we break down the figures by race and gender, we see the large gender gap in favor of men exists only for whites. Men make up 60.8 percent of all white dental school students. But for African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians, women outnumber men in dental school enrollments. For blacks women make up 59.5 percent of all dental students.
In 2009, men were nearly 54 percent of all dental school graduates. But the gender gap in favor of men exists only for whites. Men made up 61.2 percent of all white dental school graduates. In contrast, black women accounted for 63.5 percent of all African-American graduates.
AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION
Now More Than Ever, Leadership Counts. Consider the ACE Fellows Program. Nominations/applications due November 1, 2011 for the 2012-13 Cohort
The ACE Fellows Program prepares advancing academic leaders from all areas of institutional life for senior-level positions in colleges and universities.
ACE Fellows spend up to one year on another campus under the mentorship of the president and his/her senior leadership team, and participate in three week-long national retreats to develop strategic thinking as well as best practices and practical tools for day-to-day decision making. Individualized learning is supported by a multi-faceted agenda that also includes: visits to campuses and higher education organizations, interactions with higher education leaders, participation in conferences and meetings, simulations, evaluations, personal feedback, and networking. Each Fellow also undertakes a project defined in consultation with the nominating institution and designed to contribute to institutional capacity.
Candidates must have a record of leadership in institutions of higher education and must be nominated by the institution’s president or other senior officer.
New York University Settles Harassment Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of an African-Born Former Employee
New York University has agreed to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The suit was filed on behalf of an African-born former employee who used to work in the university’s library mailroom. The employee alleged that his supervisor frequently referred to the man as a “monkey” and told him to “go back to his cage.” The suit alleged that the university was slow to respond to the employee’s allegations of being subjected to a racially hostile workplace.
The university agreed to pay the former employee $210,000 and pledged to improve its complaint procedures.
University of Wisconsin Honors the First African-American Woman Graduate of Its Law School
The University of Wisconsin at Madison recently renamed a residence hall to honor Vel Phillips. In 1951, Phillips, a graduate of Howard University, was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin’s law school. She was the first woman and the first African American elected to the Milwaukee Common Council. She served on that body from 1956 to 1971. She was then appointed a judge to the Milwaukee County Court System. She was the first woman judge in Milwaukee County and the first African-American judge in Wisconsin.
In 1978 she was elected secretary of state in Wisconsin. She was the first woman and first African American elected to statewide office.
Vel Phillips Hall in one of the few buildings on campus named after women and only the second named after an African American.
Now 87 years old, Phillips attended the ceremony renaming the residence hall in her honor.
Black Enrollments Surge at the University of Missouri
The University of Missouri’s flagship campus in Columbia has more students on campus than at any time in its history. This fall there are 33,318 students on campus, 1,300 more than last year.
The number of students from underrepresented minority groups climbed from 3,951 in 2010 to 4,480 this year, an increase of 13.4 percent. The number of minority students and minority freshmen are also all-time records at the university.
Black students increased from 2,026 in 2010 to 2,231 this year, an increase of more than 10 percent. Blacks are 6.7 percent of total enrollments.
Virginia Tech Engineer Leading the Government’s Investigation of the East Coast Earthquake
When the federal government needed an expert to conduct an investigation on the impact of the August 23 earthquake with an epicenter near Mineral, Virginia, it called on James R. Martin III, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Martin was assigned the task of leading a team that would make field observations and survey damaged areas. His team acted quickly to document the damage and take samples before Hurricane Irene made landfall four days after the earthquake and dumped several inches of rain in the impacted area. Dr. Martin stated that it was “important to study how soil and geologic conditions may have influenced selective damage patterns in the epicentral region.”
Dr. Martin is a graduate of The Citadel in Charlestown, South Carolina. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from Virginia Tech.
The New President of Harris-Stowe State University
Albert Walker was named the new president of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, effective October 1. He is replacing Henry Givens Jr., who has been president of Harris-Stowe for the past 32 years.
Dr. Walker was president of Bluefield State College in West Virginia. Bluefield State is a historically black college. But now whites make up 84 percent of the total enrollments at Bluefield State.
Prior to becoming president of Bluefield State, Dr. Walker was vice chancellor for academic affairs at both Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina and Kentucky State University. He also served as dean of the School of Education at North Carolina A&T State University.
Dr. Walker is a graduate of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. He earned three master’s degrees at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and an educational doctorate at Indiana University.
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
Lead Data Modeler
Job Summary: University Information Technology Services (UITS) at the University of Connecticut would like to hire a Lead Data Modeler that will help the Data Warehouse team provide Data Modeling services. The Lead Data Modeler will be responsible for developing and supporting the Data Mart which is designed using a Dimensional model and loaded with data from University Enterprise Systems.
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or other computer-related field or equivalent combination of education and training.
Five to ten years of highly technical and progressively responsible experience.
Experience and or exposure to dimensional modeling.
Experience in designing an ETL Architecture
Lead ETL design experience.
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Excellent interpersonal skills
Demonstrated ability to work well with people, to organize tasks, to handle complex problems, to work well under stress and to develop strategies.
Demonstrated leadership, motivation, initiative, independence and responsibility.
Experience and/or exposure to ERP data models.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision as well as effectively as a team member.
Demonstrated experience in requirements gathering.
Preferred Qualifications:
Graduate study in computer field
Higher Education experience
Training and development in supervisory skills and management methodologies.
Project Management certification or skills.
Experience in Report Writing
Experience as a Team Leader
To Apply: For a full job description and/or to apply, please go to Husky Hire at http://jobs.uconn.edu. For more information or questions, please contact Carolyn Chartier at 860-486-1415 or Dolores Dziekan at 860-486-1412. Please reference Search #2011497. The University of Connecticut is EEO/AA employer and in keeping with our commitment to build a culturally diverse community, the University of Connecticut invites applications from women, people with disabilities and members of minority groups.
Honors and Awards
• Cato T. Laurencin, the Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut Helth Center, was honored by the establishment of the Cato T. Laurencin Distinguished Research Career Award from the National Medical Association and the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute.
The first recipient of the award is Jane C. Wright, the former professor of surgery and associate dean at the New York University Medical Center. Dr. Wright, the only female founder of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, was a pioneer in the use of chemotherapy to combat leukemia and cancer of the lymphatic system. Her father, Louis Tompkins Wright, was one of the earliest African-American graduates of Harvard Medical School.
• Emery N. Brown, professor of health sciences and technology and computational neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the 2011 Jerome Sacks Award for Cross-Disciplinary Research from the National Institute of Statistical Sciences.
Professor Brown, who also serves as the Warren M. Zapol Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, holds a Ph.D. in statistics from Harvard University and also is a graduate of Harvard Medical School.
• S. Keith Hargrove, dean of the College of Engineering, Technology & Computer Science at Tennessee State University in Nashville, received the Engineering Excellence Award from the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science.
Dr. Hargrove is a graduate of Tennessee State University. He earned a master’s degree at the Missouri University of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. at the University of Iowa.
Past Issues - JBHE Weekly Bulletin (select from menu below)
Last week we reported that over the past five years there has been a significant widening of the racial gap in scores on the ACT college entrance examination. But the most shocking statistics from this year’s ACT report are the percentage of black high school graduates who have achieved benchmark scores for college readiness. These statistics show what percentage of all test takers are adequately prepared for college-level study. 
The John and Eula Cleveland Chair in Black History Studies at Howard University is the first endowed chair in the university's department of Afro-American studies. The chair was made possible from a $1.2 million gift from the couple’s estate.
Claflin University, the historically black educational institution in Orangeburg, now operates a completely smoke-free campus. Since August 2008, smoking has been banned in all campus buildings and vehicles. The new ban includes now includes any building or property on the Claflin campus including all outdoor areas.
Samuel A. Besong, associate professor of human ecology at Delaware State University, and Michael O. Ezekwe, associate professor of agriculture at Alcorn State University have made an important discovery that could be a major development in the prevention of heart disease. In a paper published in the International Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, the authors report that the ingestion of 
the leaves of the purslane plant can have a significant impact on lowering cholesterol levels in adults.
Mary Ellen Moule was elected chair of the board of trustees of historically black Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina. She is the first woman to hold the position in the college’s 115-year history.
• Ann Marie Whyte was appointed interim associate dean for administration and human resources at the University of Central Florida's College of Business. She has been on the university's faculty since 1998.
• Carmen Sidbury is the new associate provost for research and resources at Spelman College in Atlanta. She was associate dean of undergraduate studies at the college. For the past two years Dr. Sidbury has been serving as director of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program at the National Science Foundation.
• Wanda Lester was promoted to associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. She was serving in the position on an interim basis. Previously, she was associate dean of the School of Business and Economics at the university.
• David Marshall was named vice president of academic affairs at American Sentinel University, a distance educational institution based in Aurora, Colorado. Previously, he was the assistant vice president of academic affairs and an associate professor of communications at Edward Waters College.
• Danielle Gray-Singh is the new associate vice president of academic affairs at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. She was head of the biology department at Tuskegee University.
• Dave Huddleston has joined the faculty of the Mass Communications Center of Excellence at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Huddleston serves as anchor of two newscasts at Philadelphia television stations. He will teach a course on television production and operation.
• Talbert Myers has retired from his post as vice president of community development at Johnston Community College in Smithfield, North Carolina. He has been an administrator at the college since 1999. He previously taught biology at Montgomery Community College.
• Betty Pierce Dennis was named chair of the department of nursing at North Carolina Central University in Durham. She has been serving as professor and dean of the division of nursing at Dillard University in New Orleans. She was chair of the nursing department at NCCU from 1999 to 2004. 
• Historically black Alabama State University in Montgomery received a five-year, $1.75 million grant from the National Science Foundation to strengthen the university's undergraduate programs in STEM fields.
A new study, recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Las Vegas, found that bullying victims often suffer academically. The data presented showed that students who had been bullied in the 10th grade had their grade point average lowered by an average of 0.049 points compared to students who were not bullied.
New York University has agreed to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The suit was filed on behalf of an African-born former employee who used to work in the university’s library mailroom. The employee alleged that his supervisor frequently referred to the man as a “monkey” and told him to “go back to his cage.” The suit alleged that the university was slow to respond to the employee’s allegations of being subjected to a racially hostile workplace.
The University of Wisconsin at Madison recently renamed a residence hall to honor Vel Phillips. In 1951, Phillips, a graduate of Howard University, was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin’s law school. She was the first woman and the first African American elected to the Milwaukee Common Council. She served on that body from 1956 to 1971. She was then appointed a judge to the Milwaukee County Court System. She was the first woman judge in Milwaukee County and the first African-American judge in Wisconsin.
The University of Missouri’s flagship campus in Columbia has more students on campus than at any time in its history. This fall there are 33,318 students on campus, 1,300 more than last year.
When the federal government needed an expert to conduct an investigation on the impact of the August 23 earthquake with an epicenter near Mineral, Virginia, it called on James R. Martin III, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech. 
Albert Walker was named the new president of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, effective October 1. He is replacing Henry Givens Jr., who has been president of Harris-Stowe for the past 32 years.
• Cato T. Laurencin, the Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut Helth Center, was honored by the establishment of the Cato T. Laurencin Distinguished Research Career Award from the National Medical Association and the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute.
The first recipient of the award is Jane C. Wright, the former professor of surgery and associate dean at the New York University Medical Center. Dr. Wright, the only female founder of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, was a pioneer in the use of chemotherapy to combat leukemia and cancer of the lymphatic system. Her father, Louis Tompkins Wright, was one of the earliest African-American graduates of Harvard Medical School.
• Emery N. Brown, professor of health sciences and technology and computational neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the 2011 Jerome Sacks Award for Cross-Disciplinary Research from the National Institute of Statistical Sciences.
• S. Keith Hargrove, dean of the College of Engineering, Technology & Computer Science at Tennessee State University in Nashville, received the Engineering Excellence Award from the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science.