The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education

Keisha Blain Appointed President of the Center for Engaged Scholarship

Dr. Blain is a full professor of history and Africana studies at Brown University in Rhode Island. As a historian of the twentieth-century United States, she focuses her scholarship on African American history, the modern African diaspora, and women's and gender studies.

Jason Curry to Lead Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel

A Morehouse College graduate, Dr. Curry has spent the past two decades leading the Fisk Memorial Chapel at Fisk University in Nashville. He is slated to return to his undergraduate alma mater as dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel on June 15.

Rosemarie Allen Named Dean of the Metropolitan State University of Denver School of Education

Dr. Allen is a professor of early childhood education who has taught at Metropolitan University of Denver since 2004. She is slated to become the next leader of the university's School of Education on July 1.

Terrence L. Johnson to Lead Emory University’s Candler School of Theology

Currently serving as the Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School, Dr. Johnson is slated to become the next Mary Lee Hardin Willard Dean of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University on August 1.

Research & Studies

The Racial Gap in Maternal Mortality Rates by Education Level

For Black women with a college degree, the maternal mortality rate in 2019 was 26.31 per 100,000 women. This was more than four times the rate for White women with a college degree.

Fatal Police Shootings Are More Common in Counties With Greater Income Inequality

According to a new study, areas in the United States with greater income inequality experience a significantly higher rate of fatal police shootings. This pattern is particularly pronounced among Black Americans.

Report Discusses How to Prevent AI From Widening the Racial Wealth Gap

Yvette Pappoe of the University of the District of Columbia is the lead author of a new report that outlines how companies and policymakers can establish transparency and accountability in artificial intelligence algorithms used in housing, lending, and employment.

UCLA Study Analyzes HIV-Criminalization Among Black Americans

Compared to other Americans, Black Americans are more likely to live with HIV and experience greater police surveillance. Together, these twin epidemics have placed Black Americans living with HIV at an increase risk of criminal justice system involvement.

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Quote of the Week

“We live in a time where people are questioning the intellectual capacity of Black people. To pick on Blacks as if we are dumb and stupid defies logic. Let them know about your brain.”

Michael Eric Dyson,
speaking at the commencement ceremony of historically Black Claflin University in South Carolina

(photo credit: Oregon State University CC BY-SA 2.0.)

Statistic of the Week

33%
Percentage of adult Americans who feel close to a grandparent
48%
Percentage of Black Americans who feel close to a grandparent

source: Pew Research Center (see JBHE post)

JBHE Archives

All Recent Posts

The Racial Gap in Maternal Mortality Rates by Education Level

For Black women with a college degree, the maternal mortality rate in 2019 was 26.31 per 100,000 women. This was more than four times the rate for White women with a college degree.

Keisha Blain Appointed President of the Center for Engaged Scholarship

Dr. Blain is a full professor of history and Africana studies at Brown University in Rhode Island. As a historian of the twentieth-century United States, she focuses her scholarship on African American history, the modern African diaspora, and women's and gender studies.

Fatal Police Shootings Are More Common in Counties With Greater Income Inequality

According to a new study, areas in the United States with greater income inequality experience a significantly higher rate of fatal police shootings. This pattern is particularly pronounced among Black Americans.

Jason Curry to Lead Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel

A Morehouse College graduate, Dr. Curry has spent the past two decades leading the Fisk Memorial Chapel at Fisk University in Nashville. He is slated to return to his undergraduate alma mater as dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel on June 15.

Report Discusses How to Prevent AI From Widening the Racial Wealth Gap

Yvette Pappoe of the University of the District of Columbia is the lead author of a new report that outlines how companies and policymakers can establish transparency and accountability in artificial intelligence algorithms used in housing, lending, and employment.

Rosemarie Allen Named Dean of the Metropolitan State University of Denver School of Education

Dr. Allen is a professor of early childhood education who has taught at Metropolitan University of Denver since 2004. She is slated to become the next leader of the university's School of Education on July 1.

Proposed Federal Legislation Aims to Modernize Infrastructure at HBCUs

Introduced by U.S. Senators Tim Scott and Chris Coons, the Institutional Grants for New Infrastructure, Technology, and Education (IGNITE) for HBCU Excellence Act would establish a competitive federal grant program to support modernization efforts and long-term infrastructure improvements at HBCUs throughout the country.

Four Black Scholars Appointed to New Faculty Positions

Duchess Harris was selected for an endowed appointment at Macalaster College and Samson Okoth Opondo was promoted to full professor at Vassar College. Christy Swinson is associate dean of the Fayetteville State University School of Nursing and La'Tesha Sampson is director of the MSW program at Seton Hall University.

Albany State University Launches New Master’s Degree in Trauma Psychology

One of only four degrees of its kind in the United States, the new trauma psychology master's degree at Albany State University aims to prepare students for careers in trauma-informed care, mental health services, community support systems, and human services professions.

Nicole Joseph of Vanderbilt University Receives National Award in Mathematics Education

Dr. Joseph, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, was recently honored by the Mathematical Association of American for her career-long contributions to mathematics education for K-12 and undergraduate students.

Alcorn State University Partners With Getty Images to Preserve Its Historical Archives

Through this partnership, Getty Images will mange the post-production costs to restore thousands of images from the archives of Alcorn State University in Mississippi including rarely seen photographs and video footage.

New Appointments for Five Black Americans in Higher Education

The appointments are Sean D. Burns at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Shawna Lynch-Watkins at Meredith College in North Carolina, Robert E. Nobles III at Florida A&M University, Tyrell Warren-Burnett at Georgia State University, and Catherine Edmonds at North Carolina A&T State University.

Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers

Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.

Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

In Memoriam: Mary Evans Sias, 1950-2026

A longtime leader in higher education, Dr. Sias served as president of Kentucky State University from 2004 to 2014. In 2023, she was named interim president of Texas Southern University.

University of Houston Students to Create Online Historical Archive Focused on Black Cowboys

The University of Houston's Black Cowboy/girl Preservation Project will contribute to broader scholarship on Texas agriculture, ranching, and rodeo culture by documenting the experiences of Black cowboys and cowgirls, a group historically left out of traditional Western films, art, and textbooks.

In Memoriam: Castell Vaughn Bryant, 1938-2026

Dr. Bryant was a longtime administrator at several higher education institutions throughout the state of Florida. She was the first woman to serve as interim president of Florida Memorial University and Florida A&M University.

UCLA Study Analyzes HIV-Criminalization Among Black Americans

Compared to other Americans, Black Americans are more likely to live with HIV and experience greater police surveillance. Together, these twin epidemics have placed Black Americans living with HIV at an increase risk of criminal justice system involvement.

Terrence L. Johnson to Lead Emory University’s Candler School of Theology

Currently serving as the Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School, Dr. Johnson is slated to become the next Mary Lee Hardin Willard Dean of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University on August 1.

Pew Research Center Examines How Black Americans Define Family

Black Americans are more likely than other adults in the United States to say their family includes at least one person who is not a direct relative. They are also more likely to feel close to extended family members and more likely to provide their family members with financial support.

Austin Jamar Banks Named Dean of Students at Hendrix College in Arkansas

“Hendrix is a place where relationships matter, and students deserve to be seen, recognized, and heard,” said Banks. “Hendrix is a place like no other, and I am deeply honored to be a part of such an amazing community.”

Changes to Cannabis Laws Have Not Reduced Racial Disparities in Arrests

Notably, legalization has substantially reduced the volume of cannabis-related arrests in the United States, but it has not changed the relative differences in arrests between Black and White Americans.

Waverly Duck Is the New Editor-in-Chief of *Sociology of Race & Ethnicity*

Dr. Duck is the North Hall Chair Endowed Professor of Sociology and associate director of the Center on Black Studies Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Federal Lawsuit Challenges the Reorganization of Kentucky State University

A group of Kentucky State University students, alumni, and prospective students recently filed a federal lawsuit regarding Kentucky's Senate Bill 185, which declares a state of financial exigency at the HBCU and assigns the university a new polytechnic mission centered on STEM education.

All Recent Posts

The Racial Gap in Maternal Mortality Rates by Education Level

For Black women with a college degree, the maternal mortality rate in 2019 was 26.31 per 100,000 women. This was more than four times the rate for White women with a college degree.

Keisha Blain Appointed President of the Center for Engaged Scholarship

Dr. Blain is a full professor of history and Africana studies at Brown University in Rhode Island. As a historian of the twentieth-century United States, she focuses her scholarship on African American history, the modern African diaspora, and women's and gender studies.

Fatal Police Shootings Are More Common in Counties With Greater Income Inequality

According to a new study, areas in the United States with greater income inequality experience a significantly higher rate of fatal police shootings. This pattern is particularly pronounced among Black Americans.

Jason Curry to Lead Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel

A Morehouse College graduate, Dr. Curry has spent the past two decades leading the Fisk Memorial Chapel at Fisk University in Nashville. He is slated to return to his undergraduate alma mater as dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel on June 15.

Report Discusses How to Prevent AI From Widening the Racial Wealth Gap

Yvette Pappoe of the University of the District of Columbia is the lead author of a new report that outlines how companies and policymakers can establish transparency and accountability in artificial intelligence algorithms used in housing, lending, and employment.

Rosemarie Allen Named Dean of the Metropolitan State University of Denver School of Education

Dr. Allen is a professor of early childhood education who has taught at Metropolitan University of Denver since 2004. She is slated to become the next leader of the university's School of Education on July 1.

Proposed Federal Legislation Aims to Modernize Infrastructure at HBCUs

Introduced by U.S. Senators Tim Scott and Chris Coons, the Institutional Grants for New Infrastructure, Technology, and Education (IGNITE) for HBCU Excellence Act would establish a competitive federal grant program to support modernization efforts and long-term infrastructure improvements at HBCUs throughout the country.

Four Black Scholars Appointed to New Faculty Positions

Duchess Harris was selected for an endowed appointment at Macalaster College and Samson Okoth Opondo was promoted to full professor at Vassar College. Christy Swinson is associate dean of the Fayetteville State University School of Nursing and La'Tesha Sampson is director of the MSW program at Seton Hall University.

Albany State University Launches New Master’s Degree in Trauma Psychology

One of only four degrees of its kind in the United States, the new trauma psychology master's degree at Albany State University aims to prepare students for careers in trauma-informed care, mental health services, community support systems, and human services professions.

Nicole Joseph of Vanderbilt University Receives National Award in Mathematics Education

Dr. Joseph, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, was recently honored by the Mathematical Association of American for her career-long contributions to mathematics education for K-12 and undergraduate students.

Alcorn State University Partners With Getty Images to Preserve Its Historical Archives

Through this partnership, Getty Images will mange the post-production costs to restore thousands of images from the archives of Alcorn State University in Mississippi including rarely seen photographs and video footage.

New Appointments for Five Black Americans in Higher Education

The appointments are Sean D. Burns at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Shawna Lynch-Watkins at Meredith College in North Carolina, Robert E. Nobles III at Florida A&M University, Tyrell Warren-Burnett at Georgia State University, and Catherine Edmonds at North Carolina A&T State University.

Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers

Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.

Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

In Memoriam: Mary Evans Sias, 1950-2026

A longtime leader in higher education, Dr. Sias served as president of Kentucky State University from 2004 to 2014. In 2023, she was named interim president of Texas Southern University.

University of Houston Students to Create Online Historical Archive Focused on Black Cowboys

The University of Houston's Black Cowboy/girl Preservation Project will contribute to broader scholarship on Texas agriculture, ranching, and rodeo culture by documenting the experiences of Black cowboys and cowgirls, a group historically left out of traditional Western films, art, and textbooks.

In Memoriam: Castell Vaughn Bryant, 1938-2026

Dr. Bryant was a longtime administrator at several higher education institutions throughout the state of Florida. She was the first woman to serve as interim president of Florida Memorial University and Florida A&M University.

UCLA Study Analyzes HIV-Criminalization Among Black Americans

Compared to other Americans, Black Americans are more likely to live with HIV and experience greater police surveillance. Together, these twin epidemics have placed Black Americans living with HIV at an increase risk of criminal justice system involvement.

Terrence L. Johnson to Lead Emory University’s Candler School of Theology

Currently serving as the Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School, Dr. Johnson is slated to become the next Mary Lee Hardin Willard Dean of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University on August 1.