Monthly Archives: September 2011

Quote of the Week

“These are tough times for working Americans. The time for Washington games is over. The time for action is now.” — President Barack Obama addressing...

ACT Results Show a Huge Racial Gap in College Readiness

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.

The Widening Racial Gap in ACT Scores

In 2011, 223,000 African American high school seniors took the American College Testing Program's ACT college entrance examination. This is an increase of 47 percent from 2007. While there was a slight improvement from last year's average score of 16.9, this year's score is exactly the same average score that black students achieved in 2007. For whites the average ACT score in 2007 was 22.6. By 2011 the average white score had improved a full point to 23.6.

Racial Disparity Found in Approvals of Grants by the National Institutes of Health

A new study led by Donna K. Ginther found that black scientists were 13 percentage points less likely than white scientists to win grants from the National Institutes of Health.

African-American Progress in Dental School Enrollments Hits a Wall

After significant improvements in black enrollments at U.S. dental schools, the progress has halted. In the 2009-10 academic year, blacks remained stuck at 5.7 percent of all dental school enrollments, unchanged from 2005.

Black Freshman Enrollments Are Up 8 Percent at the University of South Carolina: But the Record Over the Past...

Black freshman enrollments at the University of South Carolina are up about 8 percent from a year ago, when 287 black freshmen enrolled. While African Americans make up 28 percent of the college-age population in South Carolina, blacks make up only 7 percent of the first-year enrollments at the state's flagship university.

Penn State Scholar to Lead the University of Belize

Cary F. Fraser, an associate professor of African and African-American studies at Pennsylvania State University, was named president of the University of Belize in Central America.

New Law School Scholarship Honors the First Black Federal Judge in Arkansas

The William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has established a new scholarship program to honor George Howard Jr., the first African-American federal judge in Arkansas.

Illinois Launches Official Investigation of Racial Disparities in Education and Other Facets of Life

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently signed legislation creating the Commission to End the Disparities Facing the African-American Community.

African Development Bank Program Aims to Increase the Number of Rwandan Women in the Sciences

Girls make up nearly half of the total enrollments at the high school level. But only 14 percent of the students in higher education in Rwanda are women.

Cornell University Reports Sharp Increase in Black Freshmen

Cornell University reports that there are 209 African-American freshmen on campus this fall, up from 172 last year.

Two African-American Scholars to Lead the Advisory Committee of the New Institute on Civic Engagement and Governance

Dianne M. Pinderhughes and Kurt L. Schmoke were named co-chairs of the advisory committee for the Civic Engagement and Governance Institute at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington.

Notre Dame Scholar Wins Book Award From the American Political Science Association

Professor Christian was honored for his book, Media Bias, Perspective, and State Repression: The Black Panther Party.

Recent Books That May Be of Interest to African-American Scholars

The JBHE Weekly Bulletin regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. Here are the latest selections.

In Memoriam: Etta B. Stinson Williamson (1905-2011)

Etta B. Stinson Williamson, the oldest graduate of Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, died last month at the age of 106.

Appointments, Promotions, and Resignations

• Amber Hunter was named director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She is the first African-American to hold the position...

Honors and Awards

• Sade Kosoko-Lasaki, associate vice president for health sciences, multicultural and community affairs at the Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska, was named...

Grants and Gifts

• The University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health received a five-year, $2,860,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study HIV/AIDS in the...

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