Monthly Archives: July 2013

Blacks Reach Racial Parity in College Enrollments, But Lag in Degree Attainments

During the 2011-12 academic year, Blacks made up 14.5 percent of all enrollments in degree-granting institutions but earned only 10.1 percent of all degrees earned at these institutions. Blacks were 19.2 percent of all students who earned degrees at private, for-profit degree granting institutions.

Taking Stock of the Black Presence in College Sports

African Americans make up large percentage of student athletes in college sports. But coaches and administrators remain predominantly white.

Two African Americans Named to Dean Positions at Grambling State University

Janet A. Guyden is the new dean of professional and graduate studies at Grambling State University in Louisiana. King David Godwin was named interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university.

Algie Gatewood Named President of Alamance Community College

Dr. Gatewood has been serving as the president of the Cascade Campus of Portland Community College in Oregon. He will assume his new role at Alamance Community College on October 1. Dr. Gatewood is a graduate of Livingstone College, an HBCU in Salisbury, North Carolina.

University Study Finds Donor Race Is Criticial in Liver Transplants for Patients With Hepatitis C

The researchers at Tulane University and the University of California at San Francisco found that African American transplant patients with hepatitis C who had a Black liver donor had a five-year survival rate significantly closer to patients of other ethnic groups.

In Memoriam: John Louis Dotson Jr., 1937-2013

Dotson was the publisher of the Akron Beacon Journal when it won a Pulitzer Prize for a series on race. In 1977, Dotson was one of nine journalists who founded what is now the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in Oakland, California.

Carolyn Jacobs Leaving Smith College After 30 Years

Dr. Jacobs was named acting dean of the School of Social Work at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 2000 and was named permanent dean in 2003. She also serves as the Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor. She will retire next spring.

The Academic Ties of the First Black Woman Judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals

Judge Watts has taught at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of Howard University and the Rutgers University School of Law.

Two African Americans Receive Top Honors

Michelle Johnson of Boston University was named Educator of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists. Benjamin Quillan of California State University received the top honor given by the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

Three Black Faculty Members Taking on New Roles

Lucas Morel was named to an endowed chair at Washington and Lee University. T. Elon Dancy II was promoted to associate professor and granted tenure at the University of Oklahoma and Maurice Jackson of Georgetown University was named chair of a government commission.

Delaware State University Gets a New European Partner

Delaware State University, the historically Black educational institution in Dover, has entered into a new agreement with the University of Versailles in France that will include faculty and student exchange programs.

Five African Americans in New Administrative Positions in Higher Education

The appointees are Sheila Champlin at the University of Tennessee, Derrick Yates at Stillman College, Charlene Alexander at Ball State University, Jessie Harper at the University of Pennsylvania, and Yvette Clayton at Alabama A&M University.

In Memoriam: Jeffrey R. Thomas

Jeffrey R. Thomas, an assistant professor of religion at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, died earlier this month. He also served as the pastor of the Trinity Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Augusta.

Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers

From time to time, The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week's selections.

Recent Books That May Be 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. Here are the latest selections.

Anna Deavere Smith Awarded the National Humanities Medal

Anna Deavere Smith is an actress and playwright and University Professor in the Department of Performance Studies in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She is the only African American among the 12 individuals honored with the medal this year.

Yale University Launches a New Outreach Effort Aimed at Low-Income Students

Research published earlier this year by Professor Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University found that many of the nation’s most talented minority students simply do not apply to our nation’s leading colleges and universities because they are unaware of the financial aid available to them.

Higher Education Grants of Interest to African Americans

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

In Memoriam: Carl G. Harris Jr., 1935-2013

He served as a professor of music and university organist at Hampton University in Virginia. He was the first African American to earn a doctorate in music from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Only 9 Percent of Black Male High School Graduates in New York City Are College Ready

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Expanded Success Initiative is investing $250,000 over 30 months in 40 different New York City high schools in an effort to address the poor academic performance of Black and Latino males.

University Effort to Boost Civil Rights for African Descendants in Latin America

The Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean at the University of South Florida in Tampa, is undertaking an effort to obtain funding to hold a major training institute for African descendants in Latin America who are working for civil rights.

A New Vice Provost at the University of Southern California

Ainsley Carry was appointed vice provost of student affairs at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He was serving as vice president for student affairs at Auburn University in Alabama.

Mortimer Neufville Named President of Coppin State University in Baltimore

He has been serving as interim president of the university. Before coming to Coppin State, Dr. Neufville served as interim president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He is the former executive vice president of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.

Research Finds Varying Racial Outcomes Among College Graduates of Art Programs

A new report from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) finds racial differences among students who majored in the arts in college. Some 60 percent of White graduates currently work as artists, compared to 53 percent of Black graduates.

Bethune-Cookman University Names Its Next Provost

Makola M. Abdullah has been serving as provost, vice president of academic affairs, and professor of mathematics at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens. Earlier, he was dean and a tenured professor of civil and environmental engineering at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.

University Study Finds Cuts to Food Stamps May End Up Costing the Taxpayers More

Study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of California at San Francisco finds that cuts to the Food Stamp program may end up producing even larger increases in healthcare costs that will have to be borne by taxpayers.

Eric Gravenberg to Lead the College of Alameda in California

The community college has a diverse student population with Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians all making up at least 14 percent but not more than 29 percent of the student body, according to the latest Department of Education data.

Dartmouth College Study Finds Cosmetic Surgery to Look Whiter Fails to Boost Women’s Self-Esteem

In a study of 63 women in Venezuelan, 24 who had undergone a rhinoplasty and 39 who wanted to have one, Dr. Lauren Gulbas, assistant professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College, found that all the women of African descent believed that having a nose job would improve their self-esteem.

Two African American Professors Named NEA Jazz Masters

Richard Davis of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Anthony Braxton of Wesleyan University in Connecticut, will be honored as 2014 Jazz Masters by the National Endowment for the Arts next January at a ceremony at Lincoln Center in New York City.

A Major Academic Restructuring at Xavier University in New Orleans

In the past the seventeen academic departments in the College of Arts and Sciences at Xavier University in New Orleans were divided between two divisions. Now in a major restructuring effort, there will be six academic divisions within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Two Black Scholars in New Faculty Roles

Barbara Washington was named interim chair of the department of adolescent, career, and special education at Murray State University in Kentucky and E. Dale Abel was named to an endowed chair in diabetes research at the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.

Morgan State Debuts Its PEARL Research Facility

Morgan State University has announced that it is changing the name of its Estuarine Research Center facility in St. Leonard, Maryland, to the Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic Research Laboratory (PEARL).

Two African Americans Honored With Prestigious Awards

Professor Linda Florence Callahan of North Carolina A&T State University is being honored by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and Alcorn State University President M. Christopher Brown II won an award from the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.

Southern University Offers New Online Degree Program in Interdisciplinary Studies

The new degree program, which will launch next month and be housed within the College of Education, is aimed at students who are working professionals or adult learners who may have college credits in a number of different disciplines but have failed to earn a degree.

This Week’s Roundup of New Appointments of Blacks in Higher Education

The appointees are Paul Tchounwou at Jackson State University, Alonda Thomas at Florida A&M University, Aaron James at Grambling State University, Elbert Malone at South Carolina State University and Gerald Hunter at Norfolk State University.

In Memoriam: Charles A. Hines, 1935-2013

In October, 1994, Dr. Charles A. Hines was appointed the sixth president of Prairie View A&M University and served in that role until 2002. He held a Ph.D. in sociology from Johns Hopkins University and served for 38 years in the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of Major General.

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