Monthly Archives: January 2014
Penn State Researchers Identify the World’s First White Person
Light skin color provided an evolutionary advantage for people in northern climates because people with light skin can absorb more vitamin D from less sunlight that people with dark skin.
Department of Education to Investigate Response to Bias Incidents at Lehigh University
The investigation was implemented following a complaint filed by an alumna of the university after an incident on campus in November where a multicultural dormitory was vandalized with eggs and racist graffiti.
Study Finds Exposure to Racism May Accelerate Aging in Black Men
The study examined a biomarker of systemic aging known as leukocyte telomore length. Telomeres are repetitive sequences of DNA capping the ends of chromosomes. Black men who had been exposed to the most racism had the shortest telomeres.
Letter to the Editor Regarding Diversity at Emory University
A reader questions the commitment of Emory University to the racial diversity of its faculty and administration.
Florida State Won the Game, But Auburn Wins in the Classroom
Florida State University won the national championship in college football. But the success on the field has not been matched in the classroom for Black football players. As a result, the university is beefing up academic support for student athletes.
Racial Differences in Arrest Records for Young Adults
A university study finds that by age 23 nearly half of all Black men and 38 percent of White men have been arrested. For women, Whites are more likely to have been arrested than Blacks.
Former Professor to Chair California Committee Investigating Hate Crimes on College Campuses
Shirley N. Weber, a Democrat Assemblywoman from San Diego and a former professor at San Diego State University, will chair a 15-member commission investigating hate crimes on state university campuses.
Livingstone College to Revive Its Farm
The reestablishment of the university farm will focus on urban agriculture and will complement the college's hospitality management and culinary arts program, providing organic vegetables and fruits.
Blake Morant to Lead the American Association of Law Schools
The dean of the law school at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will serve one-year as president-elect and then become president of the organization in 2015.
Four Foreign Students Graduate With Perfect 4.0 GPAs at Grambling State University
At the recent commencement ceremonies following the fall semester at historically Black Grambling State University in Louisiana, four students, all from foreign nations, graduated with perfect 4.0 grade point averages.
In Memoriam: Amiri Baraka, 1934-2014
Amiri Baraka, poet, author, social activist, and emeritus professor of Africana studies at Stony Brook University, died on January 9 at Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Florida A&M University Names Its Next President
Elmira Mangum, vice president for planning and budget at Cornell University, has been chosen as the 11th president and first woman president of historically Black Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
A New Provost at North Carolina Central University
Since 2007, Dr. Johnson O. Akinleye has been associate vice chancellor for academic programs at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He holds a Ph.D. in communications from Howard University.
Glenn Vaulx Chosen as Interim President of Lane College
Glenn M. Vaulx Sr. has been named interim president of Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He has a 40-year career as a teacher and administrator for the public school system in Jackson.
Fredda Carroll Named to Lead School of Education at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff
Dr. Carroll has been serving as interim dean at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and has 25 years experience as a professor of education at three universities.
Black Student Among the First Five Doctoral Degree Recipients at Georgia College & State University
Chioma Okereke is one of the five women in the first cohort of graduates of the university's doctor of nuring practice degree program. She has been hired to a nursing faculty position at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
Howard University Scholar Honored by the Congressional Black Caucus
Goulda Downer, an assistant professor of medicine, received the 2013 Health Brain Trust Leadership in Advocacy Award for her effort to train a clinical workforce to combat HIV/AIDS.
Florida A&M University’s Latest Effort to Promote Sustainability
The recharging station is a picnic table with an umbrella outfitted with solar panels. Students can recharged their laptops, tablets, and mobile phones at the station through the use of solar power.
Three African American Scholars Taking on New Assignments
Kesha Williams was named director of digital marketing at Clemson University. Helen Giles-Gee was named to the board of the University City Science Center and Woodrow Whitlow Jr. was appointed executive-in-residence at Cleveland State University.
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.
In Memoriam: Lonnie E. Duncan, 1967-2013
Dr. Duncan was an associate professor of counseling education and counseling psychology at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He also served as the co-training director of the university's counseling psychology doctoral program.
Racial Differences in Educational Debt Levels for Doctoral Students
Blacks who earned doctorates in 2012 had an average of $54,132 in debt from educational loans. Whites who earned doctorates had average educational debts of $25,992.
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.
New Data Shows a Drop in African American Enrollments in Higher Education
The U.S. Department of Education reports that in the fall of 2012 there were 2,864,723 African Americans enrolled in degree-granting institutions in the United States, down more than 3 percent from a year earlier.
Rutgers University Study Finds Increase in “Concentrated Poverty”
More than 11 million Americans, 4 percent of the total U.S. population, live in these high poverty neighborhoods and 67 percent of the 11 million people in these high poverty areas are either Black or Hispanic.
Texas Tech Professor Develops Online Petroleum Engineering Course for Mozambique Students
Significant natural gas discoveries have been found in the Mozambique Channel between East Africa and the island of Madagascar. But there are very people in the area with any expertise in petroleum engineering.
Study Finds Racial Differences in Womens’ Ability to Lose Weight
Due to lower metabolic rates, African American women who are overweight and are trying to lose weight must consumer fewer calories or exercise more than White women to lose the same amount weight.
Clark University Holds Youth Summit on Race, Class, and Education
The summit brought high school students from all parts of Massachusetts to the Clark campus for a six-hour program that discussed how race and class shape the educational experiences of American youth.
The Racial Gap in Teenage Smoking Rates Has Declined But Blacks Still Smoke Less
In 2013, only 9.6 percent of African Americans in 12th grade reported smoking cigarettes in the 30 days prior to the survey compared to 19.4 of White high schools seniors.
Major Program to Educate the Next Generation of African Leaders Is Underway
The first students in the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program have completed their first semesters at U.S. colleges and universities. Over the next decade 15,000 students, many from Africa, will participate.
Educating the African American Male for the 21st Century
It is crucial that all educational stakeholders and policy makers collaborate creatively, as well as, become educational allies to ensure that the African American male student is successful in completing his postsecondary education.
Rutgers University Scholar Leads Study on Reducing Breast Cancer Risk
Adana Llanos is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Rutgers University School of Public Health. She holds a Ph.D. in genetics from Howard University.
Kentucky State University Has Been Approved to Offer Doctoral Programs
Kentucky State University, the historically Black educational institution in Frankfort, has been approved to offer up to three doctoral programs by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Two African Americans in New Roles at Washington State University
Paul Pitre was named the first academic dean at the the North Puget Sound campus and Lynne Varner was named associate vice president for public affairs.
Only One HBCU on the Lumosity List of Colleges With the “Smartest Students”
North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro was the only historically Black college or university on the list of colleges and universities with the smartest students published by Lumosity.com.
