Monthly Archives: March 2015
Black Students Called “Apes” During a Protest March at the University of Washington
One Black student said he heard several racial slurs as he marched past the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house. The chapter president of the fraternity claimed the remarks were not made by members of the fraternity.
In Memoriam: Nancy Randolph Davis, 1926-2015
In 1949 Nancy Randolph Davis was the first African American student to enroll at what is now Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Due to rigid rules of Jim Crow, she was initially required to sit in the hallway outside of the classroom.
Wayne State University to Honor a Civil Rights Movement Martyr
Wayne State University in Detroit has announced that it will award the first posthumous honorary degree in its 145-year history to Viola Gregg Liuzzo. A White woman from Detroit, Liuzzo was slain in Alabama in 1965 by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
Ronald A. Johnson Appointed President of Clark Atlanta University
Since 2011, Dr. Johnson has been dean of the School of Business at Texas Southern University in Houston. He is the former dean of the College of Business at Western Carolina University. Dr. Johnson will become president of Clark Atlanta University on July 1.
Howard University Makes a Significant Move Up in Law School Rankings
The Howard University School of Law ranked 110th in the listings posted by U.S. News and World Report. Howard was the only law school at a historically Black university to be included in the listings.
CCNY’s Gilda Barabino to Lead the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
According to City College, Dr. Barabino is the first African American women to serve as a dean of engineering at an educational institution that is not a historically Black college or university.
Spelman College Names Its Next President
Mary Schmidt Campbell is dean emerita of the Tisch School of the Arts and University Professor of art and public policy at New York University. She will become president of Spelman College in Atlanta on August 1.
HBCUs Play a Large Role in the Graduate Education of Blacks in STEM Fields
In pharmacology, 35 percent of Black students enrolled in graduate programs attend HBCUs. In biology, 32 percent of all Black graduate students are in programs at HBCUs.
The Next President of Tiffin University in Ohio
Curtis B. Charles currently serves as senior associate vice chancellor for institutional transformation at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. He will begin his duties as Tiffin University president on July 1.
Unemployment Rates of African Americans by Bachelor’s Degree Field
The percentage of African Americans with a bachelor’s degree who were unemployed in 2012 was 6.0 percent. Surprisingly, Blacks with bachelor’s degrees in computer science had a higher unemployment rate than college-educated African Americans generally.
The New Dean of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at the University of Michigan
Aaron Dworkin is an internationally acclaimed violinist and serves as founder and president of the Sphinx Organization, a nonprofit organization based in Detroit that aims to increase diversity in the performing arts.
University Study Finds Black Cancer Patients May Be Under-Diagnosed for Depression
A new study led by researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland examined the mental state of Black and White cancer patients at the Northeast Ohio Medical Center. They found that standard mental health tests may fail to identify depression among Black patients.
University of Southern Mississippi President Gets Contract Extension
Just three days after Dr. Rodney Bennett had been named the 10th president of the University of Southern Mississippi in February 2103, a devastating tornado hit the Hattiesburg campus.
Racist Comments on Social Media Attributed to American University Students
Racist comments were allegedly made by students at American University in Washington, D.C., on the social media app Yik Yak.
Two African Scholars at U.S. Universities Named to Key Association Posts
Samuel Dagogo-Jack was named president of medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association and Moses Ikiugu was elected to a three-year term as the American delegate to the World Federation of Occupational Therapists.
The Whitest HBCU Aims to Increase Student Diversity
Bluefield State College in West Virginia was founded in 1895 as the Bluefield Colored Institute. Today Blacks are 10 percent of all students enrolled. The college hopes that the construction of new residence halls will increase Black enrollments.
Four African Americans in New Administrative Posts at U.S. Universities
The appointees are Celena Mondie-Milner at the University of Texas, Shana Lassiter at Columbia University, Greg Drane at Pennsylvania State University, and D. Jason DeSousa at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Southern University Offers In-State Tuition to Some Out-of-State Students
To qualify, out-of-state students must achieve thresholds on the ACT or SAT and have a 2.7 high school grade point average. Out-of-state students would save more than $4,100 per semester if they qualify for in-state rates.
In Memoriam: Paul Jeffrey, 1933-2015
An exclaimed tenor saxophonist, Paul Jeffrey came to Duke in 1983 and directed the jazz studies program for 20 years until his retirement in 2003.
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.
Texas Tech Honors a Black Student It Expelled in 1985
In 1985, Timothy Cole was expelled from the university after he had been accused of raping a White woman student. He was convicted a year later and sent to prison. Cole died in prison in 1999. In 2010, DNA evidence proved he did not commit the crime.
Vanderbilt’s Black Studies Research Center Renamed to Honor Callie House
The African American and Diaspora Studies Program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, recently renamed its research arm the Callie House Research Center for the Study of Black Cultures and Politics.
Three Black Men Named Finalists for Vice Provost for Diversity at the University of Wisconsin
The finalists are William T. Lewis Sr., alumni fellow at Virginia Tech, Ronald L. Quincy, professor in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University, and Patrick J. Sims, a professor of theatre and interim vice provost at the University of Wisconsin.
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.
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.
The Sistah Network Support Group at the University of Denver
The organization aimed at helping Black women graduate students, was formed in January 2013 with 15 members. Today there are more than 90 people involved with the program, including students, faculty, and alumni.
The First Black Woman Graduate of LSU’s School of Architecture to Become a Licensed Architect
Only 315 African American women have become licensed architects in the United States. Nicole Hilton is the first Black woman graduate of the School of Architecture at Louisiana State University to pass the Architect Registration Examination.
National Communication Association Names Award After Its Former President
Orlando L. Taylor is vice president for strategic initiatives and research/director of the Institute for Social Innovation at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. He was the first African American president of the National Communication Association.
Hampton University Appoints Three Women to Chair Academic Departments
Lisa VanHoose was named chair of the department of physical therapy. Ebony Andrews was appointed chair of the department of pharmacy practice and Shonda Buchanan was named chair of the department of English and modern foreign languages.
Auburn University Scholars Promote Mathematics Research in Southern Africa
Professor Overtoun Jenda and colleagues at Auburn University have developed the Masamu Program to promote research collaboration between mathematicians in southern Africa and the United States.
The Large Racial Gap in Graduate School Enrollments in STEM Fields
In 2012, Blacks were a very small percentage of the overall graduate student population in many STEM disciplines. For example, there were only eight Black students nationwide enrolled in graduate programs in astronomy, about 0.6 percent of total enrollments in the field.
James Ward Named Provost at Texas Southern University in Houston
Dr. Ward has served in this role on an interim basis since May 2014. Earlier he was dean of the School of Communication at the university for nine years. He holds a Ph.D. from Wayne State University in Detroit.
UCLA Study Examines the Racial Disparity in School Discipline
The report found that the largest racial gap in school suspensions in the elementary grades is in Missouri. For secondary school students, the largest racial gap in suspensions is in Wisconsin.
The New Dean of the College of Business at Alabama A&M University
Delmonize Smith has been a successful entrepreneur, selling his first high-tech start-up company at the age of 25. He holds a Ph.D. in management from the University of Alabama.
University Study Finds Gender and Sexual Identity Differences in Openness to Interracial Dating
A new study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Texas finds White straight males and White lesbians are more open to interracial dating than White gay men and White straight women.
Claudia Rankine Wins a National Book Critics Circle Award
Claudia Rankine is the Henry G. Lee Professor of English at Pomona College in Claremont, California. She was the first author in 39 years to be nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award in two categories.
