Monthly Archives: May 2015
Morgan State University Teams Up With the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore
Under the partnership agreement, the two institutions will co-sponsor art exhibitions, conduct and publish joint research, and develop curricula relating to art and museum management.
Five African Americans Named to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education
Taking on new administrative roles are Leticia Smith-Evans at Williams College, Erica Dunlap at Florida A&M University, Mayola Rowser at the University of Southern Indiana, Nicole Gibbs at North Carolina Central University, and Clifton Sanders from Salt Lake Community College.
Delaware State University Partners With Beihua University in China
Under the agreement, both undergraduate and graduate students at each institution will have study abroad opportunities at the partner university. There will also be faculty exchanges and research collaborations.
In Memoriam: Melissa Elizabeth Exum, 1960-2015
Until February 2015, Dr. Exum was vice provost for academic affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Earlier she held high level posts at Ohio University, Purdue University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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.
Emory University School of Law to Name an Endowed Chair in Honor of John Lewis
John Lewis spoke at the March on Washington and was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on Bloody Sunday in March 1965. He has served his Atlanta district in Congress since 1987.
South Carolina State University Student: “An Angel Sent From God”
Reggie Owens, a student and football player at South Carolina State University, witnessed a horrific accidents and was able to rescue three children.
Amherst College Admits a Record 180 Black Students This Spring
There were 180 Black students accepted at Amherst this spring. They made up 15.3 percent of all students accepted. The 180 Black students admitted to Amherst ties the college's all-time record.
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.
Very Few Peace Corps Volunteers Are Graduates of HBCUs
Howard University has 13 graduates volunteering in the Peace Corps and Spelman College has eight. Norfolk State University and Morehouse College are tied for third with four.
The University of Virginia Black Student Alliance’s Call for Action
The authors of the report state that "the University of Virginia must take a lead on issues of diversity, inclusion, and racial equity in order to position itself as a model institution of higher learning."
Online Petition Calls for the Ouster of Tuskegee University President
A university spokesperson told JBHE that "the official association for alumni is the Tuskegee University National Alumni Association which has indicated to its members and its chapters that it has no part in this."
In Memoriam: Charles Ullman Smith, 1926-2015
C.U. Smith was a civil rights leader and a long-time faculty member at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. During his nearly half century at Florida A&M, Dr. Smith served as chair of the department of sociology and dean of graduate studies.
University of Maryland Study Finds Higher Black Mortality in Areas of Intense Racism
Using data on the frequency of the use of a racial slur in Google searches in a particular area, researchers found that higher Black mortality rates occur in areas that exhibit the most intense levels of racism.
Bipartisan Group Launches Congressional Caucus to Support HBCUs
The Bipartisan Congressional Historically Black Colleges and Universities Caucus is being led by Alma S. Adams, a Democrat from North Carolina and Bradley Byrne, a Republican from Alabama. Representative Adams taught art at Bennett College in North Carolina for 40 years.
New Study Documents Degree Completion of Minority Doctoral Students in STEM Fields
One important finding in the Council of Graduate Schools report was that minority doctoral students had the most difficulty when they entered the dissertation phase of their doctoral programs.
Gregory Pardlo Wins the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Gregory Pardlo, both an instructor and a student at Columbia University in New York City, has won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He is also completing work on his doctoral dissertation at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Report Finds That HBCUs Are Actively Engaged in Assessing Student Learning
A new report from the National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment, a collaborative effort between the University of Illinois and Indiana University, finds that HBCUs routinely assess how successful they are in improving student learning.
LeRoy Pernell Stepping Down as Dean of the College of Law at Florida A&M University
Professor Pernell became dean in 2008. Previously he served for 10 years as dean of the College of Law at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. He will now return to his full-time faculty position at the FAMU law school.
African American Adjunct Professor Wins a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance
Melissa Givens is an adjunct professor at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, and Texas Southern University in Houston. She is also a doctoral student in music at the University of Houston.
New Degree Programs in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
The university has offered a pharmacy doctoral program since 2010. The new graduate programs will focus on pharmaceutical research with concentrations in drug design or drug delivery.
Six African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
Taking on new roles are Leykia Brill at the University of Massachusetts, Deidre Labat at Xavier University, Christopher L. Brown at Columbia University, Undi Hoffler at North Carolina Central University, D'Andre Fisher at the University of Oklahoma, and Archie Griffin at Ohio State University.
Grambling State University Nursing Program Obtains a Reprieve
State regulations in Louisiana require that an accredited nursing program maintain a licensure examination passage rate of 80 percent or above for first time test takers. In 2013 the passage rate at Grambling was 64 percent.
Three African Americans at Leading Universities Receive Prestigious Honors
The honorees are Roland G. Fryer Jr., the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard, assistant professor Stephen M. Avery of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Iris Outlaw, director of multicultural student programs and services at the University of Notre Dame.
Mississippi’s First School of Public Health to Be Established at Jackson State University
The state legislature allocated $2 million in start up funds and the board of trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning has approved the establishment of the school at Jackson State.
