Monthly Archives: September 2015
New Historical Archive of Materials Concerning the Murder of Emmett Till
David W. Houck, a professor in the College of Communication and Information at Florida State University has created an archive of materials concerning the Emmett Till case. The archive will be available to researchers in 2016.
Blackface Incident at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington
Five members of the women's soccer team at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, were suspended after photographs of them in blackface were posted on social media. The White soccer players were in costume as the Jackson 5.
Bennett College Expands Its Foreign Languages Program
The foreign languages program at Historically Black Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, has hired four new faculty members and is offering courses in Portuguese for the first time.
New Administrative Posts for Eight African Americans in Higher Education
Here is this week’s roundup of African Americans who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States.
A Welcome Spike in Enrollments at Southern University
Dr. Brandon Dumas, vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has set in motion plans to recruit and retain more students. His efforts have begun to pay off.
A Trio of Black Scholars Receive Notable Honors
The honorees are Anne Taylor Green, provost emerita at Bethune-Cookman University, Marie Chisholm-Burns of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and Mark Anthony Neal of Duke University.
Savannah State University Partners With Albany Technical College
Under the agreement, students at Albany Technical College who successfully complete an associate's degree program in electronics engineering technology can transfer credits into the bachelor's degree program in electronics engineering technology at Savannah State.
Four African Americans in New Teaching Roles
Appointed to new faculty positions are Marcus Amos at Voorhees College in South Carolina, Jolie Rocke Brown at Texas Southern University, Mary Ellen Hicks at Amherst College in Massachusetts, and William Hart at Macalester College in Minnesota.
ACE Report Examines Current Diversity Strategies in Higher Education Admissions
A new report from the American Council on Education documents admissions practices of colleges and universities in the current legal climate resulting from the most recent Supreme Court rulings on race-sensitive admissions practices.
The New Dean of the School of Business at Claflin University in South Carolina
Charles W. Richardson Jr., the new dean of the School of Business at Claflin University, previously taught at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, and Clark Atlanta University. He served for 25 years as an executive at AT&T.
Report Documents Wide Racial Disparity in School Discipline in Southern States
A new study by researchers at University of Pennsylvania found that in one recent academic year, 1.2 million Black students nationwide were suspended from public K-12 schools. Some 55 percent of those suspensions occurred in 13 southern states.
The Growing Racial Gap in SAT Scores
Since 2006 when the SAT college entrance examination was revised, the racial scoring gap on the combined reading, mathematics, and writing sections of the SAT has increased by eight points.
Study Finds That Racial Stereotypes Are Common in Major Print Media Outlets
The authors of the study examined thousands of photographic images in six popular American magazines. They found that 79 percent of all images of Asians were those of women. Nearly 60 percent of the photos of African Americans were men.
Lincoln University of Missouri Names a New Dean of its College of Agriculture
Dr. Albert Essel was appointed dean of the College of Agriculture, Environmental, and Human Sciences at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. He has been serving as an associate dean at Delaware State University.
In Memoriam: James Arthur Hefner, 1939-2015
James A. Hefner was the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clark Atlanta University and the former president of both Jackson State University and Tennessee State University.
Universities in St. Louis Establish Online Resource on Ferguson Protests
The Regional Collecting Initiative on Ferguson is assembling information, oral histories, photographs, new stories, and other items to document the people and events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer.
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.
Two African American Finalists for Vice Provost for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech
Menah Pratt-Clarke is the associate chancellor for strategic affairs and the associate provost for diversity at the University of Illinois and G. Christine Taylor has served as vice provost for diversity and chief diversity officer at Purdue University.
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: Pearlie Craft Dove
Dr. Dove joined the faculty at Clark College in 1949 and remained on the faculty at what became Clark Atlanta University for 36 years. She retired in 1986 as a Distinguished Professor of Higher Education.
Racial Incidents at Bucknell University and Georgia Tech
A racist message was written on the door of a faculty member at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and a Black woman student alleges that she was subjected to racial slurs by three members of a fraternity at Georgia Tech.
A Mississippi Woman’s Long Journey From Janitor to the Pinnacle of Higher Education
Yolanda Jones was a college dropout. She enrolled in the Academic Second Chance program at Jackson State University and worked as a janitor to support herself as she pursued a bachelor's degree. Now she has received a doctorate in urban higher education.
A Large Racial Gap Persists in ACT Test Scores
The average score for Blacks on the ACT college admissions test in 2015 was lower than for any other racial or ethnic group including American Indians, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders. The racial gap in ACT scores has remained relatively constant for many years.
