Monthly Archives: January 2016
Tillman Hall Controversy Continues at Clemson University
Recently, graffiti was written on two adjoining outside walls of the building named in 1946 for segregationist-era senator and governor “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman. The spray-painted graffiti read: "Rename Tillman Hall" and "Stop Honoring Tillman."
Melvin Oliver Named the Sixth President of Pitzer College in Claremont, California
Dr. Oliver is a professor of sociology and executive dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Santa Barbara. From 1978 to 1996, Dr. Oliver taught sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Is Racism the Main Factor in Opposition to Paying College Athletes?
Researchers found that most African Americans favor paying college athletes while most White Americans oppose it. Whites with more negative opinions of Blacks were less likely to approve of paying college athletes.
The Nationwide Racial Gap in College Graduation Rates
For all students who enrolled in bachelor's degree programs at four-year institutions in 2008, Blacks had the lowest graduation rate of any racial or ethnic group. Only 40.9 percent of Black students had completed their degree within six years.
Racism Is the Norm in Media Accounts of Celebrity Domestic Violence
A new study by Joanna Pepin, a doctoral student in sociology at the University of Maryland, finds that when a Black man was accused of domestic violence, media reports were more likely to include criminal information than when a White man was accused of domestic violence.
The New Dean of the College of Engineering at Howard University
Dr. Achille Messac, educated at MIT, has been serving as dean of engineering and professor of aerospace engineering at Mississippi State University. Previously, he served on the faculties at Syracuse University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Racial Differences in Parenting Behavior and Concerns
Among the findings of a new Pew Research Center survey is that three quarters of all Black parents said a parent can never be too involved in their children's education. Only 47 percent of White parents agreed.
Howard University School of Divinity Returns a Sacred Manuscript to Ethiopia
Howard University researchers determined that a fourteenth- or fifteenth-century Christian manuscript in its collection originally belonged to the Debre Libanos Monastery in Ethiopia. The university decided that the manuscript should be returned to its rightful owner.
Northwestern University Art History Scholar Wins Book Award
Krista A. Thompson, the holder of the Weinberg College Board of Advisers Chair in the department of art history at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, has been selected to receive the the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award from the College Art Association.
Tuskegee University Signs Agreement With the Dominican Republic
Under the agreement, up to 25 students from the Dominican Republic will receive government-funded scholarships for graduate study at Tuskegee University. Most will study in the natural sciences, engineering, agriculture, and animal sciences.
Four New Black Assistant Professors at Cornell University
The new assistant professors are Valerie Aymar in landscape architecture, Stephanie J. Creary and Sean E. Rogers in the School of Hotel Administration, and Samantha N. Sheppard in cinema and media studies.
HBCU Uses Funds Earned Through Its Campus Recycling Efforts for Book Scholarships
For all of 2014, Mississippi Valley State University collected more than 85,000 pounds of recycled materials. In just the last six months of 2015, the university recycled nearly 50,000 pounds of materials. The money generated from recycling helps students pay for textbooks.
Four African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
The appointees are Evelyn P. Leathers at Bennett College in North Carolina, Clothilde Hewlett at the University of California, Berkeley, Kendall D. Isaac at Fort Valley State University in Georgia, and Mohamed Ali at Iowa State University.
In Memoriam: Frances Cress Welsing, 1935-2016
Frances Cress Welsing was a psychiatrist, author, and political commentator. She also served for more than a decade as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Howard University College of Medicine.
Black First-Year Students at the Nation’s Leading Research Universities
Slightly more than a decade ago in 2004, only two of the nation’s highest-ranked universities had incoming classes that were more than 10 percent Black. This year there are eight.
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.
T. Geronimo Johnson to Receive the 2015 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
T. Geronimo Johnson, a visiting professor at the Iowa Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa, is being honored by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation for his 2015 novel Welcome to Braggsville.
Bucknell University Debuts Africana Studies Major
The new major has nine requirements including core courses in Africana studies and classes in history, social sciences, humanities, and the arts. Seniors will be required to write a thesis under the mentorship of a faculty member.
Two Black Women Named Postdoctoral Fellows at the University of Maryland Baltimore County
Three women make up the third cohort of the Postdoctoral Fellows for Faculty Diversity at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Black women are two of this year's three fellows: Keisha McIntosh Allen in education and Nkiru Nnawulezi in psychology.
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.
Two Major Research Universities Join the Creating Connections Consortium
The Creating Connections Consortium seeks to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who are hired to tenure-track faculty positions. The University of Chicago and the University of Michigan are the consortium's newest members.
New Multicultural Center Planned on the Campus of the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan has announced that it will build a new multicultural center in the heart of its campus. The new $10 million center will replace the William Monroe Trotter Multicultural Center, which was located off campus in a former fraternity house.
Two New Executives at the National Society of Black Engineers
Constance Thompson was named director of external and government affairs and Stanton Hill is the new director of finance and accounting at the National Society of Black Engineers.
University of California Sell Stocks of Three Prison Companies
The Afrikan Black Coalition, a student group representing Black students at all 10 University of California campuses, had demanded that the university divest itself of prison-related stocks.
Academic Disciplines Where African Americans Earned No Doctoral Degrees in 2014
There are 16 academic disciplines where African Americans earned no doctoral degrees in 2014. The good news is that the number of academic fields where there have been no Black doctoral awards is growing smaller.
Gladis Kersaint Appointed Dean of the School of Education at the University of Connecticut
Dr. Kersaint is a professor of mathematics education and associate dean of the College of Education at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She will begin her new duties at the University of Connecticut in July.
Study Warns of a Mental Health Crisis for African American College Students
Researchers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Illinois at Chicago warn that Black students who are enrolled at selective predominantly White educational institutions face a physical and mental wear-and-tear that contributes to a host of psychological and physical ailments.
A Check-Up on Black Progress in Dental School Enrollments
The data shows that the number of Black applicants to U.S. dental schools has declined by 7.5 percent over the past four years. In 2014, Blacks were 4.3 percent of all new students enrolling in U.S. dental schools. This is down slightly from recent years.
University Study Documents Gun Violence Injuries for African American Youth
Over a five-year period, 398 children under the age of 16 were brought to emergency rooms in St. Louis with gun-related injuries. Almost 78 percent of these victims were African Americans.
Steven Nelson to Lead the African Studies Center at UCLA
Dr. Nelson is a professor of African and African American art and architectural history at the university. Professor Nelson is currently working on books about the Underground Railroad and the history of the city of Dakar.
Barber-Scotia College Suspends All Classes for the 2016 Spring Semester
The historically Black college has struggled to rebound from a decade of difficulties since losing its accreditation in 2004. Now the college has cancelled all classes for the spring semester and the remaining schedule of its basketball teams. It hopes to reopen in the fall.
Three Black Faculty Members Taking on New Assignments
The Black scholars in new roles are Tyson Ling-Meadows at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Kevin K. Gaines at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and Brandy N. Kelly Pryor at the University of Louisville.
The Youngest Ph.D. Recipient in the History of Delaware State University
Jalaal A. Hayes recently was awarded a Ph.D. in applied chemistry at Delaware State University at the age of 22. Dr. Hayes graduated from high school at the age of 15 and earned a bachelor's degree at the age of 18.
Two African Americans Selected for Notable Honors
The honorees are William Jelani Cobb, an associate professor of history and director of the Africana Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, and Christine Grant, a professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University.
Mississippi Valley State University Forms Partnership With a Community College
Under the agreement, Mississippi Valley State University will begin to offer classes on the Coahoma Community College campus, about one hour away from the university's main campus in Itta Bena.
