Monthly Archives: June 2016
Princeton University’s Toni Morrison Papers Archive Is Now Available to Researchers
Professor Morrison is the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities Emerita and the 1993 Nobel Prize winner for literature. She joined the faculty at Princeton in 1989 and taught creative writing classes until 2006.
University of Oregon Establishes Living/Learning Community for Black Students
The residential community will be housed in the university's Living Learning Center. The space set aside for the Umoja Pan-African Scholars community can house up to 80 students.
New Black Faculty Association at the University of Cincinnati
The organization is an official group at the university with funding and other support services provided by the university administration. The university will fund the group's faculty development seminars, research symposia, as well as mentoring and networking initiatives.
Two African American Scholars Have Announced Their Retirements
Wanda J. Smith was appointed associate professor of management emerita in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech and Joshua Murfree Jr. has resigned as director of intercollegiate athletics at Fort Valley State University in Georgia.
Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers
From time to time, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week's.
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.
Recent Books 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. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.
HBCUs Sign Transfer Agreement With California Community Colleges
Under the agreement, students who complete an associate's degree with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher can automatically gain admission to 21 historically Black colleges and universities as junior transfer students.
Report Offers Guidance on Increasing Low-Income Students at Top-Ranked Colleges
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has released a new report on the barriers faced by low-income students in attending top-ranked colleges and universities. The report also offers recommendations on what can be done to increase enrollments of low-income students at these schools.
Historically Black University Conducts National Survey on College Affordability
The Polling Center of the Institute of Government at historically Black Jackson State University in Mississippi has released a new survey that finds that nearly half of all those who attended college had difficulty financing their higher education.
In Memoriam: Cedric James Robinson, 1940-2016
Professor Cedric James Robinson joined the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1978. He chaired both the department of Black studies and the department of political science.
Two Black Scholars Appointed to Dean Positions
Ne’Keisha Stepney was promoted to dean for business and career technologies at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Illinois, and Samuel B. Mukasa was appointed dean of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota.
South Carolina State University Removed From Accreditation Probation
In 2014 the Southern Commission on Colleges and Schools placed South Carolina State University on accreditation probation. Now with the university's finances in better shape, the university has been taken off the probation list.
Research Focuses on Early Black Coal Miners in Appalachia
A new exhibit examining the lives of Black coal miners who migrated from the South to work in Appalachian mines in the early part of the twentieth century is now on display at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Donald E. Palm Named Provost at Virginia State University
Dr. Palm has been serving as a tenured professor in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and associate provost for undergraduate education at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. He will begin his new job on August 1.
New Morgan State University Museum Opens in Baltimore
Morgan State University in Baltimore has opened the renovated Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum. Jackson, who died in 1975, served for three decades as president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP. The museum is located in her former home but is owned and operated by the university.
Supreme Court Upholds Race-Sensitive Admissions at the University of Texas
Writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy stated that "considerable deference is owed to a university in defining those intangible characteristics, like student body diversity, that are central to its identity and educational mission."
Two New Science Buildings to Be Constructed at Savannah State University
The new marine science building is situated on acreage that has deep water access to the ocean and the new science and technology building on the main campus will house laboratories for engineering technology, electrical engineering, civil engineering and chemistry.
New Yale Award Program for High School Students Honors Ebenezer Bassett
Ebenezer Bassett was the first African American student to enroll at the Connecticut Normal School, which is now Central Connecticut State University. He taught at what is now Cheyney University and later became the first African American to serve as a diplomat for the United States.
Alabama A&M University Partners With the Small Business Administration
The alliance aims to facilitate the strengthening of small business through the strategic sharing and provision of access to resources, publications, training materials, workshops, speakers, and referrals.
Four African Americans in New Administrative Post at Historically Black Universities
Taking on new roles are Kirk E. Gavin at Florida A&M University, Michael C. Trusclair at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, Brint M. Martin at Hampton University in Virginia, and Gwendolyn Caples at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
City of Philadelphia to Honor Slain Educator and Civil Rights Activist, Octavius Catto
Catto graduated as the valedictorian of the Institute for Colored Youth, which today is Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. He later taught English literature, mathematics and classical languages at the institution. He was murdered in 1871 while trying to defend African Americans' right to vote.
The First Documented Black Student at Cambridge University
In 1848 Alexander Crummell, the son of a slave in the United States, enrolled at Cambridge University to study moral philosophy.
University of Arkansas Contributes Items to the Umbra Digital Database
The special collections unit of the University of Arkansas Libraries has announced that it will contribute 2,392 items from its collections to the online archive Umbra: Search African American History.
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.
Recent Books 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. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.
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.
Can Black Colleges Structure Themselves to Survive and Thrive?
Darold Hamlin, John Rosenthall, and Byron Cherry offer the view that the nation's historically Black colleges and universities must embrace the academic research and development culture in order to have the funding necessary for survival in the 21st century.
Barber-Scotia College’s Campus Is Leased by a New University
Historically Black Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina, has struggled since losing its accreditation in 2004. No classes were held this past semester. Now, the college has leased most of its campus to a new university, which is headed by a woman who immigrated from Ghana.
In Memoriam: Verna B. Dauterive, 1922-2016
Verna Dauterive was a former trustee, benefactor, and adjunct professor of education at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She spent 60 years as a teacher and administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Two African American Finalists for President of Roanoke-Chowan Community College
Stanley Elliott is vice president for student affairs at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jimmy Tate is vice president for college advancement and strategic initiatives at James Sprunt Community College in Kenansville, North Carolina.
New Government Report Documents Educational Inequality in the United States
The Civil Rights Data Collection survey includes data on student access to courses, programs, instructional and other staff, and resources — as well as school climate factors, such as student discipline and bullying and harassment — that impact education equity and opportunity for students.
The New President of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Monica J. Posey has served as interim president for the past eight months. Previously, she was provost and academic vice president. According to the college, Dr. Posey is the first African American woman president of a major educational institution in the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
Princeton University Study Suggests Racial Bias in Access to Mental Health Care
The study found that 30 percent of all callers seeking to make an appointment with a mental health care provider received a return call to make an appointment. But Black men were called back only 13 percent of the time and Black women had their calls returned 21 percent of the time.
A Trio of New African American Deans
Jenny L. Jones was named dean of the School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University. Karen Richardson was named dean of undergraduate admissions and enrollment management at Tufts University and Osaro E. Airen is the new dean of student retention at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, Texas.
Research Finds Ways for Black Students to Ease the Transition to College
The study found that incoming students who are exposed to challenges that are common and improvable become more likely to get involved on campus, build relationships, and ultimately succeed at a higher rate.
