Monthly Archives: November 2016
Four African American Men Appointed to Key Administrative Posts in Higher Education
The appointees are Rick Daniels at Rock Valley College in Illinois, Raphael X. Moffett at Texas Southern University in Houston, Jack Thomas of Western Illinois University in Macomb, and Peter Edmund Millet at Meharry Medical College.
A New Bachelor’s Degree Program in Food Science at Fort Valley State University
The University of Georgia is the only other public educational institution in the state to offer a bachelor's degree in food science.
White Supremacists on College Campuses Emboldened by Trump Victory
There has been a rash of racial incidents on college campuses in the aftermath of Donald Trump's election to the presidency.
Three African Americans Are Leaving Their Posts in Higher Education
D. R. Butler, the associate director of athletics for academics and intercollegiate athletics at George Mason University, and Glenda Hammond, the director of the Upward Bound program at Michigan State University are retiring. Joy Karega was dismissed from the faculty at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Rutgers University Scholar Wins Prestigious Literary Award
John Keene, associate professor of English and chair of the African and African American studies department at the Newark campus of Rutgers University in New Jersey, has been chosen as the recipient of the 2016 Lannan Literary Award for fiction.
Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers
Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.
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.
Yale University Discovers a Rare Catalogue of Slavery in Its Archives
Researchers at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University recently discovered a pamphlet in the university's collections that had not been catalogued previously. The pamphlet is entitled Catalogue of Negroes, Mules, Carts, Wagons & C.
Pauli Murray’s Home Slated to Become a National Historic Landmark
The Pauli Murray Project at the Human Rights Center at Duke University has been working for many years to obtain landmark status for the civil rights activist's home in Durham. Those efforts have finally reached fruition.
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: David Nganga Mburu, 1965-2016
A native of Kenya, Dr. Mburu taught courses in the language of Kiswahili and popular culture in East Africa at the University of Kansas. Earlier, he taught at California State University, Sacramento.
Wellesley College Offers a New Minor Degree Program in Comparative Race and Ethnicity
The new minor at the highly rated women's college, where Blacks make up 5 percent of the student body, will allow students to create a structured yet individualized plan of study from interdisciplinary courses that offer rigorous and complementary approaches to understanding race and ethnicity.
Danielle Allen Named University Professor at Harvard University
Danielle Allen was appointed the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, effective January 1. This is the highest honor bestowed on a faculty member at Harvard. Currently there are 24 University Professors at Harvard.
Are People Racist Against Places They Believe Are Associated With Blacks?
A new study by researchers at Stanford University, the University of Waterloo, and the University of Illinois at Chicago finds that while people may treat African Americans with racial bias, they are also likely to devalue and demean places associated with African Americans.
Black Studies Achieves Departmental Status at Washington University in St. Louis
As a full department, African and African American studies will be better positioned to set curriculum and drive hiring decisions. Gerald Early, the Merle King Professor of Modern Letters, will serve as the inaugural chair of the new department.
Academic Study Finds Possible Racial Bias by Mental Health Professionals
When a caller used the name Allison, she was invited to talk to the practitioner 63 percent of the time. When the name Lakisha was used by the same caller, she got through to the mental health professional 51 percent of the time.
The Higher Education of the First Black Woman Diocesan Bishop of the Episcopal Church
On September 11, 2001, Rev. Baskerville-Burrows was in Trinity Church in lower Manhattan just blocks away from the World Trade Center. Next April she will become the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis.
University of Delaware Professor Honored by the Association of Black Women Historians
Erica Armstrong Dunbar, the Blue and Gold Professor of Black American Studies and History at the University of Delaware, is the winner of the Lorraine A. Williams Leadership Award from the Association of Black Women Historians.
Black Students at Penn Subjected to Racial Hate by an Off-Campus Group
Although the origins of the racist group text messages appear to have no connection whatsoever to the university, Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, quickly voiced her disgust.
Racial Slur Written on a Sidewalk at the University of Saint Thomas in Minnesota
The University of Saint Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, enrolls about 6,100 undergraduate students and 4,000 graduate students. African Americans make up just 2 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Delaware State University Partners With Westchester Community College
The agreement guarantees transfer admission for Westchester Community college graduates that have a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average, with the exception of four undergraduate programs that require a 2.5 GPA (management, accounting, social work and mathematics education).
New Roles for Two Black Faculty Members at Major Universities
Kelechi C. Ogbonna, an assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University, was named associate dean for admissions and student services and Jennifer Richeson was appointed the Philip R. Allen Professor of Psychology at Yale University.
Savannah State University Offers New Certificate Program in Global Citizenship
The global citizenship certificate program will allow students to gain the knowledge necessary to participate and to become prequalifed to serve in the Peace Corps.
Three Black Women Scholars Presented With Notable Awards
The honorees are Phyllis Sharps of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Vievee Francis of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and Megan Covington of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
Bowie State University to Expand Arts Programming
Under the agreement, a broad number of non-academic cultural activities will be jointly developed by Bowie State and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission to include professional performances, master workshops, small-group classes and camps.
New Administrative Posts in Higher Education for Three African Americans
Darin A. Latimore was appointed deputy dean for diversity and inclusion at the Yale School of Medicine. Joi Cunningham was promoted to assistant vice president for human resources at Oakland University and Taffye Benson Clayton was named vice president for inclusion and diversity at Auburn University.
In Memoriam: Lennette Johnson Ivy, 1953-2016
Professor Ivy joined the faculty at the University of Mississippi in 1990. She served as clinical supervisor in speech pathology, an assistant and associate professor, and chair of the department of communication sciences and disorders.
Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers
Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.
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.
University of Alabama Debuts Online Archive of Documents Relating to the Scottsboro Boys
The archive, “To See Justice Done: Letters from the Scottsboro Trials,” includes thousands of letters, documents, petitions, and telegrams that were sent to Alabama governors during the legal proceedings.
Major New Program Aimed a Combating Racism in South Africa and the United States
The non-residential program, hosted by Columbia University and funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies, will support 350 fellows over its 10-year lifespan, annually supporting up to 35 fellows from the United States and South Africa.
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.
A Healthy Increase in Black Students at U.S. Medical Schools
This year 21,020 students entered medical school for the first time. Of these, 1,771 identified themselves as Black or African American. This is an increase of nearly 27 percent from three years ago. In 2016, Blacks made up 8.4 percent of new entrants to U.S. medical schools.
John V. White Is One of Two Finalists for Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa
John V. White is acting chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Earlier, he was executive vice president and provost at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
In Memoriam: Herbert Rogers Kent, 1928-2016
Herb Kent was a radio personality in Chicago for more than 70 years and taught at Chicago State University for more than a decade. He made his last radio broadcast on the morning of his death.
New Minor Degree Program in Africana / Black Studies at Niagara University in New York
Courses in the new minor will be offered by several departments including history, sociology, literature, political science, law, communication and education. Students can choose from two tracks. One will focus on African American history and culture and the other will focus on the African diaspora.
