Monthly Archives: January 2017
New Scholarship Honors the First Black Graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
The new scholarship at the medical school was made possible by a gift from Annie Marie Garraway, the sister of Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., the first Black graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Ten Universities Join Forces to Address the Issue of Faculty Diversity
The 10 members of the group are the University of Texas at Arlington, Cornell University, Howard University, Northwestern University, Michigan State University, Boston University, Iowa State University, University of Buffalo, University of Georgia, and the University of Maryland, College Park.
Colorado College Scholar Wins Major Playwriting Award
Idris Goodwin, an assistant professor of theatre at Colorado College, has won the 2017 Blue Ink Playwriting Award from the American Blues Theater in Chicago. The award was created in 2010 to help the careers of budding playwrights.
In Memoriam: John Albert Davis, 1934-2017
John Davis was a former assistant clinical professor of medical education at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
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.
New Website Chronicles Columbia University’s Ties to Slavery
Columbia University in New York City has debuted a new website that details not only the university's involvement in slavery since its founding in as King's College 1754 but also efforts by those at the university to abolish it.
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.
Racial Disparity in Family Member Deaths Can Add to Overall Racial Inequality
In a study of more than 42,000 individuals born in the 1980s, the authors found that Blacks were three times more likely than Whites to lose a mother, more than twice as likely to lose a father and 20 percent more likely to lose a sibling by age 10.
The New Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Southern Methodist University
Elena D. Hicks has been serving as dean of admission at Loyola University Maryland. Prior to her nine years at Loyola, Hicks was director of admission at Saint Mary's Hall, a college preparatory school in San Antonio.
Georgetown University Scholar Looks at Impact of Fast Food on Black Neighborhoods
Marcia Chatelain notes that fast food has contributed to racial health disparities between Blacks and Whites. But she also notes that fast food franchises have provided many jobs in these communities and have provided scholarships for area youth and cultural events for the community.
Professor Carol Swain to Leave Her Faculty Post at Vanderbilt University
Carol M. Swain, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University and a professor at the Vanderbilt Law School, has announced that she will leave the university in August. Professor Swain said "I will not miss what American universities have allowed themselves to become."
Scholars Say Color Blindness Avoids the Still Important Issue of Race
Scholars at the University of Kansas, the University of Washington, and the University of Wyoming say that professions of color blindness tell young people that their race or ethnicity doesn't matter or isn't an important factor in history or their everyday lives.
Elizabeth City State University Partners With Pitt Community College
Under the agreement student who graduate with an associate's degree in criminal justice technology from Pitt Community College will be able to transfer seamlessly to the bachelor's degree program in criminal justice technology at Elizabeth City State University.
Two Black Scholars Given Additional Roles at Major Universities
Harry J. Elam, a professor of humanities at Stanford, was named vice president for the arts at the university and Nefertiti Walker, an assistant professor of sports management will serve as director of diversity and inclusion for the School of Management at the University of Massachusetts.
HBCUs in Atlanta to Beef Up Campus Security
Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College and the Morehouse School of Medicine are teaming up to launch an extensive new network of security cameras to monitor the area around the Atlanta University Center.
Four Black Scholars Honored With Prestigious Awards
The honorees are Wanda Spurlock of Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Carmen Robinson of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Alex Acholonu of Alcorn State University in Mississippi, and Joy Buolamwini of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Winston-Salem State University Debuts New Online Tutoring Service for Students
The online service has hundreds of coaches and tutors who specialize in almost any discipline taught at the university. The service, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will be free to all enrolled students at Winston-Salem State University.
Eight African American Appointed to Administrative Posts 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.
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.
Adia Harvey Wingfield to Lead the Sociologists for Women in Society
Adia Harvey Wingfield, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, was named president-elect of the Sociologists for Women in Society, an organization dedicated to improving the social position of women through feminist sociological research and writing.
The Black University of Iowa Student Who Participated in Freedom Summer
Seymour Gray Jr., a junior at the University of Iowa, traveled South with his five White peers in a station wagon loaned to the students by a faculty member to participate in voting rights efforts during Mississippi's Freedom Summer. The university is seeking more information about the life of this civil rights warrior.
Higher Education Grants or Gifts of Interest to African Americans
Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
New Effort to Boost Students From Underrepresented Groups in Toxicology
The Toxicology Mentoring and Skills Development Training Program led by Wilson Rumbeiha, a professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine at Iowa State University, will link undergraduate students with professional toxicologists in academia, government, and industry.
Courtroom Where Emmett Till’s Murderers Were Acquitted to Be a History Museum
David Tell, an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas is leading a project to transform a courtroom in the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, into an interactive history museum.
University of Oregon Program Creates Research Opportunities for Underrepresented Students
The Students of Color Opportunities for Research Enrichment (SCORE) program seeks to bring students from underrepresented groups into the scientific community by getting them involved in research projects in university laboratories.
A New Academic Program in Race and Ethnic Studies at Texas Christian University
The new Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies program at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth will explore issues of race and ethnicity as active social, political, historical, and cultural processes.
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.
Racial Differences in Use of Financial Planning Services
The data from a study by researchers at the University of Georgia and Kansas State University showed that when differences in income and wealth were accounted for, Blacks were actually more willing than Whites to access financial planning services.
Morehouse College Announces It Will Change Its Leadership
The board of trustees of Morehouse College, the historically Black educational institution for men in Atlanta, has announced that it will not extend the contract of the college's president John S. Wilson Jr. beyond June 30, 2017.
Driving While Black: Racial Profiling in the State of Vermont
Many studies have shown that Black drivers are far more likely than White drivers to be pulled over by police. But a new study by a professor of economics at the University of Vermont, shows that the phenomenon takes places even in one of the nation's most liberal states and one of the nation's Whitest states.
The Next President of Delaware County Community College in Pennsylvania
Dr. L. Joy Gates Black has been serving as vice chancellor for academic affairs at Tarrant County College District in Fort Worth, Texas. She joined the staff at Tarrant County College in 2010. Earlier, Dr. Gates Black served in administrative roles at community colleges in Texas, California, and Massachusetts.
Research Examines the Racial Disparity in Breastfeeding Rates
The African American mothers interviewed for the study for the most part wanted to breastfeed but were hampered by systemic, institutional and cultural barriers. Limited family leave and the demands of school made it difficult for many to meet their breastfeeding goals.
The New Curator of Photography Collections at Harvard Art Museums
Makeda Best is the new Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography at the Harvard Art Museums. Dr. Best was an assistant professor of visual studies at the California College of the Arts. Earlier in her career, she taught at the University of Vermont.
HBCU in North Carolina to Launch a New Master’s Degree Program in Industrial Biosciences
The Graduate College at historically Black North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro has announced that it will offer a professional science master’s (PSM) degree program in industrial biosciences, beginning this coming fall.
The New Dean of the School of Nursing at Florida A&M University
Henry Clinton Talley was appointed dean of the School of Nursing at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. He is the first man to hold the position. Dr. Talley previously served as the founding director of the Michigan State University Nurse Anesthesia Program.
Jarvis Christian College to Open a New African American Museum
The new museum will feature the Rodney Lamar Atkins Collection that includes items from Negro League baseball, figurines, rare photos, farming equipment, and kitchen utensils relating to African American life in the early twentieth century.
