Monthly Archives: January 2017

Crystal Wilkinson Wins the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence

Crystal Wilkinson, the Appalachian Writer-in-Residence at Berea College in Kentucky, has won the 2016 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence presented by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The award recognizes outstanding work by an African American fiction writer.

New Scholarship Program to Debut at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis

Ron Isley, Grammy Award Winner, producer, and lead singer of The Isley Brothers has announced the launch of the Ron Isley Initiative, which will provide scholarships to the university for students from St. Louis high schools.

Seven African Americans Appointed to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Thew new appointees are Nathan Stephens at the University of Illinois, Jolene Lane at the University of Akron, Denise Stephens at Washington University, Nathan Cochran at Philander Smith College, Alex Granderson at Mississippi Valley State, Shai L. Butler at the College of St. Rose, and Johnnie Westbrook at Kentucky State.

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 Southern California to Launch the Race and Equity Center

The university has hired Shaun R. Harper to lead the new initiative and to serve as the Clifford and Betty Allen Professor in Urban Leadership. Currently, Professor Harper is the director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity at the University of Pennsylvania.

Vast New Online Archive of African American History Materials

The University of Minnesota Libraries' Umbra Search African American History website offer users access to more than 400,000 digitized archival materials documenting African American history from more than 1,000 libraries and cultural organizations.

Selwyn Rogers Named the Founding Director of the University of Chicago Medicine Trauma Center

Dr. Rogers, who has been serving as vice president and chief medical officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch since 2014, will also serve as executive vice president for community health engagement at the University of Chicago.

In Memoriam: Roy Emile Alfredo Innis, 1934-2017

Roy Innis was an outspoken Black nationalist, civil rights icon, and national director of the Congress of Racial Equality.

New Report From The College Board Examines the Racial Gap in Educational Attainment and Earnings

The data shows that as Blacks move up the educational ladder, the racial earnings gap tends to diminish for younger workers. The report also shows that Blacks over the age of 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher in 2015 were more likely to be in the labor force than Whites.

The Next Dean of the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Valerie Kinloch is a professor of literacy studies and associate dean of diversity, inclusion, and community engagement in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University. She joined the faculty at Ohio State in 2007.

Addressing the Issue of Mistrust Among Black Men for the Medical Establishment

Scholars at Stanford University and the University of Tennessee have published a working paper through the National Bureau of Economic Research that examines the lingering effect of distrust for the medical establishment among African American men today resulting from the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment.

College of Nursing and Health Professions at Valparaiso University in Indiana Names New Dean

Dr. Karen Allen has been serving as a professor of nursing at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She served as chair of the nursing department at Andrews University for 17 years. Professor Allen is an associate editor of the Journal of Addictions Nursing.

Study Finds a Direct Link Between Neighborhood Status and Health for African Americans

The analysis compared health data from participants in the Jackson [Mississippi] Heart Study to neighborhood poverty, unemployment, and other socioeconomic indicators from the 2000 U.S. Census and other data on violence and disorder.

Kimberly White-Smith Is the New Leader of the College of Education at the University of La Verne

Before coming to the University of La Verne, Dr. White-Smith was professor of education, associate dean of the College of Educational Studies and director of the Donna Ford Attallah Educator Development Academy at Chapman University in Orange, California.

Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Representing 47 HBCUs, Receives Major Donation

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which represents 47 publicly supported historically Black colleges and universities, recently received a pledge of more than $25 million from the Koch Foundation, which is associated with right-wing causes and conservative political candidates.

Black Scholar From the University of California, Davis Is Heading to Oxford

Wale Adebanwi, an associate professor of African American and African studies at the University of California, Davis, will be leaving his post at the end of the academic year to assume the Rhodes Professorship in Race Relations in the School of African and Interdisciplinary Area Studies at Oxford University.

Museum Operated by Tougaloo College Earns Status of National Historical Landmark

On January 11, the United States Department of Interior designated the home of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, as a national historic landmark. Evers was gunned down in the driveway of the home on June 12, 1963.

A Quartet of African American Scholars in New Faculty Posts

The African Americans in new faculty positions are Rashida K. Braggs at Williams College in Massachusetts, Prentiss A. Dantzler at Colorado College, Beronda Montgomery at Michigan State University, and Norman Anderson at Florida State University.

Fort Valley State University Sets New Study Abroad Opportunities for Veterinary Students

Currently the plan is to send students to Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the summer of 2017 for three weeks. Students will also visit a veterinary clinic near a wildlife game park in South Africa for one week and visit the University of Pretoria in South Africa for one week.

Four African Americans Taking on New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Appointed to new positions are Edrel Stoneham at Victoria College in Texas, Kevin L. Williams at the University of the Virgin Islands, Jeanette Barker at North Carolina Central University in Durham, and Kimberly Morris at Fort Valley State University in Georgia.

Black First-Year Students at the Nation’s Leading Research Universities

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 nine. Five more have entering classes that are more than 9 percent Black.

Eight African Americans Elected to the National Academy of Medicine

An analysis of the list of the 70 new members of the National Academy of Medicine by JBHE finds that eight, or 11.4 percent, are African Americans.

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.

University of Maryland Archaeologists Find Links Between African Religious Symbols and Christianity

At a decade-long excavation at Wye House, a former plantation near Easton, Maryland, archeologists from the University of Maryland found traditional African religious symbols side-by-side with symbols relating to Christianity.

In Memoriam: Willie Roy Evans, 1937-2017

When the University at Buffalo was invited to play in the 1958 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida, it was told it would have to leave its star African American running back home. The team unanimously voted to decline the invitation.

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.

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.

Donovan Hicks, Wofford College Graduate, Named a Mitchell Scholar

Hicks graduated from Wofford College with a double major in government and finance and was a Gates Millennium Scholar. As a junior he was selected as a Truman Scholar. He also served as vice president of the student body at Wofford College.

In Memoriam: Charles Dwight Lahr

C. Dwight Lahr was a professor of mathematics emeritus at Dartmouth College. Dr. Lahr was the first African American to be named a tenured professor of mathematics in the Ivy League.

Two African Americans Stepping Down From Posts at HBCUs

Tola Thompson, the assistant vice president of government relations at Florida A&M University, is going to Washington to serve as chief of staff for Congressman Al Lawson and Elwanda D. Ingram, professor of English at Winston-Salem State University, has announced that she is retiring at the end of the year.

More Evidence That Racism and Discrimination Can Negatively Impact Health of African Americans

A study led by researchers at the University of Florida found that genetic variants that predispose some people to depression, anxiety, or suicide might also make them more sensitive to the effects of discrimination and lead to higher blood pressure.

Proposal Would Provide Free College Tuition for Hundreds of Thousands of New Yorkers

Under the so-called Excelsior Scholarship plan, tuition at all two- and four-year college of the State University of New York System and the City University of New York System would be paid by the state for all full-time students from families whose income are below $125,000.

Black Scholar Develops a Smartphone App to Estimate a User’s Blood Alcohol Level

Emmanuel Agu, an associate professor of computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, is developing AlcoGait, a smartphone app that can accurately predict a user's level of intoxication by monitoring how he or she walks.

It Appears That There Is Only One African American Among This Year’s 40 Marshall Scholars

This year 40 Marshall Scholarships were awarded for American students to spend two years in graduate study at a university in the United Kingdom. It appears from JBHE research, that only one of this year’s 40 winners is an African American.

Study Finds That Young Children Can Learn Biases Through Nonverbal Signals From Adults

The research by psychologists at the University of Washington found that young children can perceive bias by parents and other adults they interact with through tone of voice or facial expressions.

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