Monthly Archives: July 2017
Black Students Make Up 5 Percent of All 2017 First-Year Admits at the University of California
There was some backtracking at the most prestigious campuses. At the flagship University of California, Berkeley campus, the number of Black admits dropped from 401 to 375. At the University of California, Los Angeles, Black admits dropped from 624 to 571.
Tuskegee University Honors Its First Chaplain, John W. Whittaker, 1860-1936
This past Sunday, Tuskegee University held a chapel service to honor John W. Whittaker, the educational institution's first chaplain. The service was part of the Whittaker family reunion that took place on campus.
In Memoriam: Moses C. Norman, 1935-2017
Moses C. Norman, who retired as dean of the School of Education at Clark Atlanta University on June 30, died on July 11 at his home in Atlanta. He was 82 years old.
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.
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.
Frederick Harris Named Dean of Social Science at Columbia University
Dr. Harris is a professor of political science at Columbia University in New York City and is the director of Center on African American Politics and Society. Professor Harris joined the faculty at Columbia University in 2007.
Alabama State University Professor Wins the 2017 Balcones Poetry Prize
Jacqueline Allen Trimble, chair of the department of languages and literatures at Alabama State University in Montgomery, was named as the recipient of the 2017 Balcones Poetry Prize from the Balcones Center for Creative Writing at Austin Community College.
The New Dean of Arts and Sciences at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Jean King has been serving as vice provost for biomedical research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. Dr. King is also a professor of psychiatry, radiology, and neurology and director of the Center for Comparative Neuroimaging.
Only One Black Scholar Among This Year’s 22 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences
Ibrahim I. Cissé, the Class of 1922 Career Development Assistant Professor in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will receive $240,000 over the next four years from the Pew Charitable Trusts to support his research.
The First African American President of Eureka College in Illinois
Jamel Santa Cruze Wright has been serving as interim president of the college since July 2016. Dr. Wright first came to Eureka College in 2014 as chief diversity officer and vice president for strategic and diversity initiatives.
Survey Finds Widespread Racial and Sexual Harassment in Astronomy and Planet Science
Researchers surveyed a large group of professionals and found that 39 percent of all respondents reported that they had been verbally harassed and 9 percent stated that they have been physically harassed at work within the past five years. Women of color were the most likely to be victims.
Phyllis Worthy Dawkins Appointed President of Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina
Dr. Dawkins has been serving as interim president since last August. Dr. Dawkins became provost and vice president for academic affairs at Bennett College in December 2015 after serving in a similar role at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.
Study Finds Record Labels Glorify Antisocial Themes But Consumers Prefer Prosocial Music
Antisocial themes appeared 47 percent more frequently in songs at the top of the Billboard charts than in the songs popular on Facebook. And for the songs more popular on Facebook, pro-social themes appeared 16.5 percent more frequently than in the songs popular on the Billboard charts.
Edison O. Jackson Stepping Down as President of Bethune-Cookman University
Dr. Jackson became the sixth president of Bethune-Cookman University in 2013. He is retiring on August 31, a year before his contract was due to expire.
Oakwood University Ensemble Named the 2017 Choir of the World
The Aeolians Choir of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, have added a new award to their trophy case. On July 9, the Aeolians were named the 2017 Choir of the World at the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod in Wales.
Six Black Women Scholars Taking on New Assignments
Black women faculty in new roles are Sherine Obare at Western Michigan University, Erinn Tucker at Georgetown University, Alyssa L. Harris at Boston College, Reena N. Goldthree at Princeton University, Carolyn Gentle-Genitty at IUPUI, and Eleanor Brown at Pennsylvania State University.
The Sorry State of Alumni Giving at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
U.S. News & World Report recently published a list of historically Black colleges and universities that achieve the greatest rate of alumni giving. For the HBCUs that supplied data to the survey, the average giving rate was a dismally low 11.2 percent.
Michigan State University Historian Wins Prestigious Book Award
LaShawn Harris, an associate professor of history at Michigan State University in East Lansing, received the 2017 Philip Taft Prize from the Labor and Working-Class History Association and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Two Addtional HBCUs Join the Verizon Innovative Learning Program
The program provides middle school boys in 16 cities across the United States with hands-on training in STEM fields on college campuses during the summer with continued mentoring services throughout the school year. Dillard University and Tennessee State University are new partners.
Five African Americans in New Administrative Roles in Higher Education
Taking on new administrative duties are Barbee Oakes at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Maurice Stinnett at Cleveland State University, Elaine L. Westbrooks at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Nsombi B. Ricketts at Northwestern University, and Nick Wallace at Syracuse University.
In Memoriam: Julia Blanche Anderson, 1951-2017
Julia B. Anderson was the founding director of the Institute for Racial and Ethnic Health Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Later, she was a special assistant to the deputy director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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
Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.
The New Urban Research and Resource Center at Texas Southern University
The center, under the direction of Marcia Johnson a professor at the university's Thurgood Marshall School of Law, will combine scholarly endeavors with community outreach to develop and expand research programs.
University of Mississippi Plans to Be More Upfront With Its Past
The University of Mississippi is commissioning a group of plaques that will explain in historical context why some buildings and structures were named after people who had ties to White supremacy.
Ohio University Chillicothe Honors Joseph Carter Corbin
A native of Chillicothe, Ohio, and a two-time graduate of Ohio University, Joseph Carter Corbin moved to Arkansas in 1872. Three years later he founded the Branch Normal College, which today is the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
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.
Sabrina Strings Wins a Hellman Fellowship to Complete a Book on Fat Stigma
Sabrina Strings is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine. She will use the fellowship to complete work on her book, Thin, White & Saved: Fat Stigma and the Fear of the Big Black Body.
Missouri Makes Amends to Journalist Denied University Admission in 1939
In 1939, Lucile Bluford, who was a graduate of the University of Kansas and an accomplished journalist, applied to and was accepted at the Missouri School of Journalism. When she arrived on campus she was not permitted to enroll due to the color of her skin.
Vanderbilt’s George Hill Retires as Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Dr. Hill will remain affiliated with the university as professor emeritus in medical education and administration and professor emeritus of psychology, microbiology, and immunology.
Roslyn Artis Appointed the Fourteenth President of Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina
Since 2014, Dr. Roslyn Artis has served as president of Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens. When she takes office on September 1, she will be the first woman to serve as president of Benedict College in its 147-year history.
New Census Study Looks at Status of African and Caribbean Immigrant Groups
Perhaps the most interesting statistic in the report is that more than 61 percent of all people living in the United States with Nigerian ancestry who are 25 or older have at least a bachelor's degree.
Shaw University President Steps Down to Take Post as Chief Operating Officer at Howard University
Tashni-Ann Dubroy has reigned her position as the 17th president of historically Black Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, after only two years in office. She will become executive vice president and chief operating officer at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
University of Washington Scholar Maps Urban Sprawl and White Flight
As U.S. metropolitan areas have grown between 1990 and 2010, all racial and ethnic groups have tended to move away from city centers. But the data shows that Blacks have tended to migrate to inner-ring suburbs whereas Whites have moved to the outskirts.
The New Dean of the College of Education at Grambling State University in Louisiana
Stacey A. Duhon, the William McIntosh Endowed Professor in Liberal Arts at Grambling State University in Louisiana, is the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university.
Georgetown University Study Finds That Black Girls Are Being Robbed of Their Childhood
A new report from the Center on Poverty and Inequality at the Georgetown University Law Center finds that adults view Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than their White peers, especially in the age range of 5-14.
