Monthly Archives: August 2017

Arizona State Historian Wins Fellowship to Study African Americans’ Views on World War II

Matthew Delmont, a professor of history and director of the School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies at Arizona State University, has received a Guggenheim Fellowship that will allow him to conduct research on how African American viewed World War II at the time the war was being waged.

The New Dean of Equity and Inclusion at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania

Christopher Hunt was serving as associate dean of students and director of intercultural advancement at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Earlier in his career Hunt was associate director of residence life at Lafayette College.

Norfolk State University Unveils a New Logo and Marketing Slogan

Norfolk State University, the historically Black educational institution in Virginia, has unveiled a new logo and marketing campaign that uses the tagline "We see the future in you."

Two African American Men Appointed to New Faculty Posts

Kwesi Daniels was appointed chair of the department of architecture at Tuskegee University in Alabama and Gabriel E. Warren is a new assistant professor of business administration at Bemidji State University in Minnesota.

New Scholarship Program Taking Shape at North Carolina HBCUs

The Cheatham-White Scholarships will be offered to students entering North Carolina Central University and North Carolina A&T State University in the fall of 2018. North Carolina Central University announced that it will match the state appropriation dollar-for-dollar, allowing the university to award 20 scholarships each year.

Dartmouth’s Rashauna Johnson Is a Finalist for the Frederick Douglass Book Prize

Three finalists have been named for the 19th annual Frederick Douglass Book Prize that recognizes the best book on slavery, resistance, and/or abolition published in the preceding year. Only one of the three finalists is African American.

Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina to Offer a Kinesiology Major

The new kinesiology major at Elizabeth City State University will offer three different concentrations: fitness and wellness, physical education and health, and exercise science. There are 40 students who are now enrolled in the program.

Six African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education

Taking on new roles are Jimmy Teriell Tate at North Carolina Central University, Crystal A. deGregory at Kentucky State, Jenae Jones at Mississippi University for Women, Leon Jones at Oklahoma State, Danita Brown-Young at the University of Illinois, and Ulysses Williams at Voorhees College.

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.

College of William and Mary Honoring the First Black Students Who Lived on Campus

The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the first Black residential students on campus by creating a mural that will be permanently displayed at the university's Swen Library.

The First African American Woman to Lead the Corps of Cadets at West Point

Simone Askew of Fairfax, Virginia, was named First Captain of the Corps of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point for the 2017-18 academic year. She is the first African American woman to hold this position since the academy's founding in 1802.

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.

Oregon State University Aims to Boost Diversity in Veterinary Medical Education

The College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University is hosting 20 high school students from low-income and underrepresented groups this month for its Summer Veterinary Experience.

In Memoriam: Samuel Griffin, 1945-2017

Griffin's career at Alcorn State lasted for more than 40 years. He was named director of bands in 1969 and remained in that post until his retirement in 2012. He was the founder of the university's Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite marching band.

Patricia Bell-Scott Selected for a Lillian Smith Book Award

Patricia Bell-Scott is a professor emerita of women's studies and also human development and family studies at the University of Georgia. She is being honored for her book on civil rights activist Pauli Murray and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Ranking Top Colleges by the Net Price Paid by Low and Middle-Income Students

The New York Times recently published its list of the Top Colleges Doing the Most for the American Dream. The rankings are based on the percentage of undergraduate students who receive federal Pell Grants as well as the net price students must pay to attend these institutions.

Virginia Union University Names Its Next President

Since 2012, Dr. Hakim J. Lucas has served as vice president for institutional advancement at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Earlier in his career, Dr. Lucas held fundraising posts at SUNY-Westbury and Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.

Michigan State Scholar Developing App to Allow Teachers to Analyze Classroom Bias

The Equity Quantified in Participation (EQUIP) program will record classroom interactions between teachers and students. The program will then analyze the data to see if these interactions are different based on the student's race, ethnicity, or gender.

Stephanie Pasley Henry to Lead the College of Education at Bethune-Cookman University

Stephanie Pasley Henry was named acting dean of the College of Education at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. She has been serving as an educational consultant and formerly served on the faculty at Barry University in Miami.

University of Virginia Historian Documents How Black-Owned Land Was Stolen

Dr. Andrew W. Kahrl is conducting research on how tax liens and tax sales became a tool used by predatory land speculators to acquire Black-owned land. Dr. Kahrl discovered that local officials assessed Black property owners at highly inflated rates in an effort to tax them off the land.

Michelle Howard-Vital Named to Lead Florida Memorial University

In 2016, Dr. Michelle Howard-Vital was chosen to serve as executive vice president and provost at Florida Memorial University. From 2007 to 2014, she was president of Cheyney University in Pennsylvania.

Racial Differences in Sleep Patterns Impact Overall Racial Health Disparities

A new study by researchers at Auburn University in Alabama, Northwestern University in Illinois, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison finds that a lack of sleep is a major contributing factor in higher incidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes among African Americans.

Xavier University of Louisiana Announces New Academic Programs

The university is adding an undergraduate major in neuroscience, a minor degree program in cognitive neuroscience, a minor degree program in bioethics, and a new crime and social justice concentration for undergraduate majors in sociology.

New Positions or Duties for Four African American Scholars

Taking on new roles are T'Keyah Crystal Keymah at Florida A&M University, Chiquita A. Collins at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Brian Purnell at Bowdoin College in Maine, and T'Mars McCallum at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in South Carolina.

Fayetteville State University Makes Several Changes to Its Academic Structure

Under the restructuring two schools will now become colleges and the university will establish the School of Nursing and the School of Social Work.

Beverly Daniel Tatum Selected to Receive the Prestigious Gittler Prize

The prize honors an individual who has made lasting scholarly contributions to racial, ethnic and/or religious relations. Dr. Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College in Atlanta, will receive a medal and a $25,000 prize at a ceremony in October 2018.

Bowie State University in Maryland Makes a Major Commitment to Solar Power

The historically Black university will add a solar canopy over a parking lot, put panels in a vacant field, and add solar panels on the roof of the library and the roof of the physical education complex. The new system is expected to supply about 10 percent of the university's electricity.

Six African Americans Appointed to High-Level Administrative Posts at Universities

The appointees are Angela Jones at Eastern Washington University, Joseph Ballard II at the University of Minnesota, Kim LeDuff at the University of West Florida, Anika Mitchell Perkins at Mississippi University for Women, Pamela Goines at the University of Cincinnati, and Wanda Fleming at Alcorn State University.

In Memoriam: Wanda S. Mitchell, 1959-2017

Dr. Mitchell served as the chief diversity officer at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and was an affiliate professor in the department of counseling and special education in the university's School of Education.

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.

Educating Educators on the Civil Rights History of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina's Center for Civil Rights History and Research held the inaugural South Carolina Civil Rights Teacher Initiative this summer.

Study Analyzes Factors That Influence Academic Success of Athletes at HBCUs

The study found that "there was a significant relationship between academic performance and current living arrangements. Participants that lived on campus performed better academically than those that lived in other housing arrangements."

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.

Ranking Colleges by Racial and Class Interaction Among Their Student Bodies

According to the Princeton Review, the university where students from different races and classes interacted the most is Rice University in Houston, Texas. Providence College in Rhode Island was listed as the school where there is the least race/class interaction.

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