Monthly Archives: September 2017
James B. Hughes Jr. to Lead the Emory University School of Law
Professor Hughes has been a member of the faculty at the law school since 1992. He also has been serving as associate dean for academic affairs. Earlier, he was a partner in the Atlanta law firm Trotter, Smith & Jacobs, where he practiced commercial real estate law.
Psychologists Find White College Students Continue to Hold Prejudicial Beliefs
A new study finds that many White college students continue to harbor racists beliefs. These beliefs lead many White students to communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults in the form of microaggressions.
Florida A&M University Extends the Contract of Interim President Larry Robinson
One year ago, the board of trustees named Larry Robinson as interim president of Florida A&M University. He had served in that role twice before from July 2012 to April 2014 and in 2007. Now the board of trustees has extended his contract as interim president for another year through September 2018.
Four African Americans Named to New Administrative Positions at State Universities
Taking on new administrative duties are Isaac Moore at Winston-Salem State University, Keith Champagne at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Shondella Reed at the University of California, Davis, and Allen Malone at Alabama A&M University.
The New Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Johnathan Holifield, an author, consultant, and former player in the National Football League has been named director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
A Slight Improvement in the Still Large Racial Gap in Median Household Income
The median income of Black households in the United States in 2016 was $39,490. For non-Hispanic White households in 2016, the median income figure was $65,041. Despite a small improvement this year, the racial gap in median income has remained virtually unchanged for nearly a half century.
In Memoriam: Alton Hornsby Jr.
After teaching briefly at Tuskegee University in Alabama, Dr. Hornsby joined the faculty at Morehouse College and served as chair of the history department for 30 years. After nearly 40 years on the Morehouse College faculty, Dr. Hornsby retired in 2010.
DeRionne P. Pollard Receives the Academic Leadership Award From the Carnegie Corporation
DeRionne Pollard is president of Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. She is being honored for an ambitious strategic plan, which focused on student retention and completion. She will receive a $500,000 award to support her academic initiatives.
U.S. News Names Its Choices for the Best Black Colleges and Universities
As was the case last year, Spelman College in Atlanta was ranked as the nation's best HBCU. Howard University in Washington, D.C. was ranked second. Both HBCUs made impressive gains in the overall rankings of national universities and colleges.
Sheilah Paul to Lead the New School of Education at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn
Medgar Evers College, a campus of the City University of New York, has announced the establishment of the School of Education. The college enrolls about 6,800 students. African Americans make up more than three quarters of the student body. Dr. Sheilah M. Paul was named founding dean.
HBCUs Report Impressive Enrollment Gains
Alcorn State University in Mississippi reports that the first-year class is the largest in university history. There are 740 entering students this year, an increase of 38 percent from a year ago. Several other HBCUs have also reported impressive gains.
Four Black Scholars Taking on New Roles or Responsibilities in Higher Education
Taking on new duties are Getiria Onsongo at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, Samir Bandaogo at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Yvette Murphy-Erby at the University of Arkansas, and Ann-Margaret Esnard at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Bowie State Teams Up With the University of Maryland to Train Predoctoral Fellows in Education
The Research Institute for Scholars in Education (RISE) training program will provide students with research mentoring on language and literacy topics from University of Maryland faculty and academic mentoring from Bowie State University faculty.
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.
Rutgers University Honors African Americans Who Are Part of Its History
Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey has renamed its College Avenue Apartments to honor Sojourner Truth. The library on the Livingston Campus in Piscataway has been renamed the James Dickson Carr Library after Rutgers’ first African-American graduate.
Penn Announces its First Cohort of Minority Serving Institutions Aspiring Leaders Program
The goal of the program is to train the next generation of university presidents who will lead the country’s minority serving institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities.
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.
White Supremacist Fliers Were Posted on the Webster University Campus
Fliers promoting a White supremacist group were posted throughout the campus of Webster University in St. Louis. Blacks make up 16 percent of the undergraduate student body at the university.
Indiana University Reports Encouraging Enrollment Numbers for African Americans
At the flagship campus at Bloomington, there are 1,907 African American students, a record number for this campus. Systemwide, there are 7,646 African Americans enrolled.
Lehigh University Is the Latest Educational Partner of the Posse Foundation
Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has become a new partner with the Posse Foundation. A Posse of 10 students from the San Francisco Bay area will become Lehigh students next fall. The university hopes to add additional Posses of 10 students each year.
Charity Hudley Named to an Endowed Chair at the University of California, Santa Barbara
Dr. Hudley was the William and Mary Professor of Community Studies and an associate professor of English at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She joined the faculty there in 2005.
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.
New Administrative Roles for Eight African Americans 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.
HBCUs Throughout the Southeast Impacted by Hurricane Irma
Many of the nation's historically Black colleges and universities are located in the southeastern United States. As a result many were impacted by powerful Hurricane Irma. The impact of the hurricane closed HBCU campuses in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The Huge Racial Gap in College Readiness as Measured by the ACT Test
Some 35 percent of Whites who took the ACT test were deemed college ready in all four areas of English, mathematics, reading, and science. For Blacks, only 6 percent of all test takers were deemed college ready in all four areas.
Quinton T. Ross Chosen as President of Alabama State University in Montgomery
Dr. Ross is an Alabama State Senator. He also has served as director of adult education at Trenholm State Technical College in Montgomery. Dr. Ross was a finalist for president of Alabama State in 2013.
The Business Schools With the Most Faculty From Underrepresented Groups
The survey by the PhD Project found that there are 22 faculty members from underrepresented groups at the business school at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. This was the largest number of any business school in the United States.
Spelman College in Atlanta Will Admit Transgender Students in 2018
Spelman College in Atlanta announced that for the class that will enter college in the fall of 2018 it "will consider for admission women students including students who consistently live and self-identify as women, regardless of their gender assignment at birth." Most of the nation's leading women's colleges made similar decisions two or three years ago.
Differences in Treatment for Those Who Suffer Cardiac Arrest by Racial Makeup of Neighborhood
A new study, led by a Duke University School of Medicine scholar, found that people who live in predominantly White neighborhoods are much more likely than people who live in predominantly Black neighborhoods to be treated with CPR or a defibrillator after suffering cardiac arrest.
Former Secretary of Education Is Now Teaching at the University of Maryland
John B. King Jr., the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, is a visiting professor in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is teaching a course on education policy.
Delaware State University Improves Its Nursing Education Program
From 2007-2014, an average of 62 percent of the graduates of the Delaware State University program passed the licensing examination. This year 90 percent of the students in the graduating class passed the examination on their first attempt.
Gloria Chuku Receives the 2017 Ali Mazrui Award for Scholarship and Research Excellence
Gloria Chuku, chair and professor of Africana studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, received the 2017 Ali Mazrui Award for Scholarship and Research Excellence from the Toyin Falola Annual Conference on African Diaspora. She is the first woman to receive the award.
Southern University Is the First HBCU to Partner With America Makes
America Makes is a multi-agency collaboration among industry, universities, and government partners, led by the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Defense, Education, NASA, and the National Science Foundation that conducts research into additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology.
Marsha Horton Serving as Dean at Delaware State University in Dover
Marsha Horton was named interim dean of the College of Education, Health, and Policy at Delaware State University. She was dean and associate professor in the School of Education, Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Union University in Richmond.
Elizabeth City State University Debuts Its First Fully Online Degree Program
The interdisciplinary degree program offers a number of concentrations including social and behavioral sciences, STEM, humanities, health, children and community services, Africana studies, and politics and government.
Four African American Women Scholars Taking on New Roles in Academia
The Black scholars assigned to new duties are Nadia Nurhussein at Johns Hopkins University, Sonja S. Watson at the University of Texas at Arlington, Danielle Wood at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Peggie R. Smith at Washington University in St. Louis.
