Monthly Archives: November 2017

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.

Music Legend Sonny Rollins Endows a Jazz Ensemble at Oberlin College

Beginning in spring 2018, Oberlin jazz studies majors may audition for the Oberlin Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble. Students selected must dedicate at least two semesters to performing in the ensemble. They must also complete a winter-term project that embodies Rollins’ spirit of giving.

Vanderbilt University’s Second Annual Report on Diversity Measures and Progress

The university made offers for 61 faculty positions. Of these 45 were accepted. A third of these were members of minority groups and 58 percent were women. More than a quarter of all students entering Ph.D. programs in education and graduate programs in the Divinity School are from underrepresented groups.

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.

Students From Sub-Saharan African Nations at U.S. Colleges and Universities, 2016-17

The Institute for International Education reports that in the 2015-16 academic year, there were 37,735 students from sub-Saharan Africa enrolled at colleges and universities in the United States. The number of students from sub-Saharan Africa was up 6.7 percent from the prior year.

A Smaller But Still Significant Racial Gap in Home Computer Use

In 2015, 88 percent of non-Hispanic White households had a computer in the home. For Blacks, only 80.1 percent of all households had a home computer. Thus, nearly one in five Black households did not have a home computer.

Two African American Women Assuming New Faculty Positions

Aimee Meredith Cox is a new associate professor of African American studies and an associate professor of anthropology at Yale University and Sami Schalk is a new assistant professor of gender and women's studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Study Reveals Historical Racial Biases Persist in How We Track Students Today

Kathryn Kirchgasler, of the University of Kansas, has produced research that shows how U.S. students have been separated into different levels of science classes for more than a century and how research and standardized testing have perpetuated those inequalities.

Scholar Develops Software to Search the Dark Web for Hate Group Manifestos

Ugochukwu O. Etudo, a new assistant professor of operations and information management in the School of Business at the University of Connecticut in Stamford, has developed software that can be used to search the internet and the so-called "Dark Web" to identify websites that espouse radical views and violent behavior.

Johns Hopkins University Research Shows Racial Disparities in Surgical Care

The researchers found that Black patients received less optimal pain management than White patients who had undergone similar surgeries. The study also found that Black patients were placed on enhanced recovery protocols later than White patients.

Howard University to Form an Integrated Health Network for Underserved Women

Howard University has entered into a partnership with Unity Health Care Inc. The collaboration will expand the number of obstetricians, labor and delivery hospital rooms, and neonatal beds available for women and their babies in underserved areas of Washington, D.C.

Albany State University Aims to Improve Student Experience and Success Rate

Marion Fedrick, interim executive vice president at Albany State University in Georgia, has announced that the university has formed the Student Engagement Experience task force. The task force will recommend how to improve the student experience and increase retention and graduation rates.

New Administrative Duties in Higher Education for a Trio of African Americans

Appointed to new administrative posts are Christina Presberry at Johns Hopkins University, Duane E. Wright at Kentucky State University and Chris Presley at the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management.

Central State University in Ohio to Build New Agricultural Education Facilities

The university has announced plans to build a botanical and community garden, where members of the university community can grow their own fruits and vegetables. It will also build the Demonstration and Agricultural Experiment Station, which will include an aquaponics facility.

Two African Americans Scholars Receive Notable Honors

The honorees are Shelly Haley, professor of classics and professor of Africana studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and Eric A. Stewart, a professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University.

Black Alumna of Franklin and Marshall College Named a Mitchell Scholar

A native of Guinea in West Africa, Fatoumata Keita will travel to Ireland with the hope of obtaining a master's degree in gender and women's studies at Trinity College Dublin. She is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and now works for Bloomberg Philanthropies.

In Memoriam: Jacqueline A. DeWalt, 1952-2017

Jacqueline DeWalt was the former long-time director of the Pre-college Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Education (PEOPLE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Simmons College in Boston Names a College in Honor of Journalist and Alumna Gwen Ifill

Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, announced that it will rename its College of Media, Arts and Humanities after Gwen Ifill, the noted journalist and Simmons College alumna who died in 2016.

A New Tribute to Educator and Civil Rights Icon Benjamin E. Mays

Earlier this month a new statue of Benjamin E. Mays, the educator and civil rights leader was unveiled at the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site near Epworth, South Carolina, near where Dr. Mays was born. Dr Mays was president of Morehouse College from 1940 to 1967.

Morgan State University Set to Award its First Ph.D. in Mathematics

Next month, Candice Marshall is set to become the first person to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics at historically Black Morgan State University in Baltimore. A native of St. Lucia in the Caribbean, Marshall's research involves advanced matrix algebra and Riordan matrices.

In Memoriam: Darnell Johnson, 1951-2017

Dr. Johnson taught in the public school system in Portsmouth, Virginia, for 30 years. He then served as assistant dean of education at Hampton University in Virginia, and later as an endowed professor and chair of the mathematics department at Elizabeth City State University.

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.

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 FBI Releases New Data on Hate Crimes in the United States

In 2016, there 6,121 hate crime incidents reported to the federal agency by local law enforcement agencies.

An Eventful Week for Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

On Monday, Aaron A. Walton was named president of the university through June 2021 and on Thursday the historically Black university learned that it would not lose its accreditation.

United Negro College Fund Analysis Show the Economic Impact of the Nation’s HBCUs

The study prepared by the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth, found that the nation's HBCUs contribute nearly $15 billion to the nation's economy. And HBCUs generate roughly 134,000 jobs for their local and regional economies.

Castell Vaughn Bryant Named Acting President of Florida Memorial University

The board of trustees of Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens has appointed Castell Vaughn Bryant as acting president. The appointment was made when interim president Michelle Howard-Vital took an emergency medical leave.

Racial Differences in Mobility Rates in the United States by Educational Attainment

Mobility rates were similar for Black and White high school dropouts and college graduates. But there was a much larger racial gap for high school graduates and those with a graduate or professional degree.

The Next Leader of Norfolk State University in Virginia

Dr. Melvin T. Stith has served on the board of visitors of Norfolk State University since 2013 and as vice rector since 2016. He is dean emeritus of the School of Management at Syracuse University. Dr. Stith will begin his term as interim president on January 1.

School of Architecture and Planning at MIT Adds Three Black Faculty Members

The School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has announced the appointment of five new faculty members. Three of the new hires are African Americans: Jason Jackson, Erica James, and Danielle Woods.

New Duties for Five Black Administrators at Colleges and Universities

Taking on new roles are Pamela Wimbush at Hampton University in Virginia, Eddie Gisemba at Oberlin College in Ohio, Ivory W. Lyles at the University of Nevada, Reno, Eunice Tarver at Tulsa Community College in Oklahoma, and Zillah M. Fluker of Miles College in Alabama.

Alcorn State University in Mississippi to Add Two New Degree Programs Next Fall

The university will offer a master's degree program in history and a new bachelor's degree program in athletic training. The university anticipates that over the next six years 100 students will enroll in the history master's program and 135 students in the athletic training program.

Three African American Men From the Academic World Receive Distinguished Honors

The honorees are Wayne A.I. Frederick, president of Howard University, George C. Hill, professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and Roderick L. Ireland, a Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University in Boston.

Meharry Medical College to Bring All Its Students Back to a Nashville Hospital

Under the agreement, medical students at Meharry will receive their clinical training at TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center in Nashville, operated by HCA Healthcare. The corporation operates 177 hospitals in 20 states and the United Kingdom and treats 27 million patients annually.

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