Monthly Archives: February 2018

Morehouse College Gets Serious About Preventing Sexual Misconduct

Recently, more than 25 Title IX employees, executive leaders, and faculty representatives from Morehouse and Spelman met as a group to discuss opportunities for joint educational outreach to prevent sexual misconduct. The group also discussed best practices for handling cases.

The University of Pennsylvania to Investigate Its Early Ties to Slavery

University founder, Benjamin Franklin was a slave owner early in his life but then became an abolitionist. About one half of the university's original trustees were slave owners. A working group at the university will now dig deeper into this history and offer recommendations for any next steps.

The Racial Gap in Advancement Placement Test Scores

The average score on Advanced Placement examinations for African American students in 2017 was 2.03. On the AP scoring system of 5 to 1, a score of 2 is equivalent to a grade of D in a college-level course. For White students the average score on all AP tests was 3.02, roughly equivalent to a letter grade of C.

Miles K. Davis Will Be the First African American President of Linfield College in Oregon

Currently, Dr. Davis is dean of the Harry F. Byrd Jr. School of Business at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He joined the faculty there is 2001 and was named dean of the business school in 2012. He will become president of Linfield College on July 1.

Will Eliminating Hunger Boost Academic Performance of African American College Students?

A new study is being conducted by the University of Houston to see if a program that will provide food to Black and Latino/a students at Houston Community College will result in better academic performance and increase retention rates.

The Large Racial Gap in Medical School Faculty

Data from the Association of American Medical Colleges show that in 2016 there were 5,075 Black or African American faculty at U.S. medical schools. They made up just 3 percent of all faculty members at medical schools. Blacks made up just 1.6 percent of all full professors at U.S. medical schools in 2016.

Three African Americans in New Faculty Roles at Major Universities

Taking on new duties are Danielle Taana Smith at Syracuse University in New York, Stephanie Lusk in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas, and Lerone A. Martin in the Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis.

Number of Hate Groups Has Stalled While Hate Incidents Have Increased

A new analysis by David Cunningham, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, finds that the growth of hate groups in the United States has slowed since the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. However, the number of hate incidents has increased.

Beryl McEwen Named Provost at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro

Dr. McEwen has served as interim provost since August 2017. Earlier, she served as dean of the College of Business and vice provost for strategic planning and institutional effectiveness at North Carolina A&T State University.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore Signs Agreement With Salisbury University

The partnership will allow qualified students who are majoring in chemistry at Salisbury University and who have completed three years of study to gain admission to the professional pharmacy degree program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Velvet Brown Named Distinguished Professor at Pennsylvania State University

Professor Brown joined the faculty at Pennsylvania State University in 2003 as a professor of tuba and euphonium. Earlier in her career, she served on the faculty at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Google to Expand Its Computer Science Training Program for HBCU Students

Last summer, Google operated a satellite campus in California for 26 Howard University students. Google was so pleased with the effort that it is now expanding the program from three months in the summer to a full academic year. And students from other HBCUs will be able to participate.

Johns Hopkins University Scholar Honored for Work to Promote Diversity in Nursing

Phyllis Sharps, professor and associate dean for community programs and initiatives at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Baltimore, was named as the recipient of the Diversity in Nursing Award from Modern Healthcare.

Bowie State University Expands its Partnership With the Environmental Protection Agency

Under the agreement the EPA will provide educational and practical experiences to university students looking to enter careers in the federal government. Officials at the EPA will serve as student mentors. University students will be able to participate in EPA research projects and gain access to student internship programs at the agency.

Five African Americans Taking on New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Appointed to new posts are Edrel Stoneham at Victoria College in Texas, Aisha Haynes at the University of South Carolina, Patricia Pierce Ramsey of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Alonda Thomas at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Allyson Livingstone at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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.

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