Nine Black Scholars Taking on New Assignments

Roberta Waite, has been named executive director of the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services Center at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has been involved with the center since 2005 and currently serves as an associate professor.

Dr. Waite received a bachelor’s degree in nursing and an educational doctorate from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and a master’s degree in adult psychiatric mental health nursing from the University of Pennsylvania.

Erika Augustine has been named the Robert J. Joynt Professor in Neurology at the University of Rochester. She will retain her joint appointments as associate professor of pediatrics and associate professor in the Center for Health and Technology.

Dr. Augustine holds a bachelor’s degree in biological anthropology from Harvard University and a medical doctorate from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Mukasa Mubirumusoke has been named an assistant professor in the Intercollegiate Department of Africana Studies at Claremont McKenna College in California. He was previously a visiting assistant professor at Grinnell College in Iowa.

Dr. Mubriumusoke holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Occidental College in Los Angeles, a master’s degree in philosophy from Boston College, and a Ph.D. from Emory University in Atlanta.

Morgan Jerald has been named assistant professor in the department of psychology at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. This will be her first teaching position in higher education.

Dr. Jerald is a summa cum laude graduate of Spelman College  in Atlanta, where she double majored in psychology and Spanish. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in personality and social contexts psychology from the University of Michigan.

Michael Potts has been named to the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre at Fordham University in New York. He recently starred alongside Washington in the well-received production of The Iceman Cometh on Broadway. He has been acting for more than 25 years and is known for his roles in HBO’s The Wire and Broadway’s The Book of Mormon.

Potts holds a bachelor’s degree from Colombia University and a master’s degree from the Yale University School of Drama.

Cornell Williams Brooks has been selected as a professor of the practice of public leadership and social justice at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is a civil rights attorney, an ordained minister, and the former president and CEO of the NAACP. Most recently, he was a visiting professor of social ethics, law, and justice movements at Boston University.

Professor Brooks holds a bachelor’s degree from Jackson State University in Mississippi, a master’s of divinity degree from Boston University, and a juris doctorate from Yale Law School.

Michael Steele has been named faculty fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. He is a conservative political commentator and former chair of the Republican National Committee.

Steele holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center.

Kiron Skinner has been appointed senior policy advisor to United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and director of policy planning, one of the most influential positions in the State Department. She is the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Skinner holds a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College, a bachelor’s degree from Sacramento City College, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science and international relations from Harvard University.

Tiffany Gill, an associate professor of Africana studies and history at the University of Delaware, was named the university’s first Cochran Scholar. John and Patricia Cochran “were overwhelmed with Dr. Gill’s passion for commitment to inclusiveness” and were happy to “recognize her hard work and dedication.”

Dr. Gill holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in history with a focus on American studies and African American studies from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

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