Monthly Archives: October 2018
Five Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Roles at Colleges and Universities
Taking on new assignments are Nikki Young at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Patrick T. Smith at Duke University in North Carolina, Bayo Holsey at Emory University in Atlanta, Maurice Emmanuel Parent at Boston College, and Tera Hunter at Princeton University in New Jersey.
Fisk University Launches New Degree Program In Data Science
Historically Black Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, has announced the establishment of a new degree program in data science. According to the university, the new degree will be one of only few such programs in the state of Tennessee.
Aaron Oforlea Wins Award from the College Language Association for His Debut Book
Aaron N. Oforlea, an associate professor in the English department at Washington State University, has won the Creative Scholarship Award from the College Language Association. The international honor recognizes excellence in literary criticism.
North Carolina Central University to Offer New Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees Next Year
Historically Black North Carolina Central University will offer a new bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences and a new master's degree in higher education administration starting in the 2019-2020 academic year. The master's degree program will be completely online.
In Memoriam: Constance Bland, 1958-2018
Dr. Bland joined the faculty at Mississippi Valley State University in 1991 and was promoted to chair of the mathematics, computer, and information sciences department in 1999. She was named vice president of academic affairs in 2014.
Five African Americans in New Administrative Posts in Higher Education
Taking on new roles at Ben Quillian III at California Polytechnic State University in Pomona, Jennifer Robinson at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Jamarco Clark at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, Jerry Bettis Sr. at Virginia State University, and Beverly Barrington at Florida A&M University.
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.
Columbia University on Verge of Creating an African American and Diaspora Studies Department
Pending a final vote of approval from the board of trustees, this new department will be the first independent department established solely for African-American studies at Columbia University.
Universities Team Up With The HistoryMakers
The University of Virginia and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh will collaborate with The HistoryMakers, to enhance the nation's largest archive of videotaped oral histories of African-American leaders.
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.
Johns Hopkins University to Name a New Building After Henrietta Lacks
A new interdisciplinary building on Johns Hopkins University's East Baltimore campus will be named in honor of Henrietta Lacks, who was the source of the HeLa cell line that has been critical to numerous significant advances in modern medicine.
The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles Acquires the Papers of Artist Betye Saar
The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles has allocated $5 million to establish the African American Art History Initiative.
University Study Finds Efforts to Make Science Relevant to Diverse Students Create Divisions
These practices in the classroom attribute health problems to individual choices and divide students into those who are deemed ready for a general chemistry or anatomy lab from those who need to apply the laboratory work to correct problems in their personal lives.
Elizabeth Dooley Becomes First Black Woman to Serve as Provost at the University of Central Florida
Dr. Dooley has worked for the university since 2015 and most recently served as the interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. Before coming to the University of Central Florida, Dr. Dooley spent 25 years at West Virginia University.
A Boston College Professor Analyzes the President’s Budget Proposals for Minority Serving Institutions
The researchers found that even though President Trump promised support for minority serving institutions, every single program for these colleges and universities had a reduced budget, totaling close to $95 million in proposed cuts.
Danielle Laraque-Arena Will Step Down As President of the Upstate Medical University
Danielle Laraque-Arena, the first woman president of the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, has announced she is stepping down, effective at the end of this semester. She will return to a full-time faculty position in June 2019.
New Georgia State University Study Finds Significant Racial Pay Gaps in State Government
The study found that White men earn significantly more than Blacks, Latinos and Latinas, and White women in all areas of state government. Even when all variables such as age, experience, and education are taken into account, Black men continue to earn less than White men.
Maurice Edington Named Provost at Historically Black Florida A&M University
Dr. Edington had been serving as vice president of the Division of Strategic Planning Analysis and Institutional Effectiveness at the university since February 2017. Prior to that, he served as the university's founding dean of the College of Science and Technology from 2013 to 2017.
University of South Alabama Suspends Student, Fires Employee After a Racial Incident
A student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile confessed to hanging a bicycle and two nooses in a tree outside a campus dining hall. Additionally, a dining hall employee was fired after an offensive tweet concerning the incident was posted from the university's official dining hall twitter account.
Six African American Faculty Members Taking on New Roles or Assignments
Taking on new roles are Cymone Fourshey at Bucknell University, David Emmanuel Goatley at Duke University, Michael K. Fauntroy at Howard University, Tiffany Gayle Chenault at Salem State University, Desmond Patton at Columbia University, and Patricia Williams Lessane at the College of Charleston.
Georgia Tech Partners With the Morehouse School of Medicine to Offer Dual MD/MBA Degree
Students will complete three years as medical students at Morehouse followed by a one-year, three-semester MBA program at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business. The final year, they will return to Morehouse to complete their fourth year of medical school.
Notable Honors for Two African American Scholars
The Oakes College Provost House at the University of California, Santa Cruz will be renamed to honor emeritus professor and founding provost J. Herman Blake. Kesha Morant Williams of Pennsylvania State University is being recognized by the National Communication Association.
Elizabeth City State University’s New Prevention, Awareness, and Cultural Education Center
Elizabeth City State University has launched a new center focused on diversity and inclusion on campus called the P.A.C.E. (Prevention, Awareness, and Cultural Education) Center. The new center is an expanded version of the university's Women's Center.
New Administrative Posts for Nine African Americans at Colleges and Universities
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.
New Scholarship Honoring Frederick Douglass Will Aid a Senior at a HBCU
The Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Scholarship Program will award a $10,000 scholarship to one exceptional HBCU senior per year who has demonstrated high academic achievement, strong leadership skills, commitment to their community, and has unmet financial need.
In Memoriam: Brenda Armstrong, 1949-2018
Brenda Armstrong was a professor and the senior associate dean for student diversity, recruitment, and retention at Duke University School of Medicine. She was the second Black woman in the United Stated to become a board-certified pediatric cardiologist.
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.
Brown University Renames Building to Honor Two Early Black Graduates
The J. Walter Wilson Building will now be known as Page-Robinson Hall in honor of Inman Edward Page, one of the first two Black graduates of Brown in 1877, and Ethel Tremaine Robinson, who became the first Black woman to graduate from Brown in 1905.
University of Southern California’s New Program to Boost Diversity in STEM Graduate Education
The Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN) will partner the School of Education at the University of Southern California with over 30 professional organizations to increase diversity in STEM doctoral degrees.
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.
Tulane University Exhibit Showcases Photographs of Plantation Slave Housing
In 1978, photographer Phillip Marin Denman began documenting the more than 100 buildings on the grounds of the Laurel Valley Plantation in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He returned in 2005 and again in 2017 to record the condition of the plantation and the remaining structures.
Cornell Provost Increases Spending Towards Supporting Faculty Diversity
This additional funding will bring total spending toward recruiting and retaining faculty from underrepresented groups to more than $60 million over the next five years.
New Research Institute at the University of Ghana to Be Named for Yale’s Lamin Sanneh
The new research center, which will be formally inaugurated in early 2020, will focus on designing research projects on various topics on religion and society in Africa. Professor Sanneh taught at the University of Ghana from 1975 to 1978.
Three African Americans at Syracuse University Taking on New Roles
Kishi Animashaun Ducre was named associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the College of Arts & Sciences. Karen Davis was appointed interim assistant dean for inclusive excellence in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and Dawit Negussey is the Graduate Dean's Faculty Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion.
