Monthly Archives: October 2018
Report Analyzes the Status of Black Students at Public Colleges and Universities
The researchers report that 14.6 percent of 18-24 year-olds across the 50 states are Black, but only 9.8 percent of full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates at public colleges and universities are Black. Additionally, the report found that 44 percent of public campuses have 10 or fewer full-time Black faculty members
Kmt Shockley Appointed Executive Director of the Center for African American Research and Policy
Dr. Shockley has been serving as an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Earlier he was an associate professor of urban educational leadership at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
American University Report Finds Documentary Film Industry Making Strides in Diversity
The study, produced by the Center for Media & Social Impact at American University in Washington, D.C., found that almost 70 percent of new documentary professionals, those who have been in the industry less than 15 years, are members of racial and ethnic minority groups.
Vann Newkirk Named Provost at Historically Black Fisk University in Nashville
Dr. Newkirk most recently served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and as a professor of history at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Prior to that, he served as associate provost and dean of the graduate school at Alabama A&M University.
Neuroscientists Create a Computational Model to Predict Discrimination Based on Stereotypes
A team of researchers led by neuroscience scholars at the University of California, Berkeley has built a computational model that can predict the degree to which we discriminate against one another based on our stereotypes of groups according to their perceived warmth and competence.
Byron Hughes Named Dean of Students at Virginia Tech
Dr. Hughes began his career at Virginia Tech in 2008 as the assistant director for student conduct. Since 2013, he has been serving as the university's director of fraternity and sorority life. Prior to coming to Blacksburg, he worked in residential life positions at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and Salisbury University in Maryland.
Vanderbilt and Tennessee State Partner to Increase Diversity in the Geosciences
Vanderbilt University and historically Black Tennessee State University, both in Nashville, have partnered together to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups studying in the geosciences. The new partnership is called Earth Horizons.
Princeton University’s Wallace Best Wins Book Award From the American Academy of Religion
Wallace Best, professor of religion and African American studies and associated faculty member in the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University, has received the 2018 American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion: Textual Studies.
HBCUs Team Up With the Solar Energy Industries Association to Boost Diversity in Clean Energy
The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Community Development Action Coalition and the Solar Energy Industries Association have agreed to start a new initiative to increase recruitment of African-Americans to the solar energy industry.
Three African Americans Appointed to Administrative Posts in Higher Education
Taking on new administrative roles are Ashley Daniels at Xavier University in New Orleans, Joan Nelson at Rice University in Houston, and Timothy F. McMullen at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.
Alabama State University’s New Partnership With the U.S. Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy
The partnership will provide the university with access to the United States Defense Acquisition University curriculum which they will use to offer a new course on acquisition and contracting to its undergraduate students by spring 2019 and a certificate program in acquisition, contracting, and logistics by fall 2020.
A Trio of African American Women Honored With Prestigious Awards
The honorees are Valerie Kinloch, the Renee and Richard Goldman Dean of the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh, Menah Pratt-Clarke, vice president of strategic affairs and vice provost at Virginia Tech, and Andrea Scott, who teaches Spanish professor at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis.
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.
Princeton University Library Establishes Collection of African-American Newspapers
The Princeton University Library has established a collection of current newspapers published for African American audiences throughout the United States. The new collection contains printed copies of 72 newspapers from various cities and towns in 32 states.
In Memoriam: Melvin Curtis Tyler (1956-2018)
Melvin Curtis Tyler served as vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City until just 10 days before his death.
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.
University Professor’s Research Results in Honors for Murdered World War I Veteran
While investigating the 1919 Elaine Massacre, University of Arkansas Little Rock history professor Brian Mitchell discovered that Leroy Johnston, a Black World War I veteran and victim of the massacre, had his medical records altered, denying him military honors that he deserved.
Four New Black Professors at Amherst College in Massachusetts
The four new Black faculty members at the highly rated liberal arts college are Karamatou Yacoubou Djima in mathematics, Dwight A. Carey in art and the history of art, Jakina Debnam in economics, and Marc Edwards in biology.
Eleven Black Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Assignments at Colleges and Universities
Here is this week’s listing of African American faculty members from colleges and universities throughout the United States who have been appointed to new positions or have been assigned new duties.
Two African Americans Stepping Down From High-Level Administrative Posts at Universities
Marilyn Sanders Mobley, vice president for inclusion, diversity, and equal opportunity at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, will step down and return to the English department faculty and Alan Brangman, executive vice president and university treasurer at the University of Delaware, has announced he will retire in early 2019.
African Americans With Strong Racial Identities Are Less Likely To Be Hired and Receive Lower Salaries
A Black job applicant who worked on the Obama presidential campaign would indicate a strong racial identity, whereas a Black applicant who was a member of a ski club would be perceived as not having a strong racial identity.
The Persistent Racial Income Gap Hinders Black Access to Higher Education
In 2017, the median Black family income was 59.1 percent of the median income for White families. With only minor fluctuations, the racial gap in median income has remained virtually unchanged for nearly a half century.
University Study Finds People’s Opinions Are Not Swayed by Police Racial Disparity Statistics
A new study by scholars at the University of Kansas and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, has found that people do not change their opinions of the police after being presented with statistics of racial disparities in police stops.
Ben Vinson Is the New Chair of the National Humanities Center
The center, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is a nonprofit institute dedicated to advanced study in the humanities. Dr. Vinson is the provost and executive vice president of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Racial Wealth Gap in Los Angeles Has Widened Since the 1965 Watts Riots
A new study by scholars at Duke University, the University of California Los Angeles, and the New School, has found that the wealth gap has been severely overlooked as a major factor in overall inequality since the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles.
African Scholar William Abraham Honored With a Portrait at Oxford University
William Abraham is a professor of philosophy emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1959, Professor Abraham became the first African scholar to win a Prize Fellowship at All Souls College at Oxford University in England. Today, he remains the only African to ever win the prestigious award.
