Monthly Archives: November 2018
The FBI Releases New Data on Hate Crimes in the United States
In 2017, there 7,175 hate crime incidents reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by by local law enforcement agencies. There were 214 hate crimes on college campuses in 2017 that were reported to the FBI. Of these 129 were related to race or ethnicity.
Yolanda Watson Spiva Named President of Complete College America
Complete College America is a national nonprofit organization that works with states to significantly increase the number of Americans with quality career certificates or college degrees and to close educational attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations.
How Teachers Can Impact The Pathway to College for Young Black Students
The researchers found that Black students who had just one Black teacher by third grade were 13 percent more likely to enroll in college, and those who had two Black teachers were 32 percent more likely to go to college.
Paul King Named President and CEO of Stanford Children’s Health
Paul King has been serving as executive director of the University of Michigan Health System's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital since 2013. He will begin his new job at Stanford in early 2019.
Elijah Anderson Named Sterling Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Yale
The Sterling Professorship is awarded to a tenured faculty member considered one of the best in his or her field and is one of the university’s highest faculty honors.
Lincoln University Expands Partnership With the Environmental Protection Agency
The new partnership will support environmental science students, enhance professional development for the Lincoln University's faculty, provide faculty with technical assistance, enhance Lincoln's environmental sciences curriculum, promote partnerships with other organizations, and foster community development.
New Roles for a Quartet of African American Faculty Members
Taking on new duties are Rebecca Davis at Simmons University in Boston, Sharon M. Howell at Saint Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, Adanna Jones at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and Tracey Fleming of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.
Xavier University of Louisiana Experiences a Surge in Student Enrollments
The 2018 entering class includes 866 new first-year students and 71 new transfer students, making it the largest entering class since 2010. Total enrollment for Xavier University is now 3,231 students, which is the highest overall enrollment since 2011.
Four African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
Taking on new roles are Mario Berry at Texas Southern University in Houston, Edward Pittman at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, Maureen O. Stokes at Worcester State University in Massachusetts, and Natalie Pennywell at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Jackson State University Aims to Get Blacks Involved in Food Safety and Water Security
Historically Black Jackson State University in Mississippi recently hosted a national workshop aimed at getting academic professionals from minority-serving institutions involved in research on food safety and water security.
In Memoriam: Ulysses S. Washington, 1920-2018
Washington began his career at then-Delaware State College in 1949 as an assistant professor of agriculture education and farm mechanics. He retired from his position as chair of the department of agriculture at Delaware State University in 1991.
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.
Olivette Otele Becomes First Black Woman History Professor in the United Kingdom
Olivette Otele has become the first Black woman history professor in the United Kingdom. She has been named a professor of history at Bath Spa University where she will lead history courses at the university's Newton Park on Duchy of Cornwall campus.
West Virginia State University Honors Alumnus Earl Lloyd, the First Black Man to Play in the NBA
Historically Black West Virginia State University will recognize Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member and alumnus Earl Lloyd with the naming of a street on campus in his honor. The basketball legend passed away on February 26, 2015.
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.
Purdue University’s College of Agriculture Aims to Boost Diversity in Graduate Programs
The Mentoring@Purdue program pairs students with faculty or staff members and includes a summer scholars program which brings undergraduate students from historically Black colleges and universities to Purdue's campus for a week-long program that teaches them how to start applying to graduate schools.
Davidson College Investigating Racist Tweets Allegedly Posted by Students
Davidson College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution in North Carolina, is investigating racist and anti-Semitic tweets. The Davidson College Sailing Team reportedly has removed two of its students due to connections with the racist tweets.
In Memoriam: George Taliaferro, 1927-2018
George Taliaferro was the first African-American ever drafted by a National Football League team. After his football career was over, he served in many roles in higher education in Indiana and at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
A Snapshot of African American Enrollments in Higher Education in the Fall of 2017
There were 20,135,159 students enrolled at Title IV institutions in the fall of 2017. Of these, there were 2,489,088 African Americans in this group. They made up 12.4 percent of the total enrollments. Blacks were 11.4 percent of the total enrollments in graduate programs.
Anita Jones Thomas Appointed Provost at St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Dr. Thomas currently serves as the founding dean of the College of Applied Behavioral Sciences at the University of Indianapolis. Earlier, she served on the faculty for 10 years and was associate dean of academic affairs and research in the School of Education at Loyola University in Chicago. She will become provost on June 3, 2019.
University Study Finds Diet Is the Major Reason for High Blood Pressure Among African Americans
A recent study led by scholars at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has found that diet is the predominant factor explaining why African-Americans are more likely to develop higher blood pressure than their White counterparts.
Craig Watters to Lead Oklahoma State University’s Riata Institute for Global Social Entrepreneurship
Dr. Watters is a clinical associate professor and the International Entrepreneurship chair. He has been a faculty member at Oklahoma State University since 2011. The new institute will focus on furthering student experiential study, research, and service.
Black Job Seekers May Be More Likely to Receive Lower Salaries as a Result of Negotiation Bias
A recent study led by a scholar at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia has found that African-American job candidates are more likely to receive lower starting salaries when evaluators believe they have been too aggressive in hiring negotiations.
The First Woman of Color to Serve as Dean of the St. Thomas University School of Law
Tamara F. Lawson has been named dean of St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens, Florida. Professor Lawson, who had been serving as interim dean since June 2018, earlier was associate dean for academic affairs from 2017 to June 2018.
Racial Slur Found Written on a Blackboard in a Vanderbilt University Lecture Hall
The Vanderbilt University Police Department is still conducting its own investigation and has notified the Metro Nashville Police Department, the Tennessee Fusion Center, and the FBI.
Delaware State University Achieves Record-Breaking Enrollment for the Sixth Year in a Row
The Early College High School at the university had 57 percent of its graduates enroll at Delaware State as sophomores this fall. The university has also secured state-funding and established partners with outside organizations, which has led to numerous scholarships for students.
Three African American Men Appointed to New Faculty Positions
Appointed to new faculty roles are David Van Valen at the California Institute of Technology, Lawrence Ralph at Princeton University in New Jersey, and Will Power at Spelman College in Atlanta.
Savannah State University to Lay Off 26 Faculty Members Due to a Loss in Enrollment and Revenue
The historically Black university experienced a 10.6 percent decrease in enrollment in the fall 2017 semester, and a 7.9 percent decrease this fall. The university has established a Strategic Alignment of Resources planning committee to help align the university's resources to match its educational priorities.
A Trio of African American Scholars Honored With Prestigious Awards
The honorees are Patrick T. Smith, an associate research professor at Duke Divinity School, Barbara Ransby, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Dawn Mellion-Patin, a vice chancellor at Southern University in Lousiana.
LeMoyne-Owen College’s New “Last Mile” Grants to Help Students Complete Their Bachelor’s Degrees
Historically Black LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee, has announced a new initiative designed to provide up to $1,500 in aid to undergraduate seniors who are on track to graduate, but who are unable to complete their degrees due to modest financial barriers.
New Administrative Posts at Colleges and Universities for a Half Dozen African Americans
Taking on new roles are B. Afeni McNeely Cobham at Grand Rapids Community College, Cornelius Wooten at North Carolina Central University, Kerone Wetter at Virginia Tech, Kenya Mann Faulkner at Penn State, Yolanda Edmond at Texas Southern University, and Shawnboda Mead at the University of Mississippi.
In Memoriam: Ntozake Shange, 1948-2018
Shange was a professor of women's studies at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2006. She was the author of the 1975 Tony Award-nominated play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf."
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.
Yale Divinity School Commissions Painting of First African-American to Take Classes
In the 1830s, Pennington, an escapee from slavery in Maryland and an aspiring minister, audited classes at the Yale Divinity School even though he was not allowed to officially enroll. He was permitted to sit in the back of the classroom and listen. He was not allowed to speak during classes or borrow books from the library.
