Monthly Archives: December 2018
Rutgers University to Launch the Samuel D. Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice
Samuel DeWitt Proctor was a Rutgers faculty member for 15 years. He served as the first Martin Luther King Jr. Chair and visiting professor in the Department of Africana Studies. Proctor was the first Black faculty member at Rutgers to have an endowed professorship named in his honor.
Three Black Leaders at the New Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine in Pasadena, California
Kaiser Permanente, the largest integrated health care system in the nation, announced in 2015 that it planned to open a new medical school. Recently the new medical school announced the appointments of three African Americans who will have senior leadership roles at the medical school.
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.
UCLA Renames Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance to Honor Herbie Hancock
The change is in line with a decision by the Washington, D.C.-based Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz following a request by the Monk estate regarding the continued use of Thelonious Monk’s name.
Student Shouted White Supremacist Views in Confrontation With Black Students at Columbia
A White sophomore at Columbia University in New York City was seen on video harassing a group of African American students outside the Butler Library on campus.
Five African American Men Who Are Stepping Down From Their Posts in Higher Education
The African American men who are leaving their current posts are Winston B. Crisp at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Corey D.B. Walker at Virginia Union University, Donald Cole at the University of Mississippi, Cliff Thornton at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and Stanley Pritchett at Morris Brown College in Atlanta.
Spelman College Receives Largest Gift From a Living Donor in Its 137-Year History
The $30 million gift from trustee Ronda Stryker and her husband, will be used to help fund the construction of the Center for Innovation and the Arts on the Spelman campus. When completed the building will house all of the college's arts programs in a single building.
African Americans Making Only Snail-Like Progress in Doctoral Degree Awards
If we restrict the figures to citizens and permanent residents we find that African Americans earned 6.7 percent of all doctoral awards in 2017. Therefore, African Americans earned about one half the number of doctorates that would be the case if racial parity with the U.S. Black population prevailed.
Koffi Akakpo Named President of Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Kentucky
Currently, Dr. Akakpo serves as vice president for business, administrative, and student services at North Central State College in Mansfield, Ohio. Earlier, he was director of financial planning and management and an adjunct faculty member at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.
The Gender Gap in College Completion Rates for African Americans
For African Americans who entered four-year colleges and universities seeking bachelor's degrees in 2011, women had a graduation rate of 43.9 percent, compared to 34.1 percent of Black men. This was the largest gender gap for any racial or ethnic group.
Akin Ogundiran Named Editor-In-Chief of the African Archaeological Review
Dr. Ogundiran is a professor of Africana studies, anthropology, and history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The journal focuses on African archaeology, including topics such as the emergence of modern humans and the earliest manifestation of human culture.
Many Low-Income Students Do Not Know the Financial Aid Resources Available to Them
A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that low-income students are far more likely to apply to more elite and selective schools if they are aware of the extent of financial aid available to them.
Columbia University Approves an African American and African Diaspora Studies Department
Columbia University plans to hire new faculty who are experts in the field of African American and African diaspora studies and create a Ph.D. program to produce additional innovative scholarship. Additionally, the new department plans to collaborate on cultural projects with the surrounding community in Harlem.
New Teaching Assignments for a Trio of African American Scholars
The Three African Americans in new faculty posts are Kandis Leslie Gilliard-AbdulAziz at the University of California, Riverside, Sonia M. Gipson Rankin at the University of New Mexico School of Law, and Teju Cole, who will teach creative writing at Harvard University.
Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, at Risk of Losing Its Accreditation
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Collegeshas notified historically Black Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, that it will lose its accreditation. The college has appealed the decision and has until February to convince the commission that significant progress has been made.
Emery Brown Wins the 2018 Dickinson Prize in Science From Carnegie Mellon University
The award recognizes substantial achievements or sustained progress in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, computer science, or mathematics. Dr. Brown is only African American, to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine.
Morgan State University Announces New Strategic Plan for the Next Five Years
The new plan will focus on enhancing student success and experiences; improving Morgan's infrastructure; enhancing doctoral research university standing; increasing resources; managing student enrollment; expanding community engagement and support; and advancing athletics.
Four African American Men Taking on New Administrative Posts in Higher Education
The Black men taking on new administrative responsibilities are Terrence Mitchell at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, W. Anthony Neal at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Malcolm Turner at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and David "Rusty" Ponton at Grambling State university in Louisiana.
The Only Accredited School of Public Health in Mississippi Is Housed at a HBCU
The School of Public Health at historically Black Jackson State University is now the only program of its kind in the state of Mississippi to earn accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health.
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.
Western Carolina University Will Name New Residence Hall After Levern Hamlin Allen
In 1957, Levern Hamlin Allen was the first African-American student to enroll at what is now Western Carolina University and was among the first Black students to be admitted to any of North Carolina's predominantly White state institutions of higher education.
Michael Thomas Jr. Becomes Fourth Black President of the Harvard Law Review
Michael Thomas Jr. has been elected the 132nd president of the Harvard Law Review, making him the fourth African-American to hold the position. The first Black president of the Review was Barack Obama.
Ohio State University Establishes the Dr. James L. Moore III Scholars Program
The Dr. James L. Moore III Scholars Program - named for the Chief Diversity officer at Ohio State - will support 10 undergraduate students annually who are transferring from Columbus State Community College to Ohio State University.
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.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Creates Digital Archive on Segregation in Local Schools
The Center for Arkansas History and Culture at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has completed work on a project to digitize 350,000 items relating to the history of segregation and integration of Arkansas's educational system.
Clemson University’s Summer Scholars Program in Marketing for HBCU Students
The program brings 30 students from historically Black colleges and universities to Clemson University in South Carolina for a week-long program in May to learn from marketing industry professionals and businesses.
In Memoriam: Jerry M. Adams, 1959-2018
Jerry M. Adams was a former classroom technology instructor in university media services at the University of Delaware. He served on the satff at the university for five years.
The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Exhibits Artwork of Black Youth
The "See Me Because" project offer youths from underrepresented groups the opportunity to portray the complex narratives about their identities, asking the world to see them for how they choose to be seen.
Five Black “Geniuses” Awarded MacArthur Foundation Fellowships
The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation has announced the selection of 25 individuals in this year’s class of MacArthur Fellows. The honors, frequently referred to as the “Genius Awards,” include a $625,000 stipend over the next five years which the individuals can use as they see fit.
Black Students Show Some Progress in Medical School Enrollments
This academic year, 1,540 Black students enrolled at a U.S. medical school. They made up 7.1 percent of all medical school matriculants. The number of Black students enrolling in medical schools is up 14 percent from the 2015-16 academic year. Women were nearly 61 percent of all Black medical school matriculants.
A New $5.3 Million Home for Silent Sam at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The university came to the conclusion that the best course of action was to build a new indoor facility to house the Confederate monument. In addition to the $5.3 million in construction costs, the building will need $800,000 annually for operating funds.
Brookings Institution Report Shows How Racism Has Devalued Black Homes
The results of the Brookings study show that homes in Black neighborhoods are devalued by an average $48,000. This means that homes in Black neighborhoods are worth 23 percent less on average compared to similar homes in predominately White communities.
A Strong Vote of Confidence for Swarthmore College President Valerie Smith
Valerie Smith, who took office as the 15th president of highly rated Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania on July 1, 2015, has had her contract extended through 2025. Before becoming president of Swarthmore College, Dr. Smith was dean of the college and the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature at Princeton University.
Report Finds Persisting Racial Shortfall in the Public School Workforce
In the 2015-2016 academic year, 19.9 percent of public elementary and secondary teachers were minorities, but 51 percent of all public school students were members of racial or ethnic minority groups.
New Assignments for Five African American Faculty Members
Taking on new roles are Said Ibrahim at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, Narda E. Alcorn at Yale University, Melicia Whitt-Glover at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, Keith C. Ferdinand at Tulane University in New Orleans and Ruby L. Perry of Tuskegee University in Alabama.
