Monthly Archives: March 2019

University of Missouri Fires Police Officer After Officials Uncover Racist Picture

Recently, the University of Missouri fired a university police officer immediately after officials verified the authenticity of a photo of the officer appearing in blackface.

Three African American Scholars Honored With Notable Awards

The honorees are Anita Hill, a professor at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, Barbara Lofton of the College of Business at the University of Arkansas, and Steve D. Mobley an assistant professor of education at the University of Alabama.

Two African American Men Taking on New Academic Assignments

LeRonn P. Brooks has been named associate curator for modern and contemporary collections at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and David L. Stamps has been appointed to the faculty in the School of Mass Communications at Louisiana State University.

Voorhees College Opens a New Veteran Resource Center on Campus

The new center was established to sustain educational support programs involving application, admission, matriculation, graduation, and professional placement to attract military veterans, service members, and their dependents to Voorhees College.

Uju Anya Wins First Book Award From the American Association for Applied Linguistics

Uju Anya is an assistant professor of education and research affiliate for the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State University. The award recognizes a scholar whose first book represents outstanding work in the field of applied linguistics.

Xavier University to Help Minority Business Owners Get Natural Disaster Clean-Up Contracts

The Minority Business Enterprises Readiness Project is an initiative focused on disseminating pertinent information about disaster preparedness and about obtaining disaster related contracts to minority owned businesses.

A Quartet of African Americans in New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Taking on new assignments are Georgina Dodge at the University of Maryland, Melissa Jackson Holloway at North Carolina A&T State University, Theodosia Cook at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and Letherio H. Zeigler at Mississippi Valley State University.

Historically Black Denmark Technical College May Be Converted Into a Career Center

The plan calls for removing the technical college from the state technical college system and turning it into a regional career center for both high school students and adults seeking an industry certificate.

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.

SUNY Launches Initiative to Hire a Diverse Group of 1,000 Faculty by 2030

In recent years, SUNY has been successful in increasing diversity among its students. As of Fall 2018, 28.5 percent of SUNY students are from underrepresented groups, up from 27.9 percent in 2017, and 15.4 percent in 2007. However, this progress has not been replicated among the university's faculty.

College of William & Mary Honors 18th Century School for Enslaved and Free Black Children

The marker's establishment was part of the Lemon Project, a long-term research initiative at the college that seeks to explore the university's involvement in slavery and segregation and its continued relationship with the African-American community.

University of Alabama at Birmingham Faculty to Train Nursing Students in Jamaica

The University of Alabama Birmingham School of Nursing has partnered with the World-Health Organization Collaborating Center at the University of West Indies-Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica, to improve how they train nursing students by using simulators.

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.

Harvard Sued Over Early Images of Enslaved Africans

Tamara Lanier claims to be a descendant of an enslaved man and his daughter that were photographed without their consent in 1850. The lawsuit claims that Harvard continues to profit from the images.

42 HBCUs Receive Grants to Make Their Campuses Smoke and Tobacco Free

Over 200 colleges and universities will receive grants to help them go cigarette and tobacco free. Of these, 42 are historically or predominantly Black institutions.

Did Lehigh University Ignore Sexual Harassment Claims to Help Maintain a Racially Diverse Faculty?

Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is facing a lawsuit after a faculty member claims the university retained a prominent Black professor, despite evidence that he had sexually harassed women colleagues.

Teresa Reed Appointed Dean of the School of Music at the University of Louisville

Currently, Dr. Reed serves as a professor of music and associate dean of the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. Earlier, she taught at the Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa and at Indiana University.

Gaddius Faulcon to Lead Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina

Most recently, Dr Faulcon served as vice president of enrollment management at Saint Augustine's University. Before that, he led historically Black Shaw University in Raleigh as its interim president from 2014 to 2015.

Racial Student Achievement Gaps Have Remain Stagnant Over the Past 50 Years

While the Black-White achievement gap did narrow in the early decades of the period under study, it has remained stagnant for the past 25 years. Gains among 17-year-olds amounted to only 2 percent per decade, and none at all for the last quarter-century.

Michèle Alexandre is the First African-American Dean of the Stetson University College of Law

Currently, Professor Alexandre serves as the associate dean for faculty development and intellectual life, professor of law, and the Leonard B. Melvin Jr. Lecturer at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Report Finds African-American Youth With Autism Face More Challenges Than White Peers

Although autism occurs in children from all backgrounds, the impacts of autism are not felt equally across all groups. A new report from Drexel University finds that youth from poorer households have fewer options for services, fewer work experiences, and generally worse outcomes than youth from more affluent households.

Calvin O. Butts III Announces Plans to Step Down as President of SUNY Old Westbury

Rev. Butts has led the university since 1999. He will go on study leave for the spring semester of 2020 and plans to return as professor of American Studies in the fall of 2020.

Berkeley Study Finds Increasing Racial Segregation in Bay Area Housing

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found large increases in the number of low-income people of color living in newly segregated and higher-poverty areas over the 15-year period at the beginning of this century.

Howard University Joins the Public Interest Technology University Network

The Public Interest Technology University Network is a group of colleges and universities committed to educating students to apply technical understanding and practice to questions of individual rights, justice, social welfare, and the public good. Howard University is the 21st institution to join the network.

A Trio of African American Faculty Members Taking on New Assignments

Taking on new faculty roles are Laquita Blockson at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, Richard D. Johnson at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and Pearl K. Dowe at Emory University in Atlanta.

Bowie State University Launches Three Unique Programs for Continuing Teacher Development

The College of Education at historically Black Bowie State University in Maryland is launching three signature programs to prepare educators for high-demand areas where there is a critical gap in qualified professionals.

Three African American Scholars Honored With Prestigious Awards

The honorees are Shaun R. Harper, professor of business and education at the University of Southern California, Muyinatu Bell, an assistant professor of engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and D'Andra Orey, a professor of political science at Jackson State University in Mississippi.

The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Partners With the Air Force Research Laboratory

The College of Engineering is a collaboration between Florida State University and historically Black Florida A&M University. Both educational institutions are based in Tallahassee. The program will bring students into a lab environment where they can work directly with faculty on Air Force-related research.

A Pair of African American Women Appointed to High-Level University Posts

Tonya Matthews has been named associate provost for inclusive workforce development at Wayne State University in Detroit and Jamilla Deria has been named director of the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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.

African-American Burial Ground Found Underneath University of Pennsylvania Property

The university learned last year that the property had previously been used as a burial ground. In response, the institution issued two sequences of field testing, which has recently conclusively confirmed the presence of graves.

University of Michigan Researchers Adapt Sexual Assault Program for Use at a University in Ghana

The program was adapted from Relationship Remix, the sexual violence prevention program delivered to incoming freshman at the University of Michigan. The effort tailored the program to address specific issues facing students at the African 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.

Cornell University Scholars Travel to Africa to Advance Food Security and Legal Scholarship

Sarah Wright, a life sciences librarian, taught graduate students at the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement at the University of Ghana and Ariel Scotese, a law librarian and assistant director of the Legal Research Clinic, helped train nonprofit advocates in Johannesburg.

Latest News