Monthly Archives: April 2019

Survey Examines Racial Differences in Who Pays for College

A survey conducted for LendEDU examines the percentages of college students who pay for all or some of their education. In what may come as a surprise to many readers, when the data was broken down by race, there are only small differences between Blacks and Whites.

Verna L. Williams Is the New Leader of the College of Law at the University of Cincinnati

Professor Williams joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2001. She has been serving as interim dean since May 2017. She also holds the title of Nippert Professor of Law.

Black Role Models Play a Large Role in STEM Retention Rates for African American Women

According to the research, Black women earn only 2.9 percent of all STEM bachelor's degrees in the United States. This is far below the rate of White women, despite the fact that White women and Black women are equally likely to express an interest in STEM fields at the beginning of their college careers.

Jermaine Williams Named President of Nassau Community College in New York

Currently, Dr. Williams serves as vice president for student affairs at North Shore Community College in Danvers, Massachusetts. Before that, he held various administrative posts at Northeastern Illinois University. He will begin his new job on July 1.

A Pair of African American Faculty Members Appointed to New Positions

Kelli V. Randall, a professor of English, has been named vice president of academic affairs at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, and Walter Smith III has been named chair of the woodwind department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Four African American Scholars Appointed to Dean Posts at Colleges and Universities

The new deans are Denise Rush at Boston Architectural College, Emory H. Woodard IV at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, Tamara Brown at the University of North Texas, and Charles Isbell at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The University of the Virgin Islands Unveils New Five-Year Strategic Plan

The historically Black educational institution in the U.S. territory, has recently announce a new five-year strategic plan, "Greatness Through Innovation." The goal of the new plan is to distinguish the university in the higher education community, and therefore ensure its successful future.

Two African American Professors Receive Educational Research Awards

The honorees are Mary Atwater, a professor in the department of mathematics and science education at the University of Georgia and James L. Moore III, Distinguished Professor of Urban Education and vice provost for diversity and inclusion at Ohio State University.

Norfolk State University Establishes Innovation Center in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia

The goal of the new center is to enable the historically Black university to create a presence in the city's main business corridor and to develop and promote educational and employment opportunities for university students and the Norfolk community.

A Trio of African American Administrators Taking on New Roles in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative roles are Changamire "Shanni" Durall at Xavier University of Louisiana, Alison Williams at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and Alfred Degrafinreid II at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Meharry Medical College Expands Partnership With Detroit Medical Center

The partnership between these two institutions first began in July 2018. Through the collaborative program, students from Meharry can train with doctors at Detroit Medical Center's Sinai-Grace Hospital. The newly enhanced partnership will allow more students to participate in the program.

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 Theological Seminary Students Demand Reparations for School’s History With Slavery

A group of faculty and students from Princeton Theological Seminary were a part of a colonization movement that aimed to send freed slaves back to Africa because they believed the former slaves could not co-exist with Whites.

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 of Georgia Fraternity Suspended After Racist Video Appears on Social Media

The 30-second video shows one individual hitting another individual with a belt. One person is heard saying "Pick my cotton, bitch." Later in the video, a racial slur was substituted for the word "bitch."

University of California Scholars Update Website on the American Slave Trade

The website houses detailed information on the slave trade from the 16th century to the 19th century The research team updated the site by adding 11,400 records on slave voyages within the Americas.

University of Kansas Offering New Minor in African & African Diasporic Languages

The study of foreign languages and cultures will be a foundational element of the minor, as well as regional competency and cultural understanding.

University of Maryland Baltimore County Seeks Greater Diversity in the Public Policy Field

The University of Maryland Baltimore County School of Public Policy has partnered with the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), a national organization that fosters excellence in research, analysis, and education in public policy.

Study Finds African-Americans More Likely Than Whites to Have Less Wealth Than Their Parents

The racial wealth gap can play a significant role in access to quality higher education. Components of family wealth, such as stocks, bonds, money in the bank, and real estate, produce interest, dividends, or rental income which are commonly used to offset or pay college costs.

Jaffus Hardrick Appointed President of Florida Memorial University

Dr. Hardrick has been serving as interim president of Florida Memorial University since July 2018. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hardrick served for 10 years at Florida International University as vice provost for access and success and as vice president of human resources.

Predatory Lending Targeting Blacks Had Its Roots in the Antebellum South

Amanda Gibson, a Ph.D student at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has recently complied evidence that traces today's predatory financial practices to economic victimization of free and enslaved African-Americans in the pre-emancipation South.

Amilcar Shabazz Becomes President of the National Council for Black Studies

Dr. Shabazz is a professor in the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Previously, he served as director of the American studies program, and founding director of the Center for African Studies & Development at Oklahoma State University.

Severely Depressed African-Americans are More Likely to be Misdiagnosed as Schizophrenic

The results found that clinicians failed to effectively weigh mood symptoms when diagnosing schizophrenia among African-Americans, suggesting that racial bias, whether conscious or subconscious, is one factor in the diagnosis of schizophrenia in this population.

Carmen Walter Named President of Tougaloo College in Mississippi

For the past six years, Dr. Walter has served as an administrator at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, most recently as the executive vice president of enrollment management, student success, and institutional relations. Prior to that, she was an administrator at Delgado Community College in New Orleans.

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