Monthly Archives: November 2019
Federal Reserve Study Shows High Student Loan Default Rates in Black Neighborhoods
A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that student loan borrowers from zip codes that are primarily Black are twice as likely to be in default as borrowers from zip codes that are primarily White.
In Memoriam: Ernest James Gaines, 1933-2019
Ernest J. Gaines, the celebrated author and long-time educator at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, died earlier this month at his home in Oscar, Louisiana. He was 86 years old.
Stanford University Study Examines School Enrollments in Gentrified Urban Areas
The study found that gentrified neighborhoods tended to show a reduction in public school enrollments in the 2000-to-2014 period. But neighborhoods that were gentrified by mostly Black or Hispanic college-educated families showed an increase in public school enrollments.
Carla Jackson Bell to Serve as Provost at Tuskegee University in Alabama
Dr. Bell is dean of the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Sciences at the university. She will serve as provost beginning in January while the university conducts a national search to fill the position.
Federal Data Shows a Huge Racial Disparity in Sexually Transmitted Diseases
It is important for college and university health officials to be aware of this trend so that they may target education and prevention programs for at-risk groups.
John Morrow Is the First African American to Win Prestigious Award for Military Writing
John H. Morrow, Jr., professor of history at the University of Georgia, is the 13th recipient of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. The award includes a gold medallion and a $100,000 honorarium.
Bowie State University Teams Up With Baltimore City Community College
A unique feature of the agreement will enables select students in the community college's Honor’s Program to transfer into the Honor’s Program at Bowie State University and receive a full scholarship covering in-state tuition and fees.
Four Black Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Assignments
The four scholars beginning new duties are Sheria D. Rowe at St. Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Alvin Thomas at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Adia Harvey Wingfield at Washington University in St. Louis, and Nicole Mitchell at the University of Pittsburgh.
Delaware State University to Form Media Network With University in Ghana
The collaboration between Delaware State University's Center for Global Africa and African University College of Communication in Ghana is designed to support and advance the shared interests of Africa and the diaspora, especially with historically Black colleges and universities.
Tina Harris Given Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Communications Association
Tina M. Harris holds the Douglas L. Manship Sr.-Dori Maynard Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy Endowed Chair at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. She joined the faculty at LSU this past summer after teaching at the University of Georgia for more than two decades.
South Carolina State University Jumps Onboard With the U.S. Coast Guard
Students who are accepted into the scholarship program will be enlisted into the U.S. Coast Guard, complete basic training during the summer and receive full funding for up to two years of college. They will also receive a full-time Coast Guard salary, housing allowance, and medical benefits.
New Administrative Roles for Five African Americans at Colleges and Universities
Taking on new administrative roles are P. Brandon Johnson at the University of Texas at Dallas, Iika McCarter at the Mississippi University for Women, Darryl Jones at Hudson County Community College, Romona West at the University of Arkansas, and Brice Yates at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
In Memoriam: Wilhelmina Matilda Reuben-Cooke, 1946-2019
Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke was a professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia, professor emerita of law at Syracuse University in New York, and one of the first African American students to enroll at Duke University in North Carolina.
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.
New Georgia Tech Program Aims to Increase Diversity of Critics and Reviewers
The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta recently held a workshop to develop a program to increase diversity among critics and reviewers of poetry. The effort is a collaboration of the university's Poetry@Tech program and the Ledbury Emerging Poetry Critics program in the United Kingdom.
In Memoriam: Clifford Cornell Baker, 1929-2019
In 1976, Dr. Baker was named assistant state superintendent of education in Alabama. This was the highest position ever held at that time by an African-American in the state's Department of Education. He came out of retirement in 1991 to become the ninth president of Alabama 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 First African American Woman Dean at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio
Alyncia Bowen was appointed dean of doctoral studies and the School of Nursing at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Bowen joined Franklin University 14 years ago. She has served as department chair, director of doctoral studies and director of the Global Center for Healthcare Education.
The Racial Poverty Gap and Its Impact on Higher Education
In 2018, nearly 30 percent of all African Americans below the age of 18 were living in poverty. For non-Hispanic White children, the rate was 8.9 percent. Many Black children from impoverished backgrounds do not even consider higher education due to the perceived cost.
The New Dean of the College of Business at Dillard University in New Orleans
Kristen Broady is a former lecturer in economics at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Earlier in her career, Dr. Broady was dean of the division of business and computer science at Atlanta Metropolitan State College. She also has served on the faculty at Fort Valley State University and Benedict College.
Study Charges Harvard With Recruiting Black Applicants Who Have No Chance of Admission
Essentially, the study charges Harvard with recruiting large number of Black applicants who had no chance of admission so that Black acceptance rates would decline to more closely match those of White and Asian applicants.
Grant Hayes Serving as Provost at East Carolina University
Grant Hayes has been serving as dean of the College of Education at the university since 2015. Recently, Provost Ron Mitchelson was named interim chancellor and Dr. Hayes has stepped in to serve in Dr. Mitchelson's role until a new chancellor is named.
Study Finds a Link Between Racial Discrimination and Suicidal Thoughts of African American Men
Suicide deaths among African American men have risen dramatically during the last 20 years, and racial discrimination may be a contributing factor in many cases, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan.
Theodorea Regina Berry Named to Dean Position at the University of Central Florida
Currently, Dr. Berry is a professor and chair of the department of African American studies at San Jose State University in California. Prior to joining San Jose State University, Berry served in various leadership roles at the University of Texas in San Antonio.
Racist Graffiti Found on the Campus of Salisbury University in Maryland
The latest incident included the threat of violence. The message scrawled on a stairway wall contained a racial slur and referred to the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school that left 26 people dead.
Florida A&M University Honors Student Who Died Serving His Country as a Tuskegee Airman
Lt. James Polkinghorne, Jr. was a senior at Florida A&M University when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. During a combat mission over Italy on May 5, 1944, Lt. Polkinghorne's plane was shot down. His body was never found. A campus residence hall is being named in his honor.
Grambling State University Hopes to Offer New Degree Program in Cloud Computing
Once the plan is developed, the university would need a second approval from the board of regents to offer the new cloud computing degree program. If all goes as planned, the new major could begin to enroll students as early as next fall.
A Quartet of African Americans Who Are Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Eduction
Taking on new assignments are Melissa Shivers at Ohio State University, George E. Battle III at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Crasha Townsend at Virginia Tech, and Etienne Thomas at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.
Medical School at Michigan State to Provide Admission Pipeline for Xavier University Students
The Mission SMART (SpartanMD Acceptance Realization Track) will provide Xavier University students with academic advising and the students will be enrolled in a program of enriching clinical and service experiences in preparation for admission to Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine.
Louisiana State University Scholar of Media History Has an Award Named in Her Honor
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication has announced the establishment of the Jinx Coleman Broussard Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Media History. Dr. Broussard is the Bart R. Swanson Endowed Memorial Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communications at LSU.
Howard University to Receive the 2019 American Historical Association Equity Award
The American Historical Association's Equity Award recognizes individuals and institutions that have achieved excellence in recruiting and retaining underrepresented racial and ethnic groups into the historical professions.
The Higher Education of the Next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
On Tuesday, November 5, voters in Kentucky elected the first Republican in 70 years to serve as attorney general. Daniel Cameron, who hold two degrees from the University of Louisville, is the first African American in history to be elected individually to statewide office in Kentucky.
In Memoriam: Alfred Lee Bright, 1940-2019
Professor bright joined the faculty at Youngstown State University in Ohio in 1965. He was the university's first Black faculty member. He served as the founding director of the Black studies program at the university from 1970 to 1987.
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.
