Monthly Archives: March 2020
The Next Director of Athletics at Morehouse College in Atlanta
Curtis Campbell has served as an athletics director at four colleges and universities: Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois; Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Tuskegee University in Alabama; and most recently at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. He will begin his new duties at Morehouse College on July 1.
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.
University of Notre Dame Debuts Online Archive of Students’ Stories Relating to Race
The Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana has launched a new initiative to collect stories relating to race and encourage constructive dialogue at the university.
Berkeley Scholar Aims to Increase Retention Rates of Black Male Public School Teachers
Travis J. Bristol, an assistant professor of education at the University of California, Berkeley, has created a series of “affinity groups” for male teachers of color in public schools to address issues they share, including the lack of resources, typical feelings of isolation, and the physical and psychological effects of being men of color at these schools.
In Memoriam: John F. Merchant, 1933-2020
John Merchant, an attorney who taught at both Fairfield University and Sacred Heart University, both in Connecticut, was the first Black graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
Exhibit Documents History of Racial Discrimination and Violence in the Railroad Industry
The exhibit, "The Other Side of The Tracks: Discrimination and Social Mobility in the Railroad Industry," will be on display at the Catherwood Library of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, through August 31.
Scholar Donates 100 Pieces of African American Art to the Yale University Art Gallery
Robert Steele spent 40 years on the faculty of the psychology department at the University of Maryland, College Park. He then served nearly a decade as the director of the university’s David C. Driskell Center, which supports the study of African-American art.
The Racial Gap in Four-Year High School Graduation Rates
In all 50 states, the graduation rate for White students was higher than the rate for Black students. In Wisconsin, the Black student high school graduation rate was 24.1 percentage points lower than the White rate. The states with the smallest racial gaps in graduation rates between Blacks and Whites included Alabama, Hawaii, West Virginia, and Rhode Island.
Bobbie Knight Is the New President of Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama
She has been serving as interim president since August 2019. President Knight is the former vice president of the Birmingham division of Alabama Power and the former chair of the Birmingham Airport Authority.
Single-Parents Do Not Impede Educational Success for Blacks as Much as They Do for Whites
Black kids face significant obstacles to educational success including poverty, discrimination, racial segregation, etc. The fact that they are more likely to live in a single-parent home than White children does not matter as much as the other obstacles they face.
The First African American Provost at the University of South Carolina
William F. Tate IV was named executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Tate, who is currently the dean of the Graduate School at Washington University in St. Louis, will be the first African American to serve as provost at the university.
Report Examines Graduation Rates and Academic Tracks of Black High School Students in New York
Black students are disproportionately tracked into the Career Development & Occupational Studies graduation pathway that was not designed to lead to college readiness. Black students were 4.3 times as likely as White students to be tracked into this academic pathway.
Maria Arvelo Lumpkin Is the New Leader of St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina
In October 2019, Dr. Lumpkin was named chief operating officer at Saint Augustine's University. Previously, she served as the special assistant to the president, and as the inaugural executive director of student retention and the center for scholar communities at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.
Opposition to Diversity Programs Contributes to the Defeat of Idaho’s Higher Education Budget
The Idaho House of Representatives voted down the state's budget for its four-year colleges and universities. Some legislators who opposed the budget voiced concerned that the educational institutions' diversity efforts were “antithetical to the Idaho way.”
Three African American Scholars in New Academic Roles at Colleges and Universities
Jeff Scott was appointed associate professor at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. Constance Meadors was appointed associate professor of engineering at the Univesity of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Nisha Botchwey, an associate professor, was appointed associate dean of academic programs in professional education at Georgia Tech.
Historically Black Miles College in Alabama Offering New Degree Programs
The new academic programs include an online bachelor's degree in business administration, a bachelor's degree in psychology, and a minor degree program in game design offered through the computer and information science degree program.
Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Appointed to positions as deans are Karen E. Bravo at Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis, Yohuru Williams at St. John's University in Queens, New York, Kojo Mensa-Wilmot at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, and SherRhonda Gibbs at the University of Northern Colorado.
Tennessee State University Recovers From a Devastating Tornado
On March 4, two devastating tornados struck the Nashville, Tennessee, area. More than two dozen people were killed including five children. One of the two tornados touched down on the campus of historically Black Tennessee State University.
New Administrative Posts in Higher Education for Three African Americans
Taking on administrative roles are Julian Williams at the University of South Carolina. Michelle Meggs at the University of North Carolina, at Charlotte and Reginald Blaylock at California Polytechnic State University-Pomona.
HBCUs Taking Action to Protect Students, Faculty and Staff From COVID-19
Colleges and universities across the United States are taking extended spring breaks and using that time to transition instruction online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a summary of what is happening at a group of HBCUs.
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.
The First “Virtual Stop” on the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
The Digital Library on American Slavery at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro has been recognized as the first online stop in the National Park Service's network of Underground Railroad historical sites.
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.
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.
Tulane University Removes a Bell From Campus That Had Been Used to Summon Enslaved People
Recently, Tulane University in New Orleans became aware of the fact that its Victory Bell, which was rung by students after athletic victories, was used on a Louisiana plantation as a signaling device to inform enslaved people when to move about the plantation.
Banging the Drum to Make More Opportunities for African Americans in Classical Music
Sana Colter, a senior flute performance major at Rutgers University in New Jersey, has established an organization that she hopes will help African Americans and students from other underrepresented groups gain a toehold in classical music.
Racist Incidents at Southern Oregon University in Ashland
A racial slur was written on the door of an African American resident assistant at Southern Oregon University. Later a swastika was found at the same residence hall.
Brookings Institution Study Shows Majority Black Colleges Boost Social and Economic Mobility
A new report from the Brookings Institution finds that colleges and universities where Blacks make up a majority of the student body have shown a great deal of success in graduating students who go on improve their socioeconomic standing.
Lori White Will Be the First African American President of DePauw University in Indiana
Dr. White has been serving as vice chancellor for student affairs at Washington University in St. Louis. Earlier, she worked as vice president for student affairs and clinical professor of education at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Dr. White will become president of DePauw University on July 1.
The New Racial Segregation in Public School Occurs at the Classroom Level
Within-school segregation plays a sizable role in overall school segregation, especially in middle school and high school. Moreover, it appears to offset variations in the degree of between-school segregation: when one is low, the other tends to be high.
Reuben E. Brigety II Appointed Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South
Dr. Brigety currently serves as dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Prior to becoming dean in 2015, Dr. Brigety served as U.S. ambassador to the African Union for two years.
University of Minnesota Study Examines Relationship of Young Black Men and Police
A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health sought to examine the relationship between police and young Black men by speaking to Black male youths, parents, educators, police officers, and staff of youth-services organizations.
Karin Edwards Will Be the Next President of Clark College in Vancouver, Washington
Since July 2014, Dr. Edwards has served as president of Portland Community College’s Cascade Campus. Dr. Edwards has served in administrative roles at community colleges for the past 38 years. She will become president of Clark College this coming summer.
Cornell University’s Derrick Spires Wins the St. Louis Mercantile Library Prize
The award, given by the Bibliographical Society of America, honors research in the bibliography of American literature and history. Dr. Spires is an associate professor of English at Cornell University. He joined the faculty last fall after teaching at the University of Illinois.
JPMorgan Chase Enhances Its Advancing Black Pathways Initiative With HBCUs
JPMorgan Chase has pledged $1 million annually to the Student Financial Hardship Fund. The money will be distributed by the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to students at HBCUs that need aid to stay in school and graduate.
