Monthly Archives: November 2020
Virginia Union University in Richmond to Offer a New Master’s Degree Program in Biology
The master's degree in biology is a 39-credit hour program, offering both a thesis and non-thesis option. The thesis option requires an oral examination through a 3-member faculty committee. The non-thesis option requires advanced coursework in a specified sub-discipline.
Six African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to University Diversity Positions
The new diversity executives are Trent Ball at Southeast Missouri State University, Norma Holland at the University of Rochester, Fatiah Tourney at the Abu Dhabi campus of New York University, Karen Armstrong at Pennsylvania State University, Stephany Rose Spaulding at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Kamille Dean at Fordham Law School in New York.
California Voters Refuse to Reinstate Affirmative Action Admissions at State Universities
In 1996, voters in California passed Proposition 209 which banned the consideration of race in admissions decisions at California’s state-operated colleges and universities. By a considerable margin, voters in California this year rejected a proposal to allow state universities to once again consider race in their admissions decisions.
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.
University of Pittsburgh Acquires the Extensive Archives of Playwright August Wilson
The collection — more than 450 boxes of materials — document a wide array of August Wilson’s career and interests from the 1960s to 2010s. The noted playwright was born in Pittsburgh in 1945 and called the city home until 1978.
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 Debuts an Online Interactive Hate Crime Map
The new website is intended to supplement reporting on such crimes, both by inviting submissions from people who have experienced such crimes and by tracking published accounts from news sources.
In Memoriam: Gary Lynn Harris, 1953-2020
Gary L. Harris was professor of electrical engineering, former dean of the Graduate School and associate provost for research at Howard University. He was one of the first two African Americans to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Cornell University.
Racial Slur Found on a Sidewalk at Arizona State University
The university’s Black African Coalition noted that due to current racial tensions in the country “it is very likely that incidents like this will continue to happen around our campuses and the surrounding area.”
The Racial Poverty Gap and Its Impact on Higher Education
The report shows that in 2019, 8,073,000 African Americans were living below the official poverty line in the United States. This was 18.8 percent of the entire Black population. Nearly 26.4 percent of all African Americans below the age of 18 were living in poverty.
President of Tuskegee University in Alabama Takes Her Second Medical Leave This Year
In January of this year, Lily McNair, president of Tuskegee University in Alabama asked for and was granted a medical leave of absence from her duties. She returned to work in May. Now, the university announced that Dr. McNair is taking a six-month medical leave.
University of Maryland Report Offers Data on Hate Crime Offenders
Hate crime offenders have varied motivations, background, demographic characteristics, criminal histories, and target selections. Attacks on African Americans have also reached more than 40 percent of violent and nonviolent hate crimes.
Chris Graham Elected President of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors
Graham was appointed assistant director of Greek life at Florida State in 2014. He was promoted to director of sorority and fraternity life in 2016. Graham is the first Black man and the youngest person ever elected president of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors.
UCLA Study Finds Progress in Front – But Not Behind – the Camera in Hollywood
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles finds that when it comes to racial diversity in television industry acting roles, the playing field continues to level for minorities, but there’s stubborn structural gridlock at the highest ranks and behind the camera.
Northwestern University’s Carol D. Lee Selected to Lead the National Academy of Education
Dr. Lee served as Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Education and Social Policy and as a professor of African American studies at Northwestern University. She became professor emerita in 2019. Professor Lee will serve a four-year term as president of the National Academy of Education beginning in November 2021.
University of Georgia Online Guest Lecture Zoombombed With Racial Slurs and Threats
The approximately 40-minute lecture by Dr. Garcia Peña of Harvard University discussed how the killing of Black Dominican feminists, in an attempt to silence their activism, was countered by the kinship and community networks of the larger Afro-Dominican Diaspora.
