Monthly Archives: January 2021
Three African American Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments
Jomaira Salas Pujols will be joining the sociology faculty at Bard College in New York. Professor Morris Taylor was named vice chancellor for administration at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and Alani Hicks-Bartlett is a new assistant professor at Brown University.
Students at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Can Now Major in Digital Media Studies
In addition to fulfilling a 14-class, 42-credit “core curriculum,” digital media studies majors will be required to take two foreign language courses and earn 18 digital-media elective credits, which could include off-campus internships.
Eight Black Administrators Taking on New Roles at Colleges and Universities
Here is this week’s roundup of African Americans who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Coppin State University in Baltimore to Debut Two New Master’s Degree Programs in STEM Fields
Starting this fall, the historically Black university will offer a master’s degree program in applied molecular biology and biochemistry and a master's degree program in polymer and materials science.
Howard University’s Tamara Owens Named Outstanding Educator in Health Simulation
Tamara L. Owens, founding director of the Howard University Simulation & Clinical Skills Center, has received the Outstanding Educator of the Year award from the Association of Standardized Patient Educators.
Albany State University Launches Three Centers Focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The centers will educate Albany State students and stakeholders about the attributes, behaviors, and actions that support people of various races, genders, abilities, ages, sexual orientations, and socio-economic and national backgrounds.
Three Black Women Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education
Taking on new diversity roles are Alaine Allen at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux at the California Institute of Technology, and Joanne Pluff at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.
In Memoriam: Ira Hicks Jr., 1928-2021
Dr. Hicks served as a vocational instructor for 22 years before joining the faculty at his alma mater Fort Valley State University in 1971.
University of California’s Vast Archive of FBI Files on Black Civil Rights Leaders
In 1967, the FBI quietly unleashed a covert surveillance operation targeting “subversive” civil rights groups and Black leaders. The objective, according to an FBI memo was to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” the radical fight for Black rights — and Black power.
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.
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.
Louisiana State University Elevates Black Studies to Departmental Status
A decades-long movement at the university to create an independent Black studies department regained steam over the summer amid the resurgence of civil rights protests across the country.
Colleges and Universities to Seek a Path Toward Reparations
The Center for Social Solutions at the University of Michigan is leading a group of college and university scholars in an effort to examine possible avenues to provide reparations for African Americans and Indigenous people.
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.
Apple to Establish the Propel Center for HBCUs in Atlanta
Apple’s $25 million contribution will enable the Propel Center to support HBCU students and faculty through a robust virtual platform, a physical campus in the historic Atlanta University Center, as well as on-campus activations at partner institutions.
HBCUs Do More With Less: Despite Financial Handicaps, HBCUs Are Highly Successful
Despite operating with lower revenues and smaller endowments, HBCUs produce about one out of eight bachelor’s degrees earned by Black students in the United States. In short, HBCUs, do more with less.
Better Late Than Never: American Psychiatric Association Apologizes for Its Racist Past
Prevailing Black stereotypes in psychiatry included fallacies that patients were hostile, unmotivated for treatment, had primitive character structure, and were child-like. The diagnosis of Drapetomania was centered around the idea that Black Americans who did not want to be slaves were mentally ill.
The Racial Diversity Problem in Music Schools at Universities in the United States
Nationwide, about 6 percent of all students who earn bachelor's degrees in music are Black. A concentration on the classical music of Europe at many schools of music is one reason for a low level of participation by Black students. Music education, with its high cost for purchasing instruments, training, traveling, is also a challenge.
Raheem Beyah Is the New Dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech
Dr. Beyah is the Motorola Foundation Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. He has been serving as vice president for interdisciplinary research and executive director of the online master's degree program in cybersecurity.
Study Finds That Having a Black Doctor Reduces the Infant Mortality Rate of Black Newborns
In the United States, Black newborns die at three times the rate of White newborns. But a new study finds that "clinical penalties for Black newborns treated by Black physicians are halved compared with the penalties Black newborns experience when cared for by White physicians."
Felicia Blow of Hampton University to Lead the Public Relations Society of America
Felicia Blow, vice president for development at Hampton University in Virginia, has worked in fields including manufacturing, waste management, environmental services, telecommunications, and higher education. Before coming to Hampton University, she served as director of public affairs for Cox Communications.
Morgan State University Establishes the Center for Urban Health Equity
The Center will be designed to focus on community-driven interests allowing maximum research energy and effort for immediate allocation and response to the root issues that influence — and in many cases, perpetuate— health disparities.
Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Assigned New Duties at Major Universities
Taking on new assignments are Tony Gaskew at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, Julia Ballenger at Texas A&M University-Commerce, Theddeus Iheanacho at Yale Medical School, and Wanda Heading-Grant at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Projected Budget Shortfall Forces Philander Smith College to Cut Faculty and Staff
Philander Smith College, the historically Black educational institution in Little Rock, Arkansas, was forced to lay off 22 employees at the end of the fall semester. Due to enrollment declines as a result of the global health pandemic, the college had a projected budget shortfall of more than $3 million.
Antoinette Landor of the University of Missouri Honored for Mentoring Undergraduate Researchers
Antoinette Landor, associate professor in the department of human development and family science in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Missouri, was recently named the 2020 Undergraduate Research Mentor by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
Alabama State University Partners With Southern Union State Community College
The concurrent enrollment partnership will provide Southern Union students - who plan to transfer to Alabama State to complete a bachelor's degree - the opportunity to take courses in biomedical engineering, rehabilitation services, and forensic biology at Alabama State.
New Administrative Positions for Three African Americans in Higher Education
Janet Wormack is the new vice president of administration and finance at Salisbury University in Maryland. Dasha Lundy has been named chief operating officer at Knoxville College in Tennessee and Chavis Paulk is the new vice president for finance and administration at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
In Memoriam: Reginald Wilson, 1927-2020
Dr. Wilson taught and was director of the Upward Bound program at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, founded and directed the Black studies program at the University of Detroit Mercy, and was president of Wayne County Community College for 10 years.
Black First-Year Students at the Nation’s Leading Research Universities
In 2004, only two of the nation’s highest-ranked universities had incoming classes that were more than 10 percent Black. This year there are 16 with an entering class that is more than 10 percent Black.
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.
Carnegie Mellon University Students Develop a Video Game Based on August Wilson’s Plays
In the game - Explore August Wilson's Hill District - players use a smartphone or tablet to work their way through the mission of filling a photo album with historical images from the 1910 and the 1960s to show how the buildings and infrastructure change over time.
Syracuse University Creates a Scholarship to Honor a Former Performing Arts Scholar
The Felix E. Cochren Jr. Memorial Scholarship intends to promote a more diverse student body in the drama department by providing scholarship and financial assistance to current students who are underrepresented in the program.
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.
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.
In Memoriam: Samuel L. Myers Sr., 1919-2021
Dr. Myers served on the faculty at Morgan State University in Baltimore from 1950 to 1963 before going to work for the U.S. State Department. He was appointed the fourth president of Bowie State University in Maryland in 1968 and served in the post until 1977.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Is the First U.S. Host for PASET Ph.D. Scholars From Africa
Founded seven years ago with support from the World Bank, PASET offers African doctoral students the opportunity to study in the United States or South Korea with the goal of building a critical mass of researchers and university professors to tackle the continent's most pressing problems.
