Monthly Archives: July 2021

Benedict College in South Carolina to Offer a New Major in Esports Administration

The new major consists of required core classes in Esports and sports management. It will focus on gaming techniques, development, and content creation. Students will also learn management skills for facilities, fiscal, team, and personnel.

New Assignments in Higher Education for Four Black Faculty Members

Taking on new roles are Dan Smith at the University of Delaware, KMarie King at Albany Medical College, Derris Devost-Burnett of Mississippi State University, and Bebonchu Atems at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York.

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Partners With New University in Ghana

Historically Black Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and Obokese University of Excellence (OUE) in the West African nation of Ghana have reached an agreement on a collaboration that will allow Cheyney to share its expertise, especially in aquaculture and aquaponics.

Ohio State’s Dorian Harrision Wins Award From the National Council of Teachers of English

Dr. Harrison's research focuses on issues of identity and power in literacy education, paying particular attention to how race, class, and language impact teaching and learning. She advocates for the need for culturally and linguistically diverse texts.

Winston-Salem State University to Offer Free Textbooks to Undergraduates

Winston-Salem State University has partnered with Barnes & Noble College to implement BNC First Day Complete, a system that bundles the cost of course materials into tuition and ensures students have all their materials for the semester available on or before the first day of class.

Seven Black Administrators Who Have Been Assigned New Roles at Universities

Taking on new duties are Olufunke A. Fontenot at Fort Valley State University, Kimberly D. Clark-Shaw at Virginia Tech, Sidney Sessoms Jr. at Delaware State University, Shawna Cooper-Gibson at Boston College, Robert T. Seniors at Florida A&M University, Charlene Alexander at Ball State University, and Christie Taylor at Howard University.

In Memoriam: Julia A. Miller, 1928-2021

In 1970 Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, established the Black Studies Center. Dr. Miller was the founding associate director. Within two years she became the director. She served in that role until 1984.

University of Delaware to Undertake an Effort to Examine Its History Regarding Race

In addition to examining its history regarding slavery and desegregation, the university will examine why African Americans aren’t choosing to come to the University of Delaware, and then what can be done to make it a more inclusive and accepting space. Blacks are 33 percent of public high school graduates in Delaware but only 5.6 percent of the student body at the 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.

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.

Ray Belton to Step Down as Head of Southern University and the Southern University System

Ray L. Belton president of the Southern University System and chancellor of Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana announced that he intends to retire in the fall of 2022. He has held these posts since 2015. Earlier, he was chancellor of Southern University Shreveport.

Hate Crimes Continue to Plague College and University Campuses

In 2018, of the more than 34,000 criminal incidents that occurred on the campuses of postsecondary institutions and were reported to police or security agencies, 814 incidents were classified as hate crimes. Race was the motivating bias in 43 percent of reported hate crimes.

Sheila Edwards Lange Chosen to Be the Next Chancellor of the University of Washington-Tacoma

Dr. Edwards Lange has been serving as president of Seattle Central College. She was the vice president for minority affairs and diversity for the University of Washington from 2007 to 2015. Dr. Edwards Lange is scheduled to become chancellor at the University of Washington-Tacoma on September 16.

New Survey Shows the Extent of Teacher Training to Serve a Diverse Student Body

Among public school teachers, 74 percent of those who had begun teaching in the 2016-18 period took courses on serving students from diverse backgrounds. Only 40 percent of public school teachers who started in classrooms before 1981 had the same training.

Shaw University Gives a Major Vote of Confidence to President Paulette Dillard

Paulette Dillard was named interim president of historically Black Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2017. A little more than a year later she became the eighteenth president of Shaw University. Now the board of trustees has extended President Dillard's contract for five years.

Study Finds Black Access to Healthcare Lags in States That Show a High Level of Structural Racism

The results showed that the higher the level of racism in a given state, the less access Black people in that state had to health care. The higher the level of racism in a given state, the more access White people had to health care. In addition, the worse the state’s racism score, the higher the quality of care White people reported receiving.

La Jerne Terry Cornish to Lead Ithaca College for the 2021-22 Academic Year

Dr. Cornish has been serving as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Ithaca College since 2018. Earlier, she was associate provost for undergraduate studies at Goucher College in Baltimore. She joined the faculty at Goucher in 1998 as an instructor of English. 

In Memoriam: Henry Givens Jr. 1931-2021

Dr. Givens served as president of Harris Stowe for 32 years until his retirement in 2011. Under his leadership, the university tripled its student population, grew from one building with only one degree to eight facilities and 14-degree programs.

Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointments of Five African Americans Deans

The new African American deans are Edward Thomas Jr. at Auburn University in Alabama, Katherine Whitaker at Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina, John Guns at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Allyssa L. Harris at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, and Takeem L. Dean at Union County College in Cranford, New Jersey.

Novartis Teams Up With HBCUs to Combat Systemic Racial Disparities in Healthcare

As an initial step, the Novartis US Foundation plans to invest $20 million in scholarships, mentorships, and research grants over the next 10 years to help create equitable access to high-quality education and professional development for HBCU students in health-related fields. This will include three-year scholarships of $10,000 a year for up to 360 students at select HBCUs.

New Assignments for Six African American Faculty Members

Taking on new assignments are Kamilla Alexander at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Kenneth Anderson at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Lisa Armstrong at the University of California, Berkeley, Lenora Green-Turner at the University of Arkansas, Brian Simmons at Texas Southern University, and Rachel E. Bernard at Amherst College in Massachusetts.

Six Black Medical Students Join the Inaugural Meharry-Yale Summer Research Program

The students are working alongside Yale faculty members and residents, to begin building networks, and deepening their understanding of career paths in psychiatry, neurosurgery, and neuroscience, which is the inaugural program’s focus.

Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University Is the 2020 Hooks National Book Award Winner

The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis has named Marcia Chatelain, a professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as the 2020 Hooks National Book Award Winner for her book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America.

Morgan State Joins the Fast Start Program That Could Offer Significant Savings to Students

Modern States, a philanthropy dedicated to making a college degree more affordable and accessible, will provide at least 10,000 free online college courses and credit-bearing exams to prospective students. This will save over $10 million in tuition and expenses for HBCU students.

New Administrative Positions for Seven African Americans in Higher Education

Taking on new roles are Alonda Thomas at Jackson State University in Mississippi, Terence Peavy at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Nicole Reaves at Wake Technical Community College in North Carolina, Sean Plater at Howard University, Ingenue' Schexnider-Fields at Xavier University of Louisiana, W. Rebecca Brown at Florida A&M University, and Reggie Theus at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida.

In Memoriam: Horace Jerome Traylor, 1931-2021

Dr. Traylor was the first African American to earn a bachelor's degree in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. He went on to serve as president of Zion College in the city.

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.

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.

A Change in Leadership at Historically Black Kentucky State University

M. Christopher Brown resigned his position as the 18th president of Kentucky State University. He was contracted to serve as president through 2025. The resignation comes on the heels of a state-ordered independent audit of the university's finances. The university's board of regents named Clara Ross Stamps, Kentucky State’s senior vice president for brand identity and university relations, as acting president.

In Memoriam: Albert James Williams-Myers, 1939-2021

A.J. William-Myers, professor emerita of African American studies at the State University of New York-New Paltz, died at his home in New Paltz on July 12. He was 82 years old.

Ronnie Hopkins Is the Tenth President of Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina

Prior to being named the president of Voorhees, Dr. Hopkins served as interim president, and before that, he was the institution’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. He is also a tenured professor of English. Before coming to Voorhees, Dr. Hopkins served at Benedict College as founding dean of the Freshman Institute and the School of Honors.

Two African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Provost Positions

Karyn Scissum Gunn was appointed provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Long Beach and Anthony B. Johnson is the new provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Morris Brown College in Atlanta.

New Study Finds That Property Tax Rates Unfairly Burden Black Homeowners

A new study by Christopher Berry, the William J. and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, finds that properties located in neighborhoods that are 90 to 100 percent Black experience assessment levels that are more than 1.5 times the average for their county.

Kembra Chambers Is the New Leader of Trenholm State Community College in Montgomery, Alabama

Dr. Chambers has been serving as the interim associate vice chancellor of teaching and learning and chief instructional officer at the Alabama Community College System in addition to her role as executive vice president and vice president of instructional services at Trenholm State.

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