Monthly Archives: December 2021
Walter McCollum Named Chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College in Richmond, Indiana
Dr. McCollum recently served as vice president/senior associate vice provost for Miami Dade College Online. Earlier, Dr. McCollum served as dean of student affairs at Walden University.
Multiple Barriers Remain in Efforts to Level the Field in the College Admissions Process
A new study by the Art & Science Group finds that despite the fact that many barriers to admission to college have been removed, Black students are still at a distinct disadvantage in navigating the admissions process compared to their White peers.
Two African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Jullet Davis Weaver will be the dean of the Blair College of Health at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, effective March 1, 2022, and Evelyn Fields has been appointed acting dean of the College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences at South Carolina State University.
Morris Brown College Can Once Again Participate in Federal Financial Aid Programs
In April, Morris Brown College in Atlanta announced that it has received accreditation candidacy by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. The college had lost accreditation in 2002. As a result of the new accreditation status, the college has been approved to once again participate in federal financial aid programs.
Three African Americans Who Have Been Named to Endowed Positions at Universities
Jeffrey A. Robinson was named to the Prudential Chair in Business at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Jacqueline Goldsby has been appointed the Thomas E. Donnelley Professor of African American Studies and English at Yale University and Adrian Epps holds the Bagwell Endowed Dean’s Chair at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
Students at Edward Waters University Will Soon Be Able to Major in Forensic Science
The new forensic science degree program will enroll its first students in the fall of 2022. It will train graduates to enter the workforce as criminalists, crime scene investigators, and forensic DNA analysts in crime laboratories at the federal, state, and local levels.
Berkeley Professor Rucker C. Johnson Wins the 2022 Grawemeyer Award in Education
Dr. Johnson studied the life trajectories of more than 15,000 children who grew up during the years school integration was federally enforced. He found that Black children who attended integrated schools had stronger educational, health, and income outcomes compared to their counterparts who remained in segregated schools.
Voorhees College in South Carolina Earns Approval for Its First Graduate Program
The master of education in teaching and learning degree has two concentration options: education systems improvement or PK-12 education. The 12-month degree program is designed to prepare educators in a range of education settings to leverage deliberative teaching strategies and educational practices.
A Trio of Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Administrative Roles
Rodman King has been named the next dean of institutional equity and inclusion at Connecticut College. Ivy Banks was appointed vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion at Xavier University, and Donald Mitchell, Jr. has been named the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Molloy College.
In Memoriam: bell hooks, 1952-2021
The leading feminist scholar bell hooks, the Distinguished Professor in Residence in Appalachian Studies at Berea College in Kentucky, died at her home in Berea on December 15 at the age of 69.
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.
In Memoriam: Albert Odontoh Richardson, 1946-2021
A native of Ghana, Albert Richardson was a professor emeritus of computer and electrical engineering at California State University, Chico. He joined the faculty there in 1989 and was named professor emeritus in 2012.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Commits $2 Billion to Diversity Efforts in Biomedical Science
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, has announced a $2 billion commitment to advancing racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in biomedical science. The new initiative will focus on not only promoting diversity but also developing infrastructure needed to sustain increased diversity.
Doctoral Degrees for African Americans Hold Steady Despite the Pandemic
Universities in the United States conferred 55,283 doctorates in 2020, down just slightly from 2019. Of these, 3,095 were earned by Black students, up slightly from the previous year. But more than one fifth of all doctorates earned by Black students at U.S. universities went to foreign students.
Eric Pryor Chosen as the Next President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the fine arts, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art, and a world-class collection of American art. Since 2015, Pryor has served as president of the Harlem School of the Arts in New York City.
Racial Differences in School Enrollments and High School Graduation Rates
In October 2020, were nearly 3 million African American adults over the age of 18 who were not high school graduates. There were more than 900,000 African Americans over the age of 65 who had not graduated from high school. They made up about one sixth of all African Americans over the age of 65.
Benjamin Talton Named Director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University
The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center houses one of the most comprehensive collections of African-American, African, and Africana history and memorabilia found anywhere in the world. Its collections include hundreds of thousands of pamphlets, books, periodicals, photographs, personal papers, manuscripts, music, artifacts, and other materials.
Georgia State University Scholar Looks at Factors Contributing to Successful Black Marriages
Much has been written about the disintegration of the traditional family structure in the African American community and the struggles of single parents in raising their children. But a new study led by Antonius Skipper, an assistant professor of gerontology at Georgia State University, focuses on factors that lead to successful Black marriages.
East Carolina University Names Robin Coger as Provost/Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Dr. Coger is currently the dean of the College of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at North Carolina A&T State University. Earlier, she was a faculty member in the department of mechanical engineering and engineering science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 1996 to 2011. She will take on her new job in July 2022.
In Memoriam: Julius Sherrod Scott, 1955-2021
Professor Scott earned a Ph.D. in history at Duke University in 1986, where his dissertation concerned communications between groups of free and enslaved Africans throughout the Atlantic World that were facilitated by travelers on ships between ports in the New World. The dissertation was finally published as a book in 2018.
The Modern Language Association Announces the Winner of the William Sanders Scarborough Prize
Joshua Bennett, professor of English and creative writing at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, was named the winner of the twentieth annual William Sanders Scarborough Prize from the Modern Language Association. The prize is awarded for an outstanding scholarly study of African American literature or culture.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore to Cooperate with Danubius University in Romania
The agreement calls for the establishment of exchange programs for undergraduates and graduate students as well as faculty, and collaborations on research. The universities will also explore the possibility of joint degree programs and sharing technological expertise.
Three Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Assignments
Taking on new roles will be Sydney Freeman Jr. at the University of Pennsylvania, Regina Stevens-Truss at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and Kwame Amoah at the University of Cincinnati.
North Carolina Central University Partners With Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington
The partnership provides a seamless transition for community college students receiving an associate's degree in applied science degree to gain guaranteed admittance to North Carolina Central University. This will reduce the total cost of obtaining a bachelor's degree for students who complete their first two years at community college.
Jinx Coleman Broussard Honored for Her Mentoring Work in Public Relations
Jinx Coleman Broussard, the Bart R. Swanson Endowed Memorial Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State Univerity, has been selected as the 2021 Bruce K. Berger Educator Honoree from the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. The center is housed at the University of Alabama.
Bowie State University’s College of Education to Expand Online Graduate Degree Offerings
The doctorate degree program in educational leadership is designed for educators who are already serving in leadership roles in K-12, higher education, and district-level leadership. There will also be a new master’s degree program in culturally responsive teacher leadership to promote equity, access, and inclusivity in teaching.
New Administrative Roles for Four African Americans in Higher Education
Taking on new administrative duties are John E. Smith at Clark Atlanta University, Samira Malik at Northeastern University in Boston, Archie Tucker at the University of Texas at Tyler, and Rosalind Dale at North Carolina A&T State University.
Three African American Women Appointed to Higher Education Diversity Posts
Taking on new roles as diversity administrators are Tomicka Wagstaff at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, Keisha Love at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, and Patricia Bradley at Towson University in Maryland.
Eight African American College Students Selected as Rhodes Scholars
This year, eight African Americans were chosen as Rhodes Scholars. In both 2017 and 2020, there were 10 African American Rhodes Scholars, the most in any one year.
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.
Book Examines Language Development Among African American Youth
The award committee cited the book for making “a remarkable and unique contribution to the study of African American language, contributing to our understanding of how children construct identity, negotiate status and relationships, and transition across life stages by means of and as represented by their language.”
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: Kariamu Welsh, 1949-2021
After studying as a Fulbright scholar in Africa, Welsh joined the faculty at Temple University in 1985. She earned a doctorate in dance history at New York University and joined the dance faculty at Temple in 1999.
