Monthly Archives: June 2022

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.

The First Black Woman to Earn a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University

Dr. Carcia Carson intends to devote her professional career to developing translational research in cancer vaccines and personalized immunotherapy.

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: Browne C. Lewis, 1962-2022

Browne C. Lewis, dean of the North Carolina Central University School of Law, died on June 2 while attending a conference in Colorado. She was 60 years old.

Brandeis University Creates Its First Endowed Chair in Black Studies

The Marta F. Kauffman ’78 Professorship in African and African American Studies will support a distinguished scholar with a concentration in the study of the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora.

Are School Choice Programs Compatible With the Goal of Racial Integration?

School choice programs are often touted as a means to address systemic inequities in schools, but they largely operate as unregulated “open enrollment” programs. Without regulation, and without an explicit focus on the goal of better-integrated school environments, segregation becomes more pronounced.

Lawrence M. Drake II Is the New Leader of Bethune-Cookman University in Florida

Dr. Drake has been serving as dean of the College of Business & Entrepreneurship at the university. His scholarship and research interests include the effects of human behavior at the intersection of cognitive science, applied psychology media innovation, and immersive learning.

HBCUs Provide Other Universities With a Roadmap for Success for Black STEM Students

The HBCU practices that lead to success include establishing a safe and nurturing environment, creating a scientific identity, and instilling self-worth in students.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions

Michelle Knight-Manuel has been appointed dean of the College of Education at the University of Denver. Rolston St. Hilaire will be the new dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at Fresno State University and Anderson Sunda-Meya was named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Blacks Make Up a Small Percentage of MD/Ph.D. Student Matriculants

The researchers found that between 2009 and 2018, the percentage of underrepresented minority matriculants went from 9.8 percent in 2009 to 16.7 percent in 2018. But the majority of that change was led by Latinx/Hispanic populations, with Black and Native American populations experiencing lower increases.

Virginia State University Offers a Major Vote of Confidence in President Makola Abdullah

Dr. Abdullah became the 14th president of Virginia State University in 2016. Now, the board of visitors of Virginia State University has extended the contract of President Abdullah through 2029.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Named to Endowed Professorships

The three Black scholars who have been appointed to named professorships are Regina Stevens-Truss at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, Fousseni Chabi-Yo in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts  Amherst, and Evelynn Hammons at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Good News! Florida Memorial University Has Been Removed From Accreditation Probation

On Thursday, June 17, 2021, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges voted to place historically Black Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens on “probation for good cause.” After some significant budget cuts, the university's probation has now been lifted.

Six Black Americans Who Are Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education

Those appointed to new administrative roles are Richard Cross at Lincoln University in Missouri, Madeline Brown at North Carolina A&T State University, Joe Leonard at Howard University, Birma Gaino at Clemson University, Courtney Cadore at Dillard University in New Orleans, and Shawn Odom at Winston-Salem State University.

Boeing Makes New $8 Million Commitment to Train and Recruit Students From HBCUs

Boeing and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund have renewed a partnership agreement that seeks to develop students from historically Black colleges and universities for careers in the aerospace industry.

Four African American Scholars Who Are Taking on New Duties

Taking on new duties are Valerie Giddings at North Carolina A&T State University, Collin Stultz of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Robin R. Davis at Virginia Union University in Richmond, and Giselle Armond Abron at the University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine.

Elizabeth City State University Partners With Lenoir-Rhyne University for Teacher Education

Under the agreement, students and alumni from ECSU will have priority admission to the Masters in Art of Teaching (MAT) degree program at Lenoir-Rhyne University. ECSU graduates will receive a 10 to 20 percent tuition discount.

Four African Americans Named to Diversity Posts at Colleges and Universities

The four African Americans who have been named to diversity posts are Bruce B. Felder at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, Thelathia “Nikki” Young at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Emanuela Kucik at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Annie McGowan at Texas A&M University.

In Memoriam: Arnold Euriel George, 1952-2022

George joined NCCU in 1991 as an instructor and served the university and music department for 31 years, where he played an instrumental role in building the Jazz Studies Program. His primary instrument was the alto saxophone but he also was an excellent pianist.

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.

Eastern Illinois University Renames a Residence Hall to Honor Two African Americans

Zella Powell is believed to be the university’s first Black graduate, earning a degree from Eastern State Normal School in 1910. Ona Norton was the matriarch of a Black family in Charleston, Illinois, who housed Black student athletes in the 1950s who were not permitted to live on campus.

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.

Prairie View A&M University Seeks to Rediscover Its Lost History

Prairie View A&M University is located on land that once was a plantation that housed 400 enslaved individuals. Many of the historically Black university's historical records were lost in a 1947 fire. Now a new committee has been formed to piece together the university's past.

Many African American Families Are Struggling to Pay Back Parent PLUS Loans

In the month they were surveyed, 37 percent of Black parent-borrowers said they expected to be unable to make a partial payment on their student loan bills, compared to 20 percent for all other groups.

Kenneth Elmore Appointed President of Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts

Elmore has been serving as an associate provost and the dean of students at Boston University, where he has been a member of the leadership team for nearly two decades. He will be the college's fourteenth president since its founding in 1865.

Tracking the Gender Gap in Enrollments at HBCUs

For the fall of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted enrollments in higher education, women were 64.3 percent of all students at HBCUs, compared to 62.7 percent in 2019, before the pandemic took hold.

The New President of the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education

Kimberly S. Smith is the associate vice provost for student success initiatives in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg.

Like Other Problems, the Baby Formula Shortage Has a Greater Negative Impact on Blacks

The percentage of White babies who receive all their food from breast milk during their first four months of life is double the percentage for African American babies. This fact alone shows that African American mothers are more dependent on the availability of formula.

Jerry Wallace Selected as the New President of Danville Community College in Virginia

Dr. Wallace has been serving as president of the Hastings Campus of Nebraska Central Community College, where he has worked since 2019. Prior to that, he was a dean at New River Community and Technical College in Beckley, West Virginia.

New Duties for a Trio of Black Scholars

Arwin Smallwood, a professor of history at North Carolina A&T State University, was named interim vice provost for undergraduate education. Courtney-Savali Andrews will join the faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and Jerelle Joseph will be an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University.

Florida A&M University Gets a $70 Million Windfall in Increased State Funding

The funding is designed to beef up the university’s student success initiatives, including graduation and retention rates, first-time licensure pass rates for nursing, pharmacy, and physical therapy, boosting the number of STEM graduates, and the recruitment and retention of faculty.

Six African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Higher Education Administrative Posts

Taking on new assignments are Branden Grimmett at Emory University, Allison Morgan Bryant at Howard University, Christine D. Lovely at Cornell University, Tauheedah Jackson at Harvard University, Norbert Rome at Dillard University in New Orleans, and Breanna McKnight at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Alcorn State University Enters Partnership With Copiah-Lincoln Community College

Copiah-Lincoln Community College operates campuses in Wesson, Mendenhall, and Natchez, Mississippi. Under the agreement, students who complete specific associate degree requirements at the community college will receive guaranteed admission to Alcorn State University’s four-year degree programs.

Three African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Endowed Professorships

Elizabeth West was appointed to the John B. and Elena Diaz-Verson Amos Distinguished Chair in English Letters at Georgia State University. Regina Stevens-Truss was appointed the Dorothy H. Heyl Senior Endowed Chair in Chemistry at Kalamazoo College and Deondra Rose was named the Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor at Duke University.

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