Monthly Archives: July 2022
Five Black Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Assignments
Taking on new titles or roles are Cedric Merlin Powell of the University of Louisville, Carolyn Ratteray at Pomona College in Claremont, California, Jason Hall at the Tufts School of Medicine in Boston, Pearl Dowe at Emory Univerity in Atlanta, and Jay Pearson at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Benedict College Agreement Will Provide Master’s Degree Opportunities in Accounting
Three students from Benedict College will enroll in the master's degree program in accounting at the University of South Carolina this fall. As part of the program, students will receive financial support that covers their tuition and a $5,000 stipend to assist with living expenses while enrolled.
Colleges and Universities Appoint Nine Black Americans to Administrative Posts
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.
Jackson State University to Offer a New Master’s Degree Program in Political Science
The political science department at Jackon State University in Mississippi, under the direction of Professor Maruice Mangum, is offering a thesis and non-thesis route to the master's degree in political science. Students can complete the program on campus or online in as little as two semesters.
Tulane University’s Jesmyn Ward to Receive the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
Jesmyn Ward, a professor of creative writing in the School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University in New Orleans, has been announced as the recipient of the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. At 45, Professor Ward will be the youngest person to receive the library’s fiction award. Professor Ward is one of only six writers to receive the National Book Award more than once and the only woman and the only Black American to do so.
South Carolina’s Seven HBCUs to All Debut Institutes of Innovation and Information
The South Carolina General Assembly appropriated $18 million toward the development of educational institutes at each of South Carolina's seven HBCUs. Each institute was established with specific focuses and disciplines united to increase opportunities and exposure for their student bodies and the surrounding community.
A Trio of Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed University Diversity Officers
Jane Irungu is the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Utah State University. Todd Manuel was appointed vice president of inclusion, civil rights & Title IX at Louisiana State University and Rochelle D. Smith has been selected as Saint Louis University’s next vice president for diversity and innovative community engagement.
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.
La Salle University in Philadelphia Is Launching a Minor Program in Black Studies
The six-course minor can complement any major, as it broadens and deepens knowledge of the Americas. Students will be able to select courses from a variety of topics including literature, Spanish, education, history, philosophy, religion, and sociology.
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.
Carleton College in Minnesota Creates an Endowment to Support Africana Studies
The Mary and Fred Easter Endowment for Africana Studies, named for two scholars whose work at the college had a significant impact on the Black student experience beginning in the late 1960s, will provide funds to support and enhance the student academic experience through research, conferences, guest speakers, and other initiatives.
Texas Southern University Teams Up With NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Under the agreement, TSU and NASA will work collaboratively to facilitate joint research, technology transfer, technology development, and educational and outreach initiatives. The goal is to create a sustained pipeline of diverse talent for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers at the Johnson Space Center.
New GAO Report Finds Widespread Racial Segregation in the Nation’s Public Schools
The Government Accountability Office study found that 23 percent of all Black students attended schools where 75 percent or more of the student body was Black. But 45 percent of all White students attended schools where at least 75 percent of the student body was White.
Olivier Charles Selected to Become President of Bishop State Community College in Alabama
Charles has been serving as vice chancellor for student success for the Alabama Community College System. Earlier in his career, he was director of admissions and enrollment management at the University of West Alabama and director of admissions and recruitment for the Montgomery, Alabama, campus of Auburn University.
The Scourge of Inflation Hits Black Families at an Even Higher Rate
New research from the University of California San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy finds that Black families experience slightly higher inflation and 13 percent more volatile inflation, which impacts prices on groceries and other household essentials.
Darnell Hunt Will Be the Next Provost at the University of Calfornia, Los Angeles
Dr. Hunt has been serving dean of the Division of Social Sciences and professor of sociology and African American studies at UCLA. He joined the faculty there in 2001 as a professor of sociology and director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.
New Study Provides Evidence on the Effect of Race on Criminal Sentencing
The authors found that "respondents who view persistent racial inequalities as the product of both past and ongoing institutional factors prescribed lengthier sentences for White defendants; those who discount these explanations prescribed lengthier sentences for Black defendants.
Six African American Scholars Appointed Deans at Colleges and Universities
The new deans are Robert N. Garner at Benedict College in South Carolina, T. Camille Martin-Thomsen at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Marvin Lynn at the University of Colorado Denver, Amani Jennings at Bowie State University in Maryland, Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes at the University of Michigan, and Mary M. White at South Carolina State University.
Jackson State University in Mississippi Offers a New Major in Supply Chain Management
Through the Jackson State University supply chain management program, students will learn to understand the underpinnings of the global supply chain and how the linkage of multiple supply chain functions leads to the delivery of goods and services from around the world.
Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to New Faculty Positions
G. Gabrielle Starr, president of Pomona College in Claremont, California was appointed the McConnell Professor of Human Relations at the college. Rebecca Brückmann is a new associate professor of history at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and Tyson H. Brown was named the W.L.F. Associate Professor of Sociology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Morgan State University’s Actuarial Science Program Gets a Boost From Symetra Life Insurance
Symetra Life Insurance will provide scholarships supporting 25 students pursuing a degree in actuarial science. The scholarship program will provide wraparound support for critical student needs, such as housing, food, clothing, transportation, and other emergency funding that may be a barrier to degree completion.
Black Educational Pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune Honored With a Statue at the U.S. Capitol
Each of the 50 states is now permitted to choose who will represent the state in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol. Recently, a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of what is now Bethune-Cookman Univerity in Daytona Beach, Florida, was unveiled to represent the state of Florida.
Southern University in Louisiana Teams Up With Community College to Face Nursing Shortage
The agreement will allow community college students who have completed their first two years of study and graduated with an associate's degree in nursing to seamlessly transfer credit hours to Southern for completion of the online bachelor's degree program.
New University Administrative Posts for Six African Americans
Taking on new administrative duties are Richantae Johnson at Kent State University in Ohio, Will Guzmán at North Carolina A&T State University, Gabrielle Young at Maryville University in St. Louis, Joseph Green at Virginia Union University, Jeannie Brown at the University of Holy Cross in New Orleans, and James M. DuBose Jr. at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina.
A Trio of African Americans Who Will Be Taking on New Roles Relating to Diversity
Anya Dani was named director of community engagement and inclusive practice at the University of California, Los Angeles. Sean Bennett was named vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and Ken James is chief diversity officer at Muskegon Community College in Michigan.
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.
Getty Images Launches a New Black History Archive for Educators and Scholars
The collection aims to grant free non-commercial access to rarely seen historical and cultural images of the African/Black Diaspora in the United States and the United Kingdom from the nineteenth century to the present day to educators, academics, researchers, and content creators.
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.
Why Is The College Board No Longer Releasing Racial Data on Advancement Placement Test Scores
In years past, JBHE has published reports on the racial gap in participation in the Advanced Placement program of The College Board. Now, The College Board has decided to withhold data from the public on the racial breakdown of AP test scores.
In Memoriam: Zollie Stevenson, Jr., 1953-2022
After serving as an administrator for public school systems n Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Dr. Stevenson spent more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Education. He then taught at Howard University and Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Young White Adults Increasingly Believe That Anti-Black Racism Is a Thing of the Past
A new study led by Tony Brown, a professor of sociology at Rice University in Houston, Texas, finds a rise in racial apathy — in other words, not caring about racial inequality — among young White adults.
Two African Americans Selected as Leaders of Law Schools
Tamara F. Lawson has been named to the Toni Rembe Endowed Deanship of the University of Washington’s School of Law and Malik Edwards was appointed interim dean of the School of Law at North Carolina Central University in Durham.
How the Pandemic Impacted Black Enrollments in California Community Colleges
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz which is a working paper of Stanford University's Institute for Economic Policy Research, finds that although all racial and ethnic groups experienced large decreases in enrollment during the pandemic, Black students experienced the largest effects.
Pamela Richardson Wilks Is the New Provost at Coppin State University in Baltimore
Dr. Wilks joins Coppin State University from Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, where she most recently served as associate provost for academic operations, programs, and institutional planning, research, and effectiveness. Earlier, Dr. Wilks was an administrator and associate professor of English at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
