Monthly Archives: March 2023
Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis Names Its Inaugural Regents’ Distinguished Professor
Dr. Kelvin Adams retired in December 2022 from his duties as superintendent of the St. Louis Public School District, a position he held since 2008. Prior to serving as superintendent, he was the associate dean of the College of Education at Southern University in New Orleans.
Howard University Teams Up With Columbia University Press for a New Book Series
The new book series is entitled Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past/Present/Future. This collaboration represents the first step in a larger planned partnership between the two universities to publish more robustly in Black studies, and to recruit and support a cohort of editorial fellows to provide an entryway for recent HBCU graduates into the publishing industry.
Five African Americans Who Are Taking on New Administrative Roles in Higher Education
Taking on new administrative duties are Rico Munn at Colorado State University, Monika Williams Shealey of Rowan University in New Jersey, Renarde D. Earl at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, Natasha Hutson at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, and Misty Nunn at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Fayetteville State University to Create the Institute for Ethics and Leadership
William J. Gillis, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, has committed $750,000 to honor a “simple act of kindness in troubled times” exchanged in 1945 between his father, Duncan Alexander “Zan” Gillis, and William Jones, a former business manager at what is now Fayetteville State University.
Princeton University’s Ludovic Tangpi Wins an American Mathematical Society Fellowship
The AMS Claytor-Gilmer Fellowship is named for William Schieffelin Claytor and Gloria Ford Gilmer, the first African American man and woman to publish research articles in peer-reviewed mathematics journals. The year-long fellowship was established to further excellence in mathematics research and to help generate wider and sustained participation by Black mathematicians.
Harvard University Launches Major Effort to Help HBCUs Digitize Their Library Collections
The HBCU Library Alliance and Harvard Library announced a four-year, $6 million project to develop strategies and methods for HBCU libraries and archives to scale up the processing and digitization of their collections.
Four African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education
Taking on new assignments relating to diversity are Kendra Jason at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Rodmon King at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Chanelle Whittaker at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland, and Harold Wallace III at Wichita State University in Kansas.
Fort Valley State University Enters Partnership With the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Fort Valley State University is joining forces with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, New Mexico State University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio in an effort to increase diversity in the environmental sciences and natural resources industries.
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.
A Photograph Is Discovered of the First Black Graduate of Yale College
For many years, it was believed that Edward Bouchet was the first Black graduate of Yale College in 1874. But nine years ago, new research discovered that Richard Henry Greene of the Class of 1857 was the first Black graduate. Now a photograph of Dr. Greene has been discovered.
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.
In Memoriam: Wayne Shorter, 1933-2023
Wayne Shorter was a pioneering jazz musician, composer, and a former member of the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles. He won 12 Grammy Awards (the last one in 2022), the 2017 Polar Music Prize, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.
Garry W. Jenkins Will Be the First Black President of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine
Since 2016, Jenkins has been dean and the William S. Pattee Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Prior to joining the Minnesota Law School Jenkins was a professor of law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law for 12 years, including eight years as associate dean for academic affairs.
Boston University Study Finds Racism Is a Factor in High Rates of Heart Disease Among Black Women
A team of researchers who followed more than 48,000 Black women over 22 years found those who reported experiencing interpersonal racism in employment, housing, and in interactions with the police had a 26 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease than those who did not.
Dale G. Caldwell Will Be the First Black President of Centennary University in New Jersey
Dr. Caldwell is currently executive director of the Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, as well as president of the board of the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey. He also serves as chair of the Board of Education for the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Black Scholars Are Underrepresented Among “Super Principal Investigators” on NIH Grants
Super principal investigators have three or more concurrent grants from the National Institutes of Health. In 2020, just 1 percent of all Black principal investigators were super principal investigators. For Whites, 4.1 percent of all principal investigators were super principal investigators.
Todd Clark Appointed Dean of Delaware Law School at Widener University
Clark is currently serving as senior associate dean of academic affairs and a tenured law professor at St. Thomas University College of Law in Miami Gardens, Florida. He will become dean of the Delaware Law School on July 1.
Blacks Are Making Progress in Leadership Positions at Athletic Powerhouse Universities
But the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida notes that Blacks are only 9.9. percent of the head football coaches at the 131 colleges and universities that make up the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. African Americans made up 49 percent of the football players at these schools.
Janelle Scott to Serve as President of the American Educational Research Association
Janelle Scott is a professor and the Birgeneau Distinguished Chair in Educational Disparities in the School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Scott joins the AERA Council in 2023–2024 as president-elect. Her presidency begins at the conclusion of the association’s 2024 annual meeting.
A Trio of Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Roles
Bree Alexander was appointed clinical assistant professor and interim coordinator for the bachelor of social work degree program at the University of South Carolina. Cajetan Iheka is the new director of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University and Earl J. Edwards is a new assistant professor in the educational leadership and higher education development at Boston College.
Judy Perkins to Lead the the National Center for Infrastructure Transformation at Prairie View A&M
Historically Black Prairie View A&M University has been selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to lead a historic national-tier University Transportation Center, which will focus on enhancing the durability and extending the life of the nation’s infrastructure. Judy Perkins, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, will lead the new center.
New Positions for Five Black Administrators in Higher Education
Taking on new administrative roles are Peter Gitau at the Spokane campus of Washington State University, Donald Miles at the University of South Carolina, Pat Kendrick at Xavier University in New Orleans, Joseph O. Montgomery at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Brittney Johnson at Florida A&M University.
Legislation Would Allow Virginia’s Public HBCUs to Offer In-State Tuition to Non-Virginians
Under the legislation, Virginia State University and Norfolk State University would be able to offer in-state tuition rates to any out-of-state student who has completed 30 credit hours of college coursework in data science and technology, science and engineering, health care, or education.
Two Black Scholars in the United States Win the Dan David Prize
The Dan David Prize is awarded by the Dan David Foundation at Tel Aviv University in Israel to up to nine early and mid-career scholars and practitioners in the historical disciplines. The honor comes with a $300,000 prize. Of this year's nine winners, two are Black scholars with university affiliations in the United States: Saheed Aderinto of Florida International University and Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers of the University of California, Berkeley.
Edward Waters University in Jacksonville to Offers a Host of New Degree Programs
Since 2018, historically Black Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, has more than doubled the number of degree programs offered to students. The university recently announced that by the end of this year, it will have introduced six new undergraduate degree offerings and two new graduate degrees.
Three African Americans Appointed to Diversity Posts at Colleges and Universities
Altheia Richardson has been named the inaugural chief diversity officer at Newberry College in South Carolina. D’Angelo Taylor has been named as the vice president for hope, unity and belonging at Belmont University in Nashville and Monae Roberts is the inaugural chief diversity officer for the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis.
Howard University Men’s Swimming Team Makes a Statement
The men's swimming and diving team at Howard University in Washington, D.C., recently won the Northeast Conference championship meet held in Geneva, Ohio. Howard is the only HBCU that continues to operate a varsity swim team program at the NCAA Division I level.
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.
A New $150 Million Program to Boost Graduate Education for Underrepresented Students
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the Norman and Ruth Rales Foundation recently announced CMU Rales Fellows Program is expected each year to underwrite 86 graduate students in STEM fields in perpetuity, educating thousands of research and industry leaders in the coming decades.
New Center at the University of Pennsylvania to Address Racial Gap in Maternal Health
Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women in the United States, which has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country and the problem is getting worse.
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.
Rice University to Relocate Statue of Its White Supremacist Founder
The board of trustees of Rice University has decided the statue of William Marsh Rice will no longer be at the center of the Academic Quadrangle and will be presented with historical context and information about the university’s founder, including his ownership of enslaved people.
Pomona College Receives the Personal Archives of Myrlie Evers-Williams
The collection, containing thousands of items focuses on her life after moving to California in 1964 after the assassination of her husband Medgar Evers. The Mississippi state archives are home to the Medgar Wiley and Myrlie Beasley Evers Papers, covering their early years in that state.
Lester Newman Is Stepping Down as President of Jarvis Christian University in June
During his tenure, Dr. Newman has improved the educational institution's financial position, increased enrollments, and restored athletic programs. He added bachelor's degree programs and presided over the transition from a college to a university with the addition of two new master’s degrees in business and criminal justice.
