Monthly Archives: May 2023
Rice University Enhances Its Partnership With Historically Black Texas Southern University
Rice University and historically Black Texas Southern University - both in Houston - have announced a partnership to share resources, expertise, and best practices to build stronger bridges between the institutions and the community.
New Administrative Roles in Higher Education for Five African Americans
Taking on new administrative roles are Marvin Lewis at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Yvonne Harris at Northern Illinois University, Earl Warren at Talladega College in Alabama, Marcia Pecot at Xavier University in New Orleans, and Stephen Latson at Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Stillman College Opts Out of U.S. News & World Report Rankings
Many of the nation's leading medical and law schools have dropped out of U.S. News & World Report rankings of the best graduate programs. Now Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has become the first historically Black educational institution to pull out of the rankings.
Two Blacks Among Three Winners of the Waterman Award From the National Science Foundation
Natalie King, an associate professor of science education at Georgia State University, and Asegun Henry is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will each receive a grant of $1,000,000 over a five-year period for scientific research or advanced study in science and engineering disciplines.
Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education
Anthony Brown is the new vice president for Equal Opportunity and Title IX at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Romona West was appointed assistant dean of inclusive excellence and strategic initiatives at the University of Arkansas, and Kellie McCants-Price is the new chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland.
The Widening Divide: HBCUs and the 2023 NFL Draft
Dr. Al-Tony Gilmore explores the scarcity of NFL draft prospects emerging from HBCU football programs, asserting that HBCUs possess the ability and should thrive independently of the league's validation.
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.
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.
White Woman Student Seen on Video Using Racial Slurs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Some students demanded that the student in the video be expelled. When this post was written more than 58,000 people had signed an online petition demanding the student be expelled. But the university said that free speech protections prevailed in this instance.
John Dozier Appointed the Twenty-First President of Columbia College in South Carolina
Dr. Dozier has been serving as community and equity officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before taking on that role in 2020, he was chief diversity officer and senior associate provost at the University of South Carolina and president of Kennedy-King College in Chicago.
Report Looks at Reasons for Declining Enrollments in Higher Education
Black students are more likely than White students to say it was difficult for them to remain enrolled in their programs. Some 43 percent of Black students say they considered stopping out in the past six months — up from 37 percent in 2021. The cost of higher education is cited as the main reason for stopping out.
Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed University Provosts
Dennis Mitchell has been named interim provost at Columbia University in New York City. Georita M. Frierson was selected to be the next provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Southern Maine and Charles Isbell has been chosen to serve as provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
HBCUs Receive Only a Tiny Fraction of Higher Education Grants From Major Foundations
From 2015 to 2019, the eight Ivy League schools received a combined $5.5 billion in philanthropic dollars from major foundations compared to HBCUs’ $303 million. The average Ivy League institution received 178 times more foundation funding than the average HBCU.
Steven Watkin Will Be the New Leader of Bakersfield College in California
Watkin was hired by Bakersfield College nine years ago to build an outreach program in partnership with local area high schools. Most recently, he has served as associate vice chancellor of enrollment management at the Kern Community College District. In addition, Watkin has been pastor of the Church of God in Christ in Arvin, California, for the past 11 years.
Steven Walker Will Be the New Leader of Bakersfield College in California
Watkin was hired by Bakersfield College nine years ago to build an outreach program in partnership with local area high schools. Most recently, he has served as associate vice chancellor of enrollment management at the Kern Community College District. In addition, Watkin has been pastor of the Church of God in Christ in Arvin, California, for the past 11 years.
African American Voting Statistics in the 2022 Midterm Elections
For Blacks who did not vote, 25.8 percent said they were too busy or had conflicting schedules. Nearly 16 percent said they were not interested, a lower rate than for White non-voters. Nearly 10 percent of Blacks who did not vote said they forgot to do so, 8 percent said they were away from home, and 13.4 percent said they were sick or disabled.
Dwayne Smith Selected to Lead Southern Connecticut State University
Since 2020, Dr. Smith has served as campus CEO of Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Earlier, he served as interim president of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, following 13 years as that institution’s provost.
Asegun Henry of MIT Wins the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation
Asegun Henry, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the recipient of the Alan T. Waterman Award from...
President David Wilson Gets Seven-Year Contract Extension at Morgan State University
The board of regents at Morgan State University in Baltimore voted unanimously to extend the contract of president David K. Wilson for seven years. Dr. Wilson will now lead the university through 2030. Dr. Wilson became president of Morgan State University in 2010.
Three African American Scholars Take on New Faculty Roles
Bryana French has been appointed associate chair in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Creston Herron was named director of orchestral activities at the University of Kansas and Jamie Waters is a new associate professor of Old Testament studies at Boston College.
North Carolina Central University to Offer New Digital Filmmaking Concentration
The new concentration starting this coming fall will provide majors with a foundation for entry into the filmmaking and digital storytelling fields, including producing, directing, editing, cinematography, production design, and sound with an emphasis on storytelling as a function of narrative communication.
Five African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to New Administrative Posts at Universities
Taking on new administrative roles are James Curbeam at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Vanessa Love at the University of Pittsburgh, Ian Bouie at Stockton University in New Jersey, Taylor Whitehead at Virginia State University, and Tourea B. Robinson at Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida.
Howard University Reports Progress in Achieving Goals of Its 2019 Strategic Plan
In 2022, Howard University secured a record-breaking $122 million in research funding. It raised more money for student financial aid in the past three years than in the previous 150 years combined.
The First Black Woman to Be Named a Fellow of the Academy of Leisure Sciences
Corliss Outley, professor in the department of parks, recreation, and tourism management and director of the Race, Ethnicity, Youth and Social Equity Collaboratory at Clemson University in South Carolina, is the first African American woman to be named a Fellow of the Academy of Leisure Sciences in its 43-year history.
Three Black Scholars Taking on New Assignments Relating to Diversity
André L. Churchwell will be the senior advisor to the chancellor of Vanderbilt University on inclusion and community outreach. Chloe Poston has been promoted to vice president for culture, belonging, and strategic engagement at Dartmouth College and Ann Gakumo was named associate dean for inclusion and community impact at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing.
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.
Clemson University Program Aims to Boost Black Students in Biomedical Engineering
Clemson University in South Carolina is launching the Call Me Doctor Esteemed Scholars Program for undergraduates who are from groups that are underrepresented in STEM and have an interest in conducting biomedically-related research and pursuing a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D after completing their undergraduate degree.
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.
Johns Hopkins University Obtains an Archive of Materials on the Early Life of Billy Holiday
The new collection includes the earliest known photo of Billie Holiday—a posed studio shot taken in 1917 when she was 2 years old — ephemera such as programs from clubs, hand-written set lists, and a grocery shopping list. The collection also includes 140 taped interviews with friends and colleagues of Holiday.
Historian Ben Vinson III Named the Eighteenth President of Howard University
Dr. Vinson comes to Howard after serving as provost and executive vice president at Case Western Reserve University. Prior to that, he served as dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
How to Maintain Racial Diversity If the Supreme Court Prohibits Race-Sensitive Admissions
A new report from the Center on Education and the Workforce in the School of Public Policy at Georgetown University finds that the racial and ethnic diversity of students at the nation's most selective colleges and universities will decrease significantly unless these colleges fundamentally alter their admissions practices.
Carl Goodman Selected as the Next Provost at Texas Southern University
For the past three years, Dr. Goodman served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Bowie State University in Maryland. Earlier, he was associate provost for academic affairs and student services at Florida A&M University.
Black Mothers With Advanced Degrees Have a Higher Rate of Preterm and Low-Weight Babies
The study, presented recently at the Pediatric Academic Societies in Washington, D.C., found that nearly 10 percent of Black mothers with a graduate degree had low birth-weight babies compared to 3.6 percent of White mothers with a master's or doctoral degree.
A Change in Leadership at Savannah State University in Georgia
Kimberly Ballard-Washington has resigned as president of Savannah State University in Georgia for "personal reasons." The University System of Georgia named Cynthia Robinson Alexander as interim president of Savannah State University. She has been serving as associate vice chancellor for finance at the University System of Georgia. She joined the university system in 2009.
