Howard University Graduate to Lead the American Bar Association
Paulette Brown, a graduate of Howard University and the Seton Hall University School of Law, will become president of the American Bar Association in August 2015. She will be the first African American woman to lead the ABA.
The First Graduate of Indiana University’s Ph.D. Program in African Diaspora Studies
Maria Eliza Hamilton Abegunde will be first student to be awarded a Ph.D. in African Diaspora studies at Indiana University. After receiving her degree, she will serve as a summer scholar at the National Endowment for the Humanities.
New Film Honors the First Black Woman to Earn a Ph.D. at Duke University
In 1967 Ida Stephens Owens received a Ph.D. in physiology from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She went on to conduct important research on drug biotransformation at the National Institutes of Health.
Black Women From Towson University Make Debating History
Ameena Ruffin and Korey Johnson of Towson University in Maryland are the first African American women's team to win the Cross Examination Debate Association's National Championship.
Tufts University Dean Named President of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut
This July, Joanne Berger-Sweeney, currently dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University, will become the first woman and the first African American to serve as president of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Michael Drake Appointed President of Ohio State University
When he takes office in June, Dr. Drake will be the first African American to be president of Ohio State. Currently, Dr. Drake is chancellor of the University of California, Irvine.
African American Teenager Is the Youngest Qualified Barrister in British History
At the age of 18, Gabrielle Turnquest of Windemere, Florida, passed the Bar Professional Training Course to become a qualified barrister in England and Wales. She is now studying fashion industry management in Los Angeles.
Florida A&M University Names Its Next President
Elmira Mangum, vice president for planning and budget at Cornell University, has been chosen as the 11th president and first woman president of historically Black Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
Black Student Among the First Five Doctoral Degree Recipients at Georgia College & State...
Chioma Okereke is one of the five women in the first cohort of graduates of the university's doctor of nuring practice degree program. She has been hired to a nursing faculty position at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
Jacquelyn Bridgeman to Lead the College of Law at the University of Wyoming
Professor Bridgeman is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Chicago Law School. She has served as associate dean of the University of Wyoming law school since 2010 and has been on the faculty since 2002.
African American Debaters Make History
Nadia Lewis and Jamila Ahmed, African American students at Fresno State University in California, placed first and second at the recent Henry Clay Invitational Debates held at the University of Kentucky.
The Higher Education of Mississippi’s First Black Female Federal Judge
Debra M. Brown, a graduate of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University and the law school at the University of Mississippi, is the only attorney in the state that has a degree in architecture.
Majority-Female Crew Refs Black College Football Game
For the first time in history, on October 24 a majority-female officiating crew took the field for an intercollegiate football game between Lane College and Miles College, two historically Black colleges.
The First African American Rector at the University of Virginia
Earlier this week George Keith Martin, a Richmond attorney, became the first African American rector of the board of visitors of the University of Virginia. Martin has served on the university's governing board since 2011.
Morehouse School of Medicine Names Its Next President
Valerie Montgomery Rice was named the next president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. She will take office upon the retirement of John E. Maupin Jr. on July 1, 2014. She has been serving as executive vice president and dean of the medical school.
Entering Class at Colgate University To Be the Most Diverse in School History
The college states that 28.7 percent of incoming students identify themselves as multicultural and 28.1 percent say they are non-White. Eight percent of the incoming class self-identifies as Black, an all-time record for Colgate.
The First African American Dean at Mississippi State University
Achille Messac was named dean of the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University. He has been serving as distinguished professor and chair of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Syracuse University in New York.
Frances Henderson Is the First African American Woman Granted Tenure at Maryville College
She is the first African American woman to be granted tenure at the college in its 194-year history. Dr. Henderson has been teaching political science at the college for the past six years and she is now the only African American on the college's faculty.
Twins Named Co-Valedictorians at Spelman College
Kirstie and Kristie Bronner both achieved perfect 4.0 grade point averages while earning bachelor's degrees in music. Both their mother and grandmother are Spelman College alumnae.
The Higher Education of the Army’s First African American Two-Star General
Nadja Y. West was recently promoted to Major General of the U.S. Army. She is the first African American woman on active duty to receive a second star.
Lydie Louis Will Earn Two Doctorates This Spring in Microelectronics and Photonics
Lydie Louis will make history this spring when she become the first student in the interdisciplinary microelectronics-photonics graduate program at the University of Arkansas to earn two Ph.D.s. She will be awarded doctorates from both the University of Arkansas and the Ecole Centrale Paris.
The Higher Education of One of the GOP’s Rising Black Stars
Tahrohon Wayne Shannon is Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He is only 34 years old and is a rising star in the Republican Party. Shannon is an African American and a member of the Chickasaw Nation.
Carolyn Callahan Selected to Lead the College of Business at the University of Louisville
She is currently the KPMG Distinguished Professor of Accounting and director of the School of Accountancy at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. She will be the first woman and first African American dean of the University of Louisville business school.
University of Alabama to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Its Racial Desegregation
Throughout the year, the university will hold seminars, lectures, and other events to celebrate 50 years of racial diversity on campus.
Heidi Anderson Named Provost at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
When Dr. Anderson takes office in July, the university's two highest officials, president and provost, both will be African American women. Helen F. Giles-Gee became the university's president a year ago. Only 6 percent of the undergraduate student body at the university is Black.
Howard University Graduate In Line for the Presidency of the American Bar Association
Paulette Brown is the uncontested nominee to lead the American Bar Association beginning in 2015. If approved, she will become the first African American woman to lead the organization.
Rodney Bennett Appointed President of the University of Southern Mississippi
Dr. Bennett, now vice president for student affairs at the University of Georgia, will be the first African American president of any of the five predominantly White state universities in Mississippi.
A Military Milestone for a Claflin University Trustee
Calvin H. Elam, a member of the board of trustees of Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, has become the first African American general in the South Carolina Air National Guard.
The Higher Education of the Only Black U.S. Senator
He is the first Black senator from a southern state since Reconstruction and he is the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.
A Milestone Appointment at Clemson University
Juan Gilbert, chair of the Division of Human-Centered Computing and professor of automotive engineering, is the first African American scholar named to an endowed chair at Clemson University.
The Higher Education of the New Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court
The first Black Supreme Court justice and first Black chief justice is a graduate of Kentucky State University and the University of Oklahoma School of Law. He is a former assistant dean of the law school at Marquette University.
The First Black Homecoming Queen at Ole Miss
Courtney Roxanne Pearson, a senior from Memphis, will be crowned on October 13 during halftime ceremonies at the football game between Auburn University and Ole Miss.
Wake Forest University Celebrates 50 Years of Racial Integration
In 1962, Ed Reynolds from Ghana became the first Black student to enroll as a full-time student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He returned to the university this past weekend to relate his experiences to current students.
Morgan State Professor Is the First African American President of Pi Sigma Alpha
Alice Jackson now leads the political science honor society that has 740 chapters across the United States in all 50 states.
Arizona State University Honors Its First Black Football Player
In 1937 Emerson Harvey was the first Black player at ASU. His presence on the football team at the university served to play a major role in the racial integration of college sports in the southwest.
Stanford’s Condoleezza Rice Is One of the First Two Women Members of Augusta National
Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state in the administration of George W. Bush and current professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, achieves yet another milestone.
