A Trio of New African American Deans
Shirley Hymon-Parker will lead the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University as interim dean. William H. Whitaker Jr. has been named dean of South Carolina State University’s Honors College and DeNeia Thomas is the new dean of the College of Professional Studies at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Rice University Provides a Detailed Look at Its History of Racial Injustice
University founder William Marsh Rice was an oil and cotton tycoon, who when he died was said to be the richest man in Texas. He left the bulk of his estate to establish the Rice Institute for Literature. His will stipulated that only White students were allowed to enroll.
American-Educated Olu Q. Menjay Named President of Tubman University in Liberia
Olu Q. Menjay, who received the bulk of his education in the United States and served as a faculty member at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, has been appointed the fourth president of Tubman University in Liberia. Founded in 1978, the university closed in 1990 due to the Liberian civil war. It reopened in 2008.
Melissa Gilliam Will Be the First African American President of Boston University
Dr. Gilliam has been provost at Ohio State University since July 2021. Earlier, she was vice provost, the Ellen H. Block Distinguished Service Professor of Health Justice, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics at the University of Chicago. She will become president of Boston University on July 1, 2024.
Five Black Faculty Members Named MacArthur Fellows
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently announced the 20 latest recipients in its fellowship program, commonly referred to as “genius grants.” Of this year's 20 winners, five are Black scholars with current ties to the academic world.
Chris V. Rey Is the New President of Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina
Rey had been serving as international president of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Founded by the Presbyterian Church in January 1867, Barber-Scotia College lost accreditation in 2004 and since that time has struggled to remain viable.
Harriette Scott Named Dean of University College at Virginia Union University
Dr. Scott has been serving as a senior lecturer in the higher education leadership program at Boston University. Earlier, she held dean positions at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Massachusetts, and Tulsa Community College in Oklahoma.
Harold Martin Announces He Will Step Down as Leader of North Carolina Agricultural and...
Harold L. Martin, Sr., who is in his fifteenth year as leader of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2023-24 school year. He is currently the longest-serving chancellor in the 17-campus University of North Carolina System.
Three African American Scholars Appointed to Dean Positions at Universities
Corey D. B. Walker has been named dean of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Crystal Shannon has been named dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Indiana University Northwest and Colvin T. Georges Jr. was appointed dean of students for the Albert A. Sheen campus of the University of the Virgin Islands.
Volunteer State Community College President Orinthia T. Montague Dies at Age 56
In 2021, Dr. Montague was named the fourth president of Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin Tennessee. Previously, she was the fourth president of Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, New York, from 2017 to 2021.
Berenecea Johnson Eanes Will Be the Next President of California State University, Los Angeles
Since 2020, Dr. Eanes has served as president of York College of the City University of New York. She served as vice president for student affairs at California State University, Fullerton from 2012 to 2019. She will begin her new job in January.
Two Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to University Provost Positions
Nosa O. Egiebor is the new provost and executive vice chancellor at Montana Technological University in Butte and Toni Williams has been named provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at Martin University in Indianapolis.
Winston Oluwole Soboyejo Named President of SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Dr. Soboyejo has been serving at Worchester Polytechnic Institute since 2017, first as dean of engineering, then provost and senior vice president, and later interim president. Earlier, Dr. Soboyejo was a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University for 17 years.
Temple University President JoAnne Epps Dies Suddenly at Campus Service
JoAnne A. Epps, acting president of Temple University in Philadelphia, collapsed on stage during a celebration of life ceremony for Charles L. Blockson on September 19, where she was scheduled to speak. She was taken from the stage to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. President Epps was 72 years old.
Lisa Herring Is the New President of the PROPEL Center in Atlanta
The PROPEL Center was created in 2021 to support HBCU students and faculty through a robust virtual platform, a physical campus in the historic Atlanta University Center, as well as on-campus activations at partner institutions. Dr. Herring is the former superintendent of the public schools systems in Atlanta and Birmingham.
Agenia Walker Clark Will Be the Next President of Fisk University
For the past 19 years, Dr. Clark has been CEO of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee. Prior to the Girl Scouts, Dr. Clark was the vice president of human resources for the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation, senior director of human resources at Vanderbilt University, and directed human resources for Canadian telecommunications provider Nortel Networks.
Three African American Men Who Have Been Selected to Serve as Deans
Joel A. Johnson was appointed dean of admission at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Darren D. Kelly will be the next dean of the Office of African American Affairs at the University of Virginia and Jimmie Smith has been named dean of aviation at Savannah Technical College in Georgia.
Former Professor and University Administrator to Lead the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
DeAngela Burns-Wallace is the CEO and president of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. She held administrative positions at Stanford University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Kansas.
Phyllis Curtis-Tweed Appointed Provost at Queensborough Community College in New York
“I am thrilled to join the Queensborough Community College as provost and vice president of academic affairs, and to return to CUNY, where our very prescient mission remains to provide high-quality public education for all students," said Dr. Curtis-Tweed.
Three Black Scholars Appointed to Dean Positions
Mark Harden is the new dean of the Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Marie-Carmel Chery is the new dean of the chapel and spiritual engagement at Voorhees University in Denmark, South Carolina, and Tony Jean Dickerson was appointed dean of the School of Education at Martin University in Indianapolis.
Marla Frederick Will Be the Next Dean of Harvard Divinity School
Dr. Frederick is currently the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Religion and Culture at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Prior to her appointment at Emory, she served on the Harvard faculty from 2003 to 2019
Harry Elam to Step Down as Occidental College President at the End of the...
Harry J. Elam Jr. became the sixteenth president of Occidental College in Los Angeles on July 1, 2020. Dr. Elam recently announced in a message to new students that he would be stepping down from his post at the end of the academic year due to a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
The First Black Dean of the Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia
Said Ibrahim has been serving as senior vice president of the medicine service line at Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider. He also serves as chair of the department of medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, and the Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University. He will become dean on December 1.
Glenda Glover Will Step Down as President of Tennessee State University in 2024
"It was a decision that did not come too easily," President Glover said, "and it was not made lightly. My voice is needed now on a more national platform."
Three African American Women Who Have Been Appointed Provosts
Shantay R. Grays was named provost at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. Andrea Stewart has been named provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Toneyce Randolph is the new provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Morris Brown College in Atlanta.
Two Black Scholars Who Have Been Named to Dean Positions
Brett C. Woods was appointed vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Mary Simmons is the new dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences at Florida A&M University.
Roberts Wesleyan University Names Rupert Hayles Jr. as Its Twelfth President
Rupert A. Hayles Jr. is the new president of Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, New York. In this role, he will also serve as the fourth president of the Northeastern Seminary. Dr. Hayles has been serving for the past two years as president of Pillar College in Newark, New Jersey.
Two African Americans Appointed to University Dean Positions
Jamelle Sharpe is the new dean of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law and Natasha Hutson has been appointed as dean of University College at Alcorn State University in Mississippi.
Jamal A. Cooks Is the New President of Chabot College in California
Dr. Cooks has served as vice president of academic services at Chabot College since 2022, although he assumed the role on an interim basis in 2021. Prior to community college administration, Dr. Cooks served as a full professor at San Francisco State University, where he was also the associate director for the educational leadership doctoral program.
The Next Leader of the School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago
Nadya Mason has been serving as the Rosalyn S. Yalow Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has also served as the director of the University of Illinois' Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza Will Be the Thirteenth President of West Valley College in California
Dr. Taylor-Mendoza has over 20 years of experience in the California Community College system, serving in a variety of roles. Since 2021, Dr. Taylor-Mendoza has served as the president of the College of San Mateo in California. She will become president of West Valley College on August 24.
Lorrie Frasure to Lead the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at...
Dr. Frasure joined the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2007. She was the first woman of color and the first Black woman to earn tenure and promotion to full professor in the political science department at the university. As the new director of the center, she will hold the inaugural Ralph J. Bunche Endowed Chair.
A Trio of Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Lisa Gardner has been named interim dean for the School of Nursing at Florida A&M University. Glenn Chambers has been appointed the interim dean of the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University and Eboni Zamani-Gallaher will serve as the Renée and Richard Goldman Interim Dean of the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Sonja Harris-Haywood Appointed Dean of the School of Medicine at Meharry Medical College
Dr. Harris-Haywood comes to Meharry from Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine, where she served as associate dean of curriculum integration and one of the key leaders that drove the transformation, implementation, and assessment of a new medical school curriculum that integrated medical and clinical sciences.
Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke Is the New Provost at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey
For the past two years, Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke has been serving as senior vice provost for academic and faculty affairs. Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke joined the faculty at the university in 1989. Her research focuses on the development of culturally responsive interventions to enhance learning.
Claire Oberon Garcia Is the New State Historian in Colorado
Dr. Garcis, who has been a professor at Colorado College for more than three decades, will also lead the State Historian’s Council. Dr. Garcia's research focuses on the experiences of women of the Black Atlantic in the beginning of the twentieth century.
