Stanford’s Jennifer Eberhardt Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences does not publish data on the race or ethnicity of its members. But according to a JBHE analysis of the group of 84 new members, it appears that only one of the new members is an African American.
Laboratory Used by Edward Bouchet Designated a Historic Site by the American Physical Society
Edward A. Bouchet was the first African American to earn a doctorate from an American university when he received a Ph.D. in physics at Yale University in 1876. The laboratory where he did much of his research has been named the 37th historic site in the history of physics.
Alec Gallimore Named Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan
Professor Gallimore joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1992. He was promoted to full professor in 2004. Dr. Gallimore is the director of the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, funded by NASA and the director of the Michigan/Air Force Center of Excellence in Electric Propulsion.
Harris-Stowe State University Begins Dual-Degree Program With the St. Louis College of Pharmacy
Under the new program students will spend their first three years at historically Black Harris-Stowe State University, majoring in biology. They will then spend four years in the pharmacy doctorate program at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.
University of Chicago’s Partnership With the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences
Under the partnership agreement, University of Chicago faculty and graduate students will spend time at five research centers in Africa to serve as teachers, tutors, and researchers.
Cornell to Rename Its School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering for an African American
Robert F. Smith, chair and CEO of Vista Equity Partners has made a $50 million donation to Cornell University. The gift is one of the largest ever made by an African American to an institution of higher education.
A New University Home for the National Alliance for Doctoral Studies in the Mathematical...
The national mathematics organization strives to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who earn doctoral degrees in mathematics and related fields. It has been housed at the University of Iowa but will have a new home at Purdue University.
New Biochemistry Major Launched at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a historically Black education institution that enrolls about 2,500 students, has announced that it will offer a new bachelor's degree program in biochemistry beginning in the fall of 2016.
Jackson State University Wins Approval to Offer Two New Degree Programs in STEM Fields
Jackson State University will now offer a bachelor of science degree program in biotechnology and a master's degree in computational/data-enabled science and engineering.
The New Dean of the College of Engineering at Howard University
Dr. Achille Messac, educated at MIT, has been serving as dean of engineering and professor of aerospace engineering at Mississippi State University. Previously, he served on the faculties at Syracuse University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
University Scientists Develop Portable Device for Sickle Cell Diagnosis
Scientists at the University of Connecticut, Yale University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new method of detecting sickle cell disease that can be used in remote areas that do not have advanced medical technology.
The Widening Racial Gap in Bachelor’s Degree Attainments in Some STEM Fields
During the 10-year period, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in physics in the United States increased by 58 percent. But the number of bachelor's degrees in physics awarded to African American rose only slightly.
National Society of Black Engineers Seeks to Boost Black Graduates in the Field
The National Society of Black Engineers has announced a new initiative with the goal to increase the number of African Americans who receive bachelor's degrees in engineering to 10,000 annually by 2025. The most recent annual figure is 3,620.
Hampton University Forms Partnership for Science Research With Brandeis University
The Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) will include a 10-week summer program for Hampton undergraduate students. These students will participate in research projects with scientists at Brandeis.
A Check-Up on the Racial Gap in Medical School Applications and Enrollments
In 2015, the number of Black applicants to U.S. medical schools was up a whopping 16.8 percent from 2014. Blacks were 7.6 percent of all medical school matriculants in 2015. This was up from 6.9 percent in 2014.
The Extreme Science Scholars at Morgan State University
The Army Research Laboratory has expanded its effort to increase the number of minority students in STEM fields by creating the Extreme Science Scholar program at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Georgia Tech and Intel Aim to Increase Minorities Pursuing STEM Degrees
The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta has announced a new partnership with Intel Inc. in an effort to increase the number of students from underrepresented minority groups who pursue degrees in engineering and computer science.
Arizona State’s Kimberly Scott to Lead the National Academic STEM Collaborative
Dr. Scott is an associate professor in the department of women and gender studies at Arizona State University. She is also the founding executive director of the Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology at Arizona State.
Danielle Laraque-Arena Named President of SUNY’s Upstate Medical University
A native of Haiti, Dr. Laraque-Arena has been serving as chair of the department of pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and as a professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.
New Scholarship Opportunity for HBCU Students in STEM Fields
The new Apple Scholars program, operated in conjunction with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, will offer a one-year scholarship of up to $25,000 for 30 students at HBCUs and other predominantly Black colleges and universities.
Engineering Deans Pledge to Increase Diversity in Students and Faculty
Engineering deans from more than 100 universities in North America who are members of the American Society for Engineering Education signed a letter committing their schools to building more diverse and inclusive programs.
African American Scholar From Harvard University to Lead New Technology Journal
Latanya Sweeney was appointed editor-in-chief of Technology Science, a new journal published by the Data Privacy Lab at Harvard University. During 2014, she served as the chief technology officer for the Federal Trade Commission.
North Carolina Central’s Early Medical School Selection Program
Under the program, students from NCCU spend summers taking classes at the Boston University medical school. The NCCU students who are selected for the program spend their entire senior year as undergraduates in Boston.
Virginia Tech’s Summer Program Seeks to Increase Diversity at Its Medical School
Hampton University students selected for the internship program receive guaranteed admission to the medical school so long as they graduate from Hampton with honors and achieve a threshold score on the Medical College Admission Test.
Increasing the Number of African American Cancer Researchers
The Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research aims to encourage Black and other minority graduate students to pursue doctoral degrees and careers in research relating to cancer.
The University of Chicago Looks to Aid Mathematics Education in Africa
The University of Chicago has signed a new partnership agreement with the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). Under the agreement the University of Chicago will provide faculty members and graduate students to AIMS centers across Africa to assist in the training of AIMS graduate students.
Why Black Men Are Making No Progress in Medical Education
In 1978, 1,410 Black males applied to U.S. medical schools. In 2014, the figure was 1,337. In 2014, women were 62.2 percent of all African Americans who applied to medical school. In every other major racial or ethnic group, men were a majority of all applicants.
Florida State Scholar Named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
A native of London, Steve Acquah is an associate research professor at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Dr. Acquah, who is also a fellow of the Royal Microbiology Society, focuses his research on carbon nanotube-based sensors and devices.
Math Collaborative for Black Males Moves to California State University, Long Beach
The goal of the program, initially established at the Claremont Colleges, was to encourage Black male students, who many would not expect to go to college, to excel at mathematics and other subjects so that they would be prepared for college-level work.
Delaware State University Partners With SAP SE Corporation
The new Center for Excellence at Delaware State will train the university's students in state-of-the-art business software applications from the world's second largest independent software company.
Coppin State and the University of Baltimore Form Partnership for STEM Education
The partnership calls for faculty research collaboration in complementary STEM areas through shared faculty expertise and interest, shared lab facilities and equipment, and inter-institutional software licensing.
Florida A&M University Confers Ph.D.s in Physics to Two Black Women
According to the National Science Foundation, 1,902 people earned Ph.D.s in physics at American universities in 2013. Only 18.8 percent were women and only 19 were Black. Now two Black women have earned Ph.D.s in physics at the same university in the same year.
North Carolina Central University to Offer New Dual-Degree Program
Under the plan, students will spend their first-three undergraduate years at North Carolina Central taking a physics-based curriculum and then transfer to North Carolina State to take courses in electrical engineering.
Students at Harris-Stowe State University Can Take a Computer Science Course for Free
Students at Harris-Stowe State University, the historically Black educational institution in St. Louis, will be able to take a computer science course for free at nearby Washington University.
New Study Finds No Progress in Increasing Black Faculty in Chemistry
African Americans make up just 1 percent of the chemistry professors at the 50 U.S. colleges that have the largest budgets for chemical research. Thirty of these 50 schools have no Black chemistry faculty.
Two Black Scholars Elected Members of the National Academy of Sciences
The two African Americans elected members of the National Academy of Sciences are Scott V. Edwards, a professor of biology at Harvard University, and Jennifer A. Richeson, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University.
