Tag: Duke University

Three Universities Have Announced the Hiring of African Americans to Diversity Positions

Kevin Thomas is the inaugural vice dean for DEI at the Duke University School of Medicine. Tiffany Taylor Smith was named vice president for diversity and inclusion at the University of Dayton in Ohio and Kiwana McClung has been named interim chief diversity officer at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.

Five Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Roles at Major Universities

The five Black faculty members taking on new duties are Judith Green McKenzie at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Frederick Evans at South Carolina State University, Jennifer Swann at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Ruth Opara at Syracuse University in New York, and Bocar Ba at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

In Memoriam: Teresa Ann Miller, 1962-2021

Teresa A. Miller was senior vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and chief diversity officer for the State University of New York. Earlier, Miller was a tenured professor of law at the University at Buffalo, specializing in immigration law, criminal procedure, and prisoner law.

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.

A New Oral History of Black Alumni at Four Educational Institutions in the Carolinas

The “Counting It All Joy!” initiative aims to better understand and to make more visible the narratives of Black people who have attended Davidson College, Duke University, Furman University, and Johnson C. Smith University between 1990 and 2020.

Duke University Renames Building to Honor Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke

Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke was one of the first five Black students to integrate the Duke campus in 1963. She becomes the first Black woman to have a campus building named after her. She joins historian John Hope Franklin and campus architect Julian Abele as having buildings or grounds named after them on the Duke campus.

Six Black Scholars Who Have Been Given New Faculty Assignments

Taking on new positions are Bianca Baldridge at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Stephen Buckley at Duke University in North Carolina, Joshua Bartholomew at the Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas, Emily Greenwood at Princeton University in New Jersey, Warrick Moses at Syracuse University in New York, and Charles Peterson at Oberlin College in Ohio.

Tarisha Stanley Wins the Teaching Literature Book Award for Her Work on Octavia Butler

Tarshia Stanley, dean of the division of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, and professor of English at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been selected as the winner of the Teaching Literature Book Award, an international prize for the best book on teaching literature at the college level. The award is presented biennially by the graduate faculty in English at Idaho State University.

The Society for Epidemiologic Research Names Award for Duke University Scholar

The Society for Epidemiologic Research has announced the establishment of the Sherman A. James Diverse and Inclusive Epidemiology Award. The award will recognize research, teaching, or service by an individual that expands the scope of the field to underrepresented or disadvantaged populations or researchers and that has facilitated greater diversity and inclusiveness.

New Administrative Positions in Higher Education for Six African Americans

Taking on new administrative roles are Boyd Copeland at St. Louis Community College, Alecia Shields-Gadson at Delaware State University, Reginald Wilson at Pasco-Hernando State College in Florida, Melissa Thrasher at Eastern Michigan University, Dawna Jones at Duke University in North Carolina, and Tammy A. Bagby at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.

Professor Rebecca Wanzo of Washington University in St. Louis Has Won Two Book Awards

Rebecca Wanzo, professor and chair of women, gender, and sexuality studies in the College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has won two major awards in the field of comic book studies for her book The Content of Our Caricature: African American Comic Art and Political Belonging.

Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to New Faculty Positions

Taking on new faculty posts are Michael McElroy at the University of Michigan, Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha at the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Lamonte Aidoo at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and Julie Dash at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Thavolia Glymph Wins Three Awards From the Organization of American Historians

Thavolia Glymph, the Peabody Family Distinguished Professor of History at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, was honored with three awards for her book on the role of Black and White women during the Civil War.

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.

Six African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Taking on new positions are Reggie Hill at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Xeturah Woodley at Guildford Technical Community College in North Carolina, James K. Winfield at Southern New Hampshire University, Nina E. King at Duke University, Adele Brumfield at the University of Michigan, and Nicol Lewis at Columbus State University in Georgia.

Three Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Assignments

Dionne Danns, a professor of education, was named to an endowed chair at Indiana University. Eric Mvukiyehe has been appointed assistant professor of political science at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and Ashia Wilson recently joined the department of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT.

Four Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Assignments at Universities

Taking on new positions or titles are Grace Musila at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Herman Beavers at the University of Pennsylvania, Dianah Wynter at Arizona State University, and Sekou Cooke at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

In Memoriam: Nathaniel B. White Jr., 1945-2021

Nathaniel White was one of the first five undergraduate students at Duke University and a former administrator at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

In Memoriam: Lee Vernon Stiff, 1949-2021

In 1983, Dr. Stiff joined the faculty of mathematics and science education at North Carolina State University. He rose through the ranks to become a full professor of mathematics education. At the time of his retirement in 2020, Dr. Stiff was the associate dean for faculty and academic affairs in the College of Education at the university.

Five Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments

The five Black scholars in new roles are Lauren Haynes at Duke University in North Carolina, Christopher Wayne Robinson at Pennsylvania State University-Greater Allegheny, Melanie McReynolds at Pennsylvania State University, Fitzroy B. Beckford at the University of Vermont, and Naïma Moustaïd-Moussa at Texas Tech University.

Duke University Receives Major Gift to Boost Faculty Diversity and Combat Racism

The $16 million grant from the Duke Endowment allocates $10.5 million toward recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and $5.5 million to support the university community’s understanding of historical and current racism, to combat racism, and to create a more inclusive environment.

Research Shows How College Libraries Can Better Serve Black Students

Researchers at Duke University found that students reported a general feeling that both Duke and Duke Libraries, while not actively hostile or racist, are complicit in their silence. Students do not see enough visible actions and signs supporting diversity and inclusion.

Study Finds Black Women With Natural Hair Styles Face Bias in Job Searches

Participants in the study evaluated profiles of Black and White female job applicants across a variety of hairstyles. We found that Black women with natural hairstyles were perceived to be less professional, less competent, and less likely to be recommended for a job interview than other women.

Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions at Universities

Manica Finch is the new dean of enrollment management at Harris Stow-State University. Martin Smith is the new dean of academic affairs for Trinity College at Duke University and Tresmaine R. Grimes was appointed dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education at Pace University.

Study Finds That Neighborhoods Around North Carolina’s HBCUs Are Healthy Food Deserts

The study, led by Helene Vilme of the School of Medicine of Duke University, found that overall, 332 stores within a 15-minute drive of the campuses were classified as “favorable” for selling healthy food and drink options, compared to 1,082 stores that were classified as “unfavorable.”

Researchers Label North Carolina’s Eugenic Sterilization Program as Genocide

The paper found that North Carolina's eugenic sterilization was apparently tailored to asymptotically breeding-out the offspring of a presumably genetically unfit and undesirable surplus Black population. Sterilizations were aimed at reducing the future Black population - "genocide by any other name," the authors state.

Arlie Petters to Become Provost at the Abu Dhabi Campus of New York University

Dr. Petters has been serving as Benjamin Powell Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He is the former dean of academic affairs for the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke. He will begin his new duties on September 1.

Keith Whitfield Will Be the First Black President of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Dr. Whitfield has been serving as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs and a professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit. Earlier, Professor Whitfield was vice provost for academic affairs and a professor at Duke University in Durham North Carolina.

Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Assigned New Duties

Taking on new duties are Anderson Sunda-Meya at Xavier University in New Orleans, Julianne Vernon at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Malika Jeffries-EL at Boston University, and John Brown at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Two African Americans Appointed to Dean of Students Posts

John Blackshear has been named dean of students and associate vice president of student affairs at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and Ophelie Rowe-Allen was appointed dean of students and chief student affairs officer at the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

New Study Finds a Huge Racial Wealth Gap for Families With Children

A new study finds that the historical 10-to-1 racial wealth gap is even larger for families with children, the families that eventually will have to pay for college. In 2016, the new study found that Black households with children had only one penny of wealth for every dollar held by their White counterparts.

Princeton University Adds a Major African American Scholar to Its Faculty

Ismail White joins the Princeton University faculty this fall as a professor of politics and public affairs. Since 2018, he has taught at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Since 2015, he has served as director of Survey Research at the Joint Center for Political and Research Studies in Washington, D.C.

The New Racial Segregation in Public School Occurs at the Classroom Level

Within-school segregation plays a sizable role in overall school segregation, especially in middle school and high school. Moreover, it appears to offset variations in the degree of between-school segregation: when one is low, the other tends to be high.

In Memoriam: Ida Stephens Owens, 1939-2020

Ida Stephens Owens was one of the first African Americans to earn a Ph.D. at Duke University. Dr. Owens was the first scientist to determine genetic defects in children with Crigler-Najjar diseases, a rare disorder often causing brain damage in infants.

Lynn Perry Wooten Will Be the First African American President of Simmons University

Most recently, Dr. Wooten has been serving as the David J. Nolan Dean and Professor of Management and Organizations at Cornell University’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Prior to her position at Cornell, Dr. Wooten served on the faculty at the University of Michigan for nearly two decades.

Duke University School of Medicine Honors the Late Brenda Armstrong

Duke University commissioned a portrait of Dr. Brenda Armstrong, who was the second Black woman in the United States to become a board-certified pediatric cardiologist. She served as a professor of pediatrics, associate dean for admissions, and senior associate dean for student diversity, recruitment, and retention at the university's medical school.

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