According to the research, Black women earn only 2.9 percent of all STEM bachelor’s degrees in the United States. This is far below the rate of White women, despite the fact that White women and Black women are equally likely to express an interest in STEM fields at the beginning of their college careers.
Dr. Oliver is the former president of Mississippi Valley State University. Earlier, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Edward Waters College and vice president for academic affairs at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. She has also been on the faculty at Elon University in North Carolina.
The five Black scholars appointed to dean posts are Rochelle L. Ford at Elon University in North Carolina, Emile M. Townes at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Darryl Scriven at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, Tomiko Brown-Nagin at Harvard University, and Laura Kohn-Wood at the University of Miami.
Interviews with African Americans in rural high schools found that students overwhelmingly felt that they had encouragement and support to go to college, yet didn’t have access to academically rigorous classes or enough one-on-one time with a counselor to get help with the college admission process.
Students will spend their first three years at North Carolina A&T, studying a pre-law curriculum. They will spend the next two and a half years at Elon’s law school. Successful completion will allow students to earn a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctorate in five and a half years.
Taking on new roles are LaDaniel Gatling II at Elon University, Jameca Falconer at Logan University, Wilmore Webley at the University of Massachusetts, Benjamin Hughes at Haverford College, Becky Petitt at the University of California, San Diego, and Ameerah McBride at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
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