Tag: Michigan State University

Two HBCUs Partner With Michigan State to Improve High School Science Education in the South

Michigan State University, Alabama A&M University, and Winston-Salem State University have partnered together to improve high school science education in the rural South through the implementation of a new curriculum created with students cultural backgrounds at the forefront.

In Memoriam: Joyce Inez Johnson Bolden, 1933-2023

Dr. Bolden, who taught for 42 years at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, earned a Ph.D. in music at Michigan State University. She was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in music from Michigan State University.

New Roles for a Trio of Black Scholars

Jordan Ealey is a new assistant professor of Black studies at the University of Rochester in New York. G. Preston Wilson Jr. was appointed director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers at Fisk University in Nashville and Linda Greene, who became the inaugural dean of the Michigan State University College of Law in 2020, is stepping down from her post to take a faculty position at the university.

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 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.

A Trio of Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions at State Universities

Antwon Woods will be the next dean of the School of Business at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Abimbola O. Asojo will be the second dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University in Baltimore and Teresa Mastin will serve as interim dean of the College of Communication Arts and Science at Michigan State University.

Addressing the Very Low Numbers of African Americans Earning Doctorates in Geography

A study by researchers at Michigan State University found that between 1997 and 2019, 4,918 doctoral degrees were awarded by U.S. universities in the discipline of geography. Only 86 of these doctorates, or 1.64 percent, were awarded to African Americans. The differential awarding of degrees was related to the differential funding by race to support the completion of doctoral degrees in the field.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Given Duties Relating to Diversity

Wilmore Webley will serve as the inaugural senior vice provost for equity and inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Cornelius Gilbert was appointed chief diversity officer at the State University of New York Adirondack and Krista L. Walker was named assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion for the College of Nursing at Michigan State University.

Three African Americans Who Are Taking on Roles Relating to Diversity at Universities

Taking on diversity assignments are Sofiya Alhassan at the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Jacquez Gray for the Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety, and Keona Lewis in the provost's office at the University of Notre Dame.

The American Geographical Society Honors Michigan State University’s Joe Darden

Joe T. Darden, Professor Emeritus in the department of geography, environment, and spatial sciences at Michigan State University, has been selected to receive the seventh Van Cleef Memorial Medal from the American Geographical Society for his distinguished work “in the field of urban geography.”

New Administrative Position for Four African Americans at State Universities

Taking on new administrative duties are Shawn Turner at Michigan State University, Stephanie Hawkes at Wayne State University in Detroit, Larry D. Terry II at Pennsylvania State University, and Ashley Holloway at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.

Three Black Women Who Have Been Named to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Alexis Travis is an assistant provost and executive director of the Health and Wellbeing Division at Michigan State University. Toni Monette is the new coordinator for volunteer and civic engagement programs at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Lori White was named director of purchasing for business affairs at Virginia Union University in Richmond.

Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointments of Six Black Administrators

Taking on new administrative roles are Kwesi Craig C. Brookins at Michigan State University, Jackie Taylor at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis, Joseph Ballard II at the University of Michigan, Verna Orr at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, Daniel Lumonya at the School for International Training in Vermont, and Kamesia M. House at Delaware State University.

In Memoriam: Harold Burnell Brockington, 1922-2022

In 1964, Dr. Brockington was hired as an associate professor and head of the department of music at Delaware State University. He went on to become the longest serving chair of the department of music in the history of Delaware State University – 26 years from 1964 to 1990.

Three African American Men Who Have Been Appointed to University Dean Positions

The Black men appointed to dean posts are Tyrone Tanner at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, Jerlando F. L. Jackson at the College of Education of Michigan State University, and John D. Jones at Alabama A&M University.

For the First Time, Students at Michigan State Can Major in African American Studies

For students at Michigan State who choose to major in African American Studies, three concentrations are offered: Communities in Action; Creative Expression, Culture, and Performance; and Black Institutions, Sustainability, and Statecraft.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to University Dean Positions

Martine Kei Green-Rogers was appointed dean of The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago. Michael Abazinge was appointed dean of the School of the Environment at Florida A&M University and Pero G. Dagbovie was named associate provost for graduate and postdoctoral studies and dean of the Graduate School at Michigan State University.

Jennifer Brown Will Be the Next Provost at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Dr. Brown is currently the vice provost and dean for undergraduate education at the University of California, Riverside. Prior to joining the University of California, Riverside in 2018, Dr. Brown served as vice provost and dean of the Graduate School at Oregon State University. She began her faculty career at Purdue University in 2004. She will begin her new duties on April 1.

Beronda L. Montgomery Will Be the Next Dean of Grinnell College in Iowa

Dr. Montgomery currently serves as a professor in the departments of biochemistry and molecular biology and microbiology and molecular genetics, as well as assistant vice president for research and innovation at Michigan State University. She will begin her new job on July 1.

Linda Scott Was Named President-Elect of the American Academy of Nursing

Dr. Scott became the eighth dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016. Earlier she was associate dean for academic affairs, director of graduate studies, and urban health at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Nursing.

Tenille Gaines Honored by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors

Tenille Gaines is the associate director for counseling in Michigan State University’s Counseling and Psychiatric Services department. She will receive the Harriet Copher Haynes Diversity Leadership Mentoring Award. The award honors “talented mental health professionals of diverse identities who aspire to become counseling center directors.”

Three Women Join the African American and African Studies Department at Michigan State

Three new scholars in the department of African American and African studies at Michigan State University - Trimiko Melancon, LeConté Dill, and Gianina K. Lockley - will help strengthen and broaden the base of expertise in the department bringing a focus on Black feminisms, Black genders studies, and Black sexualities studies.   

Ronnie Hopkins Is the Tenth President of Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina

Prior to being named the president of Voorhees, Dr. Hopkins served as interim president, and before that, he was the institution’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. He is also a tenured professor of English. Before coming to Voorhees, Dr. Hopkins served at Benedict College as founding dean of the Freshman Institute and the School of Honors.

Five African Americans Who Have Been Hired to Diversity Positions in Higher Education

The five African Americans in new diversity roles are Anita Fernander at Florida Atlantic University, Patrick Dudley at Stanford University, Andrea Abrams at Cenre College in Danville, Kentucky, Amber Benton at Michigan State University and Gretchen Cook-Anderson at IES Abroad.

In Memoriam: Larry E. Davis, 1946-2021

Larry E. Davis was dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh from 2001-2018. He was also the founding director of the Center on Race and Social Problems at the university.

David C. Wilson Named Leader of the School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Wilson currently serves as senior associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and is a professor of political science and psychological and brain sciences at the University of Delaware. He will become dean of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley on July 1.

Scholars Assemble a Massive New Database on Enslaved People

Scholars affiliated with the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University, the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland, the MATRIX Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences at Michigan State University, and other institutions have established a new open-source database called Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade.

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.

The First Black President of Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts

Since 2019, Dr. Chrite has served as president of Bethune-Cookman University, a historically Black educational institution in Daytona Beach, Florida. Before taking on that position, he was dean of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. 

Linda Green Will Be the Inaugural Dean of the College of Law at Michigan State University

Professor Greene serves on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Law. She first joined the faculty there in 1989 and holds the Evjue-Bascom Professorship. From 1999 to 2004 she was the inaugural vice chancellor of equity, diversity, and inclusion at the University of California, San Diego.

Ronnie Hopkins Is the New Leader of Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina

Dr. Hopkins has served as the institution’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, accreditation liaison, and is a tenured professor of English. Before coming to Voorhees College, Dr. Hopkins served in several positions at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina.

In Memoriam: Walter Harris Jr., 1947-2020

In 2003, Dr. Harris came to Loyola as provost and vice president for academic affairs and served in that capacity through 2008.  He was provost at Loyola when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and helped students relocate to universities across the country.

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 Quartet of Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Duties

The four Black scholars taking on new assignments are Nwando Achebe at Michigan State University, Anthony Burrow at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Jessica M. Pena at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and Adia Harvey Wingfield at Washington University in St. Louis.

Study Finds Few References to Black Biologists in Leading Textbooks in the Field

The researchers from Auburn University, the University of South Alabama, and Michigan State University found that while Blacks are 14 percent of the U.S. population and 7.7. percent of the college students in biology, Blacks were only 0.6 percent of the scientists featured in biology textbooks.

Five African Americans Who Are Assuming New Administrative Duties in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative posts are Marita Gilbert at Michigan State University, Dustin Fulton at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Valerie Fields at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, Anna Spain Bradley at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Cheldon Williams at West Virginia University.

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