MIT related articles

Edward Thomas Appointed Dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University

Edward Thomas Appointed Dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University

Edward Thomas Jr. was appointed dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University in Alabama. He is the first dean of the college that also holds a doctorate from Auburn University. Dr. Thomas has been serving as interim dean since 2021. Earlier, he was associate dean for research and graduate studies. Dr. […]

Four Black Scholars in New University Teaching Roles

Four Black Scholars in New University Teaching Roles

Taking on new teaching assignments are Ericmoore Jossou at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Audrey Sorrells at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Chaudron Carter Short at Temple University in Philadelphia, and Francis Annan at the University of California, Berkeley.

New Faculty Assignments at Colleges and Universities for Five Black Scholars

New Faculty Assignments at Colleges and Universities for Five Black Scholars

Taking on new faculty roles are Michael Carbin at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Judith Casselberry at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, Yvonne Chireau at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Tesfaye Mengiste at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Rae Shaw at San Francisco State University.

In Memoriam: Frank Sidney Jones, 1928-2022

In Memoriam: Frank Sidney Jones, 1928-2022

In 1968, Frank Sidney Jones was named executive director of the Urban Systems Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1971 he was named Ford Professor of Urban Affairs and became the first African American to achieve tenure at MIT.

A Quartet of Black Academics Who Are Taking on New Assignments

A Quartet of Black Academics Who Are Taking on New Assignments

Wesley Harris a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was elected vice president of the National Academy of Engineering. Shawn Lee Williams at Alexandria Technical and Community College in Minnesota, Tiffany Steele at the University of Rochester, and Aaron Faculty at Arizonza State are taking on new faculty roles.

University of Wisconsin Scholar Confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Commerce

University of Wisconsin Scholar Confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Commerce

Michael C. Morgan is taking a leave from his faculty position to serve as assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction. In that capacity, he will serve as deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Four African American Scholars Who Are Taking on New Duties

Four African American Scholars Who Are Taking on New Duties

Taking on new duties are Valerie Giddings at North Carolina A&T State University, Collin Stultz of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Robin R. Davis at Virginia Union University in Richmond, and Giselle Armond Abron at the University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine.

Emery N. Brown Selected to Share the Gruber Neuroscience Prize

Emery N. Brown Selected to Share the Gruber Neuroscience Prize

Awarded annually by the Gruber Foundation, the prize honors scientists for major discoveries that have advanced the understanding of the nervous system. The prize, which includes a $500,000 award, will be presented to Dr. Brown and his co-recipients on November 13 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Honors Emery N. Brown

American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Honors Emery N. Brown

Emery N. Brown is the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Computational Neuroscience and Health Sciences and Technology in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science at MIT and the Warren M. Zapol Professor at Harvard Medical School.

University of Michigan Provost Susan Collins to Lead the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

University of Michigan Provost Susan Collins to Lead the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

When she takes office on July 1, Susan Collins will be only the second Black president and first Black woman to head one of the 12 Federal Reserve banks in the century-plus history of the institution.

MIT Press Launches New Grant Program to Promote Diversity in Academic Publishing

MIT Press Launches New Grant Program to Promote Diversity in Academic Publishing

The Grant Program for Diverse Voices will expand funding for new work by authors whose voices have been excluded and chronically underrepresented across the arts, humanities, and sciences.

The Inaugural Dean of Texas A&M University's Intercollegiate School of Engineering Medicine

The Inaugural Dean of Texas A&M University’s Intercollegiate School of Engineering Medicine

Roderic I. Pettigrew is the Robert A. Welch Professor in the Texas A&M University College of Medicine and professor of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering. He will lead the new school that will allow graduates to receive both a doctorate of medicine and master’s degree in engineering in four years.

In Memoriam: Shirley Ann Mathis McBay, 1935-2021

In Memoriam: Shirley Ann Mathis McBay, 1935-2021

After attending segregated public schools, Dr. McBay enrolled in college at the age of 15. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Georgia. Dr. McBay had a long career in academia at Spelman College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Three African Americans Who Have Been Assigned to New Roles Relating to Diversity

Three African Americans Who Have Been Assigned to New Roles Relating to Diversity

Taking on new duties relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion are Brooke Berry at Virginia Commonwealth University, Daniel Hastings at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Barbara J. Lawrence at Rider University in Lawrence Township, New Jersey.

Melissa Nobles Appointed Chancellor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Melissa Nobles Appointed Chancellor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Since 2015, Dr. Nobles has led the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at MIT. Her current research is focused on building a database of racial killings in the U.S. South, from 1930 to 1954, an archival project developed with the Northeastern University Law School’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice law clinic.

Four Black Scholars Taking on New Assignments at Major Universities

Four Black Scholars Taking on New Assignments at Major Universities

The four scholars taking on new duties are Yohannes Haile-Selassie at Arizona State University, Cindy Crusto at the Yale School of Medicine, Patrick McPhail Martin at North Carolina A&T State University, and Ceasar McDowell at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

University of Virginia's School of Architecture Names Malo A. Hutson as Its Next Dean

University of Virginia’s School of Architecture Names Malo A. Hutson as Its Next Dean

Dr. Hutson is currently a tenured professor and director of the Urban Planning Ph.D. Program in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University in New York City. He is also the director of the school’s Urban Community and Health Equity Lab.

New Study Finds Huge Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality Rates

New Study Finds Huge Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality Rates

Men are more likely to be infected by COVID-19 and have higher death rates. But that data obscures the fact that Black women are up to four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than White men and three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than Asian men.

Four African American Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Roles in Higher Education

Four African American Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Roles in Higher Education

Chanita Hughes-Halbert and Colman Domingo are joining the faculty at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Paula Hammond has been appointed an Institute Professor at MIT and Stephanie Luster-Teasley, a professor of engineering at North Carolina A&T State University, was named vice provost for undergraduate education.

Three Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Assignments

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.

Shirley Ann Jackson Wins Award From the American Association of Physics Teachers

Shirley Ann Jackson Wins Award From the American Association of Physics Teachers

Dr. Jackson was chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1995 to 1999. She then left government service to take over as the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999. She was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in any discipline from MIT.

Four African Americans Named Mitchell Scholars

Four African Americans Named Mitchell Scholars

The US-Ireland Alliance recently announced the 12 members of the George J. Mitchell Scholar Class of 2022. Four of the 12 Mitchell Scholars this year are African Americans.

Emery Brown Awarded the Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience

Emery Brown Awarded the Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience

Emery N. Brown is the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering and Computational Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also serves as the Warren M. Zapol Professor at Harvard Medical School and is a practicing anesthesiologist.

Using Virtual Reality to Examine the Racial Attitudes of Educators

Using Virtual Reality to Examine the Racial Attitudes of Educators

The game “Passage Home” puts the player into the first-person perspective of “Tiany,” a talented and hard-working Black student who is falsely accused of plagiarism by her White female English teacher.

New Administrative Duties for Six African Americans at Colleges and Universities

New Administrative Duties for Six African Americans at Colleges and Universities

Taking on new roles are Alexia Hudson-Ward at MIT, Mark Fitzgerald Wilson at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, Tiffany Lomax at Colby College in Maine, J. Mike Johnson at Texas A&M University, Joy Moore at Boston College, and Tiffany Reed at Indiana State University.

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

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.

South Carolina State University President Has His Contract Extended

South Carolina State University President Has His Contract Extended

James E. Clark was named president of the university in 2016. At that time he was a member of the university’s board of trustees. Earlier, Clark had a successful career in business as a vice president of AT&T’s computer division.

The First Black Woman to Serve as Student Body President at MIT

The First Black Woman to Serve as Student Body President at MIT

Danielle Geathers who is completing her sophomore year in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was elected president of the student body. Geathers is from Miami, Florida.

The First Black Valedictorian in the 274-Year History of Princeton University

The First Black Valedictorian in the 274-Year History of Princeton University

Nicholas Johnson is a graduate of Selwyn House School in Westmount, Quebec. He has majored in operations research and financial engineering. He will begin doctoral studies in operations research this fall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Darryll J. Pines Appointed President of the University of Maryland College Park

Darryll J. Pines Appointed President of the University of Maryland College Park

Currently, Dr. Pines is dean of the university’s A. James Clark School of Engineering and the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering. He first arrived at the university in 1995 as an assistant professor. Dr. Pines will take office on July 1

Texas A&M University's Roderic Pettigrew Honored by the National Academy of Engineering

Texas A&M University’s Roderic Pettigrew Honored by the National Academy of Engineering

Professor Pettigrew’s award was given “for leadership at the National Institutes of Health, and for academic and industrial convergence research and education, resulting in innovations that have improved global health care.”

In Memoriam: Philip Freelon, 1952-2019

In Memoriam: Philip Freelon, 1952-2019

Philip Freelon was an educator, architect, and a key figure in the design of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He served as a professor of practice at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Four Black Scholars Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Four Black Scholars Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

This year’s results are an improvement from recent years. JBHE’s analysis determined that in 2018, there were no African Americans among the 84 new members. In both 2016 and 2017, there was only one African American scholar among the new members.

Shirley Ann Jackson to Remain as President at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Until June 2022

Shirley Ann Jackson to Remain as President at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Until June 2022

Dr. Jackson was chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1995 to 1999. She then left government service to take over as the 18th president of RPI in 1999. Dr. Jackson usually ranks at or near the top in rankings of the highest-paid college presidents in the country.

Sylvester James Gates to Lead the American Physical Society

Sylvester James Gates to Lead the American Physical Society

Dr. Gates, Ford Foundation Professor at Brown University, has been named to the presidential line of the American Physical Society, a nonprofit organization that represents more than 55,000 physicists worldwide. Dr. Gates will serve as vice president in 2019, president-elect in 2020, and president in 2021.

In Memoriam: Kofi Atta Annan, 1938-2018

In Memoriam: Kofi Atta Annan, 1938-2018

Kofi Annan was a career diplomat from Ghana who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and master’s degree in management at MIT.