Tag: Stanford University

How Hate Crimes in a State Impact Enrollments at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

The authors of the study, published by the Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis, found that an increase in reports of state-level hate crimes predicted a 20 percent increase in Black first-time student enrollment at HBCUs.

John Dabiri to Receive the 2020 Alan T. Waterman Award From the National Science Foundation

Waterman awardees each receive $1 million over five years for research in their chosen field of science. Dabiri says the funding will allow him to pursue research into some of the ways climate change challenges and threatens modern life.

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.

Professor Claude Steele Honored for a Lifetime of Work in Social Psychology

The Legacy Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology honors figures whose career contributions have shaped the field. Dr. Steele, a professor emeritus at Stanford University, is perhaps best known for his work on the underperformance of minority students due to stereotype threat.

Blacks’ Greater Exposure to Excessive Heat May Impact the Racial Educational Gap

Researchers found that students throughout the world performed worse on standardized tests for every additional day of exposure to 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. But in the United States, the researchers found that increased exposure to heat only impacted test scores for Black and Hispanic students.

The First Black Woman to Earn a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Rochester

Dr. Mendes, who is from Jamaica and holds a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Florida, successfully defended her thesis, titled "The Kinetics of Microglial Ontogeny and Maturation in the Adult Brain."

Stanford University Scholars Develop a New Way to Measure Racial Segregation

The researcher compiled GPS data from smartphones to analyze movement patterns and compute what they call “experienced segregation” – the amount of people’s exposure to other races as they go about their daily lives.

Two Prestigious Universities Bestow Honors on African American Scholars

Stanford University has named a theater on campus in honor of Harry Elam Jr., who taught at Stanford for 30 years before becoming president of Occidental College in Los Angeles. Rice University in Houston has named a grove after Rev. William A. Lawson a civil rights leader and former professor at Texas Southern University.

Three African Americans in Higher Education Honored With Prestigious Awards

The honorees are Francis A. Pearman, an assistant professor of education at Stanford University, Janice R. Franklin, dean of library and learning resources at Alabama State University, and David Stovall, professor of Black studies and criminology, law, and justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

In Memoriam: Lucius Jefferson Barker, 1928-2020

Dr. Barker, a political scientist, began his academic career at the University of Illinois. He taught at the University of Illinois, Southern University in Louisiana, and Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Barker taught at Stanford University from 1990 until retiring in 2006 as the William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science, Emeritus.

Lynden Archer Named Dean of the College of Engineering at Cornell University

A Cornell faculty member since 2000, Dr. Archer directed the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from 2010 to 2016. In the fall of 2017, he was named the David Croll Director of the Cornell Energy Systems Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Stanford University Study Finds That “Driving While Black” Is Less Risky at Night

The results of the study of 95 million traffic stops between 2011 and 2018 showed that Blacks, who are pulled over more frequently than Whites by day, are much less likely to be stopped after sunset, when “a veil of darkness” masks their race.

Speech Recognition Systems Make Double the Mistakes on Words Spoken by Blacks

Research led by scholars at Stanford University found that on average, the speech recognition systems developed by Apple, Amazon, Google, and others misunderstood 35 percent of the words spoken by Blacks but only 19 percent of those spoken by Whites. Error rates were highest for African American men.

Na’ilah Suad Nasir Elected to Lead the American Educational Research Association

Since 2017, Dr. Nasir has been president of the Spencer Foundation, which has been a leading funder of education research since 1971. Earlier, she held the Birgeneau Chair in Educational Disparities and was vice-chancellor of equity and inclusion at the University of California, Berkeley.

In Memoriam: Katherine Williams Phillips, 1972-2020

Katherine W. Phillips was the Reuben Mark Professor of Organizational Character and the director of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics at the business school at Columbia University in New York City.

Harry J. Elam Jr. Will Be the Next President of Occidental College in Los Angeles

Currently, Dr. Elam is vice provost for undergraduate education, vice president for the arts, and senior vice provost for education at Stanford University. He joined the university's faculty in 1990 as an associate professor in what is now the department of theater and performance studies.

Condoleezza Rice Appointed Director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University

Professor Rice joined Stanford University in 1981, where she served as provost from 1993 to 1999. She was national security advisor to President George W. Bush before serving as U.S. Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009.

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 African American President of Rutgers University in New Jersey

Jonathan Holloway has served as provost at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois since 2017. Earlier, he was was dean of Yale College and the Edmund S. Morgan Professor of African American Studies, History and American Studies.

A Trio of African Americans Taking on New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

The three African Americans appointed to new administrative posts are James A. Felton III at The College of New Jersey, Nadirah Pippen at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Cheryl A. Brown at Stanford University.

Three African Americans Who Are Stepping Down From University Administrative Posts

Teresa Phillips, director of athletics at Tennessee State University, and E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life at the University of Michigan, are retiring. Harry Elam will step down from his post as vice provost for undergraduate education at Stanford University.

A Pair of African American Women Named to Dean Posts at Major Universities

Mona Hicks was named dean of students at Stanford University in California and Cora Thompson has been appointed interim dean for the College of Education at Savannah State University in Georgia.

Stanford University Presented an Interactive Art Exhibit on African American History

The main attraction involved a walk-through of 23 exhibits depicting various scenes throughout history. The exhibit used lights, sounds, smells and trained theater actors to bring these scenes to life.

In Memoriam: Ernest James Gaines, 1933-2019

Ernest J. Gaines, the celebrated author and long-time educator at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, died earlier this month at his home in Oscar, Louisiana. He was 86 years old.

Stanford University Study Examines School Enrollments in Gentrified Urban Areas

The study found that gentrified neighborhoods tended to show a reduction in public school enrollments in the 2000-to-2014 period. But neighborhoods that were gentrified by mostly Black or Hispanic college-educated families showed an increase in public school enrollments.

Targeted Educational Programs Can Improve Educational Outcomes for Black Males

A new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that targeted educational programs geared toward young Black males can have a significant positive impact on lowering their high school dropout rates and raising their high school graduation rates.

Stanford University Research Finds Persisting Racial Segregation in Public Schools

Analyzing data on all public schools in the United States from 2008 to 2016, Stanford University researchers conclude that "racial segregation appears to be harmful because it concentrates minority students in high-poverty schools, which are, on average, less effective than lower-poverty schools."

Black-Led Venture Capital Funds Are Judged More Harshly Than Their White Counterparts

venture capital funds managed by a person of color are judged more harshly by professional investors than their White counterparts with identical credentials. The findings also suggest that minority-owned venture capital firms actually face more bias when they are successful.

Noose Found Hanging From a Tree on Stanford University Campus

A noose was found hanging from a tree in front of a student residence on the Stanford University campus. The residence hall was housing high school students who were attending a camp on campus.

Four African Americans Appointed to Administrative Positions in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative duties are Rosalind Conerly at Stanford University in California, Danisha Williams at Mississippi Valley State University, Nikeshia Arthur at Virginia Tech, and Marcus Blossom at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts

Early School Interventions Can Reduce the Need for Disciplinary Actions With Young Black Males

According to a new study led by researchers at Stanford University, brief exercises that address middle school students’ worries about belonging can help young Black males develop better relationships with teachers and sharply reduce their risk of being disciplined years into the future.

Racial Student Achievement Gaps Have Remain Stagnant Over the Past 50 Years

While the Black-White achievement gap did narrow in the early decades of the period under study, it has remained stagnant for the past 25 years. Gains among 17-year-olds amounted to only 2 percent per decade, and none at all for the last quarter-century.

Four Academic Powerhouses Join Forces to Study Racial Issues in the Humanities

Academic centers at four leading universities have entered into a partnership to investigate the connections between the study of race and racism and academic fields in the humanities. The four participating institutions are Yale University, Stanford University, Brown University and the University of Chicago.

Linda Darling-Hammond Appointed President of the California State Board of Education

Dr. Darling-Hammond is the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, Emerita at Stanford University. She is a former president of the American Educational Research Association and a member of the National Academy of Education.

Jamel Brinkley Wins the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence

The award recognizes the outstanding work of rising African-American fiction writers. Brinkley's book is a collection of nine short stories set in familiar places from his childhood, Brooklyn and the South Bronx. The author is the Wallace Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University.

Columbia University Scholar Uses Virtual Reality to Expose Whites to Racism

The simulation immerses the viewer in the life of a fictional African American man as he encounters racism at different points in his life.

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