Tag: Temple University

Temple University President JoAnne Epps Dies Suddenly at Campus Service

JoAnne A. Epps, acting president of Temple University in Philadelphia, collapsed on stage during a celebration of life ceremony for Charles L. Blockson on September 19, where she was scheduled to speak. She was taken from the stage to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. President Epps was 72 years old.

Five African Americans Who Have Been Appointed Deans at Universities

Newly appointed to dean positions are Monika Williams Shealey at Temple University in Philadelphia, Kenyatta R. Gilbert at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Jonathan Bailey Holland at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Sharonda Ragland at Virginia Union University, and Twinette Johnson at the University of the District of Columbia.

In Memoriam: Charles Leroy Blockson, 1933-2023

Charles Blockson traveled the world and amassed a huge collection of more than 700,000 books, papers, photographs, newspaper articles, journals, sheet music, posters, artifacts, and memorabilia. His collection, now housed at Temple University in Philadelphia, spans from 1581 to the present day.

Glenell M. Lee-Pruitt Will Be the Thirteenth President of Jarvis Christian University in Texas

Since August 2012, Dr. Lee-Pruiit has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the university. Previously, she served at Mississippi Valley State University as dean of University College and was a tenured professor in the department of social work.

Clark Atlanta University Appoints Charlene Gilbert to Provost Position

Dr. Gilbert currently serves as the senior vice provost for student academic excellence at Ohio State University. Prior to this position, Dr. Gilbert served for five years as the dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Toledo.

JoAnne Epps Is the New Leader of Temple University in Philadelphia

Professor Epps joined the Temple faculty in 1985. She was named associate dean of academic affairs at the law school in 1989. She was promoted to full professor in 1994. In 2016, Epps was appointed provost at the university.

In Memoriam: Theresa A. Powell

Theresa A. Powell was vice president for student affairs at Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Powell came to Temple in 2002 after serving as vice president of student affairs at Western Michigan University.

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.

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.

Jermaine Williams Appointed President of Montgomery College in Maryland

Since 2019, Dr. Williams has been serving as president of Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York. Earlier, he was vice president for student affairs at North Shore Community College in Danvers, Massachusetts. Before that, he held various administrative posts at Northeastern Illinois University.

Eric Pryor Chosen as the Next President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the fine arts, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art, and a world-class collection of American art. Since 2015, Pryor has served as president of the Harlem School of the Arts in New York City.

Benjamin Talton Named Director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University

The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center houses one of the most comprehensive collections of African-American, African, and Africana history and memorabilia found anywhere in the world. Its collections include hundreds of thousands of pamphlets, books, periodicals, photographs, personal papers, manuscripts, music, artifacts, and other materials.

In Memoriam: Kariamu Welsh, 1949-2021

After studying as a Fulbright scholar in Africa, Welsh joined the faculty at Temple University in 1985. She earned a doctorate in dance history at New York University and joined the dance faculty at Temple in 1999.

Brittany Pearl Battle of Wake Forest University Honored by Sociologists for Women in Society

The Feminist Activism Award from the organization Sociologists for Women in Society was established in 1995. The award is presented annually to an SWS member who has notably and consistently used sociology to improve conditions for women in society.

Temple University in Philadelphia Names Jason Wingard as Its Next President

In 2015, Dr. Wingard was appointed dean of the School of Continuing Education at Columbia University in New York City. He also held the rank of professor at the school. Previously, Dr. Wingard was the chief learning officer at Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment firm.

In Memoriam: James Lee Conyers Jr., 1961-2021

Dr. Conyers, who began his career teaching at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, joined the faculty at the University of Houston in 2002. He has been credited with shaping and transforming the University of Houston’s African American studies program.

Timothy Sams Will Be the Next President of SUNY Old Westbury

Dr. Sams currently serves as vice president of student affairs at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. Earlier in his career, Dr. Sams was senior vice president for student development at Morehouse College in Atlanta and vice president for student life at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

In Memoriam: Jacqueline Rosemarie Satchell, 1968-2020

A native of Jamaica, Jacqueline Rosemarie Satchell was an assistant professor of medicine and a leading clinician-educator in the Yale Section of General Internal Medicine and Veterans Administration's Connecticut Healthcare System.

A Major Black Faculty Hire at Boston University

Ibram X. Kendi, one of the nation’s leading scholars and historians of racism, will join Boston University’s faculty on July 1 and launch the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. Since 2017, he has served on the faculty at American University in Washington, D.C.

In Memoriam: Tchet Dereic Dorman, 1965-2019

Dr. Dorman most recently served as a senior consultant for the American Cancer Society. Earlier in his career, Dr. Dorman was director of student support services at Temple University in Philadelphia.

In Memoriam: Lorraine Elizabeth Green Branham, 1952-2019

A long-time journalist Lorraine Branham became dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York in 2008.

In Memoriam: Kavin Grant, 1981-2019

Kavin Grant, an associate professor of dance at Alabama State University, recently was killed in a car accident. Earlier in his career, he taught at West Chester University, Temple University, Penn State, the University of the Arts, the University of Akron, Rowan University, Muhlenberg College, and Jackson State University.

Jermaine Williams Named President of Nassau Community College in New York

Currently, Dr. Williams serves as vice president for student affairs at North Shore Community College in Danvers, Massachusetts. Before that, he held various administrative posts at Northeastern Illinois University. He will begin his new job on July 1.

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.

In Memoriam: Rita Smith-Wade-El, 1948-2018

Dr. Smith-Wade-El served as a professor of psychology and the director of the African Americans studies minor program at Millersville University in Pnnsylvania. She was also co-director of the Ethnic Studies Learning Community Freshman Experience 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.

Temple University Adds Tupac Shakur Memorabilia to its Blockson Afro-American Collection

Tupac Shakur was a prominent voice of 1990s hip-hop and remains one of the most influential artists of his generation, having sold more than 42 million copies of his albums and singles. Temple University in Philadelphia has acquired a dozen documents handwritten by Shakur and two pieces of jewelry.

Honors and Awards for Four Black Scholars or Administrators

The honorees are Lance R. Collins, dean of engineering at Cornell University, La'Kitha Hughes, a facilities administrator at Jackson State University in Mississippi, architect David Adjaye, who was honored by Washington University in St. Louis and Jackie Hankins-Kent of Temple University.

In Memoriam: Gladys Styles Johnston, 1938-2018

Dr. Johnston served as the second chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Kearney from 1993 to 2002. Previously, she was executive vice president and provost at DePaul University in Chicago.

Lenetta Lee Named Dean of the College at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Lee has been serving as dean of students and associate vice president of student affairs at the university. She joined the faculty in the education department at Lincoln University in 1999. Dr. Lee was granted tenure in 2003.

In Memoriam: Edgar Jackson Kenton III, 1940-2018

Dr. Kenton served as a professor of neurology at Temple University in Philadelphia, a clinical professor of neurology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, and as director of the Stroke Prevention Intervention Research Program at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.

In Memoriam: Sarah Delores Cousin Banks, 1940-2018

After earning a master's degree, Sarah Banks taught mathematics at Rutgers University-Camden. Completing a doctorate at Rutgers in 1984, she then joined the staff at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she served in a number of roles including associate dean of the Graduate School.

Leslie Howard Is the New Leader of Women and Mathematics Education

Leslie Howard is an adjunct associate professor of mathematics at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She has taught at Temple University and Drexel University, both in Philadelphia and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Clarence D. Armbrister Appointed the Fourteenth President of Johnson C. Smith University

Clarence Armbrister currently serves as president of Girard College, an independent college preparatory school in Philadelphia. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief of staff at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and chief operating officer at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Aminta Breaux Will Be the Next President of Bowie State University in Maryland

For the past three years, Aminta Hawkins Breaux has served as vice president for advancement at Millersville University, a campus of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. She was vice president for student affairs at Millersville University from 2008 to 2014.

The First African American President of the American Psychiatric Association

Altha Stewart, an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Health in Justice Involved Youth at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, will serve one year as president elect and then lead the association for a year, beginning in May 2018.

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