Tag: University of Arkansas

Three African American Faculty Members Appointed to New Positions

Cynthia Oliver has been named to a Gutgsell Endowed Chair at the University of Illinois. Najja Baptist was named director of African and African-American Studies Program in the history department at the University of Arkansas and associate professor BJ Arnett was appointed chair of the department of art and fashion at Clark Atlanta University.

Angela Mensah of the University of Arkansas Honored by the National Communication Association

Dr. Mensah was honored for her development of the service-learning designated course, "Communicating Body Image." Dr. Mensah's course aims to identify hidden assumptions about body image as it relates to the intersections of race, class, gender, and body image in America.

A Trio of Black Scholars in New Faculty Roles at Universities

The City College of New York has appointed Jervette R. Ward as director of the Black Studies Program. Scotti Branton is a new assistant professor of communication at the University of Arkansas, and professor Danille Taylor was appointed director of the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum.

Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education

Anthony Brown is the new vice president for Equal Opportunity and Title IX at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Romona West was appointed assistant dean of inclusive excellence and strategic initiatives at the University of Arkansas, and Kellie McCants-Price is the new chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland.

Calvin White Jr. Appointed Provost at Arkansas State University

Currently, Dr. White is the associate dean of humanities in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He joined the University of Arkansas in 2007 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2013.

Cynthia Nance Receives the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award

Nance, the Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law at the school, is serving as dean of the school for a second time. She joined the faculty in 1994 and served as dean from 2006 to 2011. She was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as dean in the school's then-82-year history. In July 2022, she was named dean for the second time.

In Memoriam: Bobby Lee Lovett, 1943-2022

In 1973, Dr. Lovett joined the faculty at Tennessee State University, a historically Black educational institution in Nashville. In addition to teaching history for more than 30 years, Dr. Lovett served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university.

University of Arkansas to Offer a Master’s Degree in Black Sacred Music

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville has announced that beginning next fall it will offer a master's degree program in Black scared music. The university states that this will be first degree program of its kind in the United States.

Charles Robinson Appointed Chancellor of the University of Arkansas Fayetteville

Before being named interim chancellor in July 2021, Dr. Robinson was provost and executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. He was named provost in 2020 and has served as vice chancellor of student affairs since 2015. Dr. Robinson’s time at the University of Arkansas spans more than 20 years, beginning as an assistant professor of history.

A Quartet of African Americans Who Have Been Assigned New Diversity Duties in Higher Education

Taking on new roles relating to diversity in higher education are Barbara Lofton of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, Linwood B. Whitten at Cleveland State University, Shawna Nesbitt at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and Nicole Hodges Persley at the University of Kansas.

Six Black Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Assignments

The six Black faculty members who have been appointed to new posts are Ernest Nkansah-Dwamena at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, Deon Benton at Vanderbilt University, Tomi Obe at the University of Arkansas, Eric Buckles at Dillard University in New Orleans, Kenneth Johnson at the College of Charleston, and Sonya Donaldson at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

New Administrative Roles in Higher Education for Six African Americans

Taking on neww administrative duties are Brian L. Ragsdale at Walden University, Ava L. Ayers at South Carolina State University, Takama Statton-Brooks at the University of Arkansas, Andrew Coston at the College of Our Lady of the Elms in Chicopee, Massachusetts, Jamese Sims at Mississippi State University, and Rochelle A. Conley at Alabama A&M University.

Michelle Smith Is the New Leader of the Minority Health and Health Equity Research Center

For the past 12 years, Dr. Smith has been director of the Office of Health Equity at the Arkansas Department of Health. In 2018, Dr. Smith was commissioned into the United States Air Force as a captain and currently serves as the public health officer for the 189th medical group with the Arkansas Air National Guard.

Study Finds Black-Owned Restaurants Had a Larger Drop in Business During the Pandemic

The authors speculate that "the costs of staying open and continuing to offer dine-in services during the first few months, the loss of employees due to virus infection and the depletion of financial reserves, made the Black-owned restaurants less competitive than those that had better flexibility in reacting to the pandemic."

Shaina Phenix Awarded the Miller Williams Poetry Prize from the University of Arkansas Press

Shaina Phenix, an assistant professor of English at Elon University in North Carolina, is the winner of the 2023 Miller Williams Poetry Prize from the University of Arkansas Press. Phenix will receive a cash prize, and her manuscript To Be Named Something Else will be published in the Miller Williams Poetry Series in the spring of 2023.

Four African Americans Who Have Been Assigned to Diversity Roles in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative positions relating to diversity are Tina Simpson at Tulane University in New Orleans, William Smith at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah, Greneda Johnson at the University of Arkansas School of Law, and J. Camille Hall at the University of Missouri Kansas City.

Black Staffer at the University of Arkansas Files a Race Discrimination Lawsuit Over Unequal Pay

Synetra Hughes, managing director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that she was paid less than White colleagues in similar roles at the university.

Professor Alena Allen Named Deputy Director of the Association of American Law Schools

Professor Allen joined the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2021 as associate dean for research and faculty development and professor of law. She was named interim dean of the law school earlier this year.

New Administrative Appointments for Six African Americans in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative roles are Germaine Gross at Grinnell College in Iowa, James M. DuBose, Jr. at Elizabeth City State University, Andre Perry at the University of Iowa, Aisha Jackson at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Deacue Fields at the University of Arkansas, and Warren Perry at Howard University.

University of Arkansas Honors the First Black Graduate of Its School of Architecture and Design

The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas recently honored the school's first African American graduate, Wallace "Wali" Caradine Jr. The university has named the east entrance of Vol Walker Hall the Wallace Reed Caradine Memorial Entry.

In Memoriam: John L. Newman, 1948-2022

In 1990, Newman acquired a full-time teaching position at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville where he remained until he retired as professor emeritus in 2013. Newman presented his artwork in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States, in Jamaica, and Macedonia.

Alena Allen Is the New Leader of the University of Arkansas School of Law

Alena Allen, associate dean for research and faculty development and professor of law, has been named interim dean of the law school. Before joining the Arkansas faculty in 2021, she taught for 10 years at at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.

Three Black Scholars Appointed to New Faculty Roles

Angela Williams is moving from an administrative position to a faculty appointment at the University of Arkansas. Retired Lt. Gen. Leslie C. Smith was appointed to an endowed chair at Georgia Southern University and Rosemary Nabaweesi was named to an endowed chair at Meharry Medical College in Nashville.

A Large Group of African Americns Who Have Been Appointed to University Administrative Positions

Here is a roundup of recent announcements regarding the appointments of African Americans to administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

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.

Charles Robinson Has Been Named Interim Chancellor of the University of Arkansas

Dr. Robinson has been serving as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. He was named provost last year and has served as vice chancellor of student affairs since 2015. Dr. Robinson’s time at the University of Arkansas spans more than 20 years, beginning as an assistant professor of history.

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

The five African Americans in new diversity posts are Adrian Smith at the Univerity of Arkansas, Tashiana Bryant-Myrick at the California Institute of Technology, Brian Barker at Florida International Universitiy, Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, and raven Baxter at the University of California, Irvine.

New Assignments for Six African American Faculty Members

Taking on new assignments are Kamilla Alexander at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Kenneth Anderson at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Lisa Armstrong at the University of California, Berkeley, Lenora Green-Turner at the University of Arkansas, Brian Simmons at Texas Southern University, and Rachel E. Bernard at Amherst College in Massachusetts.

Five Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to New Faculty Postitions

Taking on new faculty assignments are Mignon Jacobs at Virginia Union University, David Briscoe at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Ayoka Chenzira at Spelman College in Atlanta, Alena Allen at the University of Arkansas, and Nicole R. Fleetwood at New York University.

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

Taking on new diversity roles are John Johnson at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, Angela Mosley-Monts at the University of Arkansas, Carllos Lassiter at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, Ivy Banks at the Association of American Universities, and Samira M. Payne at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

University of Arkansas’ Jeffrey Allen Murdock Wins the 2021 Grammy Music Educator Award

The prestigious Grammy Music Educator Award recognizes current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools.

Five African Americans Who Were Named to New Administrative Posts at Colleges and Universities

Taking on new administrative posts are Willie Jude II at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Laraine Davis at Maryville University, Parice Bowser at the University of Arkansas, Lowell K. Davis at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Solomon Tention at Dallas College.

Three African Americans Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Named Profesorships

Eric Darnell Pritchard was appointed to the Brown Chair in English Literacy at the University of Arkansas. Angela Onwuachi-Willig is the first Ryan Roth Gallo and Ernest J. Gallo Professor at the Boston University School of Law and Christopher Tounsel has been named the inaugural Catherine Shultz Rein Early Career Professor at Penn State.

Three Black Scholars Taking on New Positions at Colleges and Universities

Syd Carpenter was appointed to an endowed chair at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Tiffany Murphy, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law was named associate dean, and Oghenovo A. Obrimah is a new assistant professor of business administration at Fisk University in Nashville.

A Quartet of Black Faculty Members Who Have Been Named to New Positions

Taking on new roles or positions are Jedan Phillips at Stony Brook University in New York, Florastina Payton-Stewart at Xavier University of Louisiana, Eric Darnell Pritchard at the University of Arkansas, and Wallace D. Best at Princeton University in New Jersey.

In Memoriam: Alphonso Walter Grant, 1970-2020

Dr. Grant joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas in 2017 as a visiting professor of art education. He also was affiliated with the African and African American studies, political science, and gender studies programs at the university.

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