In Memoriam: Timuel Dixon Black Jr., 1918-2021
Timuel Black, a noted American historian, educator, and civil rights activist, died on October 13 at his home in Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. He was 102 years old.
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Oct 19, 2021 | 0 comments
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The American Political Science Association Honors the University of Chicago’s Cathy Cohen
Cathy J. Cohen, the David and Mary Winton Green Distinguished Service Professor in the department of political science at the University of Chicago, received the 2021 Hanes Walton, Jr. Career Award from the American Political Science Association. The award honors a political scientist whose lifetime of distinguished scholarship has made significant contributions to the understanding of racial and ethnic politics.
Sep 17, 2021 | 0 comments
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New Study Finds That Property Tax Rates Unfairly Burden Black Homeowners
A new study by Christopher Berry, the William J. and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, finds that properties located in neighborhoods that are 90 to 100 percent Black experience assessment levels that are more than 1.5 times the average for their county.
Jul 19, 2021 | 0 comments
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Two African American Faculty Members Win the Pulitzer Prize
Marcia Chatelain, a professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., won the Pulitzer Prize in history and Mitchell S. Jackson, an assistant professor of English at the University of Chicago, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing
Jun 29, 2021 | 0 comments
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Kiki Petrosino of the University of Virginia Wins the 2021 Rilke Prize
Professor Petrosino was honored for her poetry collection that weaves together a variety of poetic forms – villanelles, a heroic crown and erasure – to explore her Black heritage and larger societal issues with the legacy of slavery and race relations in America.
Mar 05, 2021 | 0 comments
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University of Chicago Appoints Five Black Scholars to Named Professorships
Twenty-three University of Chicago faculty members have received named professorships or have been appointed distinguished service professors. Five of these appointments went to Black scholars: Melissa L. Gilliam, Selwyn O. Rogers, Salikoko S. Mufwene, Margaret Beale Spencer, and Herschella G. Conyers.
Jan 01, 2021 | 0 comments
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In Memoriam: Leith Patricia Mullings, 1945-2020
After teaching for six years at Columbia University, Dr. Mullings joined the faculty at the City University of New York in 1983. There she eventually became a distinguished professor of anthropology at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center.
Dec 18, 2020 | 0 comments
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Northwestern University’s Carol D. Lee Selected to Lead the National Academy of Education
Dr. Lee served as Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Education and Social Policy and as a professor of African American studies at Northwestern University. She became professor emerita in 2019. Professor Lee will serve a four-year term as president of the National Academy of Education beginning in November 2021.
University of Chicago’s Eve Ewing Honored at the Iowa City Book Festival
Eve Ewing is an assistant professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. The Paul Engle Prize honors writers who demonstrate a pioneering spirit in the world of literature and a commitment to engaging with the issues of the day.
Oct 16, 2020 | 0 comments
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University of Chicago English Department to Only Accept Grad Students Focused on Black Studies
The department announced that “for the 2020-2021 graduate admissions cycle, the University of Chicago English department is accepting only applicants interested in working in and with Black Studies.” The department is planning to admit five new Ph.D. students.
Sep 21, 2020 | 2 comments
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Harvard’s Danielle Allen Awarded the $500,000 Kluge Prize From the Library of Congress
Danielle S. Allen, a University professor and professor of government who also serves as director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, has been awarded the John W. Kluge Prize from the Library of Congress. The prize recognizes scholarly achievement in disciplines not covered by the Nobel Prizes.
Jul 03, 2020 | 0 comments
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In Memoriam: Thomas Franklin Freeman, 1919-2020
After a short term as a visiting professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he taught Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Freeman began his career at what is now Texas Southern University in 1949 as a professor of philosophy. He remained affiliated with the university for more than 70 years.
Jun 19, 2020 | 0 comments
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In Memoriam: Conrad Worrill, 1941-2020
Dr. Worrill joined the faculty of the department of inner city studies at Northeastern Illinois University in 1976. He also served as the director of the university’s Jacob H. Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies. He retired in 2016 after serving on the faculty for 50 year.
Jun 05, 2020 | 0 comments
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University of Chicago Scholar Receives Book Award From the College Art Association
Darby English, the Carl Darling Buck Professor of Art History and the director of the Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture at the University of Chicago, was selected to receive the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Art Criticism from the College Art Association.
Feb 14, 2020 | 0 comments
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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.
Jan 29, 2020 | 0 comments
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Economist Finds Speech Patterns Impact Wages, Particularly for African Americans
A new University of Chicago study found that speech patterns strongly affect a person’s wages, particularly for African Americans. The study found that workers with racially and regionally distinctive speech patterns earn lower wages compared to those who speak in the mainstream.
Four African American Academics In This Year’s Class of MacArthur Fellows
The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation has announced the selection of 26 individuals in this year’s class of MacArthur Fellows. This year, five of the 26 MacArthur Fellows are Black. Four have current ties to academia.
Oct 21, 2019 | 0 comments
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University of Chicago Creates an Interactive Map Detailing the 1919 Chicago Race Riots
The new map highlights how Chicago’s Black residents were at risk of being victimized across much wider swaths of city than previously known.
Aug 20, 2019 | 0 comments
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Mississippi State University Appoints New Leader of African American Studies Program
Donald M. Shaffer is an associate professor of English and African American studies at the university. His research examines the social and historical construction of race in African American and Southern literature.
Aug 09, 2019 | 0 comments
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University of Chicago Releases Progress Report on Its Diversity & Inclusion Initiative
The report is broken down into four sections: infrastructure, climate, people, and community. In each section, the university details how each area of the institution has made improvements to the school’s overall diversity over the past year and a half.
Aug 06, 2019 | 0 comments
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Chemist William Lester Honored by the International Association of Top Professionals
William Lester currently serves as a professor and associate dean in the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the associate director and faculty senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Aug 02, 2019 | 0 comments
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Universities Partner to Produce the Official Oral History of Barack Obama’s Presidency
The Obama Foundation has selected the Columbia Center for Oral History Research to produce the official oral history of Barack Obama’s presidency. The University of Hawai’i and the University of Chicago will also serve as contributing partners for the project.
The National Science Foundation Pays Tribute to Physicist Dr. Walter Massey
Walter E. Massey will receive the Vannevar Bush Award from the National Science Foundation on May 14. The prestigious award honors science and technology leaders who have made substantial contributions to the welfare of the nation through public service in science, technology, and public policy.
Apr 29, 2019 | 0 comments
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Syracuse University’s Kal Alston Elected President of the Philosophy of Education Society
Dr. Alston currently serves as a professor of cultural foundations of education and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Education at Syracuse University in New York. She has been very active within the Philosophy of Education Society for the past 30 years.
Apr 16, 2019 | 0 comments
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A Pair of African American Scholars Who Have Been Named to Dean Positions
Janette M. Braverman is the new dean of the College of Business and Management, External Partnerships at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee and Maurice Charles has been named dean of Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago.
Mar 01, 2019 | 0 comments
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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.
Feb 20, 2019 | 0 comments
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Young Blacks Who Experience Discrimination Are More Likely to Engage in Political Activism
A new study by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Chicago has found that Black teens and young adults who experience racial discrimination are more likely to engage in social and political activism on issues that are important to the African American community.
Jan 28, 2019 | 0 comments
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The State of Illinois Now Requires Public Universities to Offer Courses on Black History
A new bill passed into law in the state of Illinois requires all state-operated colleges and universities in the state to include at least one course on Black history. The educational institutions can meet the requirement by offering an online course.
Two Black Male Medical School Professors Who Are Taking on New Roles
Russell Reid has been named the first Bernard G. Sarnat M.D. Professor in the department of surgery at the University of Chicago School of Medicine and Patrick Nana-Sinkam, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been elected as a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Jan 04, 2019 | 0 comments
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Silent Movie Shows the Earliest Depiction of African American Affection Captured on Film
Researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Southern California recently discovered a silent movie that was filmed in 1898. The film, entitled Something Good-Negro Kiss, is believed to be earliest depiction of African American affection captured on film.
Jan 02, 2019 | 2 comments
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Yolanda Watson Spiva Named President of Complete College America
Complete College America is a national nonprofit organization that works with states to significantly increase the number of Americans with quality career certificates or college degrees and to close educational attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations.
The First Cohort of Obama Foundation Scholars Comes to the University of Chicago
This class is made up of 25 emerging leaders from around the globe who are committed to finding practical solutions to global challenges such as climate change, education, and government transparency.
In Memoriam: Michelle R. Howard-Vital, 1953-2018
Dr. Howard-Vital became Cheyney University’s eleventh and first woman president in 2007. She served in that role until 2014.
Aug 28, 2018 | 0 comments
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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.
Aug 08, 2018 | 0 comments
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Study Finds Healthcare Clinicians Have Low Expectations for Their Black Patients
A new study finds that doctors and other healthcare providers rated White patients as significantly more likely to improve, more likely to adhere to recommended treatments, and be more personally responsible for their health than Black patients.
Apr 16, 2018 | 2 comments
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Four African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to New Administrative Positions
Taking on new administrative roles are Tomika P. LeGrande at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, John Barker at the University of Rochester in New York, Yesomni Umolu of the University of Chicago, and Darryl Holloman at Spelman College in Atlanta.
Mar 16, 2018 | 0 comments
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