
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.
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.
Taking on new administrative duties are Michelle Garfield Cook at the University of Georgia, Tasha A. Carson at Tennessee State University, Anthony D. Henderson, Sr. at Hampton University in Virginia, Brenda Tindal at Harvard University, and Anna Ponder at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Juanita Johnson-Bailey was named the first recipient of the Centennial Professorship, an endowed professorship for a women’s studies faculty member at the University of Georgia. Siddig Fageir has been appointed chair of the department of social sciences at Alcorn State University in Mississippi and Asher Pimpleton-Gray was named chair of the department of psychology and counseling at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
The study suggests that Black CEOs face a higher bar for advancement than White CEOs as they climb the corporate ladder, resulting in Black CEOs being that much more prepared to lead the firm. The analysis suggests that firms seemingly appoint Black CEOs only when they are excessively qualified.
The Rising Scholars Internship is an opportunity for students from FVSU to conduct research with scientists from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and reside on the UGA campus in Athens from May 23 through July 23.
Valerie Boyd was an award-winning author and served as the Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer in Residence and director of the master of fine arts in narrative nonfiction program at the University of Georgia.
Rodney Bennett, who has served as president of the University of Southern Mississippi since 2013, announced that he will step down from his post at the end of his contract in 2023. He is the first African American to serve as president of one of the state’s five predominantly White public universities.
Lonnie Brown is currently the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor and holds the A. Gus Cleveland Distinguished Chair of Legal Ethics and Professionalism at the University of Georgia School of Law. He will begin his new duties on July 1.
Erick Harper is the new director of athletics at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Demetrius D. Smith will be associate vice president for student affairs at the University of Georgia and Joanne L. Smiklewill will manage the Professional Leadership Program for Women at Towson University in Maryland.
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.
Harold D. Melton, who previously served as the chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, has been named the holder of the Carl E. Sanders Chair in Political Leadership at the University of Georgia School of Law.
Kimberly Ballard-Washington has served as interim president since July 2019. Earlier, she was associate vice chancellor for legal affairs for the University System of Georgia and is the former associate director of legal affairs for the flagship campus of the University of Georgia in Athens.
Taking on new administrative duties are Jack Eaddy Jr. at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, Barkley Barton II at the University of Georgia, Blake K. Gaines at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and Ikhide Imumorin at the California State University system.
The Georgia African American Male Experience (GAAME) started in 2014 as a two-day transition program for Black males accepted into the University of Georgia. The program has grown into a multifaceted initiative that centers on the needs of Black male students, supporting and improving retention and graduation rates.
The five Black scholars taking on new roles at Ijeoma Opara at the Yale School of Public Health, Walter Greason at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, John Brooks Slaughter at the University of Southern California, Crystal Wilkerson, of the University of Kentucky, and Timothy Adams Jr. at the University of Georgia.
Taking on new roles are Barkley Barton II at the University of Georgia, Krista L. Cortes at the University of Pennsylvania, Dee Frazier at Clinton College in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Ollie Green III at the University of Pittsburgh, and Kerry Stevenson at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama.
Dr. Blanchard has been serving as executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the California State University System. Earlier, he was provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Xavier University in New Orleans.
Antoinette Landor, associate professor in the department of human development and family science in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Missouri, was recently named the 2020 Undergraduate Research Mentor by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
The three African Americans who have been appointed to administrative posts are Micah Griffin at Pennsylvania State University, Nontalie Morrow at the University of Georgia, and Keith Miles at Florida A&M University.
Dr. Schnavia Smith Hatcher has been serving as director of the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Earlier, Dr. Hatcher was the founding director of the Center for African American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington from 2012 to 2016.
The Franklin H. Williams Award recognizes ethnically diverse Peace Corps volunteers who have returned from their assignments and have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to civic engagement, service, diversity, inclusion, and world peace.
Tina M. Harris, who holds the Douglas L. Manship Sr.-Dori Maynard Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy Endowed Chair at the Manship School of Mass Communication, won the Francine Merritt Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Lives of Women in Communication.
Taking on new administrative roles are April R. Clark at Talladega College in Alabama, Gerald L. Hector at the University of Central Florida, Maurice A. Tyler at Bowie State University in Maryland, Qiana N. Wilson at the University of Georgia, and Donell D. Maxie at Mississippi Valley State University.
For the past four years, W. Franklin Evans has been president of Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina. He is the former provost and chief academic officer at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, where he also served as interim president.
The approximately 40-minute lecture by Dr. Garcia Peña of Harvard University discussed how the killing of Black Dominican feminists, in an attempt to silence their activism, was countered by the kinship and community networks of the larger Afro-Dominican Diaspora.
Dr. Walcott is a professor in the department of plant pathology and has served as interim dean of the Graduate School since September 2019. He began his academic career at the University of Georgia in 1999 as an assistant professor and earned the rank of full professor in 2012.
Here is this week’s roundup of African Americans who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States.
The researchers examined more than 4 million patent applications that were filed between 2000 and 2015. Using data analysis to determine the probability of inventors’ names being from a particular racial or ethnic group, the researchers determined that inventors from underrepresented groups were less likely to be approved.
Michelle Samuel-Foo, an assistant professor at Alabama State University, has been selected to receive the Founders Memorial Recognition, one of the highest nationwide honors given by the Entomological Society of America.
Jelani M. Favors, an associate professor of history at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, and Brandon K. Winford, an associate professor of history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, were honored for the books on social justice topics.
ShaRonda Cooper has been named director of the Department of Multicultural Services and Programs at the University of Georgia. Phillip Hunt will be the registrar at North Dakota State University and Davida Loren Haywood was appointed vice president for student affairs at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.
Each year, the award is presented by the American Educational Studies Association to an individual “who has published significantly influential works, excels in mentorship, provides leadership and growth to the academic field and has a reputation in educational foundations.”
Professor Kecia Thomas currently serves as senior associate dean in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia. She is the division dean for the social and behavioral sciences and also manages the college’s faculty affairs functions. Dr. Thomas is also a professor of industrial/organizational psychology and African American studies.
William Kisaalita, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Engineering, has been named a University Professor at the University of Georgia. He has served as chair of biological engineering and as associate director of the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities.
Dr. Samuel-Foo joined the faculty at Alabama State University in 2018. Earlier, she taught for 10 years at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. There, she conducted research on specialty crop pest management.
The honorees are J. Marshall Shepherd, the director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia, H. Carl McCall, former chairman of the State University of New York Board of Trustees, and Linwood Whitten, director of diversity and international affairs at Alabama State University.