Tag: University of Illinois
Dereck Rovaris Named President of American Association of Blacks in Higher Education
Since 2014, Dereck J. Rovaris Sr. has served as vice provost for diversity at Louisiana State University. Earlier, he was associate vice chancellor for academic and multicultural affairs at the Louisiana State University Heath Sciences Center in New Orleans.
Notable Honors and Awards for Six African Americans in Higher Education
The honorees are Nafissa Thompson-Spires of the University of Illinois, Gregory S. Carr of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, Tayari Jones of Emory University in Atlanta, Jamilla Lyiscott of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Wilma Mishoe of Delaware State University, and Vinette Gordon of Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.
Sharp Drop in Black Enrollments at Public Colleges and Universities in Illinois
The number of African-American students enrolled at public colleges and universities in Illinois has fallen nearly 25.9 percent during the five-year period from 2013 to 2017. In contrast, enrollments are up for all other underrepresented groups.
Clarence Lang Named Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Pennsylvania State University
Currently, Dr. Lang serves as the interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas, where he's been a faculty member since 2011. He will assume his new duties on July 1, 2019.
Saint Elmo Brady Honored With a National Historical Chemical Landmark
Professor Brady was the first African American to earned a Ph.D. in chemistry. He will be honored with plaques at the University of Illinois, where he earned his doctorate, and at schools where he served on the faculty: Fisk University, Tuskegee University, Howard University, and Tougaloo College.
New Administrative Duties in Higher Education for Eight African Americans
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.
Three African Americans in New Administrative Posts in Higher Education
Assuming new duties are Noelle Chaddock at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, Domonic Cobb at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Cynthia Downing at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.
How Student Loan Debt Impacts the Racial Wealth Gap Years After Students Complete College
The study of nearly 1,500 young adults, led by a professor of social work at the University of Illinois, found that Black and Hispanic students who had accumulated student loan debt during their college years had, at age 30, $36,000 less in net worth than their peers who did not have student loan debt.
How Does the Environment Impact Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer?
A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois finds that the environmental conditions associated with low-income neighborhoods – rather than race itself – increases women’s risks of dying from breast cancer.
Chicago State University Chooses Zaldwaynaka Scott as Its Next President
Scott is an attorney for the Foley & Lardner law firm, which has offices in 21 major U.S. cities including Chicago. A former federal prosecutor, Scott served on the board of trustees of Chicago State University from 2009 to 2013 and has taught courses as an adjunct professor at several law schools.
Three Black Scholars Honored With Prestigious Awards
The honorees are Esther Ngumbi, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois, Gerald Williams, interim director of the Division of Diversity and Inclusion at Valdosta State University in Georgia, and Ismail H. Abdullahi, an associate professor of library science at North Carolina Central University in Durham.
University of Southern Indiana in Evansville Chooses Its Next President
Dr. Ronald S. Rochon has served as provost at the University of Southern Indiana since 2010. Previously, he was the inaugural dean of the School of Education and associate vice president for teacher education at Buffalo State University in New York.
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.
Academic Study Examines Racial Disparity in Perinatal Depression
A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University find that Black and Latina women, who are at increased risk of perinatal depression, are less likely that their White peers to be screened or treated for the condition.
In Memoriam: Olly W. Wilson, 1937-2018
After teaching at Florida A&M University and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Dr. Wilson joined the music department faculty at the University of California, Berkeley in 1970. He retired from teaching in 2002.
Dawn Williams Is the New Dean of the School of Education at Howard University
Dr. Williams joined the faculty at Howard University in 2003 as an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy. Since June 2016, Dr. Williams has served as interim dean of the School of Education.
Denise Rush to Serve as a Dean at Boston Architectural College
Rush has been serving as director of undergraduate interior architecture at the college. She is a licensed interior designer and has worked in design firms in Chicago, Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan and taught at Columbia College and the University of Illinois.
Dawn Bragg Appointed Dean of Medical Student Affairs at the University of South Dakota
Dr. Bragg had been serving as a professor of pediatrics and associate dean for student inclusion and academic enrichment at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. She has been on the staff there since 1994.
Freeman Hrabowski to Receive American Council on Education’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Hrabowski has served as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County since 1992. Over the course of his career, President Hrabowski has been a strong advocate for increasing opportunities for African American students in STEM disciplines.
Berkeley’s First Tenured Black Scholar Has a Building Named in His Honor
Dr. David Blackwell, an accomplished statistician, joined the mathematics department at Berkeley in 1954 and stayed on the faculty there until retiring in 1988. In 1965, he was the first African American to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
University of Illinois Acquires the Papers of Poet, Educator, and Publisher Haki Madhubuti
The Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois has acquired the papers of poet Haki Madhubuti and the archives of the Third World Press, the oldest independent Black-owned publisher in the United States.
Fallou Ngom Named Director of the African Studies Center at Boston University
Fallou Ngom, associate professor of anthropology, was named director of Boston University’s African Studies Center. The center was established in 1953. More than 90 Boston University faculty members are affiliated with the center.
Marsha Horton Serving as Dean at Delaware State University in Dover
Marsha Horton was named interim dean of the College of Education, Health, and Policy at Delaware State University. She was dean and associate professor in the School of Education, Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Union University in Richmond.
Six African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
Taking on new roles are Jimmy Teriell Tate at North Carolina Central University, Crystal A. deGregory at Kentucky State, Jenae Jones at Mississippi University for Women, Leon Jones at Oklahoma State, Danita Brown-Young at the University of Illinois, and Ulysses Williams at Voorhees College.
Only One Black Scholar Among This Year’s 22 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences
Ibrahim I. Cissé, the Class of 1922 Career Development Assistant Professor in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will receive $240,000 over the next four years from the Pew Charitable Trusts to support his research.
Survey Finds Widespread Racial and Sexual Harassment in Astronomy and Planet Science
Researchers surveyed a large group of professionals and found that 39 percent of all respondents reported that they had been verbally harassed and 9 percent stated that they have been physically harassed at work within the past five years. Women of color were the most likely to be victims.
In Memoriam: Eddie Nathan Williams, 1932-2017
Eddie N. Williams was the long-time president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington and former administrator at the University of Chicago.
In Memoriam: Mark Q. Sawyer, 1972-2017
Dr. Sawyer joined the faculty at UCLA in 1999 as an assistant professor. He was instrumental in transforming the African American studies program into an academic department at the university.
Florida State’s Andre J. Thomas Honored by the American Choral Directors Association
The award is the highest honor conferred by the American Choral Directors Association. It is given out every two years to a choral leader who has made unusual contributions to the art of choral music.
University of Missouri Opens New Center on Diversity in the Media
Julius Riles, an assistant professor of communication at the University of Missouri, was named co-director of the new center. The new center will examine all aspects of diversity in both traditional and new media.
Seven African Americans Appointed to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education
Thew new appointees are Nathan Stephens at the University of Illinois, Jolene Lane at the University of Akron, Denise Stephens at Washington University, Nathan Cochran at Philander Smith College, Alex Granderson at Mississippi Valley State, Shai L. Butler at the College of St. Rose, and Johnnie Westbrook at Kentucky State.
Walter Massey Is the New Chair of the Giant Magellan Telescope Project
Poised to be the first of a new generation of extremely large telescopes, the Giant Magellan Telescope will be the largest optical telescope in the world when it comes online in 2022. Walter Massey is the former president of Morehouse College and currently serves as chancellor of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Nnedi Okorafor Wins Two of Science Fiction’s Most Prestigious Awards
Nnedi Okorafor, an associate professor of English at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System, is only the fourth author in the past two decades who has won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for the same novella. The awards are among the highest honors given to science fiction authors.
“Handholding” of Young Black Males in High School May Hinder Their Success Later On
Chezare A. Warren conducted a study that found that special attention given to Black males in urban high school classrooms may not serve them well later in life.
A Trio of African Americans Appointed to Positions as Deans
The new deans are Amanda Bryant-Friedrich at the College of Graduate Studies of the University of Toledo in Ohio, Cheryl Easley at the College of Health Sciences at Alabama State University, and James D. Anderson at the College of Education of the University of Illinois.
Robert J. Jones Named Chancellor of the Urbana Campus of the University of Illinois
Dr. Jones will also serve as a vice president for the three-campus University of Illinois system and as a tenured professor in the department of crop science in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. He has been serving as president of the University at Albany.
