Tag: University of Iowa

Diverse Classrooms in College STEM Courses Improve Learning Outcomes for All Students

Students achieve better grades in college science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses when those classrooms have higher numbers of underrepresented racial-minority and first-generation college students, according to new research published by the American Educational Research Association.

College of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University Has Named Tonya Peeples as Dean

Dr. Peeples joined Penn State in 2018 as a professor of chemical engineering and as the inaugural associate dean for equity and inclusion in the College of Engineering. Before coming to Penn State, Dr. Peeples was a professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at the College of Engineering of the University of Iowa.

Cynthia Nance Once Again Named Dean of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law

Professor Nance first joined the University of Arkansas School of Law faculty in 1994 as an assistant professor and served as the dean from 2006 to 2011. She then returned to the classroom as the Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law in 2012.

The Library of Congress Recognizes Rita Dove for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry

Rita Dove, the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia, received the 2022 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry for lifetime achievement from the Library of Congress. Professor Dove has published 11 collections of poetry. She served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995 and won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1987.

Harriet B. Nembhard Will Be the Next President of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California

A nationally respected leader in the field of industrial and operations engineering, Dr.Nembhard currently serves as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa. Before coming to Iowa in 2020, Dr. Nembhard was the Eric R. Smith Professor of Engineering and head of the School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University.

Student and Faculty Diversity Reduces the Black-White College Graduation Rate Gap

A study led by Nicholas A. Bowman, Mary Louise Petersen Chair in Higher Education at the University of Iowa, finds that college graduation gaps between Black and White students tend to shrink when there are more students of color or faculty of color on campus.

New Administrative Posts in Higher Education for Five African Americans

Taking on new administration positions are Dakota Doman at Texas Southern University in Houston, Reneé Watson at Central Michigan University, Chanelle Reese at the University of Iowa, Romy Riddick at Princeton University in New Jersey, and Vincent Champion at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

In Memoriam: Harold Burnell Brockington, 1922-2022

In 1964, Dr. Brockington was hired as an associate professor and head of the department of music at Delaware State University. He went on to become the longest serving chair of the department of music in the history of Delaware State University – 26 years from 1964 to 1990.

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.

Four African Americans Honored With Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards

The Cleveland Foundation's annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards are the only national juried prize for literature that confronts racism and explores diversity. Four of the winners this year are African Americans who have academic ties.

Tuskegee University Appoints S. Keith Hargrove as Its Next Provost

Dr. Hargrove has been serving as dean of the College of Engineering at Tennessee State University. He previously served as chairperson of the department of industrial, manufacturing & information engineering in the Clarence Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Johnson County in Iowa Isn’t Changing Its Name, Just Who It Is Honoring

Johnson County in Iowa was originally named for Richard Mentor Johnson, a slaveowner who served as vice president under President Martin Van Buren. Henceforth, Johnson County will honor Lulu Merle Johnson, who was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Iowa and taught at several historically Black colleges and universities.

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.

Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Appoints its First Black President

In 2016, Dr. Hemphill became the seventh president of Radford University in Virginia. Earlier, he served from 2012 to 2016 as the 10th president of West Virginia State University, a historically Black educational institution near Charleston.

Four African American Appointed to Diversity Roles at Colleges and Universities

The four African Americans appointed to diversity positions are Jarvis Marlow-McCowin at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Eric Reed at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Elizabeth Tovar at the University of Iowa, and Brian Harper at the New York Institute of Technology.

Lena Hill Will Be the Next Provost at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia

Dr. Hill currently serves as dean of the College and professor of English and Africana studies at the university. Prior to joining Washington and Lee, Hill was associate vice president and interim chief diversity officer at the University of Iowa, where she was an associate professor of English and African American studies.

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.

Cynthia Nance Named Chair-Elect of the the American Bar Foundation Fellows

Cynthia Nance is dean emerita and the Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law. Her teaching and scholarship focus on labor and employment law, workplace legislation, and poverty law.

In Memoriam: Frederick Charles Tillis, 1930-2020

Frederick C. Tillis was professor emeritus of music and former director of the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His more than 100 compositions include works for piano and voice, orchestra and chorus, solo, and chamber music.

University of Iowa to Launch the Midwest Institute of African American History and Culture

The Midwest Institute of African American History and Culture at the University of Iowa will focus on research opportunities, educational possibilities, seminars, and workshops so that visitors and educators can better understand Black history.

The New Leader of the School of Commerce at the University of Virginia

Nicole Thorne Jenkins is currently vice dean of the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky, where she is also the Von Allmen Chaired Professor of Accountancy. She was previously on the faculty at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and Washington University in St. Louis.

Tennessee State University on the Front Lines of the Battle Against COVID-19

Tennessee State University is using its 3D printing assets to design and manufacture headbands that are one of three components of face masks that are used by healthcare professionals. The College of Agriculture is producing hand sanitizer.

In Memoriam: Denise Michelle Chapman Montgomery, 1959-2020

Dr. Montgomery was the founding dean of the College of Health Sciences at Alabama State University. Earlier in her career, she taught at Langston University in Oklahoma and Florida A&M University.

The Next Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa

Currently, Dr. Harriet Nembhard is the Eric R. Smith Professor of Engineering and head of the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University. Earlier, Dr. Nembhard was a professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Morgan State University Acquires the Papers of Historian Lathan A. Windley

Dr. Windley was an associate professor of history at Morgan State University from 1963 until his death in 1982 at the age of 42. The focus of his scholarship was on runaway slaves in the pre-Civil War American South.

Rita Dove Wins the $100,000 Wallace Stevens Award From the Academy of American Poets

Rita Dove, Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia, served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995 and won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1987. She is the only poet to receive the National Humanities Medal and the National Medal of Arts.

Nine African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

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.

In Memoriam Wilbert Greenfield, 1933-2019

Dr. Wilbert Greenfield became the tenth president of Johnson C. Smith University in 1973 and served in that role until 1982. In 1984, the University's board of trustees named a dormitory Wilbert Greenfield Hall in his honor.

Marcella David Appointed Provost at Columbia College in Chicago

Currently, Professor David serves as the Betty T. Ferguson Visiting Professor of Law at Florida State University. Previously, she served as the chief academic officer at Florida A&M University.

New Administrative Positions in Higher Education for Seven 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.

Jamel Brinkley Wins the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence

The award recognizes the outstanding work of rising African-American fiction writers. Brinkley's book is a collection of nine short stories set in familiar places from his childhood, Brooklyn and the South Bronx. The author is the Wallace Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University.

Three African Americans Named Rhodes Scholars

A year ago, 10 African-Americans were among the 32 winners of Rhodes Scholarships for Americans. This was the most ever elected in a single U.S. Rhodes class. This year, there are three African Americans among the 32 Rhodes Scholars.

Paul King Named President and CEO of Stanford Children’s Health

Paul King has been serving as executive director of the University of Michigan Health System's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital since 2013. He will begin his new job at Stanford in early 2019.

Rita Dove Appointed Poetry Editor at The New York Times

In this role, the University of Virginia's Professor Dove will select a poem from new or forthcoming collections that will be published in the New York Times Magazine each Sunday. These new duties will not affect her role at the University of Virginia.

A Trio of Black Women Scholars Honored With Notable Awards

The honorees are Gloria Billingsley of Jackson State University in Mississippi, Sandra McGee of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa, and Janice Jackson of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Lena Hill Appointed Dean of the College at Washington and Lee University

Currently, Dr. Hill is senior associate to the president, interim chief diversity officer, and associate vice president at the University of Iowa. She joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in 2006 with a joint appointment in the departments of English and African American studies.

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