Tag: University of Michigan

Atlanta University Library CEO Loretta Parham Announces Retirement

"It has been my privilege to lead the AUC Woodruff Library, guiding it to its current level of excellence," said Parham. "I am forever grateful for the contributions of the Library staff and the commitment of the presidents of our member institutions who believe, as I do, in the value and strength of the nation’s HBCUs and their students who are deserving of nothing less than the best."

In Memoriam: Orlando L. Taylor, 1936-2024

Dr. Orlando Taylor of Fielding University passed away on January 16. He held numerous administrative leadership roles in higher education throughout his life. He dedicated his research to speech and language disorders, as well as advancing leadership at HBCUs, earning him seven doctoral degrees over the course of his career.

Roscoe Jones Jr. Becomes First-Ever Black Dean at Drake University

Roscoe Jones Jr. has been appointed dean of the Drake University Law School, making him the first-ever Black dean across all schools at Drake University. Jones currently serves as a practicing attorney in Washington D.C., and as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law school.

Blacks Are Less Likely Than Whites to Be Referred to Home Health Care After Hospital Discharge

According to a new study at the University of Michigan, about 22 percent of Black patients are referred by discharge nurses to home health care compared to 27 percent of White patients.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Given New Assignments

Taking on new positions are Gregory E. Triplett Jr. at Saint Louis University, Tracey Sharpley-Whiting at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and Julie Simmons Ivy at the University of Michigan.

Two Black Women Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments in Higher Education

Penelope Andrews was appointed the John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law at New York Law School and Angela D. Dillard, the Richard A. Meisler Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan, was given the added duties of the inaugural vice provost for undergraduate education.

Study Finds Racial Discrimination Has a Major Impact on Stress Levels in Teens

Researchers measured salivary cortisol five times a day over three days and found that teens who experienced peer discrimination — racial discrimination from other teens — had unhealthy levels of the so-called stress hormone cortisol circulating in their bodies throughout the day. This can lead to chronic health conditions.

New University Administrative Posts for Four African Americans

Taking on new administrative duties are Shannon Frank Reeves, Sr. at Alabama A&M University, Ayanna McConnell of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, Deborah Alston at Virginia Union University, and Leon Lewis, Jr. at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Sophia Bethena Jones: Canada’s First Black Woman to Earn a Medical Degree

Sophia B. Jones was accepted as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto in 1879. However, she was not admitted to the medical school, doubly damned by being both a woman and Black. She went on to earn a medical degree at the University of Michigan.

Robin Nelson Wins the Sussman Award From the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Robin Nelson, an associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, is being recognized for “her outstanding contributions to understanding human relationships and their evolutionary impact.”

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.

Jamal A. Cooks Is the New President of Chabot College in California

Dr. Cooks has served as vice president of academic services at Chabot College since 2022, although he assumed the role on an interim basis in 2021. Prior to community college administration, Dr. Cooks served as a full professor at San Francisco State University, where he was also the associate director for the educational leadership doctoral program.

Five Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Faculty Duties

The Black scholars in new roles are Chielozona Eze at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, Ihudiya Finda Williams at Virginia Tech, Sarah Vinson at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Melynda Price at the University of Michigan, Vaughn A. Booker at the University of Pennsylvania.

Six Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to New Faculty Roles

Taking on new duties or roles are Reginald Perry at Florida A&M University, Tiffany Morris at North Carolina A&T State University, Derreck Williams at the University of Southern Mississippi, Aaron Kamugisha at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, Tonya Pinkins at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and Alford A. Young Jr. at the University of Michigan.

University of Michigan Commits to Boost Faculty Diversity in the Biomedical Sciences

The University of Michigan will invest $79 million to support and recruit 30 new faculty members to the Ann Arbor campus as part of a nationwide effort to enhance inclusion and equity across the biomedical and health sciences community. The Michigan Program for Advancing Cultural Transformation (M-PACT) is supported by a five-year, $15.8 million grant awarded from the National Institutes of Health.

Four African Americans Who Have Been Named to University Administrative Positions

Taking on new administrative duties are Elfred Anthony Pinkard at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, Whitney McDowell-Robinson at Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia, Terryl Brown at Pace University in New York, and Rochie C. Hunter at the University of Michigan.

Alec Gallimore Will Be the Next Provost at Duke University

Since 2016, he has been the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. He previously served the college as associate dean for research and graduate education and associate dean for academic affairs. Dr. Gallimore founded and directs the Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory at the University of Michigan

Study Finds a Huge Racial Disparity in Newborn Drug Testing

A new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan finds that clinicians ordered drug tests to be performed on Black newborns at nearly four times the rate of other children. In total, 24 states and the District of Columbia consider substance use during pregnancy to be child abuse under civil child-welfare statutes.

Harvard University’s Tiya Miles Wins Another Award for Her Book Ashley’s Sack

Tiya Miles, the Michael Garvey Professor of History and the Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at Harvard University, recently was awarded the 2022 Cundill History Prize by McGill University in Montreal. The $75,000 prize is given for a book that embodies historical scholarship, originality, literary quality, and broad appeal.

Harvard University’s Tiya Miles Wins Another Award for Her Book Ashley’s Sack

Tiya Miles, the Michael Garvey Professor of History and the Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at Harvard University, recently was awarded the 2022 Cundill History Prize by McGill University in Montreal. The $75,000 prize is given for a book that embodies historical scholarship, originality, literary quality, and broad appeal.

Miriam Mobley Smith Honored by the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists

Miriam Mobley Smith is the interim dean of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Prior to coming to the University of Hawai'i in 2021, the veteran pharmacy academic served as interim dean and visiting professor at the Northeastern University Bourvé College of Health Sciences in Boston and as dean and tenured professor at the Chicago State University College of Pharmacy.

In Memoriam: Charles Sommerville Harris, 1951- 2022

Charles S. Harris was the former athletic director at the University of Pennsylvania, Arizona State University, and Averett University in Virginia, and the former commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. He was the first African American to serve as the athletic director at an Ivy League school.

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.

Anita Allen Honored by the Hastings Center for Her Work in Bioethics

Anita L. Allen is the Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Allen was recognized for outstanding contributions to law and philosophy and to their practical applications in medicine, science, and public affairs.

John Carethers Will Lead All Health Sciences Entities at the University of California, San Diego

Dr. Carethers returns to the University of California, San Diego after a 13-year tenure at the University of Michigan, where he served as the C. Richard Boland Distinguished University Professor and the John G. Searle Professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointments of Six Black Administrators

Taking on new administrative roles are Kwesi Craig C. Brookins at Michigan State University, Jackie Taylor at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis, Joseph Ballard II at the University of Michigan, Verna Orr at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, Daniel Lumonya at the School for International Training in Vermont, and Kamesia M. House at Delaware State University.

Four Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments

The four Black scholars n new faculty roles are Richard Price at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Pernella Rowena Deams at Talladega College in Alabama, Cynthia E. Rogers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Omolade Adunbi at the Univerity of Michigan.

Six African American Scholars Appointed Deans at Colleges and Universities

The new deans are Robert N. Garner at Benedict College in South Carolina, T. Camille Martin-Thomsen at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Marvin Lynn at the University of Colorado Denver, Amani Jennings at Bowie State University in Maryland, Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes at the University of Michigan, and Mary M. White at South Carolina State University.

University of Michigan Compiles a Vast Database of Its Early Black Students

A new public database of African American students created by the University of Michigan documents students who attended the university between 1817 and as recently as 1970. The database contains information on nearly 6,000 African American students.

University of Michigan to Examine Its History Relating to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The University of Michigan is set to begin a multifaceted, years-long project to study, document, and better understand the university’s history with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion — with the history of race and racism as its first major focus.

Beverly Daniel Tatum Selected to Lead Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts

Dr. Tatum served as president of Spelman College in Atlanta from 2002 to 2015. Previously she was a professor of psychology and dean of the college at Mount Holyoke College. Earlier in her career, she taught at Westfield State College in Massachusetts and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Carnegie Mellon Univerity Professor Honored for Lifetime Achievement in Academic Engineering

Shawn Blanton, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, received the Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Academia from the National Society of Black Engineers. He is the founder and director of the Advanced Chip Test Laboratory at the university.

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

Jonathan A. McElderry was appointed dean of student inclusive excellence at Elon University in North Carolina. Trachette Jackson is the assistant vice president for research for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the University of Michigan and Risë Nelson was appointed director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Yale University Library.

Barbara Ransby Selected to Receive an Award From the Caribbean Philosophical Association

University of Illinois Chicago historian Barbara Ransby has been named a recipient of the Caribbean Philosophical Association’s Frantz Fanon Lifetime Achievement Award. She was selected for the award “because of the historical and political importance of her writings, her tireless work as an institution-builder and activist."

The New Director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh

Before joining the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University this month, Matthew Johnson-Roberson was an associate professor of engineering in the department of naval architecture and marine engineering and the department of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan.

Anita Allen Wins the APA’s Highest Honor for Service to Philosophy

Professor Allen is an internationally renowned expert on philosophical dimensions of privacy and data protection law, ethics, bioethics, legal philosophy, women’s rights, and diversity in higher education. In 2018-19, she was the first Black woman to serve as president of the American Philosophical Association.

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