Tag: University of Minnesota

Joe Trotter Receives Award for History and Social Justice from American Historical Association

The American Historical Association has awarded Dr. Joe Trotter with the John Lewis Award for History and Social Justice. Dr. Trotter currently serves as a professor and founding director of the Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy at Carnegie Mellon University.

Yale University Scholar Wins Early Career Physics Award

Charles D. Brown II, an assistant professor of physics at Yale University, has been selected as the winner the Joseph A. Johnson Award for Excellence from the American Institute of Physics and the National Society of Black Physicists.

Three Black Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions

Deleise Wilson is the inaugural AdventHealth Dean of Nursing at Polk State College in Winter Haven, Florida. Laurie Garrett-Cobbina is the new dean of the San Francisco Theological Seminary of the University of Redlands in California and Melinda Pettigrew will become dean of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in December.

Study Examines How Race Played a Major Factor in the Creation of the Minneapolis Park System

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, real estate developers partnered with the Minneapolis Park Board to build new parks in neighborhoods blanketed with racial covenants that restricted occupancy to “Whites Only.” Neighborhoods that historically had racial covenants today have higher tree canopy cover, more park acreage, and cooler temperatures.

A Trio of Black Scholars in New Faculty Positions

William T. Brooks has been named an assistant professor of music at Albany State University in Georgia. Ericmoore Jossou will be joining the engineering faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this summer and Joan Blakey is the new director of the University of Minnesota School of Social Work.

Attending an HBCU Can Have Long-Term Mental Health Benefits for Some Students

Researchers at the University of Minnesota tracked a large group of African Americans from their high school years until many years after they attended college. They found no overall association for lower symptoms of depression for HBCU students compared to their peers who attended predominantly White schools But for some subsets of HBCU students, there was a positive impact.

Garry W. Jenkins Will Be the First Black President of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine

Since 2016, Jenkins has been dean and the William S. Pattee Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Prior to joining the Minnesota Law School Jenkins was a professor of law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law for 12 years, including eight years as associate dean for academic affairs.

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.

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.

In Memoriam: Browne C. Lewis, 1962-2022

Browne C. Lewis, dean of the North Carolina Central University School of Law, died on June 2 while attending a conference in Colorado. She was 60 years old.

Walt Jacobs Will Be the Next Provost at California State University, East Bay

Since 2015, Dr. Jacobs has served as the dean of the College of Social Sciences at San José State University. Prior to his arrival in California, he was the founding dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

In Memoriam: Edward Daryl Irons, 1923-2022

Dr. Irons, the second Black person to earn a doctorate at Harvard Business School, was the founding dean of the business school at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He later served as dean of the business school at Clark Atlanta University from 1990 to 1995.

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.

Samuel Mukasa Is the New Provost at SUNY’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Dr. Mukasa is the former dean of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota and former dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Eric J. Essene Professor of Geochemistry at the University of New Hampshire.

Three African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to University Dean Positions

Catherine R. Squires was named interim dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Denelle Wallace-Alexander has been appointed dean of the School of Education at Norfolk State University in Virginia and Carmen Renee’ Green is the new dean of the City University of New York School of Medicine

Whites Who Read News About Racial Incidents Are Less Likely to Support Black Businesses

When people are reminded of how they differ from others, they often become more inclined to identify — and side — with their own group. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Oregon, and the University of Minnesota finds that news coverage of racial incidents lowers support for Black entrepreneurs.

Lisa Anderson-Levy Appointed Provost at Highly Rated Macalester College in Minnesota

Dr. Anderson-Levy joins Macalester from Beloit College in Wisconsin, where she spent the past 13 years as a professor of anthropology. At Beloit, Professor Anderson-Levy served as associate dean of academic affairs and as chair of the department of anthropology.

Samson Jenekhe Wins the 2021 Polymer Physics Prize

Samson Jenekhe is the Boeing-Martin Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. The Polymer Physics Prize was established in 1960 in conjunction with the Dow Chemical Company, which remains its chief supporter, and includes a cash award of $10,000.

The First Black Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Law Review

Brandie Burris is a second-year student at the University of Minnesota Law School. She is the first Black student to lead the Minnesota Law Review in the publication’s 104-year history. Burris is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

University of Minnesota Project Looks at How Interstate Highway Construction Affected Blacks

When constructing the system through urban areas, planners often chose routes that went through the poorest and predominantly Black neighborhoods. It was cheaper to obtain property in these neighborhoods and planners believed they would meet minimal resistance from residents and political leaders in these areas.

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.

DoVeanna Fulton Is the New Provost at Norfolk State University in Virginia

For the past 8 years, Dr. Fulton has served as dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor of history, humanities, and languages at the University of Houston–Downtown. Earlier, she taught at the University of Alabama.

A Quartet of African American Scholars Taking on New Higher Education Assignments

The four Black faculty members taking on new assignments are Alex Manning at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Renée Crichlow at the University of Minnesota, Breea Willingham of the State University of New York-Plattsburgh, and Nathan Stevens at Illinois State University.

Study Finds That a Black Doctor Lessens the Infant Mortality Rate for Black Babies

New research from the scholars at the University of Minnesota, George Mason University, and Harvard University finds that Black newborns’ in-hospital death rate is a third lower when Black newborns are cared for by Black physicians rather than White physicians.

How a Death in the Family Impacts Black Students’ Path to Higher Education

Black adolescents and young adults were about 2-3 times more likely to have lived through the death of a close family member than White participants. Young adults, who were college-aged when a sibling or parent died, were about half as likely to graduate from college.

Joe William Trotter, Jr. Is Appointed a University Professor at Carnegie Mellon University

Joe William Trotter, Jr. is the Giant Eagle Professor of History and Social Justice at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the past chair of the history department and founded and directs the university's Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy.

University of Minnesota Study Examines Relationship of Young Black Men and Police

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health sought to examine the relationship between police and young Black men by speaking to Black male youths, parents, educators, police officers, and staff of youth-services organizations.

University of Minnesota Study Finds High Premature Death Rates in Rural Black Counties

The authors stated that socioeconomic factors, such as low household income and high unemployment, are strongly associated with higher premature death rates in counties that are largely non-Hispanic Black.

In Memoriam: Bill Wilson, 1940-2019

Bill Wilson was the first African American elected to the city council in St. Paul, Minnesota, founder of the Higher Ground Academy, and former administrator at the University of Minnesota.

The University of Minnesota’s Historical Ties to Slavery

In 1856, the university was struggling financially and received a loan of nearly $15,000 from William Aiken Jr., who at one time owned more than 700 slaves in South Carolina. This money helped build one of the first campus buildings, Old Main.

Carol Johnson-Dean Will Be the New Leader of LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis

Dr. Johnson-Dean has been serving as executive director of the Memphis chapter of New Leaders, a nonprofit organization that develops educators' leadership skills. Earlier, she led the public school systems in Memphis, Boston, and Minneapolis.

Study Finds Severe Racial Gap Between Who Causes Air Pollution and Who Breathes It

The researchers found that air pollution is disproportionately caused by the consumption of goods and services by White Americans, but disproportionately inhaled by Black and Hispanic Americans.

University of Minnesota Partners With the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Under the agreement, University of Minnesota faculty members and graduate students will travel to Africa to serve as lecturers and to mentor students. Officials hope that the new partnership will funnel African students to graduate programs in mathematics at the University of Minnesota.

Jesse Mason Named Provost at North Hennepin Community College in Minnesota

Since 2015, Dr. Mason has served as dean of academic affairs at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Earlier in his career, he was a professor of psychology at Clark Atlanta University and chair of social science at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

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.

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