Tag: University of Pennsylvania

Thomas Parham Appointed President of California State University, Dominguez Hills

Currently, Dr. Parham serves as vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of California, Irvine. He has held that post since 2011 and has been on the university's staff for more than 30 years. Earlier, he taught at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Andrew Brimmer Collection at Harvard Is Now Available for Scholarly Research

Andrew F. Brimmer was a respected economist who was the first African American to serve as a governor of the Federal Reserve System. His massive archival collection of papers is now available for scholarly research at the library of Harvard Business School.

John L. Jackson Appointed Dean of School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Jackson currently serves as the Richard Perry University Professor and dean of the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. He has held that post since 2014. Professor Jackson joined the faculty at the university in 2006.

Poet Elizabeth Alexander Named President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Elizabeth Alexander, a professor at Columbia University who was selected to write a poem and read it at President Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, has been appointed president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New York.

The University of Pennsylvania to Investigate Its Early Ties to Slavery

University founder, Benjamin Franklin was a slave owner early in his life but then became an abolitionist. About one half of the university's original trustees were slave owners. A working group at the university will now dig deeper into this history and offer recommendations for any next steps.

Two African Americans in New Administrative Posts at Major Universities

Natasha Brown is the new associate director for the Office of Master's Programs at the Perelmen School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and David M. Fryson was named senior adviser to the president for diversity and community outreach at West Virginia University.

Study Led by Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Sheds Light on Genetics of Skin Color

Researchers used a light meter to record skin color variation on 2,000 people across Africa. They then took samples DNA samples from survey participants and were able to determine genetic variants that impact skin color.

Angela Amar Named Dean of the Nursing School at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Currently, Dr. Amar is the associate dean for undergraduate studies and chief diversity officer at the School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta. Earlier, she was an associate professor and director of the advanced forensic nursing program at Boston College.

Leslie Howard Is the New Leader of Women and Mathematics Education

Leslie Howard is an adjunct associate professor of mathematics at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She has taught at Temple University and Drexel University, both in Philadelphia and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Clarence D. Armbrister Appointed the Fourteenth President of Johnson C. Smith University

Clarence Armbrister currently serves as president of Girard College, an independent college preparatory school in Philadelphia. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief of staff at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and chief operating officer at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Two Black Scholars Named Calvin Bland Fellows at the University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania has announced the first cohort of Calvin Bland Fellows. The fellows, all members of the university's faculty, will conduct research on boys and young men of color. Two of the three new Calvin Bland fellows are African Americans.

Penn Announces its First Cohort of Minority Serving Institutions Aspiring Leaders Program

The goal of the program is to train the next generation of university presidents who will lead the country’s minority serving institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities.

Charity Hudley Named to an Endowed Chair at the University of California, Santa Barbara

Dr. Hudley was the William and Mary Professor of Community Studies and an associate professor of English at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She joined the faculty there in 2005.

Old Dominion University Scholar Studying Leadership Issues at HBCUs

Nearly 60 percent of sitting university presidents are over the age of 60. This presents the question of who will be the next generation of HBCU leaders. Felecia Commodore of Old Dominion University in Norfolk is trying to answer that question.

Aminta Breaux Will Be the Next President of Bowie State University in Maryland

For the past three years, Aminta Hawkins Breaux has served as vice president for advancement at Millersville University, a campus of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. She was vice president for student affairs at Millersville University from 2008 to 2014.

Wendell Pritchett Appointed Provost at the University of Pennsylvania

Wendell Pritchett currently serves as the Presidential Professor of Law and Education at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He served as interim dean of the law school during the 2014-15 academic year and is the former chancellor of the Camden campus of Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Five Black Women Faculty Members Taking on New Assignments

They are: Reighan A. Gillam at the University of Southern California, Barbara D. Savage of the University of Pennsylvania, Todne Thomas at Harvard University, Sandra Crewe of Howard University, and Kyla Day Fletcher of Kalamazoo College.

Alumnus Gregory Vincent Named President of Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Currently, Dr. Vincent is the W.K. Kellogg Professor of Community College Leadership, professor of law, and vice president for diversity and community engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. He joined the faculty at the University of Texas in 2005.

Penn Graduate Opens School for Girls in His Hometown in Ghana

Two years ago, Shadrack Frimpong, then a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, won the Penn President Engagement Prize which awarded him $100,000 to use to implement his goal of establishing a school for girls and a health clinic in Ghana.

Two African American Scholars Appointed to Named Professorships at Ivy League Universities

Mark Anthony Gooden was named the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Professor of Education Leadership at Teachers College of Columbia University and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey was appointed the 19th Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Four Black Scholars in New Faculty Roles in Higher Education

Taking on new faculty roles are Raina Merchant at the University of Pennsylvania, Norman Anderson at Florida State University, Kristie Williams at Ursuline College in Ohio, and Keisha R. Callins at Mercer University in Georgia.

University of Southern California to Launch the Race and Equity Center

The university has hired Shaun R. Harper to lead the new initiative and to serve as the Clifford and Betty Allen Professor in Urban Leadership. Currently, Professor Harper is the director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity at the University of Pennsylvania.

The New Dean of the School of Health Professions at the New York Institute of Technology

Prior to joining NYIT, Dr. Sheldon D. Fields served as chief wellness officer, dean, and professor in the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, California.

Black Directors of Methadone Clinics Are the Least Likely to Dispense Recommended Minimum Doses

A study led by a researcher at Johns Hopkins University finds that at methadone treatment facilities run by African American directors, patients are less likely to receive the recommended minimum dose than at facilities directed by managers of other races or ethnic groups.

The Progress of the Ivy League in Admitting Black Students

A decade ago, there were 1,110 Black students in the entering classes at the eight Ivy League schools. In 2016, there are 1,503, a 35 percent increase. Four of the eight Ivy League schools have an entering class that is more than 11 percent Black. A decade ago, the leader stood at 9.6 percent.

University of Delaware Professor Honored by the Association of Black Women Historians

Erica Armstrong Dunbar, the Blue and Gold Professor of Black American Studies and History at the University of Delaware, is the winner of the Lorraine A. Williams Leadership Award from the Association of Black Women Historians.

Black Students at Penn Subjected to Racial Hate by an Off-Campus Group

Although the origins of the racist group text messages appear to have no connection whatsoever to the university, Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, quickly voiced her disgust.

Marilyn Nelson Wins the $25,000 Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature

Marilyn Nelson is a professor emerita at the University of Connecticut. Professor Nelson is a winner of the Pushcart Prize and has been a finalist for the National Book Award three times. From 2001 to 2006, Dr. Nelson was the poet laureate of the state of Connecticut.

In Memoriam: Gloria Naylor, 1950-2016

Naylor, who taught creative writing at several universities, was best known for her her 1982 novel The Women of Brewster Place, for which she won the National Book Award for the best first novel.

LaVerne Harmon Named the Next President of Wilmington University in Delaware

LaVerne Harmon is currently executive vice president at Wilmington University. When she takes office on July 1, she will become the first African American women to serve as president of a university in the state of Delaware.

Seven African Americans Taking on New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Here is this week’s roundup of news of African Americans who have been appointed to administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

In Memoriam: James F. Tucker, 1925-2016

Dr. Tucker served as president of Virginia State from 1968 to 1970 and then served on the economics faculty and was the director of the Center for Economic Education at Virginia Tech from 1970 to 1974.

Higher Education: Putting Our Children on the Bus to Success

Professor Angela Mae Kupenda of the Mississippi College of Law offers a commentary on parents' and other caregivers' responsibility to put African American children on the path to success through higher education.

Higher Education Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Research Focuses on Early Black Coal Miners in Appalachia

A new exhibit examining the lives of Black coal miners who migrated from the South to work in Appalachian mines in the early part of the twentieth century is now on display at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

The New President of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

Monica J. Posey has served as interim president for the past eight months. Previously, she was provost and academic vice president. According to the college, Dr. Posey is the first African American woman president of a major educational institution in the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

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