Tag: University of Texas

A Hire Gone Wrong at Texas A&M University

In June, Texas A&M University announced that Kathleen McElroy, who had a 20-year career at The New York Times, would join the university's communication and journalism department as a tenured professor. After objections from conservative members of the campus community, Dr. McElroy decided to stay in her tenured post at the University of Texas at Austin.

Three African American Professors Who Are Taking on New Assignments

Jeanette Davidson was appointed director of the Center for Societal Impact and a professor of instruction at the University of Texas at Austin. Tony Morris has been named the associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and Nicholas Bratcher was appointed director of the School of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Louisiana Monroe.

Lawsuit Claims Texas A&M Discriminates Against White and Asian Men in Faculty Hiring

Richard Lowery, an associate professor of finance at the University of Texas at Austin has filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that a faculty fellowship aimed at increasing diversity discriminates against White and Asian men.

Five Universities Have Appointed Black Scholars to Diversity Positions

Taking on new roles relating to diversity are Darryl C. Mace at Alvernia College in Reading, Pennsylvania, Dominique A. Quarles at Georgia Southern University, Lydia Contreras at the University of Texas at Austin, Myron Burr at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and Lakesha Butler at University of Florida Health.

How Stress in the Academic Environment Impacts the Health of Black Women

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Texas have found that the high-stress environment of higher education may negatively impact the mental and physical health of Black women in the academic world.

Gregory Vincent Appointed President of Talladega College in Alabama

Dr. Vincent is the former president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York Previously, he was 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.

Frederick Community College in Maryland Has Chosen Annessa Cheek as Its Next President

Dr. Cheek has served as president of St. Cloud Technical and Community College in Minnesota since 2018. From 2014 to 2018, she was vice president of school and community partnerships at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. She had been on the staff at that college since 2006.

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.

Cornell University Scholar Wins the Best Book Prize From the African Studies Association

Dr. Naminata Diabate is an associate professor of comparative literature at Cornell. The prize recognizes the most important scholarly work in African studies published in English and distributed in the United States during the preceding year.

University at Buffalo Creates the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education

The center, founded and directed by Black history education scholar LaGarrett King, will use research, teacher professional development, networking, and advocacy to answer the enduring question: What is Black history education?

How School Choice Contributes to Persistent Racial Segregation

A new study by Chantal Hailey, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, finds that White, Asian and Latino parents in New York City all express strong racial/ethnic preferences in where to send their kids to high school.

Three African American Men in New Faculty Roles

Chezare A. Warren is a new associate professor of educational equity and inclusion in educational policy at Vanderbilt University. Marion Hambrick is executive director of the Grawemeyer Awards and Scholars program at the University of Louisville and S. Craig Watkins will direct the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas.

Texas A&M’s Karen Butler-Purry Honored for Her Leadership in Graduate Education

Karen Butler-Purry, associate provost and dean of the Graduate and Professional School at Texas A&M University, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Debra Stewart Award for Outstanding Leadership in Graduate Education by the Council of Graduate Schools. She holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering.

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.

Six African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education

The new diversity officers are Jarvis Watson at the College of the Visual Arts, Lorie Johnson-Osho at the University of Pittsburgh, Mill Etienne at New York Medical College, Ty-Ron Douglas at the University of California, Berkeley, Eboni Britt at Syracuse University, and Quinn Capers IV at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Tamara Bertrand Jones Honored by the Association for the Study of Higher Education

Tamara Bertrand Jones is an associate professor of higher education in the College of Education at Florida State University. Her research examines the sociocultural influences on socialization during graduate education and the professional experiences of underrepresented populations, particularly Black women, in academia.

Archie Holmes to Lead Academic Affairs for the University of Texas System

In his new post, Dr. Holmes will work with the presidents and the academic leadership of all eight University of Texas academic institutions to help them achieve strategic goals to advance their institutions. He will also be a tenured professor of engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Ten African Americans Who Have Been Named to New Administrative Positions 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: Paul Elritt Meacham, 1936-2019

Dr. Meacham was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in education at the University of Texas and the first African American to serve as president of a college or university in the state of Nevada.

Research Documents a Significant Lack of Racial Diversity in Cancer Clinical Trials

"Our findings show that the science might not be applicable to the population that’s going to receive the medications," said the study’s lead author, Dr. Jonathan Loree.

Jacqueline Gill Will Be the First African American President of Danville Community College in Virginia

Currently, Dr. Gill serves as president of Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Missouri. Before that, she served as vice president of academic affairs and community and industry education at Tarrant County College in Hurst, Texas.

In Memoriam: Lorraine Elizabeth Green Branham, 1952-2019

A long-time journalist Lorraine Branham became dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York in 2008.

Amilcar Shabazz Becomes President of the National Council for Black Studies

Dr. Shabazz is a professor in the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Previously, he served as director of the American studies program, and founding director of the Center for African Studies & Development at Oklahoma State University.

Why Are Black Students More Likely Than Whites to Leave STEM Majors in College?

The authors note that Black students in STEM classrooms "are subjected to specific stereotypes about their presumed inferior cognitive and mathematical ability" and in these classrooms "students must essentially prove that they deserve to stay."

Kevin Gaines Named to a New Endowed Professorship at the University of Virginia

Dr. Gaines comes to the University of Virginia from Cornell University where he was the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Africana Studies and History. Previously he has taught at Princeton University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Michigan.

New Assignments for Five Black Scholars at Major Universities

Taking on new roles at Staci Perryman-Clark at Western Michigan University, Andre Carrington at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Leonard N. Moore at the University of Texas at Austin, Jerry Whitmore Jr. at Boston University, and Helane Davis of the University of Idaho.

The Next President of St. Cloud Technical and Community College in Minnesota

Since 2014, Dr. Annesa Cheek has been serving as vice president of school and community partnerships at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. She has been on the staff at the college since 2006 serving in a number of roles.

Texas Southern University Earns the First National HBCU Debate Championship

This past October, Wiley College in Marshall, Texas was awarded a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation to establish a Historically Black Colleges and Universities Speech and Debate League. The Team from Texas Southern University is the first champion.

In Memoriam: William M. Pender Sr., 1922-2017

Dr. Pender was hired in 1965 as director of guidance and teacher training at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He was a professor of education and later served as vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Gary Bledsoe Is the New Leader of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law

Bledsoe, who has been president of the Texas NAACP since 1991, will lead the law school at Texas Southern University in Houston on an interim basis as the law school goes through its American Bar Association compliance process.

In Memoriam: Alton Hornsby Jr.

After teaching briefly at Tuskegee University in Alabama, Dr. Hornsby joined the faculty at Morehouse College and served as chair of the history department for 30 years. After nearly 40 years on the Morehouse College faculty, Dr. Hornsby retired in 2010.

Alvia Wardlaw Honored by the Association of African American Museums

Alvia Wardlaw is a professor of art history and director and curator of the University Museum at Texas Southern University in Houston. In 1996, she became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in history at the University of Texas at Austin.

Howard University President Gets a Major Vote of Confidence

In 2015, Wayne A.I. Frederick became the 17th president of Howard University in Washington, D.C. Now the board of trustees of Howard University has extended his contract for five additional years after his first term is over in 2019.

Racism Rears Its Ugly Head on Several College and University Campuses

As series of racist incidents occurred on college campuses across the United States in recent days. Here are some examples.

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.

Mark Smith Appointed Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Smith was a member of the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic team in the sport of fencing. He currently serves as dean of the Graduate School at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He has held that post since 2009.

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