Tag: Vanderbilt University

Nashville’s Dixie Street Renamed to Honor a “Janitor” Who Pioneered Surgical Techniques

Vivien Thomas, who dropped out of college during the Great Depression, developed and refined a corrective cardiac surgical technique to treat “blue baby syndrome” at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1940s. Thomas did not receive due credit for the lifesaving advance for decades.

A Supreme Court Ban on Affirmative Action Would Halt Progress on Achieving a More Just Society

A new study by Joni Hersch, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Economics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, shows the devasting effects that would occur, should the Supreme Court ban the consideration of race in admissions decisions at the nation's most elite universities and professional schools.

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.

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.

Vanderbilt University Acquires Large Collection of Dizzy Gillespie Memorabilia

Vanderbilt’s partnership with the National Museum of African American Music has taken a giant step forward with the university’s inaugural acquisition — a rich collection of portraits, personal scrapbooks, signed albums, and more from the life and career of Dizzy Gillespie, a seminal figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.

Colleges and Universities Appoint Five African Americans to Administrative Positions

The five African Americans taking on new administrative duties are Kimberly D. Whitehead at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York, Cleo Rucker at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Kimberly Shiner at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, Kenneth Strother Jr. at Princeton University in New Jersey, and Brian Gibson at the University of Utah.

In Memoriam: Matthew Walker III, 1965-2021

Dr. Walker joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University in 2011 and held dual appointments as professor of the practice of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering and professor of radiology and radiological sciences in the School of Medicine. He also was associate director of the Medical Innovators Development Program.

The Racial Gap In Gifted Education Programs Is Not Only About Access

Many studies have shown that Black students are far less likely than their White peers to be selected for gifted education programs. But a new study shows that even when Black students are admitted into these programs they are less likely to benefit from gifted education than White students.

Vanderbilt University’s Steven Townsend Honored by the American Chemical Society

Dr. Townsend received the 2021 David Y. Gin Young Investigator Award from the American Chemical Society. The award recognizes "outstanding contributions to research in carbohydrate chemistry by scientists in the first seven years of their independent career."

A Quartet of African Americans Named to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Takin on new administrative roles are Adriel A. Hilton at Southern University New Orleans, Jacqueline Gill Powell at Virginia Community Colleges, Aarika Dorsey at River Parishes Community College in Gonzales, Louisiana, and Cleo D. Rucker at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Richard Milner to Lead the American Educational Research Association

H. Richard Milner IV is the Cornelius Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor of Education in the department of teaching and learning at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. He will serve one year as president-elect and then become president of the AERA in 2022.

Universities Announce the Appointments of Nine African Americans to Administrative Posts

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.

Six African Americans Appointed to Administrative Posts at Major Universities

Taking on new duties are Dawn L. Ridley at Howard University, Cedric Gathings at Mississippi State University, Danielle Haynes at Cornell University, Michèle G. Turner at the University of Southern California, Lonnie Cockerham at North Carolina A&T State University, and Franklin Ellis Jr. at Vanderbilt University.

Eight Black Administrators Taking on New Roles at Colleges and Universities

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.

The New Dean of the Graduate School at Vanderbilt University in Nashville

Dr. Christie-Mizell is a professor of sociology and had been serving as dean for undergraduate education in the College of Arts and Science at the university. He joined the faculty in 2010. Previously, he taught at the University of South Carolina, the University of Akron, and Kent State University.

Cornell’s Derrick Spires Wins First Book Award From the Modern Language Association

In the book, Dr. Spires, an associate professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, examines the parallel development of early Black print culture and legal and cultural understandings of U.S. citizenship between 1787 and 1861.

The New Director of African and African American Studies at the University of Arkansas

Caree A. Banton is an associate professor of African diaspora history, who is jointly appointed in the department of history and the African American studies program. She teaches classes in Afro-Caribbean history, African diaspora history, and race. She joined the faculty at the university in 2013.

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.

Vanderbilt Univerity Acquires the Photographic Collection of Rev. James Lawson

Lawson enrolled at the Vanderbilt Divinity School in 1958. While a student he helped organize sit-ins at lunchcounters in downtown Nashville. In 1960, he was expelled from the university for his participation in civil rights protests.

Six African Americans Appointed to Diversity Posts at Colleges and Universities

The appointees are Sheldon D. Fields at Penn State, Deidre Hill Butler at Union College in New York, Belinda Robnett at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Sonia Rucker at Southeast Missouri State University, Franklin Ellis at Vanderbilt University, and Nahomi Carlisle at Bunker Hill Community College.

Four African American Scholars Taking on New Faculty Duties

Taking on new roles are Carole Boyce Davies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Major Jackson at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Wallace Best at Princeton University in New Jersey, and Christopher C. Mathis Jr. at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Vanderbilt University Attracts a Major Black Scholar to Its Faculty

Currently a professor of sociology at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Michael Eric Dyson will join the faculty at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on January 1 as a University Distinguished Professor in African American and diaspora studies with a joint appointment in the Divinity School.

A Quartet of African American Women Scholars in New Teaching Positions

Taking on new faculty assignments are Candice Price at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin at Pennsylvania State University, Shatema Threadcraft at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and Charrise Barron at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Five African Americans Who Are Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative roles are Brian Jackson at Danville Community College in Virginia, Yasmine Farley at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, Clifford Porter at Norfolk State University in Virginia, Kristine Kelly at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and Kenyatta Randall at Grambling State University in Louisiana.

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.

Bunmi Olatunji to Lead the Graduate School at Vanderbilt University in Nashville

Bunmi Olatunji, the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology, was appointed interim dean of the Graduate School at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Olatunji had been serving as associate dean of academic affairs.

Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Assigned New Duties

Taking on new duties are Anderson Sunda-Meya at Xavier University in New Orleans, Julianne Vernon at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Malika Jeffries-EL at Boston University, and John Brown at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Six African Americans Who Have Been Named to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative posts are Candice Storey Lee at Vanderbilt University, Amir Henry at Winston-Salem State University, Jasmin Sessoms at Fayetteville State University, Jamal J. Myrick at the University of California, Riverside, Bruce A. Lewis at Northwestern University, and Jason Brooks at the University of Kentucky.

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’s Derrick Spires Wins the St. Louis Mercantile Library Prize

The award, given by the Bibliographical Society of America, honors research in the bibliography of American literature and history. Dr. Spires is an associate professor of English at Cornell University. He joined the faculty last fall after teaching at the University of Illinois.

Two Black Scholars Appointed to Endowed Chairs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville

Bunmi O. Olatunji was appointed to the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in Social and Natural Sciences and Duane G. Watson was appointed to the Frank W. Mayborn Chair at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.

Vanderbilt University Looks to Battle Hypertension at Black-Owned Barbershops

In Nashville, patrons from eight local barbershops who have uncontrolled hypertension will be invited to enroll in the study, where they will meet with a study pharmacist in the barbershop on a regular basis for six months.

The First African American Woman to Serve as Athletic Director in the Southeastern Conference

Dr. Lee has been serving as associate vice chancellor and deputy athletic director. She has been the department’s senior woman administrator for the athletics program since 2004. Dr. Lee was a four-year varsity letter winner in basketball and holds three degrees from Vanderbilt University.

Colleges and Universities Appoint Eight African Americans to Administrative Posts

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.

David Williams II to Be Honored Posthumously by the National Collegiate Athletic Association

The late David Williams II, the former athletic director at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, is the 2020 winner of the NCAA president's Pat Summitt Award. The award honors an individual who has demonstrated devotion to the development of college athletes.

Rating the Effectiveness of Ph.D. Bridge Programs in STEM Disciplines

A new study by scientists at California State Polytechnic University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Southern California, finds that Ph.D. bridge programs can be a potent mechanism to empower students, foster diversity and spur a more holistic approach to graduate education.

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