Raymond Wise 
was appointed director of the African American Choral Ensemble at the African American Arts Institute of Indiana University in Bloomington. He will also serve as a visiting professor in African American and African diaspora students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Wise has recorded 22 albums and has written more than 600 musical compositions. He is a graduate of Dennison University in Granville, Ohio, and holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in music education from Ohio State University.
Omiunota Ukpokodu was promoted to full professor of curriculum and instruction in the School of Education at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She has been on the faculty at the university since 1998. Previously, she taught at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.
A native of Nigeria, Professor Ukpokodu holds a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees, and a doctorate in educational curriculum and instruction, all from the University of Kansas.
Joseph Mwantuali was promoted to full professor of French at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He has been on the Hamilton faculty since 1995.
Professor Mwantuali holds bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Zaire. He holds a second master’s degree from the University of Southern New Hampshire and a Ph.D. in French from Pennsylvania State University.
Reginald Bess is the new chair of the department of English and foreign languages at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He was chair of the division of general studies at Morris College in Sumter, South Carolina.
Dr. Bess holds master’s degrees from West Virginia State University, Grambling State University, and Louisiana Tech University. He earned a Ph.D. in medieval German studies at Ohio State University.
