Monthly Archives: January 2020
African Americans and the Mountain of Graduate Student Loan Debt
According to a new report from the Center for American Progress, nearly 80 percent of Black students completing their graduate degrees in the 2015-16 academic year had accumulated federal debt for their graduate education and the median amount of this debt was more than $51,000.
Conway Jeffress to Step Down as President of Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan
The timing of his departure has not yet been determined. Dr. Jeffress has led the community college since 2001. He first joined the staff at the college in 1982.
A College Education Continues to Pay Economic Dividends to Black Graduates
A new report from The College Board shows that a college education continues to provide widespread economic benefits to those who obtain the credential. This is particularly true for African Americans.
SherRhonda Gibbs to Lead the Monfort College of Business at the University of Northern Colorado
Currently, Dr. Gibbs holds the Alvin Williams Endowed Chair of Minority Entrepreneurship in the School of Management at the University of Southern Mississippi. She also serves as the interim director of the School of Management.
Fayetteville State University Will Offer a Nursing Master’s Degree in Patient Quality and Safety
Experts have calculated that medical errors are the cause of more than 250,000 deaths per year in the United States. The importance of implementing quality improvement and patient safety education into academic curricula has been emphasized by medical and nursing organizations.
Tracie Hall Appointed Executive Director of the American Library Association
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 57,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The association was founded 143 years ago. Traci Hall will be the first Black woman to lead the association.
Howard University Receives Donation of African Art to Honor the Late Professor Ronald Walters
Ronald W. Walters served as a professor in Howard University’s department of political science for 25 years. His wife has donated a collection of African American art to the university, valued at $2,519,950. The university will establish an endowed chair to honor Professor Walters.
Five African Americans Who Have Been Named to Administrative Posts at Colleges and Universities
Taking on new administrative roles are Kimberly M. Scott at Tuskegee University in Alabama, Gloria Walker at the University of New Orleans, Rodney Chatman at the University of Utah, Sonya Williams at Lake County College in Illinois, and Nicole R. Stokes at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Xavier University of Louisiana Debuts a Physician Assistant Degree Program
This new program makes Xavier one of four colleges in Louisiana, one of two in New Orleans, and one of only three historically Black colleges and universities in the nation to offer a physician assistant program. Xavier University now offers 12 master's degree programs.
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.
Anti-Blackness in American Higher Education
Bakari Lumumba details how African American student college opportunities continue to be limited by structural disadvantages and systematic racism and how to contest them.
Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers
Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.
Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.
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.
Williams College Receives the Archives of Alumnus Sterling Brown
Sterling Brown was one of America’s most influential poets and scholars. Brown was a member of the graduating class of 1922 at Williams College. He taught in the English department at Howard University for more than 40 years.
Rutgers University-Camden Chancellor to Lead the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Phoebe A. Haddon became chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden in July 2014. From 2009 to 2014, she was dean of the Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland. Chancellor Haddon will continue to fulfill all her duties at Rutgers University-Camden while serving as board chair.
Report Finds That Black Students Do Not Have Equal Access to Advanced K-12 Courses
A new report from The Education Trust finds that Black students across the country experience inequitable access to advanced coursework opportunities. As a result, these students are missing out on critical opportunities that can set them up for success in college.
Willie Todd Jr. Is the New President of Denmark Technical College in South Carolina
Dr. Todd served as the vice president of academic affairs & student services at Denmark Technical College since July 29, 2019. Prior to that appointment, he served as the provost and vice president for academic affairs at historically Black Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.
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.
Two African American Women Appointed to Dean Positions at Law Schools in the United States
Sean Megan Scott was named the next president and dean of the California Western School of Law in San Diego and Camille M. Davidson, a former professor and associate dean at Charlotte School of Law, will become the next dean of the Southern Illinois University School of Law. Both women will take office this coming summer.
The Diminishing Returns of a College Education on Wealth Generation for African Americans
Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis find that the benefits of a college education as it relates to wealth are far less than has been the case in the past. This is particularly true for African American college graduates.
C. Nicole Mason Is the New President of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Prior to taking over the leadership of the Institute, Dr. Mason was the executive director of the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She has also taught at Georgetown University and Spelman College.
President of Texas Southern University Placed on Administrative Leave
Austin A. Lane, the president of Texas Southern University in Houston was placed on administrative leave with pay. Dr. Lane told a local television station that he was not invited to the meeting where he was put on leave and hadn't been advised that he had done anything wrong.
Morgan State University May Establish a College of Osteopathic Medicine
The proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine at Morgan State University in Baltimore would be the first new medical school at a historically Black college or university in nearly 45 years and the first osteopathic medical school at an HBCU in history.
Kishauna Soljour Receives Dissertation Award From the Council of Graduate Schools
In 2019, Kishauna E. Soljour became the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D. in History from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York. Her doctorate dissertation was recently honored by the Council of Graduate Schools.
A Strong Glimmer of Hope for Morris Brown College in Atlanta
The General Board of the African Methodist Episcopal Church has announced that it is forgiving $4 million in debt owed to the board by historically Black Morris Brown College in Atlanta. The elimination of the debt will help the college in its efforts to regain accreditation.
A Trio of African Americans Taking on New Administrative Roles in Higher Education
The three African Americans appointed to new administrative posts are James A. Felton III at The College of New Jersey, Nadirah Pippen at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Cheryl A. Brown at Stanford University.
Harris-Stowe State University Partners With Charter School System in St. Louis
The program is for students at Confluence Academies who want to major in education in college. These students are able to earn college credits while in high school. The hope is that the charter school system school can ‘grow its own’ teachers by providing this opportunity.
Former Tennessee State University Faculty Member Given Posthumous Honor
The Tennessean, the daily newspaper in Nashville, has named a conference room in its headquarters to honor the late Getahn Ward, a reporter for the paper and an alumnus and adjunct faculty member at historically Black Tennessee State University.
Former Employee Charges Clark College With Racial Discrimination
The school’s former diversity outreach manager stated that the administration's behavior created a hostile and stressful work environment that resulted in her becoming physically ill from stress.
Hate Crimes on College Campuses and in Higher Education Spaces
Today’s college students of color are demanding safety, protection and accountability from their schools, administrators, politicians, and the country.
Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.
Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers
Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.
Harvard Business School Alumni Seeks Greater Diversity at Their Alma Mater
There are currently 56 African Americans (6.2 percent) in the latest 900-member class at Harvard Business School. At the present time, only two of the 100 tenured faculty members are Black.
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.
The Higher Education of Delaware’s First Black Supreme Court Justice
African Americans make up 21 percent of the population in the state of Delaware. Yet until now, the state has never had an African Americans on its highest court. Tamika Montgomery-Reeves recently began her tenure as a justice on the the Delaware Supreme Court.
