Monthly Archives: October 2021
Mary Frances Berry Wins the Lewis Award for History and Social Justice
The Lewis Prize is offered annually to recognize a historian for leadership and sustained engagement at the intersection of historical work, public culture, and social justice. The prize is named in memory of John Lewis, the civil rights icon who represented Georgia in the United States House of Representatives for 34 years.
Historically Black Florida A&M University Joins the Peace Crops Prep Program
The Peace Corps announced it is partnering with 11 more universities in 2021 to provide the Peace Corps Prep certificate program to undergraduate students. Florida A&M University is the only historically Black college or university among the 11 new partnering institutions.
Five African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
The five African Americans appointed to new administrative posts are Branville G. Bard Jr. at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Samantha Rogers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Guy J. Albertini at Rutgers University in New Jersey, Bobby L. Cummings at Delaware State University, and Carolyn Carter at St. Augustine's University in Raleigh.
Communications Programs at Tuskegee University and Auburn University Enter Partnership
Under the agreement, Auburn University and Tuskegee University will offer joint programs in various communication specializations. The association also sets in place a program through which students can earn a bachelor's degree in communication from Tuskegee and then a master's degree in communication from Auburn.
University of Illinois Scholar Cynthia Oliver Named a Doris Duke Artist
Cynthia Oliver is an award-winning dancemaker, performer, and a professor of dance at the University of Illinois. She also serves as associate vice chancellor for research and innovation in the humanities at the university.
Howard University Launches Its Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership
The center aims to engage in innovative research and programming to advance women and gender issues for students. The center’s mission is to build an interdisciplinary global center of excellence focused on Black women issues, feminist activism, and transformational leadership.
Four African Americans Who Have Been Named to University Diversity Positions
Taking on new roles as diversity officers are Anthony Jones at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, Shavonne Shorter at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Bruce King at Elmhurst University in Illinois, and Thomas Witherspoon at the University of Tampa in Florida.
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.
University of Rochester Creating a Digital History of a Fort in Ghana Used by Slave Traders
A new digital history project at the University of Rochester in New York will create a website with meticulously detailed virtual tours of a 1632 English fort on the coast of Ghana that was among the earliest to send enslaved Africans to the American colonies.
A New Oral History of Black Alumni at Four Educational Institutions in the Carolinas
The “Counting It All Joy!” initiative aims to better understand and to make more visible the narratives of Black people who have attended Davidson College, Duke University, Furman University, and Johnson C. Smith University between 1990 and 2020.
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.
University of Georgia School of Law Names Harold Melton to an Endowed Professorship
Harold D. Melton, who previously served as the chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, has been named the holder of the Carl E. Sanders Chair in Political Leadership at the University of Georgia School of Law.
Howard University Honors Its First Dean of Women
The 2400 block of 4th Street NW in Washington, D.C. has been renamed Lucy Diggs Slowe Way. Slowe was valedictorian of the Howard University Class of 1908 and was the university's first dean of women.
A Hidden Tragedy of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Orphaned Black Children
From April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, data suggest that more than 140,000 children under age 18 in the United States lost a parent, custodial grandparent, or grandparent caregiver who provided the child’s home and basic needs. Black children were 2.4 times as likely as White children to lose a caregiver.
Gloria Blackwell Is the New CEO of the American Association of University Women
Blackwell had been serving as the executive vice president and chief program officer for the association. For 17 years, she directed AAUW’s highly esteemed fellowships and grants program which has awarded more than $70 million in funding to women scholars and programs in the U.S. and overseas.
University Study Finds No Progress Toward Racial Equality in Buffalo in 30 Years
"The poverty rate, household income, homeownership, employment — not only is there no progress, there’s no change. We’re saying that in a lot of ways the situation is more entrenched, more solidified.”
Notre Dame’s K. Matthew Dames Is the New Leader of the Association of Research Libraries
Dr. Dames came to Notre Dame this fall after serving as Boston University Librarian since 2018. Earlier, Dr. Dames was associate university librarian for scholarly resources and services at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
UCLA Study Finds a Racial Bias Among Physicians in Prescribing Pain Medicine
A new study by Dan P. Ly, an assistant professor at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, finds that physicians prescribed opioids more often to their White patients who complained of new-onset low back pain than to their Black patients.
A Trio of Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed Deans
Kimberly Moorehead has been named dean of the University College at Dillard University in New Orleans. Malcolm Butler will be the next dean of the Cato School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Nicquet Blake was appointed dean of the Graduate Division at the University of California, San Francisco.
Morgan State University Is Establishing Three Endowed Chairs in STEM Fields
The three endowed professorships are the first in Morgan State University’s 154-year history and will place the university in a strong position to recruit some of the world’s best researchers and academic minds.
Five Black Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Higher Education Administrative Positions
Those appointed to new administrative positions in higher education are Corey Bradford at Governors State University in Illinois, Cheryl Moore at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Jarris Louis Taylor, Jr. at Hampton University in Virginia, Thesha Woodley at Winston-Salem State University, and Opeyemi Olukemi at Duke University.
North Carolina Central University Launches the Marathon Teaching Institute
North Carolina Central University’s School of Education has introduced a new program to increase minority male representation in education. The Marathon Teaching Institute aims to further assist with developing a more diverse field of top-quality educators.
Five African American Faculty Members Who Have Been Assigned New Roles
Taking on new positions or duties are Derrick R. Brooms at the University of Tennessee, Shona Tuck at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, Christopher Schell at the University of California, Berkeley, Deidre Pearson at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and D'Jaris Coles-White at Western Michigan University.
Cancer Research Funding Renewed at Meharry Medical College and Tennessee State University
The partnership was formed in 1999 between Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and historically Black Meharry Medical College. The partnership has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2000. Historically Black Tennessee State University joined the partnership in 2011.
Three Universities Announce the Appointments of African American Diversity Officers
Carl Hampton is the chief diversity officer at Governor State University in Illinois. Kristie A. Ford was named associate provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and Michael States was named associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
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.
Federal Judge Upholds Race-Sensitive Admissions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In 2014, the group Students for Fair Admissions filed a lawsuit alleging that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill unfairly uses race to give significant preference to underrepresented minority applicants to the detriment of White and Asian-American applicants, while ignoring race-neutral alternatives for achieving a diverse student body.
In Memoriam: Colin Luther Powell , 1937-2021
Colin Powell was the first African American to serve as Secretary of State, National Security Adviser, and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1997, he founded the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at City College of New York. In 2013, the Center was transformed into the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.
Higher Education Grants or Gifts of Interest to African American
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.
Grambling State University Cancels Classes and Institutes a Curfew After Shooting Incident
Historically Black Grambling State University in Louisiana canceled classes for two days and instituted a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. after a shooting incident on campus in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 17. Eight people were shot, one of whom was killed. Only one of the injured was a current student.
In Memoriam: Timuel Dixon Black Jr., 1918-2021
Timuel Black, a noted American historian, educator, and civil rights activist, died on October 13 at his home in Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. He was 102 years old.
Black Students’ Scores on the ACT Test Continue to Fall and the Racial Gap Widens
In a year when many test dates were postponed or canceled due to the global pandemic and when many colleges and universities made standardized test scores optional, the persistent racial gap in scores on the ACT college entrance examination grew wider. Whites were more than five times as likely as Blacks to be prepared for college-level work in all four areas of English, math, science, and reading.
Linda Scott Was Named President-Elect of the American Academy of Nursing
Dr. Scott became the eighth dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016. Earlier she was associate dean for academic affairs, director of graduate studies, and urban health at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Nursing.
A Snapshot of African American Enrollments in Graduate School After the Onset of the Pandemic
In the fall of 2020, 53,754 African Americans enrolled in graduate school for the first time. African Americans made up 12.3 percent of all first-time graduate enrollees from the United States in 2020. Of these, 69.4 percent were women.
