Monthly Archives: December 2021
Three African American Women Appointed to Leadership Posts at Georgia State University
Nicolle Parsons-Pollard has been appointed interim provost and head of academic affairs. Corrie Fountain, director of faculty development, will serve as interim associate provost for faculty affairs and Cynthia Lester will serve as interim dean at Perimeter College at Georgia State University.
Fifteen HBCUs Receive Grants From the Propel Center
The Propel Center aims to provide HBCU students with virtual and physical pathways for propelling their leadership development, entrepreneurial endeavors, and community impact. Fifteen HBCUs have received grants totaling $3 million for programs in agri-tech and the arts.
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.
Huntsman Savile Row Establishes Scholarship Program at Morehouse College
The scholarship provides financial support to Morehouse students and gives them access to signature professional development opportunities. In addition, Huntsman Scholars also participate in mentoring activities and coaching sessions with company executives.
Anita Allen Wins the APA’s Highest Honor for Service to Philosophy
Professor Allen is an internationally renowned expert on philosophical dimensions of privacy and data protection law, ethics, bioethics, legal philosophy, women’s rights, and diversity in higher education. In 2018-19, she was the first Black woman to serve as president of the American Philosophical Association.
HBCU Students Produce Fashion Collection Through Urban Outfitters Internship Program
Students from Clark Atlanta University, Howard University, and North Carolina A&T State University participated in the 10-week summer internship program that designed a 24-piece apparel and lifestyle collection celebrating the culture and community of their respective schools.
A Trio of African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
Dwayne Pinkney was named executive vice president for finance and administration at Indiana University. Kimberly Davidson will be the inaugural ombudsperson at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and DeNeia Thomas was named vice president for enrollment and student success at Texas Southern University.
In Memoriam: Charles Johnson, 1927-2021
Dr. Charles Johnson joined Duke in 1970 as the first Black faculty member in the School of Medicine and the first Black physician on the faculty of Duke University. He served on the faculty of the School of Medicine for 26 years until his retirement in 1996.
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.
Mural on the Campus of Washington University in St. Louis Is Defaced With Racist Graffiti
A mural depicting several notable African Americans on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis was vandalized and defaced with racist graffiti. The faces of some of the African Americans were painted over and the name of a White supremacist group was painted on the mural.
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.
Racist Incidents Reported on the Campus of the University of Utah
People dressed up in Ku Klux Klan outfits were seen in a residential hall at the University of Utah trying to recruit students for a White supremacist group. In another incident, human excrement was found smeared on the dormitory room door of a Black student.
Academic Fields Where No African Americans Earned Doctorates in 2020
African Americans earned just 2.1 percent of all doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the physical and earth sciences and 3.2 percent of all doctorates in mathematics and computer science. There were 17 fields where no African Americans earned doctorates.
Jermaine Williams Appointed President of Montgomery College in Maryland
Since 2019, Dr. Williams has been serving as president of Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York. Earlier, he was vice president for student affairs at North Shore Community College in Danvers, Massachusetts. Before that, he held various administrative posts at Northeastern Illinois University.
Study Finds Teachers Offer Lower Quality Instruction to Predominantly Black Classes
A new study by researchers at New York University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill finds find that classes taught by the same teacher receive a lower quality of teaching when they comprise higher percentages of Black and Latinx students.
Tonya Smith-Jackson to Serve as Provost at North Carolina A&T State University
Dr. Smith Jackson has worked for North Carolina A&T since 2013, most recently as senior vice provost for academic affairs. She originally joined A&T as a professor and chair of the department of industrial and systems engineering. Earlier in her career she taught at Virginia Tech.
Number of Work-Related Fatalities for African Americans Dropped in 2020
Before the pandemic, the number of African American deaths due to injuries suffered on the job had been increasing. In 2015, 495 African Americans died as a result of work-related injuries. This had climbed to 634 in 2019, an increase of 28 percent. In 2020, the number dropped to 541.
Roberta Waite Appointed Dean of the Georgetown University School of Nursing
Dr. Waite is a professor of nursing and executive director of Drexel University’s Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services – a nurse-managed community-based organization that provides comprehensive care to thousands of individuals each year.
In Memoriam: Desmond Mpilo Tutu, 1931-2021
Desmond Tutu, the Anglican archbishop who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to dismantle apartheid in South Africa, died in Cape Town on December 26. He was 90 years old and had suffered from cancer.
The National Center for Entrepreneurship to Be Established at Howard University
The PNC Foundation, the charitable arm of the PNC Financial Services Group, is funding the center that will support expanded opportunities for Black entrepreneurship with enhanced educational, leadership, and capacity-building resources and programs nationwide.
Four African American Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments
Taking on new duties or assigned to new positions are Lisa M. Anderson at the Graduate School at Arizona State University, Eve Dunbar at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, David Staten at South Carolina State University, and Monica Peek at the University of Chicago.
New STEM Scholarship Program for HBCUs Created by Penn National Gaming
Penn National Gaming, a company that operates more than 40 casinos, racetracks, and other hospitality venues, is dedicating more than $4 million over five years to at least three HBCUs in states where Penn National operates.
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.
Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation to Sponsor HBCU Scholarship Program
The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation has announced a scholarship program that will benefit 12 historically Black colleges and universities. Spelman College and Morehouse College in Atlanta have been announced as two participating institutions.
Five African Americans Who Will Begin the New Year in New Administrative Posts
Taking on new administrative duties in higher education are Cameron Hall at the University of South Carolina, Orielle Hope at Salem College in North Carolina, Ronnie Agnew at Ohio State University, Shea Kidd Brown at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and TJ Shelton at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
In Memoriam: Shirley Ann Mathis McBay, 1935-2021
After attending segregated public schools, Dr. McBay enrolled in college at the age of 15. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Georgia. Dr. McBay had a long career in academia at Spelman College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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.
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.
Racist Group Chat Among Sorority Members Exposed at the University of Alabama
According to published reports, the president of Alpha Phi sorority wrote to group chat members, “I’m gonna yack, it smells so bad in here,” referring to the atmosphere in a local bar. Another member agreed, before another member wrote, “cigs, weed, and black girl.”
In Memoriam: Tyler Stovall, 1954-2021
Tyler Stovall was a renowned historian of modern Europe, professor, and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University. From 2014 to 2020, he was dean of humanities at the University of California, Santa Cruz
Three African American Women Appointed to University Administrative Positions
Debra Bright has been named associate vice president for student affairs at Howard University. Lorraine Goffe was appointed chief human resource officer at Northwestern University and Marquita Armstead was named executive associate athletic director at the University of Nebraska.
Research Doctoral Degrees Awarded by Historically Black Universities in 2020
Data for the annual Survey of Earned Doctorates from the National Science Foundation shows that 482 doctorates were awarded by historically Black colleges and universities in 2020. Thus, HBCUs conferred just under 0.9 percent of all doctoral degrees awarded in the United States in 2020.
Crystal Williams Will Be the Eighteenth President of the Rhode Island School of Design
President-elect Williams has been serving as a professor of English and vice president and associate provost for community & inclusion at Boston University. She began her academic career at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. She later served as associate vice president for strategic initiatives at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
Huge Racial Disparities Among Medical Residents in Specific Fields
A new report from the Association of American Medical College shows there were slightly more than 7,000 Black or African American medical residents in the 2020-21 year. They made up 5.8 percent of all medical residents. This is less than half of what would be called for if racial parity were to prevail. Many fields had no Black residents at all.
