Monthly Archives: March 2022
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.
Vanderbilt University Acquires the Papers of Jazz Musician Yusef Lateef
Vanderbilt’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries are now home to a rich collection of research materials from the life and career of Yusef A. Lateef, a Grammy-winning musician who played a pioneering role in bringing Middle Eastern and Asian sounds to American jazz.
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.
New Cornell University Fellowship Honors The First Black Student to Earn a Ph.D. in Botany
The Thomas Wyatt Turner Fellowship will support up to 10 graduate students from 1890 institutions, which are historically Black colleges and universities that are land-grant universities. They will spend the 2022-23 academic year on the Cornell University campus.
The University of Tennessee Acquires the Personal Archives of Artist Beauford Delaney
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Libraries has acquired the complete personal archive of internationally renowned modernist painter Beauford Delaney (1901–1979). Delaney was a member of the Harlem Renaissance and one of the leading modernist painters of his time.
New Census Bureau Data Shows Racial Differences in Household Debt
It may come as a surprise to many readers that White households have far more debt than Black households. But Blacks have median household incomes that are only 60 percent of the median income of non-Hispanic White households. And Whites hold 10 or more times the wealth of Black households. So Whites have a far greater ability to pay off their debts.
Jomo Mutegi Selected to Lead the National Association for Research in Science Technology
NARST is a worldwide organization for improving science teaching and learning through research. Dr. Mutegi, an associate professor of science education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has been a member of NARST since 1995.
Bowie State University Scholar Shows How to Reduce Civilians Deaths During Police Encounters
Each year about 1,000 civilians are killed in the United States by law enforcement officers. Many of these people killed in these encounters are African Americans. Now, a new system developed by James Hyman, assistant professor of public administration at Bowie State University, may be used to help understand how and why deadly encounters occur.
A Pair of African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Sharon Porterfield was appointed dean of the College of Education at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Shatrela Washington-Hubbard was named the Swinton A. Griffith III Dean of the College of Business & Communication at Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia.
New CDC Reports Show Racial Differences in Tobacco Usage
In 2020, 14.4 percent of African American adults smoked cigarettes, compared to 13.3 percent of non-Hispanic White adults. Black Americans were more likely to smoke cigars than any other racial or ethnic group. Blacks were nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic Whites to smoke tobacco in pipes.
Hampton University’s Felicia Blow Elected Chair of the Public Relations Society of America
Dr. Blow joined the staff at Hampton University in 2017 as associate vice president for development. She had previously worked in manufacturing, waste management and environmental services, telecommunications, and for Paul D. Camp Community College and Tidewater Community College.
Racist Incidents Occur on the Campus of Ohio University in Athens
In one incident, a trash bag was left outside a resident doorway with a sign that included racial slurs. Also, a student athlete urinated on the dormitory room door of a Black student damaging some of the contents of the room.
New Network of Historically Black and Predominately Black Community Colleges
Complete College America, a national nonprofit organization with the goal to raise postsecondary attainment in the United States, has announced the launch of a network of 22 historically Black community colleges (HBCCs) and predominantly Black community colleges (PBCCs) across eight states.
Three Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Roles at Colleges and Universities
Richard Baker was named senior vice dean of medical education for the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. Imani N. S. Munyaka is a new assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California, San Diego, and Ted Evans is the new director of entrepreneurship and an instructor in business at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Fort Valley State University Students Eligible for Summer Research at the University of Georgia
The Rising Scholars Internship is an opportunity for students from FVSU to conduct research with scientists from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and reside on the UGA campus in Athens from May 23 through July 23.
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers Wins the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, a professor of English at the University of Oklahoma and author of five poetry collections, was the winner in the fiction category of the National Book Critics Circle Awards. She was honored for her novel The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois.
Bomb Threats Continue at HBCUs: Federal Government Offers Grants to Help
The Biden administration has announced that HBCUs that have received bomb threats are eligible for grants of between $50,000 and $150,000 to help them deal with these bomb scares. The grants can be used to improve security or increase mental health resources.
Six African Americans Who Are Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
Those appointed to administrative posts are Lydia G. Sermons at Spelman College in Atlanta, Roderick Johnson at Virginia Union University, Katrina Poe at Mississippi State University, Austin Jamar Banks at the University of Colorado, Elizabeth Horton at South Carolina State University, and Latonia Garrett at Wayne State University in Detroit.
In Memoriam: Walter Matthew Brown, 1927-2022
Walter Brown was the former dean of the School of Education at North Carolina Central University in Durham. He was the first student to graduate with a Ph.D. degree from any historically Black college or university in the United States.
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.
In Memoriam: Earl Nathan Smith III, 1966-2022
Earl Nathan Smith III was assistant dean for student academic services in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. He also taught in the Africana studies and ethnic studies departments at the university.
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.
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.
New Institute at UCLA to Provide Summer Research Fellowships in Politics for HBCU Students
Four undergraduate fellows from Howard University in Washington, D.C., will come to the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles this June for an immersive six-week academic research program that explores the crucial role of race, ethnicity, and politics in society.
In Memoriam: Charles Vert Willie, 1927-2022
Charles Willie taught at Syracuse University from 1950 to 1974. He was the first Black faculty member to be awarded tenure at the university. He later served on the faculty at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.
Racial Disparity in the Ownership and Value of Particular Assets
While the overall wealth gap between Blacks and Whites is expanding, there are huge differences in the percentage of Black and White families who own their home, have money in the bank, have retirement savings, and who own stock or mutual fund shares. For those who own such assets, there is a huge racial gap in their value.
Syracuse University’s Gwendolyn Pough to Lead the Rhetoric Society of America
Gwendolyn Pough, dean’s professor of the humanities and professor of women’s and gender studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University in New York, will serve a six-year term as president-elect, president, and past-president, of the Rhetoric Society of America, beginning in July.
Wells Fargo Report Details Black Economic Progress
Wells Fargo, the large financial firm, recently released a new report detailing significant economic progress that the Black community has achieved in recent years in employment, lowering the unemployment rate, income, and entrepreneurship.
Rodney Priestley Will Be the Next Dean of the Graduate School at Princeton University
Dr. Priestley joined the Princeton faculty as an assistant professor in 2009 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris. He became an associate professor in 2015 and a full professor in 2019.
The Impact of a Lack of African Americans in the Hollywood Executive Suite
There were no Black CEOs or members of the senior management team at the major Hollywood studios in early 2020, and only 3.9 percent of major studio unit heads were Black.
Ruth Simmons Announces She Plans to Step Down as President of Prairie View A&M University
Ruth Simmons, president of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, has announced that she plans to retire but is willing to continue serving in the role until her successor is named. Dr. Simmons came out of retirement in 2017 to lead the historically Black university.
Three African Americans Who Have Been Named to Diversity Positions in Higher Education
Jonathan A. McElderry was appointed dean of student inclusive excellence at Elon University in North Carolina. Trachette Jackson is the assistant vice president for research for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the University of Michigan and Risë Nelson was appointed director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Yale University Library.
Jackson State University in Mississippi Partners With Six Community Colleges in Alabama
Jackson State University, the historically Black educational institution in Mississippi, has announced a partnership with six Alabama community colleges to help associate degree graduates transition into its bachelor degree programs.
Three Black Scholars Taking on New Assignments at Major Universities
Taking on new roles are Norbert L. W. Wilson at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Hiruy Meharena at the University of California, San Diego, and Deidra Hodges at Florida International University in Miami.
Meharry Medical College to Add a New Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Data Science
Students in the new program, scheduled to begin in August, will take courses in mathematics, computational science, biostatistics, biomedical informatics, biomedical image processing and analysis, artificial intelligence and deep learning, and computer programming.
