Monthly Archives: December 2022
Accrediting Agency Places Saint Augustine’s University on Probation
Citing concerns about Saint Augustine's University's finances, the board of trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges recently voted to place the historically Black university on accreditation probation for a year.
A Quartet of Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments
The four Black faculty members who have been appointed to new roles are Sylvester Johnson at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, LaQuandra Nesbitt in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at George Washington University, Lorgia García Peña at Princeton University in New Jersey, and Kyaien Conner at the University of Pittsburgh.
Fayetteville State University of Offer Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Training
Fayetteville State is the first HBCU in the country to host a sexual assault nurse examiners training program at its nursing school. Today, there are fewer than 100 SANEs certified across the state of North Carolina. The university's SANE program aims to train 20 of these specially qualified nurses per semester, including the summer, with a goal of reaching 60 per year.
The Library of Congress Recognizes Rita Dove for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry
Rita Dove, the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia, received the 2022 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry for lifetime achievement from the Library of Congress. Professor Dove has published 11 collections of poetry. She served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995 and won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1987.
Spelman College Will Be the First HBCU to Offer a Bachelor’s Degree in Documentary Filmmaking
Support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation for the new film documentary program began during the pandemic with equipment purchases, which allowed students to continue their studies remotely and without interruption. Now a $1 million donation will fund the creation of the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Center for Documentary Media Studies.
Five African Americans Who Are Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education
Taking on new administrative roles are William Broussard at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Angela Griffinat Wilmington College in Ohio, Anthony Brooks at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, Yogananda Pittman at the University of California, Berkeley, and Kenyatta N. Shamburger at Talladega College in Alabama.
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.
Wayne State University Announces a Cluster Hire Program for 30 Scholars Focused on Black Studies
Wayne State University is launching a cluster hire program that will recruit and hire 30 new humanities faculty and create the Detroit Center for Black Studies. The initiative will support Wayne State's goal to build a more inclusive and equitable university by prioritizing faculty and research centered on the Black experience.
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.
In Memoriam: Sylvester Modupe Broderick Jr., 1941-2022
A native of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Professor Broderick came to the United States in 1959 to attend what is now Otterbein University in Ohio. He later taught at North Carolina A&T State University, the University of Wisconsin, and universities in Brazil and Africa.
Dartmouth College Commits $100 Million to Increase Diversity in STEM Fields
Dartmouth's STEM-X program will focus on student diversity in STEM programs, faculty recruitment, and research and scholarship. The program will include an undergraduate scholarship program with the goal of enhancing STEM participation by students from underrepresented groups.
African Americans Are Making Progress in Medical School Enrollments
In 2022, there were 9,630 African Americans enrolled at U.S. medical schools. They made up 10 percent of total enrollments. In 2015, Blacks were 7.2 percent of total enrollments. Since 2015, the number of Blacks enrolled in U.S. medical schools is up by nearly 54 percent.
T. Ramon Stuart to Lead the West Virginia University Institute of Technology
Dr. Stuart most recently served as the president of Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. In 2016, he was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. Before joining the staff at Fort Valley State University, Dr. Stuart served on the faculty at West Virginia State Community and Technical College.
A Severe Lack of Teacher Diversity in the Nation’s K-12 Schools
A new report from the U.S. Department of Education finds that 80 percent of the nation's K-12 teachers are White, while only 45 percent of the students in these schools are White. African Americans are 6.1 percent of all teachers in public schools but 15 percent of all students.
The American Museum of Natural History in New York Names its First Black President
The American Museum of Natural History was founded in 1869. In 2006, the museum established the Richard Gilder Graduate School which includes a Ph.D. granting program in comparative biology within the museum. It also offers a master's degree in teaching program. Sean Decatur, president of Kenyon College in Ohio, will begin leading the museum in April.
Oluwaranti Akiyode Named Dean of the Howard University College of Pharmacy
Dr. Akiyode has been serving as the interim dean of the College of Pharmacy since July 2022. She has taught at Howard University for 21 years and is a full professor in the department of clinical and administrative pharmacy sciences.
New Scholarship Program at Yale to Offer Financial Aid to New Students Who Attend HBCUs
The Yale and Slavery Working Group revealed details of an effort by individuals within the Yale and New Haven communities who thwarted a proposal in 1831 to establish what could have been America’s first institution of higher learning for Black students. The new Pennington Fellowship, to provide scholarships for New Haven students to attend HBCUs, is part of the reckoning process.
A Trio of Black Americans Who Have Been Named to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education
Alyn Goodson was given the added duties of chief of staff to the chancellor of Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Lauretta Hill will lead the Department of Public Safety at the University of Southern California and Deidra Harris-Lumpkins has been appointed associate vice chancellor for human resources at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Howard University to Offer Free Test Preparation Services to Undergraduate and Graduate Students
Howard University announced that through a new partnership with Kaplan Inc., it will immediately begin providing all of its undergraduate students with free test prep courses for graduate-level admissions exams and free test prep for professional licensing exams for its students enrolled at its graduate schools.
Nicole Joseph Honored for Her Work to Increase Opportunities for Black Girls in Mathematics
Dr. Joseph’s research stems from her own experience growing up feeling alone as a Black girl in a mathematics class where other students didn’t look like her. Her experiences shaped her drive to tell the stories of Black girls and women and how they differ from their White girl and Black male counterparts.
Florida A&M University Extends Contract and Issues a Nice Bonus to President Larry Robinson
The Florida A&M University board of trustees has voted to give President Larry Robinson a 3.5 percent raise, a 17.5 percent bonus and to extend his contract for another year. Under the State University System regulations, the board of trustees can only extend the president’s contract for 12 months.
Three African American Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Positions
Taking on new duties relating to diversity are Rashanda Booker at Fresno State University in California, Kenny Emmanuel Yarbrough at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and Elwood Watson of East Tennessee State University.
In Memoriam: Oscar Lewis Prater, 1939-2022
Dr. Prater was appointed the sixth president of Fort Valley State College in 1990. During his tenure, he presided over the college's transition to university status. He stepped down in 2001. Dr. Prater later was named the nineteenth president of Talladega College and served from 2005 to 2007.
Traveling While Black: The HBCU Sports and Student Experience – In the Rear View Mirror of Historical Context
Dr. Al-Tony Gilmore discusses recent controversial police stops of buses carrying HBCU students.
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.
The University Consortium on Afro-Latin American Studies Will Examine Western Hemisphere Slavery
Of the 10.7 million Africans who survived the Middle Passage, 4.9 million were taken to Brazil, another 1 million arrived in Jamaica, and millions more were taken to various islands in the Caribbean. A new collaboration between Harvard University, the University of Pittsburgh and four universities in Latin America will study slavery throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Four African Americans Receive Significant Honors From Louisiana State University
The School of Education and the Graduate School will be renamed to honor African Americans students who broke racial barriers at the university. The Design Building is being renamed for the university's first Black professor.
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 Study Shows a Persistent Racial Gap in Funding of National Science Foundation Grants
Overall, the study examines more than 1 million proposals reviewed by the National Science Foundation from 1996 to 2019. Proposals by White applicants were consistently funded by several percentage points above the national rate, and the disparity increased steadily through the years in the analysis. In 2013 and 2014, research proposals by White applicants were funded at 1.7 and 1.8 times the rate of those by Black applicants.
Claudine Gay Appointed the Thirtieth President of Harvard University
When she takes office on July 1, Claudine Gay will be the first African American to lead the university since its founding nearly 400 years ago. Since 2018, Dr. Gay has served as the Edgerley Family Dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She first joined the Harvard faculty in 2006.
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted the Racial Gap in Unemployment
In 2020, when the pandemic struck, 19.4 percent of the Black civilian workforce (those who were employed or seeking work) experienced unemployment at some point during the year. More than 4.2 million Black workers were unemployed at some point during the year.
John King Appointed the Fifteenth Chancellor of the State University of New York
A former secretary of the U.S. Department of Education during the Obama Administration, John King has been serving since 2017 as the president of The Education Trust, a nonprofit organization that promotes high academic achievement for all students in early childhood, K-12 education, and higher education.
University of Delaware Research Examines Impact of Highway Construction on Black Neighborhoods
In 1957, the Wilmington city council voted to bring Interstate 95 right through the Adams-Jackson corridor in the downtown area. In all, 507 residential dwellings, 50 commercial structures, 48 garages, two churches, one public school, one private school and one theater were demolished — and 926 families displaced — to make way for the highway.
Harriet B. Nembhard Will Be the Next President of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California
A nationally respected leader in the field of industrial and operations engineering, Dr.Nembhard currently serves as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa. Before coming to Iowa in 2020, Dr. Nembhard was the Eric R. Smith Professor of Engineering and head of the School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University.
