Monthly Archives: January 2023
American Sociological Association Rejects Efforts to Curtail Teaching of Racial Issues in Schools
The American Sociological Association recently issued a statement on the importance of teaching and learning about race and racism in the nation's public schools as well as on college and university campuses. The association strongly rejects efforts by many states to curtail the teaching of courses dealing with race.
Georj Lewis Is the New President of Clayton State University in Georgia
Since 2019, Dr. Clayton has been president of Atlanta Metropolitan State College. Previously, he was vice president of student affairs at Georgia Southern University. Earlier, he was vice chancellor for student affairs at Indiana University Northwest and vice president for student affairs at Armstrong State University which was merged into Georgia Southern University.
Report Urges Greater Efforts to Boost Opportunities for African Americans in Doctoral Programs
In 1980, Black doctoral earners received about 40 percent of the doctorates they would have received if the percentage of doctorates equaled the Black percentage of the population. There has been significant improvement in the share of doctorates awarded to Black people, now at about four-fifths of what racial parity would call for. But more wok needs to be done.
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Names Corey King as Its Next Chancellor
Dr. King has been serving as vice chancellor for inclusivity and student affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Prior to his role in Green Bay, he was vice president for enrollment management and student financial services at Bethune- Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Earlier, he was vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Florida Atlantic University.
State Universities in Florida Spend $34.5 Million on Diversity-Related Programs
In a response to an edict from Gobernor ROn DeSantis, the 12 state-operated universities in Florida have reported that $34.5 million in their combined budgets are related to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Nearly $21 million of this total is from state funds with the remainder coming from the federal government, nonprofits, or private sources.
Colleges and Universities Appoint Four African Americans to Dean Positions
The frican American appointed to dean positions are Douglas LaVergne at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, Alma Littles at the Florida State University College of Medicine, Dorothy E. Mosby at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and Michael Bradford at the University of California, Davis.
Survey Asks Black Americans What Is Needed to Overcome Racial Inequality
More than six-in-ten Black adults (63 percent) say voting is an extremely or very effective strategy for Black progress. However, only 42 percent of African Americans say protesting is a potent strategy for Black progress. A majority of African Americans say that supporting Black businesses can help achieve racial equality.
Patrena Benton Elliott Is the New President of Halifax Community College
Dr. Elliott had been serving as vice president of instruction and student support services at Robeson Community College in Lumberton, North Carolina. Previously, she was dean of the Graduate College at Hampton University in Virginia.
A Trio of Black Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Roles
Marlon M. Bailey, a professor of African and African American studies at Washington University in St. Louis, was granted tenure. Salome Brooks has been appointed clinical professor and program director of the department of physical therapy at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, and Arnetta Villela-Smith was named co-chair of the ethnic studies department at Skyline Community College in San Bruno, California.
Howard and Georgetown Universities Create the Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice
The Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice will focus on reducing health disparities in Washington by leveraging methods of critical inquiry at the heart of the humanities. The center is being funded by a $3 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
New Administrative Assignments in Higher Education for Three African Americans
Misha G. Cornelius was appointed director of public relations at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Zac Selmon was appointed director of athletics at Mississippi State University and Anne Edwards was named director of the Black Cultural Center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Tennessee State University Reveals Its Plans for $250 Million Received From the State
The funds will be used for capital improvement projects for six structures on campus. Many of the campus structures have gone without improvements for decades. The funds will provide for building renovations and upgrades to electrical and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
Miriam Mobley Smith Honored by the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists
Miriam Mobley Smith is the interim dean of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Prior to coming to the University of Hawai'i in 2021, the veteran pharmacy academic served as interim dean and visiting professor at the Northeastern University Bourvé College of Health Sciences in Boston and as dean and tenured professor at the Chicago State University College of Pharmacy.
UNCF Receives $190 Million for Scholarships for Students From Underrepresented Groups
The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), which supports 37 private historically Black colleges and universities, has received its largest philanthropic corporate gift in its 78-year history from Boston-based financial services leader Fidelity Investments. Fidelity is donating $190 million to UNCF over the next five years to create the Fidelity Scholars Program.
Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Given Duties Relating to Diversity
Wilmore Webley will serve as the inaugural senior vice provost for equity and inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Cornelius Gilbert was appointed chief diversity officer at the State University of New York Adirondack and Krista L. Walker was named assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion for the College of Nursing at Michigan State University.
In Memoriam: Fannie Gaston-Johansson, 1938-2023
Dr. Gaston-Johansson was a member of the University of Nebraska Medical Center faculty from 1985 to 1993. She joined the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 1993. In 1998, Professor Gaston-Johansson became the first Black woman to become a tenured professor at Johns Hopkins University.
Black First-Year Students at the Nation’s Leading Research Universities
The progress of the Ivy League schools over the past decade in admitting Black students has been impressive. In 2006, Columbia University had the highest percentage of Black first-year students at 9.6 percent. This year, all eight Ivy League schools have entering classes that are 12 percent Black or higher.
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 Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Diversity Initiatives for Healthcare Professions
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is now accepting applications for Health Career University, a program that provides high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented minority groups with exposure to health careers and assistance getting into medical school.
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 Documents the Racial Gap in Student Loan Debt of Medical Residents
A new study led by Louisa W. Holaday, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, finds that nearly 90 percent of all Black medical residents had accumulated debt from their medical training. A majority of Black residents (59.9 percent) had debt from premedical education loans.
Leadership Transition Announced for Winston-Salem State University
Elwood L. Robinson, chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, announced that he will step down from his post on June 30. The university wasted no time and immediately appointed Anthony Graham as interim chancellor, effective July 1. Since July 2018, he has been provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the university.
The Racial Diversity of the New Congress Is Not Reflected in Staff Positions
The 118th Congress is the most diverse in American history. But, a new report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies finds that despite greater diversity of the members of the House and Senate, this diversity is not reflected in high-level staff positions. Of the top staff hired by new members so far, 4.4 percent are Black.
Six Medical Schools in Texas Accused of Illegal Racial Preferences in Admissions
The America First Legal Foundation’s (AFL) Center for Legal Equality has filed a class-action lawsuit against six Texas medical schools for what the foundation...
Michael Daily to Serve as Provost at Kentucky State University
Dr. Dailey has been serving as director of distance learning and instructional design at the university. Earlier in his career, he spent 11 years with the Department of Education for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, including seven years as director of the Division of Next Generation Professionals.
How a Ban of Affirmative Action Will Impact Black Enrollments at Selective Liberal Arts Colleges
A brief filed with the Supreme Court estimates that Black enrollments would likely decline between 50 percent and 70 percent. The percentage of Black student applicants who were offered admission would be about half the rate for White applicants. Most strikingly, the percentage of Black students matriculating at these liberal arts institutions as a whole would drop from 7 percent to 2 percent.
How a Ban of Affirmatie Action Will Impact Black Enrollments at Selective Liberal Arts Colleges
A brief filed with the Supreme Court estimates that Black enrollments would likely decline between 50 percent and 70 percent. The percentage of Black student applicants who were offered admission would be about half the rate for White applicants. Most strikingly, the percentage of Black students matriculating at these liberal arts institutions as a whole would drop from 7 percent to 2 percent.
Martha Hurley Named Dean at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio
Dr. Hurley has been serving as chair and professor in the criminal justice and security studies department at the University of Dayton. Her research focuses on criminal justice policy analysis, restorative justice, corrections, and community-police relationship building.
University of Missouri Decides Not to Discipline a Student Who Used a Racial Slur
A student at the University of Missouri sent a message on social media to a friend speaking about the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. It stated: “If they would have killed 4 more n----- we would have had the whole week off.”
Xavier University Teams Up With Ochsner Health to Establish a New Medical School
The nonprofit Ochsner Health is an integrated healthcare system with more than 36,000 employees and over 4,600 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties. It operates 47 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Gulf South.
Tuskegee University Enters Partnership to Aid Agriculture Development in Nepal
Historically Black Tuskegee University in Alabama is partnering with Sathguru Inc., the global consulting firm based in India, and the Nepal Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU) on a project to boost rural agricultural production in Nepal. The initiative is being funded by a $5 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Kelly Brown Douglas Wins the Grawemeyer Award for Religion
Kelly Brown Douglas is dean of the Union Theological Seminary’s Episcopal Divinity School in New York City. She also serves as a canon theologian at Washington Cathedral. She is one of the first Black female Episcopal priests in the United States and the first Black person to head an Episcopal Church-affiliated educational institution.
Spike Lee Creates New Fellowship Program for Graduates of Atlanta HBCUs
Film director Spike Lee in conjunction with Gersh, the Hollywood-based talent agency, has established the Spike Lee Fellows program. Under the program, five graduates of Atlanta HBCUs will be selected and provided with student debt relief, industry mentorship, post-graduate internships, and full-time employment in the entertainment industry.
Three African Americans Who Have Been Named to New Higher Education Administrative Posts
Lou Avotri has been promoted to associate vice president and executive director of student success at Talladega College in Alabama. Jared Russell has been named associate dean for academic and faculty affairs at Auburn University in Alabama and M. Ray McKinnie has been selected to lead Cooperative Extension at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Professor Jerrilyn McGregory Wins the Chicago Folklore Prize From the American Folklore Society
Jerrilyn McGregory, a professor of English at Florida State University, was honored for her book on Boxing Day traditions in the Anglicized Caribbean world, which encompasses the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, St. Croix, and St. Kitts.
