Monthly Archives: September, 2023

Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education

Terrence Mitchell was appointed executive director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania. Faye Belgrave has been named vice president and chief diversity officer at Virginia Commonwealth University and Tammy Bennett is the inaugural vice president for inclusive excellence in philanthropy at the University of Cincinnati Foundation.

Federal Government Calls on States to End Funding Disparities at Black Land-Grant Universities

The federal government sent letters to 16 governors emphasizing the over $12 billion disparity in funding between land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their non-HBCU land-grant peers in their states. Unequitable appropriated funding of the 1890 institutions in the states ranges from $172 million to $2.1 billion.

A Trio of Black Scholars in New Faculty Roles at Universities

The City College of New York has appointed Jervette R. Ward as director of the Black Studies Program. Scotti Branton is a new assistant professor of communication at the University of Arkansas, and professor Danille Taylor was appointed director of the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum.

Shaw University to Expand Its Presence to Research Triangle Park

The collaboration will secure Shaw University a dedicated office space within Frontier RTP innovation campus, located in the heart of the city's new vibrant downtown area. The space will include private offices and an administrative area dedicated to Shaw University, as well as classroom space.

Savannah State University’s Mulatu Lemma Named Top Professor of the Year

Professor Lemma has taught mathematics for more than 30 years, including the last 28 at Savannah State University. He has been selected as the 2023 Top Professor of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals

Hampton University to Establish “She Care Wellness Pods” on Campus

This fall, The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF) and kate spade new york, a designer handbag retailer, announce the expansion of their joint program, the “She Care Wellness Pods,” to Hampton University in Virginia. Eventually, the initiative aims to reach over 25,000 Black women on HBCU campuses with frontline mental wellness care.

New Administrtive Duties in Higher Education for Seven African Americans

Here is this week’s roundup of African Americans who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States. If you have news for this section, please send an email to info@jbhe.com.

In Memoriam: Wesley G. Robinson-McNeese, 1948-2023

Dr. McNeese joined the faculty at Southern Illinois University in 2001 and founded the Office of Diversity Multicultural and Minority Affairs.

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.

Ball State University Combines Women’s, Gender, and African American Studies

The women and gender studies program and the African American studies program at  Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, have been combined to form the Department of Women's, Gender and African American Studies. Sharon Jones, a professor of English at Ball State University, has been named chair of the new department.

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.

Vanderbilt’s New Center for Research on Inequality and Health

The center’s scholarship aims to deepen society’s understanding of the causes of health-related inequalities, how they intersect, and how they affect population health. The center’s research hopes to formulate potential solutions to these challenges through advocacy, intervention, and public policy.

The Official Poverty Rate for African Americans Is the Lowest in History

The bad news is that in 2022, the Black poverty rate was still more than double the rate for non-Hispanic Whites. In 2022, 22.3 percent of all Black children lived in poverty.

Berenecea Johnson Eanes Will Be the Next President of California State University, Los Angeles

Since 2020, Dr. Eanes has served as president of York College of the City University of New York. She served as vice president for student affairs at California State University, Fullerton from 2012 to 2019. She will begin her new job in January.

Prior to the Pandemic, White Children Were Three Times as Likely to Be Homeschooled Than Black Children

In 2019, some 4 percent of all White children were homeschooled, compared to 1.2 percent of Black children. Thus, Whites were more than three times as likely as Blacks to be homeschooled. The most commonly reported reasons for homeschooling were concern about the school environment.

Two Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to University Provost Positions

Nosa O. Egiebor is the new provost and executive vice chancellor at Montana Technological University in Butte and Toni Williams has been named provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at Martin University in Indianapolis.

Study Finds That Protesting NFL Players Who ‘Took a Knee’ at 2016 Games Were Penalized Financially

A recent study by scholars at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Connecticut, and Pennsylvania State University examined the career trajectories of the first 50 NFL athletes to kneel in protest during a pregame national anthem in 2016.

Winston Oluwole Soboyejo Named President of SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Dr. Soboyejo has been serving at Worchester Polytechnic Institute since 2017, first as dean of engineering, then provost and senior vice president, and later interim president. Earlier, Dr. Soboyejo was a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University for 17 years.

Education Department Debuts the Equity in Education Dashboard

The website is divided into a series of domains, each of which includes a set of indicators. The indicators highlight disparities in education among population groups, including differences by race/ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, English learner status, and disability status.

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