Constance Meadors has been promoted to director of the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium and the NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. Her appointment makes her the first Black woman to serve as director of a space grant program in the United States. She has been with the University of Arkansas Little Rock since 2023, serving as associate director of the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium.
Dr. Meadors is a graduate of historically Black Grambling State University in Louisiana where she majored in physics. She holds a master’s degree in applied science with a focus in instrumentation and a Ph.D. in applied science engineering and systems from the University of Arkansas Little Rock.
Crystal Churchwell Evans has been named vice president of development and alumni affairs at historically Black Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. She most recently served as the strategic marketing advisor to Launch Tennessee, an organization supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in Tennessee. Previously, she served as director of development for the Frist Art Museum in Nashville for six years.
Evans holds a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
James White has been named the inaugural vice president for governmental affairs and civic engagement at historically Black Texas Southern University. From 2011 to 2022, Dr. White represented District 19 in the Texas House of Representatives, holding positions such as chair of the House Corrections Committee and chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety.
Dr. White is a graduate of historically Black Prairie View A&M University in Texas where he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in education. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Houston.
