Three Black Scholars Taking On New Faculty Positions

James Haywood Rolling Jr. has been selected to serve as interim chair of the African American studies department at Syracuse University in New York. He currently serves as program coordinator and professor of arts education, with an additional faculty affiliation in African American studies.

Dr. Rolling received a bachelor of fine arts degree from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York and a master of fine arts degree from Syracuse University. He holds a master’s degree in education and an educational doctorate from Columbia University.

Elias Towe has been bestowed with the title of University Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He currently serves as the Albert and Ethel Grobstein Professor in the departments of electrical and computer engineering and materials science and engineering. He also serves as director of the Quantum Computing and Information Technologies Center.

Dr. Towe is a three-time graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received his bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science.

Roderic Pettigrew has been appointed vice chancellor for strategic health initiatives at Texas A&M University. A faculty member since 2017, Dr. Pettigrew currently serves as executive dean of the School of Engineering Medicine. He also serves as chief executive officer for Engineering Health and holds the Robert A. Welch Chair in Medicine.

Dr. Pettigrew is a graduate of historically Black Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he received his bachelor’s degree in physics. He holds a Ph.D. in radiation physics from the Massachusetts Institution of Technology and a medical degree from the University of Miami.

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