New Faculty Positions for Five Black Scholars

Antonio Barrino has joined the faculty in the department of music at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has also been tapped to lead the HBCU’s band program. He comes to Fisk from Talladega College in Alabama, where he was the coordinator of music education and an instructor of music. Earlier, he served in similar roles at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, Alabama State University, and the University of Memphis.

Professor Barrino received his bachelor’s degree in music performance from Grambling State University in Louisiana and his master’s degree in music education from Alabama State University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in music education from the University of Memphis.

Kisha Cunningham Aites has been named to the Dr. Thelma Thomas Daley Distinguished Professor Endowed Chair at Savannah State University in Georgia. In this role, Dr. Aites, a full professor of engineering technology education and associate dean of the College of Education at Savannah State, will spearhead academic initiatives, mentor students, and lead efforts to integrate AI technology in education.

Dr. Aites is a two-time graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in technology education. She holds a Ph.D. in workforce education and training development from Pennsylvania State University.

Craig Sutton has been promoted to the rank of full professor of mathematics at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Since 2016, he has directed the Ivy League school’s E.E. Just Program, which seeks to create a STEM ecosystem in which systemically excluded and racialized minorities can thrive. As a research mathematician, he centers his work on differential geometry.

A Yale University graduate, Dr. Sutton earned his master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Duane Watson has been appointed vice provost for faculty affairs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He had been serving as the university’s vice provost for special initiatives for the College of Connected Computing. A Vanderbilt faculty member since 2016, he currently holds the Frank W. Mayborn Chair in Psychology and Human Development and directs the Communication and Language Lab.

Dr. Watson holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Terrence L. Johnson has been named director of the religion and public life program at Harvard Divinity School, where he serves as the Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies. As a scholar, he combines African American religious thought, political theory, and American history to reimagine justice, democracy, and the role of religion in public discourse. He is the author of three books, including Blacks and Jews in America: An Invitation to Dialogue (Georgetown University Press, 2022).

A graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Dr. Johnson received his master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School and his Ph.D. from Brown University.

Leave a Reply

Related Articles

Get the FREE JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News