Honors & Awards

Lois Harrison-Jones, professor emerita in the School of Education at Howard University in Washington, D.C., has been honored by the Richmond, Virginia School Board with the renaming of an elementary school in her honor. The school was previously named for a colonel in the Confederate Army.

President Davis WIlson, who is the first president of a historically Black college or university to earn this distinguished honor, was selected for the overall transformation he has led at Morgan State, including historic advancement in retention and graduation rates and the university’s engagement with adult learners. He was also recognized for his vigorous national advocacy on behalf of HBCUs and support of degree attainment for Black students.

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

Dr. Shepherd is a professor of geography, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor, and the director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia. Before joining the faculty at the University of Georgia, he was a research meteorologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Dr. Shepherd is an expert in the fields of weather, climate, and remote sensing.

Michael C. Dawson, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity Studies and professor of political science at the University of Chicago, received the Charles E. Merriam Award from the American Political Science Association. The award is given to a person whose published work and career represent a significant contribution to the art of government through the application of social science research.

Rita Dove, the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia, has been selected to receive the medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation, the nonprofit organization that presents the National Book Awards. She will be honored in New York on November 15.

Margie Lee, associate dean for research and graduate studies at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Phibro Animal Health Excellence in Poultry Research Award which honors a scholar who has demonstrated sustained excellence in research of poultry disease and health over a period of 20 years or more.

Shana Stoddard is an associate professor of chemistry at Rhodes College in Memphis. She is being honored by the society for showing a sustained commitment to breaking down local and/or systemic barriers against scientists and students from historically marginalized or excluded groups.

Shana Stoddard, associate professor of chemistry at Rhodes College in Memphis, has been selected to receive the 2024 Ruth Kirschstein Diversity in Science Award. The award honors an outstanding scientist who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to the encouragement of scientists from historically marginalized groups.

Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick received the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognized Dr. Frederick for his longstanding commitment to scientific excellence, his fervor as a leader in addressing bias in healthcare and medical education, as well as his impact on medical research.

Yolanda Pierce, who is the new dean of the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, has won the 2023 Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion. From 2017 to 2023, she wad dean of the Howard University Divinity School.

The American Philosophical Society was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin. This year the society granted membership to 33 individuals. Of these eight are African Americans with ties to the academic world in the United States.