Appointments & Awards

Monica Walker Has Received the 2023 Anna Julia Cooper Excellence Award

Monica W. Walker, dean of instruction at the Community College of Baltimore County, recently received the 2023 Anna Julia Cooper Excellence Award from the Society for Experiential Education. The award recognizes Dr. Walker’s outstanding leadership of initiatives that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in experiential education.

New Roles for a Trio of Black Scholars

Jordan Ealey is a new assistant professor of Black studies at the University of Rochester in New York. G. Preston Wilson Jr. was appointed director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers at Fisk University in Nashville and Linda Greene, who became the inaugural dean of the Michigan State University College of Law in 2020, is stepping down from her post to take a faculty position at the university.

Cornell’s Riché Richardson Wins Book Award From the Society for the Study of Southern Literature

Riché Richardson, professor of African American literature in the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University in Ithaca New York, has been awarded the C. Hugh Holman Award from the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. The award will be presented to Professor Richardson at the Modern Language Association conference in January 2024.

Three African Americans Who Are Taking on New Higher Education Administrative Positions

Kenyon Bonner has been appointed as vice president and chief student affairs officer at the University of Virginia. J. David Bratton was named director of choirs at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, and Jamila Lee-Johnson is the inaugural assistant dean of inclusive excellence for the Graduate School at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Five Black Scholars Who Have Been Given New Assignments

Taking on new positions or duties are Carol Y. Bailey at Amherst College in Massachusetts, Ebonya L. Washington of Columbia University, Philip V. McHarris at the University of Rochester in New York, Fayron Epps at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, and Mya Roberson in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Patricia Hill Collins Awarded the $1 Million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture

The prize is given annually to an individual whose ideas have profoundly shaped human self-understanding and advancement in a rapidly changing world. Professor Collins joined the faculty at the University of Maryland in 2005. Earlier, she was the director of the African American Center at Tufts University and spent more than 20 years on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati.

UCLA’s Alvine Kamaha Honored by the American Physical Society

Alvine Kamaha, assistant professor of physics at the University of California, Los Angeles, won the 2024 Edward A. Bouchet Award from the American Physical Society for her leadership and accomplishments in the experimental search for dark matter in the universe and advancement of underrepresented minority scientists.

Three HBCUs Have Announced the Appointments of New Administrators

Vernon Siders Jr. was named chief of police and security at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ruthie Little-Berry was appointed chief student development and success officer for the University of the District of Columbia, and Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, has announced that De'Shawn Barnes is its new director of alumni affairs.

A Quartet of Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments

Taking on new roles are Taofeek K. Owonikoko at the University of Maryland, Felicia Jefferson at the University of Nevada Reno, Amanda Awadey at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and Tomisha Brock at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

New University Administrative Posts for Four African Americans

Taking on new administrative duties are Shannon Frank Reeves, Sr. at Alabama A&M University, Ayanna McConnell of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, Deborah Alston at Virginia Union University, and Leon Lewis, Jr. at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. Honored by the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society

The James Dent Walker Award is the highest national award that can be bestowed by the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society upon a person who has exhibited distinguished accomplishments through a significant and measurable contribution to the research, documentation, and/or preservation of African American history.

Four African Americans Who Have Been Hired to Diversity Positions in Higher Education

The new diversity officers are Chancey Page at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, S. Brooke Vick at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Donyale R. Padgett at Wayne State University in Detroit. and Laura Renée Chandler at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

A Quartet of Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Duties

The four Black scholars in new roles are Fred D. Archer, III at the University at Buffalo, Jennifer Joe in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, Mesmin Destin at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and Stephanie Harris at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

Clemson’s Chris Reid Honored by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Dr. Reid, who is the immediate past president of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, was honored for his sustained contributions to both the HFES and the broader discipline, marking him as an influential figure in the human factors and ergonomics community.

Three African Americans Appointed to New Higher Education Administrative Roles

Taking on new administrative duties are Braylin Laster at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis, Kristina Londy at MiraCosta College in Oceanside, California, and Gillian McKnight-Tutein at the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

Three African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties at Universities

Jeremy Toulon is the newly appointed director of student transition and success at Binghamton University in New York. Valencia Jordan is the new director of athletics at Fisk University in Nashville and Sharcus Steen is the new chief investment officer for the University System of Maryland Foundation.

Stanford’s Tirin Moore Wins the Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences

Established by the Carnegie Corporation of New York as part of its centennial celebration, the prize recognizes trailblazers in the brain and behavioral sciences whose research has helped advance the field and its applications.

Two Black Scholars Appointed to Endowed Professorships

Christopher Emdin was named to the Maxine Greene Chair for Distinguished Contributions to Education at Teachers College at Columbia University and Karen Cook-Bell, a professor in Bowie State University’s history and government department, has been awarded a University System of Maryland Wilson H. Elkins Professorship.

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

Nicole Belisle is the new chief diversity officer at Palomar College in San Marcos, California. Rosevelt Noble has been named associate dean of students for equity, diversity, and inclusion at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and Tracye Y. Davis is the inaugural executive director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan.

Five Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments at Universities

The faculty members in new roles are Earl Graham, Jr. at Philander Smith University in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sharon Uwanyuze at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Stephen M. Avery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Antron Mahoney at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, and Carmen Lanos Williams at Arkansas State University.

Four Universities Announce the Appointments of African American Administrators

Wendy Pearson was appointed vice president for strategic initiatives at Stony Brook University in New York and Pamela Baldwin was promoted to associate vice chancellor for student success at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Edward Morris was named interim director of counseling services at North Carolina A&T State University and Constance Meadors was appointed the first associate director of the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium.

Robin Nelson Wins the Sussman Award From the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Robin Nelson, an associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, is being recognized for “her outstanding contributions to understanding human relationships and their evolutionary impact.”

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Named to Endowed Professorships

Michael Steele has been appointed to the Gwendolyn S. and Colbert I. King Chair Endowed Chair in Public Policy at Howard University. Jamel K. Donnor was appointed the Fred Huby Memorial Professor of Education at the College of William and Mary and Sheila Otieno has been honored with the Distinguished Emerging Scholar in Religious Studies professorship at Elon University in North Carolina.

Elementary School in Richmond Renamed to Honor Howard University Professor Emerita

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.

New Teaching Assignment for Three Black Scholars

Alton B. Pollard III will re join the faculty of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he taught from 1988 to 1998. Renata Arrington Sanders was named chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a teaching facility for the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Kristina Kersey is a new assistant professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Morgan State University President to Receive the 2023 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education

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.

Five African Americans in New Administrative Roles at Colleges and Universities

Taking on new administrative roles are Danielle Huff at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, James T. Overton at Delaware State University, Sharron Taylor Burnett at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, Terrell Smith at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, and Kizito Mukuni at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.

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.

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.

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

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.

University of Georgia’s J. Marshall Shepherd Honored by the Environmental Law Institute

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.

Six African Americans Who Have Been Assigned New Administrative Duties in Higher Education

Those appointed to new administrative post are John Blackshear at the University of Rochester in New York, Chris Allen at the University of Southern California, Steven White at Wilberforce University in Ohio, Bettina Mozie at South Carolina State University, Michael Harper at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, and Thelma Ford Sojourner at Voorhees University in Denmark, South Carolina.

Professor Michael Dawson Wins Award From the American Political Science Association

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.

Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointments of Seven Black Administrators

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.

Six Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Duties in Higher Education

Taking on new roles are Imani Perry at Harvard University, Tyrone McKinley Freeman at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Alisha Butler at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Gordon Ibeanu at North Carolina Central University, Linda Lausell Bryant in the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, and Andrea Dawn Frazier at Columbus State University in Georgia
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