Appointments & Awards

New University Administrative Appointments for Three African Americans

Alicia Dorn was named chief of staff to the chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Charles B.W. Prince is the new transformation and sustainability officer at Dillard University in New Orleans and Christianne Malone was appointed assistant vice president for economic development at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Grinnell College in Iowa Honors Its First Black Graduate

Edith Renfrow Smith was the only Black student on campus when she graduated with a degree in psychology in 1937. Now 108 years old, Renfrow Smith is the oldest living graduate of the college.

A Quartet of Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments

The four Black faculty members who have been appointed to new roles are Sylvester Johnson at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, LaQuandra Nesbitt in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at George Washington University, Lorgia García Peña at Princeton University in New Jersey, and Kyaien Conner at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Library of Congress Recognizes Rita Dove for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry

Rita Dove, the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia, received the 2022 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry for lifetime achievement from the Library of Congress. Professor Dove has published 11 collections of poetry. She served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995 and won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1987.

Five African Americans Who Are Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative roles are William Broussard at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Angela Griffinat Wilmington College in Ohio, Anthony Brooks at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, Yogananda Pittman at the University of California, Berkeley, and Kenyatta N. Shamburger at Talladega College in Alabama.

A Trio of Black Americans Who Have Been Named to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Alyn Goodson was given the added duties of chief of staff to the chancellor of Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Lauretta Hill will lead the Department of Public Safety at the University of Southern California and Deidra Harris-Lumpkins has been appointed associate vice chancellor for human resources at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Nicole Joseph Honored for Her Work to Increase Opportunities for Black Girls in Mathematics

Dr. Joseph’s research stems from her own experience growing up feeling alone as a Black girl in a mathematics class where other students didn’t look like her. Her experiences shaped her drive to tell the stories of Black girls and women and how they differ from their White girl and Black male counterparts.

Three African American Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Positions

Taking on new duties relating to diversity are Rashanda Booker at Fresno State University in California, Kenny Emmanuel Yarbrough at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and Elwood Watson of East Tennessee State University.

Four African Americans Receive Significant Honors From Louisiana State University

The School of Education and the Graduate School will be renamed to honor African Americans students who broke racial barriers at the university. The Design Building is being renamed for the university's first Black professor.

Two African American Men Who Have Been Appointed to Distinguished Faculty Positions

Shawn Ginwright has been named professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Grant Warner will serve as the inaugural Bank of America Endowed Professor of Entrepreneurship and director of the Center for Black Entrepreneurship at Spelman College and Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Three African Americans Who Have Been Selected for New Administrative Posts at Universities

Taking on new administrative duties are Jerel Drew at Clark Atlanta University, Stephanie Rogers at Dillard University in New Orleans, and April Robinson was appointed executive director of human resources at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri.

The American Geographical Society Honors Michigan State University’s Joe Darden

Joe T. Darden, Professor Emeritus in the department of geography, environment, and spatial sciences at Michigan State University, has been selected to receive the seventh Van Cleef Memorial Medal from the American Geographical Society for his distinguished work “in the field of urban geography.”

New Administrative Duties Relating to Diversity for Three African Americans in Higher Education

Taking on new diversity roles are Jay Pearson at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Dan’Talisha Deans for the Division of Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh, and Gina Dent for the Humanities Division at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

New Administrative Position for Four African Americans at State Universities

Taking on new administrative duties are Shawn Turner at Michigan State University, Stephanie Hawkes at Wayne State University in Detroit, Larry D. Terry II at Pennsylvania State University, and Ashley Holloway at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.

Yale University’s Braxton Shelley Wins Four Awards for His First Book

Braxton Shelley, an associate professor of music and sacred music at Yale Divinity School, has won four awards for his book Healing for the Soul: Richard Smallwood, the Vamp, and the Gospel Imagination. The book uses the work of renowned gospel musician Richard Smallwood to explore the significance of vamp (a recurring musical phrase or chord progression) in Black gospel tradition and its potent and transformative spiritual power.

Universities Appoint Three African American to Positions as Diversity Officers

Taking on new administrative roles relating to diversity are Cynthia Pickett at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Monroe France at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and Tracie Ransom at Tulane Law School in New Orleans.

Harvard University’s Makeda Best Created the Photography Catalogue of the Year

Makeda Best, the Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography at the Harvard Art Museums, recently received the prestigious Photography Catalogue of the Year award at the 2022 Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards. Dr. Best was honored for her 2021 publication Devour the Land: War and American Landscape Photography Since 1970.

Rutgers University Newark’s John Keene Wins National Book Award for Poetry

John Keene is a Distinguished Professor and chair of Africana studies at Rutgers University Newark. He also is a professor of English and teaches in the master of fine arts program in creative writing. Professor Keene was honored for his 234-page collection entitled Punks: New & Selected Poems.

New Titles or Roles at Universities for a Trio of Black Faculty Members

Juanita Johnson-Bailey was named the first recipient of the Centennial Professorship, an endowed professorship for a women’s studies faculty member at the University of Georgia. Siddig Fageir has been appointed chair of the department of social sciences at Alcorn State University in Mississippi and Asher Pimpleton-Gray was named chair of the department of psychology and counseling at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

Three Black Women Who Have Been Named to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Alexis Travis is an assistant provost and executive director of the Health and Wellbeing Division at Michigan State University. Toni Monette is the new coordinator for volunteer and civic engagement programs at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Lori White was named director of purchasing for business affairs at Virginia Union University in Richmond.

Daphne Brooks of Yale University Honored by the American Musicology Society

Daphne Brooks, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of African American Studies, American Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Music at Yale University, was presented with the Music in American Culture Award from the American Musicological Society.

A Pair of African Americans Who Have Been Named Chief Diversity Officers

Randi Congleton was appointed chief diversity and inclusion officer at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, and David E. Jones is the new chief diversity officer at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to New Positions

Associate professor of English Adrienne Brown has been appointed director of the University of Chicago’s Arts + Public Life initiative. Bobby Donaldson is the inaugural holder of an endowed chair at the University of South Carolina, and Lisa T. Alexander was named the Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Professor at the Boston College School of Law.

A Quartet of African Americans in New Administrative Positions in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative duties are Damon R. Wade at William Peace University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Sherrie Johnson at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland, Donte McFadden at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System, and Ahyana Kingat Haverford  College in Pennsylvania.

A Trio of African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education

Zebadiah Hall will be the first full-time vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Wyoming. Sandra Mitchell will become the inaugural senior diversity officer at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in St. Joseph, Minnesota, and Nicole Arleane Roberson is the new vice chancellor of diversity, equity, and inclusion and chief diversity officer at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Saddiq Dzukogi Awarded the Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry

Saddiq Dzukogi, an assistant professor of English at Mississippi State University, is the winner of the third annual Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry. The prize is presented to a living poet who is not a U.S. citizen for a full-length book of poems published in the previous year.

Four Black Scholars in New University Teaching Roles

Taking on new teaching assignments are Ericmoore Jossou at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Audrey Sorrells at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Chaudron Carter Short at Temple University in Philadelphia, and Francis Annan at the University of California, Berkeley.

T. Elon Dancy II Honored by the Critical Race Studies in Education Association

T. Elon Dancy II, the Helen S. Faison Endowed Chair in Urban Education and executive director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh, recently received the 2022 Derrick Bell Legacy Award. The award honors critical race theorists, critical race studies scholars, and progressive educators-activists committed to advancing social justice and educational race equity.

Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to University Administrative Positions

Taking on new administrative duties are Maurice Edington at Florida A&M University, Venus D. Boston at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and Donavan D. McCargo at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

A Quartet of African American Women Who Have Been Named to University Administrative Positions

Taking on new jobs as university administrators are Anjerrika Bean at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Karen Elizabeth Bussey at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, Torie A. Johnson at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and Ivana Rich at Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ernest Gaines to Be Honored With His Image on a U.S. Postage Stamp

The late Professor Gaines taught at the University of Louisiana Lafayette from 1983 to 2010. He was the author of nine novels and several short stories. The stamp will be the 46th in the U.S. Postal Service's Black Heritage series

New Faculty Assignments at Colleges and Universities for Five Black Scholars

Taking on new faculty roles are Michael Carbin at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Judith Casselberry at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, Yvonne Chireau at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Tesfaye Mengiste at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Rae Shaw at San Francisco State University.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education

Taking on new roles relating to diversity are Edward Antonio at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, Jennifer Hamer at Pennsylvania State University, and Jeffrey Coleman at Framingham State University in Massachusetts.

Washington and Lee University Adds Four Black Assistant Professors to Its Faculty

Washington and Lee University, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution in Lexington, Virginia, has appointed four African Americans to assistant professor positions: Christopher Brown in anthropology, K. Avvirin Gray in English, Jimmie Johnson in physical education, and Ehi Rajsky in accounting.

Seven African Americans Who Have Been Named to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

The new Black administrators are Brandon Harris at the University of Southern California, Lillian Wanjagi at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, Chanel Derricott at Virginia Union University, Tiffani Dawn Sykes at Florida A&M University, Anita B. Walton at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, Kareem D. Kenney at Talladega College in Alabama, and Nicole McDonald at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina

Harvard’s Jarvis Givens Will Receive the AAC&U’s Frederic W. Ness Book Award

The Frederic W. Ness Book Award is given annually by the American Association of Colleges and Universities to the book that best illuminates the goals and practices of a contemporary liberal education. Dr. Givens will be honored at the association's annual convention in San Franciso this coming January.
1...192021...93Page 20 of 93

Get the FREE JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Featured Jobs