Appointments & Awards

Three Black Scholars Taking on New Positions at Colleges and Universities

Syd Carpenter was appointed to an endowed chair at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Tiffany Murphy, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law was named associate dean, and Oghenovo A. Obrimah is a new assistant professor of business administration at Fisk University in Nashville.

Cornell’s Derrick Spires Wins First Book Award From the Modern Language Association

In the book, Dr. Spires, an associate professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, examines the parallel development of early Black print culture and legal and cultural understandings of U.S. citizenship between 1787 and 1861.

University of Chicago Appoints Five Black Scholars to Named Professorships

Twenty-three University of Chicago faculty members have received named professorships or have been appointed distinguished service professors. Five of these appointments went to Black scholars: Melissa L. Gilliam, Selwyn O. Rogers, Salikoko S. Mufwene, Margaret Beale Spencer, and Herschella G. Conyers.

A Trio of African American Faculty Members Who Have Been Named to New Posts

Odis Johnson was named a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University. Christopher Freeburg was named University Scholar at the University of Illinois, and Professor Ronald Williams was appointed chief of staff to the president of Columbus State University in Georgia.

Sabrina Cherry of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wins Peace Corps Award

The Franklin H. Williams Award recognizes ethnically diverse Peace Corps volunteers who have returned from their assignments and have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to civic engagement, service, diversity, inclusion, and world peace.

Three African Americans Appointed to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Nicoli Richardson was named a diversity coordinator at the University of Southern California. Jame’l Hodges is a new vice president at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida, and Laquitha Bonds has been named vice president of human resources at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

New Black Faculty in the University of Kentucky’s African American and African Studies Program

The University of Kentucky has announced the hiring of a new group of faculty members associated with the African American and Africana Studies interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Robert Bullard of Texas Southern University Honored by the United Nations

Dr. Bullard received the 2020 Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement award from the United Nations Environment Programme. Dr. Bullard was honored for his commitment and service to environmental justice.

A Trio of African American Scholars Taking on New Duties in Academia

The African American faculty members taking on new roles are Karsonya Whitehead at Loyola University of Maryland, Tomaz Cunningham at Jackson State University in Mississippi, and Rhamin Ligon of the University of Maryland.

Universities Announce the Appointment of Four African Americans to Administrative Posts

Taking on new administrative roles in higher education are Ashley Irvin at Xavier University in New Orleans, Lamont Sullivan at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina, Starsha Jamerson at Mississippi State University, and DeOnte Brown at Florida State University.

A Quartet of Black Faculty Members Who Have Been Named to New Positions

Taking on new roles or positions are Jedan Phillips at Stony Brook University in New York, Florastina Payton-Stewart at Xavier University of Louisiana, Eric Darnell Pritchard at the University of Arkansas, and Wallace D. Best at Princeton University in New Jersey.

The American Society of Criminology Honors Book by Berkeley Professor Nikki Jones

Nikki Jones, a professor of African American studies at the University of California, Berkeley, has won the 2020 Michael J. Hindelang Award from the American Society of Criminology. The award recognizes a book published within the past three years that makes the most outstanding contribution to research in criminology.

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

The new diversity officers are Jarvis Watson at the College of the Visual Arts, Lorie Johnson-Osho at the University of Pittsburgh, Mill Etienne at New York Medical College, Ty-Ron Douglas at the University of California, Berkeley, Eboni Britt at Syracuse University, and Quinn Capers IV at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Two African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Endowed Professorships

Robin R. Means Coleman was named the inaugural Ida B. Wells and Ferdinand Barnett Professor in the School of Communication at Northwestern University and Whitney Pirtle was named to a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Chair at the University of California, Merced.

Four African American Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments

Appointed to new positions are Ayanna Thompson at Arizona State University, Joshua Idassi at South Carolina State University, Ruha Benjamin at Princeton University in New Jersey, and Garry Hoover at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Louisiana State’s Tina Harris Honored by the National Communication Association

Tina M. Harris, who holds the Douglas L. Manship Sr.-Dori Maynard Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy Endowed Chair at the Manship School of Mass Communication, won the Francine Merritt Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Lives of Women in Communication.

Four African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts

The four African Americans who have been appointed to serve as diversity officers are Galen Gomes at the College of St. Rose in Albany, Linda Strong-Leek at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Enobong “Anna” Branch at Rutgers University, and Shaniqua Crawford at the University of Oklahoma.

Five African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative roles are April R. Clark at Talladega College in Alabama, Gerald L. Hector at the University of Central Florida, Maurice A. Tyler at Bowie State University in Maryland, Qiana N. Wilson at the University of Georgia, and Donell D. Maxie at Mississippi Valley State University.

Berkeley’s Nikki Jones Honored by the Western Society of Criminology

Nikki Jones, a professor of African American studies at the University of California, Berkeley, has been awarded the 2020 W.E.B. DuBois Award from the Western Society of Criminology for her work in raising awareness for racial and ethic issues in criminology and criminal justice.

Six African Americans Named to Diversity Positions at Colleges and Universities

The six African Americans named to diversity posts are Tiffany Hayden at the University of Kentucky, Anthony DiNicola at the University of Arkansas, Robin R. Means Coleman at Northwestern University, Jasmine A. Lee at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Andreá Williams at Ohio State University, and Yolanda Caldwell at the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York.

Danielle Phillips-Cunningham Honored by the National Women’s Studies Association

Danielle Phillips-Cunningham, an associate professor of multicultural women's and gender studies at Texas Woman's University, is the recipient of a 2020 National Women's Studies Association's Sara A. Whaley Book Prize.

Emery Brown Awarded the Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience

Emery N. Brown is the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering and Computational Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also serves as the Warren M. Zapol Professor at Harvard Medical School and is a practicing anesthesiologist.

Four African American Scholars Who Have Been Hired or Promoted to New Positions

Taking on new roles are Reuben A. Buford May at the University of Illinois, Sidney Edwards at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, Franciska Coleman at the University of Wisconsin Law School, and Therí Pickens at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

Professor Claude Steele Honored for a Lifetime of Work in Social Psychology

The Legacy Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology honors figures whose career contributions have shaped the field. Dr. Steele, a professor emeritus at Stanford University, is perhaps best known for his work on the underperformance of minority students due to stereotype threat.

New University Administrative Posts for Six African Americans

Appointed to new administrative posts are Azmera Hammouri-Davis at Tufts University, Edward Louis Hill Jr. at Harris-Stowe State University, Rachel James-Terry at Jackson State University, Keiko Price at Emory University, Rickey N. McCurry at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and Kimberly Reese at Xavier University of Louisiana.

Oklahoma State University Bestows Additional Honors on Its First Black Student

In 1949, Nancy Randolph Davis became the first African-American student to enroll at what was then Oklahoma A&M College. Initially, she was required to sit in the hallway outside a classroom because of the color of her skin.

Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Assigned to New Faculty Roles

Taking on new duties are Sheara Williams Jennings at the University of Houston, Marc Williams at Florida Memorial University, Cheryl Waites Spellman at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Sharon A. Simmons at Jackson State University in Mississippi.

New Administrative Appointments in Higher Education for Five African Americans

Appointed to new positions are Gloria Johnson-Cusack at Florida International University, Joseph Ballard II at Iowa State University, Maria Ramirez at New York University, Cornell B. LeSane II at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Samba Dieng at Louisiana State University.

Yale University’s Hazel Carby Wins Book Award From the British Academy

Hazel V. Carby is the Charles C. & Dorathea S. Dilley Professor Emerita of African American Studies & American Studies at Yale University. The daughter of a White Welsh mother and a Black Jamaican father, Dr. Carby taught at Yale for 30 years before retiring from teaching at the end of the 2018-19 academic year.

Two African Americans Appointed to Dean Positions at State Universities

LaKeisha L. Harris has been appointed dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Hub Brown will be the next dean of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

A Trio of African American Faculty Members Who Have Been Assigned New Roles

Keith McGee is taking on a new administrative role at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Lydia Didia is a new assistant professor of accounting in the College of Business at Jackson State University in Mississippi and Charrise M. Barron is a new assistant professor of African studies and music at Brown University in Rhode Island.

Four Universities Appoint African Americans to New Administrative Offices

taking on new administrative duties are Delonte J. LeFlore at the University of Cincinnati, Karyn C. Nooks at Fort Valley State University in Georgia, Thomas J. Calhoun, Jr. at Mississippi Valley State University, and Aisha Oliver-Staley at New York University.

Princeton University’s Deana Lawson Is the First Photographer to Win the Hugo Boss Prize

Sponsored by the German fashion house Hugo Boss and presented by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the prize has been awarded biannually since 1996 and was established to “embrace today’s most innovative and critically relevant cultural currents.” The prize is considered among the most prestigious awards within the contemporary art world.

Six African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to University Diversity Positions

The new diversity executives are Trent Ball at Southeast Missouri State University, Norma Holland at the University of Rochester, Fatiah Tourney at the Abu Dhabi campus of New York University, Karen Armstrong at Pennsylvania State University, Stephany Rose Spaulding at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Kamille Dean at Fordham Law School in New York.

Five Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Roles at Major Universities

Taking on new positions or roles are Sherman Jackson at the University of Southern California, Adji Bousso Dieng at Princeton University in New Jersey, John Dabiri at the California Institute of Technology, Frederick Douglas Dixon at the University of Wyoming, and Robyn Ridley at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Jeanne Craig Sinkford Wins the Highest Award Given by the American College of Dentists

Dr. Sinkford was appointed associate dean at the Howard University College of Dentistry in 1967. In 1975, she broke the gender barrier when she was appointed dean of Howard University College of Dentistry, the first woman to lead a U.S. dental school. She served as dean from 1975 to 1991.

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