Appointments & Awards

Seven African Americans in New Higher Education Administrative Posts

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.

Bernadette Gray-Little Named Board Chair at the Association of Public Land-grant Universities

The Association of Public Land-grant Universities is a research, policy, and advocacy organization representing 238 public research universities and land-grant institutions. Dr. Gray-Little has been chancellor of the University of Kansas since 2009.

Three Black Faculty Members Take on New Roles

Gwendolyn Williams is joining the faculty at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Nzingha Dalila was appointed to the faculty at the Clermont campus of the University of Cincinnati and Jim C. Harper II of North Carolina Central University was elected vice president of programs for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Six African Americans Appointed to Key Posts in Higher Education Administration

Taking on new roles are Katherine Bassard at Virginia Commonwealth University, Vita C. Pickrum at Delaware State University, Adam A. Smith at the University of Alabama, Pamela A. Anthony at Southern Methodist University, Constance Mallette at Winston-Salem State University, and Ivan L. Harrell II at Georgia Piedmont Technical College.

Two Black Scholars Win National Book Awards

Ta-Nehisi Coates won the National Book Award in the nonfiction category. He has taught at MIT and the City University of New York. Robin Coste Lewis, a Provost’s Fellow in the creative writing and literature doctoral program at the University of Southern California, won the National Book Award in the poetry category.

Virginia State University Has Three New African American Administrators

Garvin Maffett was named vice president for institutional advancement. Anthony Thompson is the new associate vice president for institutional advancement and Ronald O. White was named director of government relations.

New York University Historian to Be Awarded the Frederick Douglass Book Prize

Ada Ferrer, professor of history and professor of Latin American and Caribbean studies, will be awarded the $25,000 prize for the best book of the year on slavery or abolition that was written in the English language.

Emily Raboteau Wins the International Flash Fiction Competition

Emily Raboteau, a professor of English and creative writing at the City College of New York, won the $20,000 first prize for her 100-word short story entitled "Oysters." It was selected from more than 35,000 entries worldwide.

New Administrative Posts for Six African Americans in Higher Education

The appointees are Rocky Booker at the University of Arkansas, Cicely Peterson-Mangum of Drexel University, LaTonda Davis-Williams of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, Tracey N. Foster of Johnson C. Smith University, Deborah Noble-Triplett of Virginia Commonwealth University, and Walter Clair of Vanderbilt University.

Four African American Scholars Selected for Prestigious Honors

The honorees are Richard S. Baker of Wayne State University, E. Albert Reece of the University of Maryland, Twyla J. Cummings of the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Jackson T. Wright Jr. of Case Western Reserve University.

Three African American Women Named to New Faculty Posts

Tameka E. Lester was named to the faculty of the College of Law at Georgia State University. Althema Etzioni has joined the faculty at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee University, and Menah Pratt-Clarke was named professor of education at Virginia Tech.

Vanderbilt Honors the Man Who Integrated Southeastern Conference Athletics

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, is establishing the Perry E. Wallace Scholarship to honor the first African American to play a varsity sport in the Southeastern Conference.

Ivelaw Griffith to Be Honored for His Work in International Security Education

Dr. Griffith is a senior fellow at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the former president of Fort Valley State University in Georgia. He is being honored by the William J. Perry Center for Hemisphere Defense Studies in Washington.

University of Maryland to Name Building After Parren J. Mitchell

Parren J. Mitchell, who was the first African American elected to the U.S. Congress from the State of Maryland, successfully sued the University of Maryland in 1950 to gain admission to the graduate program in sociology.

New Administrative Duties for Seven African Americans in Higher Education

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.

Honors and Awards for African American Scholars

The honorees are Karelle Aiken of Georgia Southern University, Gina Athena Ulysse of Wesleyan University, Adriel A. Hilton of Western Carolina University, author Jacqueline Woodson at CUNY, Carrie Parker-Taylor, the first Black woman at Indiana University, and Karen Faison of Virginia State University.

Five Black Faculty Members Taking on New Assignments

Taking on new duties are David H. Jackson at Florida A&M University. Belinda Archibong at Barnard College, Derron O. Wallace at Brandeis University, Christena Cleveland at Duke Divinity School, and Zella Palmer at Dillard University.

Three Black Faculty Members Taking on New Roles

Mignon R. Moore is a new associate professor of sociology at Barnard College. Kara Walker was named to an endowed chair at Rutgers University and Jenna Hatcher is taking on new duties at the University of Kentucky's College of Nursing.

Honors and Awards for Five Black Scholars

The honorees are the late Clement A. Price of Rutgers University, Thomas H. Epps III of the University of Delaware, James E. Coleman Jr. of Duke University, Ngondi Kamatuka of the University of Kansas, and Sheila Jackson of Mississippi State University.

New Administrative Roles in Higher Education for Five African Americans

Taking on new roles are Amy Cole at Oklahoma State University, Tresmaine Grimes at Bloomfield College, Charlene Moore Hayes at Johns Hopkins University, Nashid Madyum at Florida A&M University, and Maurice Anthony Chandler at All Saints Bible College.

Indiana University’s Jacinda Townsend Wins Award for Her First Novel

Jacinda Townsend, an associate professor of English at Indiana University, is being honored by the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Rochester.

New Teaching Posts for Five Black Faculty Members

Taking on new assignments are Tarell Alvin McCraney at the University of Miami, Mary D. Bruce at Governors State University, George Ude at Bowie State University, Berhanu Nega at Bucknell University, and Chris Webber at Wake Forest University.

Three African American Scholars Awarded Notable Honors

The honorees are David Hall, president of the University of the Virgin Islands, Fannie Gaston-Johansson, the first Black woman full professor at Johns Hopkins University, and William Cooley, former dean of the College of Business at Jackson State University.

Five New Administrative Appointments at HBCUs

The new appointees are LeVon E. Wilson at Clark Atlanta University, Christopher Withers at St. Augustine's University, Elise Durham at Florida A&M University, Genese Lavalais at Jackson State University, and Marcus Burgess at Florida Memorial University.

African American Historian Honored for His Biography of Stokely Carmichael

Peniel E. Joseph, professor of history at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, received the National Book Award from the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis.

Ohio University Scholar Elected President of Journalism That Matters

Michelle Ferrier is associate dean for innovation, research/creative activity, and graduate studies at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University in Athens. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Central Florida.

Five Black Scholars Taking on New Assignments in Higher Education

The scholars in new teaching roles ate Carolyn Barnes at Duke University, Tondra-Loder-Jackson at the University of Alabama Birmingham, H. Shellae Versey at Wesleyan University, Kisha Lashley at the University of Virginia, and Vanessa Tyson at Scripps College.

Three African American Educators Receive Notable Honors

The honorees are Thomas Calhoun of Jackson State University, Conella Coulter Brown, one of the first Black students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and James Franklin Densler of the Morehouse School of Medicine.

New Administrative Positions in Higher Education for Five African Americans

The appointees are Stevie L. Lawrence II at Fort Valley State University, Francene Gilmer at Kentucky State University, Joslyn DiPasalegne at Claflin University, Paulette Patterson Dilworth at the University of Alabama Birmingham, and Cindy R. Love at St. Augustine's University.

Two Black Scholars Named Co-Editors of New Book Series on Africana Religions

Edward Curtis is a professor of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Sylvester A. Johnson is an associate professor of African American studies and religious studies at Northwestern University.

Toni Morrison Awarded the UCLA Medal

Toni Morrison, professor emerita at Princeton University, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. In 1993, she was the first African American woman to win a Nobel Prize. On October 5, she received the UCLA Medal for "distinguished academic and professional achievement."

New Leadership for African American Studies at the University of Maryland

Oscar Barbarin holds the Wilson H. Elkins Professorship and is the new chair of the department of African American studies. Judge Alexander Williams Jr. was appointed director of the Center for Education, Justice, and Ethics.

Honors and Awards for Four African American Scholars

The honorees are Harold Franklin, the first Black student at Auburn University, the late Ella Lee Kelley of Southern University, Patrick Hawkins of the College of Nursing at Michigan State University, and Keith Whitfield of Duke University.

Two Black Scholars Join the Faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

The Graduate School of Education at Harvard University has announced that two members of the university's Faculty of Arts & Sciences - Danielle Allen and Roland G. Fryer Jr. - will hold joint appointments as professors of education.

New Academic Roles for Seven Black Scholars

The seven Black scholars who are taking on new duties are Paul C. Clement, Jamal Ratchford, Nicholas Ball, Dineo Khabele, James Hill, Jordanna Malton, and Robert Winn.

Honors and Awards for African Americans in Higher Education

The honorees are Twyla J. Cummings of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Tiana Clark of Vanderbilt University, Elson S. Floyd, the late president of Washington State University, and Brenda Y. Cartwright of Winston-Salem State University.

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