Appointments & Awards

New Administrative Posts for Six African Americans in Higher Education

The appointees are Rise Nelson Burrow at Yale, Karla Benson Rutten at Macalester College, Peggy Robinson at Duke, John R. Jones III at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Stacey DeBoise Luster at Worcester State University and LaWana Richmond at the University of California.

The First African American Dean at North Greenville University

H. Paul Thompson was named dean of the College of Humanities at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina. He is the first African American dean in the university's history.

Four African American Women in New Faculty Posts

The four Black women in new faculty posts are Nomsa E. Geleta at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Sheridan Wigginton at California Lutheran University, Sharon A. Brangman at the Sunny Upstate Medical University, and Helen Elaine Lee at MIT.

New Administrative Roles in Higher Education for Four African Americans

The appointees are Dallas A. Grundy at the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin Chambers at SUNY-Oneonta, Darnell T. Parker at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and Donna A. Lee at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

A New African American Dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Melissa Nobles was named as the next dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1995 and holds an endowed chair in political science.

Book on the Racial Integration of College Basketball Wins the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award

The biography of Perry Wallace, who played basketball for Vanderbilt University from 1967 to 1970, is the first book dealing with sports to be honored in the 35-year history of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.

Two Women Scholars Named to Lead National Organizations

Mina Jones Jefferson, of the University of Cincinnati, was named president-elect of the National Association of Law Placement and Tomeka Robinson, of Hofstra University, was named president-elect of the Pi Kappa Delta National Honorary Society.

Two African Americans Appointed to Positions as Dean

Randolph Rasch has been selected as the next dean of the College of Nursing at Michigan State University and Farah C. Muscadin was named dean of students at Chicago State University in Illinois.

Three Black Scholars With Ties to Academic Medicine Win Awards

The honorees are Judith Green-McKenzie of the University of Pennsylvania, Richard Payne of Duke University, and Marie Chisholm-Burns of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.

Five New Black Administrators at U.S. Colleges and Universities

Taking on new administrative roles are Evelyn A. Edney at Delaware State University, Glenn McIntosh at Oakland University in Michigan, Teese Brunson at Voorhees College in South Carolina, Jacqueline Higgs Caldwell at the University of Tulsa, and Rayton Sianjina at Fort Valley State University in Georgia.

Three African Americans Names to Dean Positions

The new deans are Valerie Sheares Ashby at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Rondall E. Allen at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Ron Darbeau at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

New Faculty Posts for Five Black Scholars at Leading Universities

The five Black faculty members in new roles are Khiara M. Bridges at Boston University, Beauty Bragg at Georgia College and State University, Yolanda Jackson at the University of Kansas, Bryan Monroe at Temple University, and Juan Gilbert at the University of Florida.

Four African Americans Named to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

The appointees are Calvin Hill at Springfield College in Massachusetts, David Bowman at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Nicole Gibbs at North Carolina Central University in Durham, and John K. Pierre at the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Medgar Evers to Be Honored by Medgar Evers College

This spring Medgar Evers College will grant an honorary degree to its namesake, Medgar Evers. Mylie Evers-Williams, who was married to Medgar Evers and continued his civil rights work after his death, will accept the award at the college's June 2 commencement.

West Point to Name New Cadet Barracks to Honor Benjamin O. Davis Jr.

In 1932 Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the son of an Army officer, was admitted to West Point. He was "silenced" or shunned by his classmates for four years. No cadets, faculty or staff members befriended or spoke to him except on an official basis.

Four Universities Appoint African Americans to Dean Posts

The new deans are Eboni Pringle at Kent State University, Akel I. Kahera at Virginia Commonwealth University's campus in Qatar, Lorna Le'Anne Shaw-Berbick at Kentucky State University, and John K. Davis at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Universities Appoint Six New Black Administrators

The new appointees are Julian R. Williams at George Mason University, Guy-Alain Amoussou at Bowie State, Michael Williams at the University of California, Berkeley, Eddie J. Howard at Youngstown State, Rick Kisner at Tuskegee University, and Obadiah Simmons Jr. at Grambling State.

Honors and Awards for Six African American Educators

The honorees are Stephanie Luck of the University of Arkansas, the late Levi Watkins at Vanderbilt University, Clara Adams of Morgan State University, Anthony B. Pinn of Rice University, William F. Tate of Washington University in St. Louis, and Em Claire Knowles of Simmons College.

Three African American Scholars in New Faculty Roles

Clarence Lang was named to a department chair at the University of Kansas. Roshawnda was named to the faculty at Pepperdine University in California, and Sylvester James Gates Jr. will be the Roth Distinguished Scholar at Dartmouth College for the 2015-16 academic year.

Claudine Gay Appointed Dean of Social Science at Harvard University

Dr. Gay is a professor of government and a professor of African and African American studies at Harvard University. Before joining the Harvard faculty in 2006, Professor Gay taught at Stanford University.

The Nation’s Top-Ranked University Debater Is an African American

Aaron Murphy, a senior at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, was named Speaker of the Year by the American Parliamentary Debate Association.

Sydney Richardson Is the New Leader of Adult Education Programs at Salem College

Dr. Richardson, the new dean of the Martha H. Fleer Center for Adult Education, joined the faculty at Salem College in 2007 and recently was serving as an assistant professor of education and director of the college's Writing Center.

Medical Education Pioneer Donald Wilson Honored by the American College of Physicians

In 1991, Dr. Donald E. Wilson was named dean of medicine at the University of Maryland, the first African American dean of a predominantly White medical school. He was also was the first Black president of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

New Appointments or Promotions for Black Faculty Members

Taking on new roles or responsibilities are Tirin Moore at Stanford University, Emma A. Faulk at Alabama State University, Jennifer F. Hamer at the University of Kansas, and Trudier Harris at the University of Alabama.

Five African Americans Named to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Taking on new administrative roles are Leticia Smith-Evans at Williams College, Erica Dunlap at Florida A&M University, Mayola Rowser at the University of Southern Indiana, Nicole Gibbs at North Carolina Central University, and Clifton Sanders from Salt Lake Community College.

Emory University School of Law to Name an Endowed Chair in Honor of John Lewis

John Lewis spoke at the March on Washington and was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on Bloody Sunday in March 1965. He has served his Atlanta district in Congress since 1987.

African American Adjunct Professor Wins a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance

Melissa Givens is an adjunct professor at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, and Texas Southern University in Houston. She is also a doctoral student in music at the University of Houston.

Six African Americans Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education

Taking on new roles are Leykia Brill at the University of Massachusetts, Deidre Labat at Xavier University, Christopher L. Brown at Columbia University, Undi Hoffler at North Carolina Central University, D'Andre Fisher at the University of Oklahoma, and Archie Griffin at Ohio State University.

Three African Americans at Leading Universities Receive Prestigious Honors

The honorees are Roland G. Fryer Jr., the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard, assistant professor Stephen M. Avery of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Iris Outlaw, director of multicultural student programs and services at the University of Notre Dame.

Sjohnna McCray Wins the 2015 Walt Whitman Award

The adjunct instructor in the department of English at Savannah State University in Georgia is being honored by the Academy of American Poets.

Yale Medical School Scholar Named to State Mental Health Post

Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale Medical School, has been appointed commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Dorothy Cowser Yancy Honored by Johnson C. Smith University

Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, has paid tribute to its president emerita Dorothy Cowser Yancy by naming the new Information and Technology Hall in her honor.

Two Black Women Appointed to Named Faculty Positions

Jeannine Bell was appointed the Richard S. Melvin Professor of Law at Indiana University and Donita Brady was named Presidential Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine.

Three Black Women in Higher Education Win Notable Awards

The honorees are Wanda Heading-Grant of the University of Vermont, Juanita Johnson-Bailey of the University of Georgia, and Emile M. Towns, dean of the Vanderbilt University Divinity School.

A Quartet of African Americans in New University Administrative Posts

Taking on new roles are Lorraince Acker at Iowa State University, Kevin Appleton at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, John Michael Lee Jr. at Florida A&M University, and Nicole Edwards Evans at Jackson State University in Mississippi.

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