Appointments & Awards

Two Black Scholars to Lead Faculty Affairs at Universities

Walter Parrish and Adanna Johnson are taking on new roles in faculty affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of the District of Columbia, respectively.

Six Black Leaders Appointed to Administrative Roles 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. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to contact@jbhe.com.

Three Black Professors Appointed to New Positions at Universities

The new faculty appointments are Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela at the University of Illinois, Colin Adams at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Francis Owusu at Iowa State University.

Tuskegee University’s Olga Bolden-Tiller Honored for Commitment to Agricultural Education

Dr. Bolden-Tiller is the dean of the College of Agriculture, Environment, and Nutrition Sciences at Tuskegee University, where she has taught for nearly two decades.

Five Black Leaders Appointed to Administrative Roles in Academia

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 our appointments section, please email the information to contact@jbhe.com.

The Next Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida

Levi Thompson has been serving as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware. He previously served as a faculty member at the University of Michigan, where he was associate dean for undergraduate education and director of the Hydrogen Energy Technology Laboratory.

Nneka Dennie Receives National Book Prize for Outstanding Bibliographical Scholarship

Dr. Dennie's award-winning book, Mary Ann Shadd Cary: Essential Writings of a Nineteenth-Century Black Radical Feminist, examines the works of North America's first Black woman newspaper editor.

Marsha McGriff Recognized for Diversity Work by the Not Alone Foundation

Marsha McGriff, vice chancellor for equity and inclusion at the University of Masssachusetts Amherst, has been selected to receive the 2025 Diamond Award for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Leadership from the Atlanta-based Not Alone Foundation. The foundation's stated mission is fighting kidney disease.

Miles College Promotes Four Women Scholars to Senior-Level Faculty Positions

The four Black women promoted to senior-level faculty positions at Miles College in Alabama are Loretta Westry in mathematics, Tamatha White in business administration, Jarralynne Agee in criminal justice and psychology, and Nikaela Flournoy in biology.

College of Charleston’s Carlos Brown Receives Award for Outstanding Choral Conducting

Dr. Brown currently serves as director of choral activities at the College of Charleston, where he conducts both the concert choir and gospel choir. His background includes leadership roles at two historically Black universities.

Three Black Leaders Appointed to Staff Positions at Universities

The African Americans appointed to administrative posts are Antonio Witherspoon at Florida A&M University, Davina Desnoes at the University of Central Florida, and Alicia Miles at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Two Black Women Selected for Endowed Professorships at Liberal Arts Colleges

The two Black women appointed to endowed professorships are Therí Pickens at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and Shola Lunch at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Tanisha Ford Wins National Book Award for a Biography of Prominent Civil Rights Movement Fundraiser

Dr. Ford's award-winning book - Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power, Behind the Civil Rights Movement - examines the social history of Mollie Moon, founding president of the National Urban League Guild.

Four African Americans Appointed to Administrative Positions in Academia

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 our appointments section, please email the information to contact@jbhe.com.

The 2024 Frederick Douglass Book Prize Has Been Awarded to Two Black Scholars

The 2024 Frederick Douglass Book Prize has been awarded to Marlene Daut, professor at Yale University, and Sara Johnson, professor at the University of California, San Diego.

New Administrative Appointments for Three African Americans in Higher Education

The African Americans appointed to new administrative posts in higher education are Gregory Young at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Dana Hector at Howard University, and Ashley Allen at Augustana College in Illinois.

Two Black Men Appointed to Advancement Leadership Roles at Winston-Salem State University

Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina has appointed Kevin Turman and John Kirby, Jr. to new positions in university advancement.

The Anti-Defamation League Honors Charles Chavis for Scholarship on Black and Jewish Relations

Dr. Chavis currently teaches as an assistant professor of conflict resolution and serves as the founding director of the John Mitchell, Jr. Program for History, Justice, and Race at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Four Black Leaders Appointed to Administrative Roles at Universities

The appointments are Nicole Porchia at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas, Rashad Smith at the University of Southern Indiana, Naja Muhammad at New York University, and Lauren Ferrell at Howard University.

Four Black Faculty Members Appointed to New Positions

The appointments are Corey Montgomery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Talia Sanders at Jarvis Christian University, Alexis Johnson at the College of Charleston, and Hampton University's Iso Ero-Johnson for the state of Virginia's new AI Task Force.

North Carolina Supreme Court Unveils Portrait of NCCU Law Dean Patricia Timmons-Goodson

Patricia Timmons-Goodson was appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2006, making her the first Black woman to serve in that capacity. She has served as dean of the North Carolina Central University School of Law for the past year.

Three African Americans Appointed to Administrative Roles at Universities

The administrative appointments are Dina Thomas at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Kemberly Sistrunk Greene at South Carolina State University, and Erika Ancrum at Edward Waters University.

NCA&T Chancellor Emeritus Harold Martin Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Martin served as chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University from 2009 to 2023. Throughout his long tenure, the university experienced substantial growth in enrollment, and is now the largest HBCU in the country.

Herman Taylor Receives National Recognition for Excellence in Clinical Cardiovascular Research

Dr. Herman Taylor currently directs the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, one of four historically Black medical schools in the country. He was recently honored by the American Heart Association for excellence in clinical research.

Two Black Leaders Selected for Director Roles at Mississippi State University

Mississippi State University has appointed Aundrea Self as director of outreach and engagement for the College of Business and T.J. Walker as director for pre-college and opportunity programs.

Two Black Scholars Appointed to Endowed Professorships

John Thabiti Willis at Grinnell College in Iowa and Squire Booker at the University of Pennsylvania have been appointed to endowed professorships.

Danielle Speller Recognized by the National Society of Black Physicists for Early-Career Accomplishments

Danielle Spencer currently serves as an assitant professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She was honored by the National Society of Black Physicists for her research into dark matter and her mentorship of the next generation of physicists.

Three African Americans Appointed to Administrative Roles at Universities

The three appointments to administrative posts are Norris Edney III at Vanderbilt University in Nahville, Seyvion Scott at Syracuse University in New York, and Robert Owens at Tennessee Tech University.

Arizona State University Law Presents the O’Connor Justice Prize to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Johnson Sirleaf was the first woman democratically elected head of state in Africa. She was elected president of Libera in 2005 - just two years after the end of a decades-long civil war.

New Faculty Appointments for Three Black Scholars

The Black scholars taking on new faculty roles are Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha at Tufts University, Willie Jennings at Yale University, and Timothy Lewis at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

‘Dimeji Togunde Honored for Lifetime Achievement in Global Education

Dr. 'Dimeji Togunde is the vice provost for global education at Spelman College. Since joining the college's faculty in 2011, he has more than doubled the number of study abroad destinations for Spelman students.

Three African Americans Appointed to Administrative Roles in Academia

The African Americans appointed to new administrative posts are Jonathan Whitfield at Berea College in Kentucky, Felicia Johnson at Virginia State University, and Ariella Robbins at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

New Faculty Positions for Three Black Scholars

The faculty appointments are Lauren Bullock at Temple University in Philadelphia, Margo Brooks Carthon at the University of Pennsylvania, and Munene Mwaniki at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Monic Ductan Receives Inaugural Tennessee Book Award in Fiction

Monic Ductan was honored for her first book, Daughters of Muscadine: Stories. She currently teaches creative writing and literature at Tennessee Tech University.

A Trio of African Americans Taking on New Administrative Responsibilities in Higher Education

The three African Americans appointed to administrative posts in higher education are De'Onqua Isaac at Morris College in South Carolina, Karin Vinson at Fort Valley State University in Georgia, and Jamillah Williams at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Two Black Scholars Selected for Endowed Professorships at Ivy League Universities

The two Black scholars appointed to endowed faculty positions at Ivy League schools are Vaughn Booker at the University of Pennsylvania and Dorceta Taylor at Yale University.

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