Diversity

“The Dr. Thomas D. Wallace Student Success Center shall become the cornerstone for Black student success, a space where academic gaps will be closed, graduation rates will rise, and Black excellence is not only expected but is celebrated every day," said Natasha Harris, director of special programs and student retention initiatives at California State University, Bakersfield.

Historically, the Gates Scholarship was awarded to low-income students from historically underrepresented racial backgrounds. However, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has recently announced it is opening the scholarship program to all Pell Grant-eligible students, regardless of race.

U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent Yvette Davids has decided to align with the Trump administration's directives to eliminate the consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex from the military academy's admissions process.

The Future Faculty Institute at Holy Cross provides prospective faculty from underrepresented backgrounds with networking and development opportunities, aiming to prepare them for successful careers in academia.

A recent memorandum from the U.S. Department of Defense has outlined plans to eliminate all DEI-related initiatives associated with the department. The document states "the DoD will strive to provide merit-based, color-blind, equal opportunities to Service members but will not guarantee or strive for equal outcomes."

While Black Americans represent nearly 14 percent of the total U.S. population, they represent just 5.5 percent of all top staff positions in the personal offices of U.S. House members and senators.

Since 2013, the share of Black faculty and staff at the University of California and California State University systems has slightly decreased, while their representation at California Community Colleges has experienced a small increase.

More than a quarter of the 119th U.S. Congress is non-White. There are currently 66 Black voting members across the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, an increase from the 60 Black Americans who served in the 118th Congress.

The AAUP urges academic institutions to recruit and retain diverse faculty and student bodies and to "fund, protect, and publicize research in all fields that contributes to the common good and responds more widely to the needs of a diverse public."

"In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that greatly limited any consideration of race in admission decisions, Brown remains committed to complying with the law while fostering a diverse and inclusive community as integral to our mission of academic excellence," wrote Provost Francis Doyle and Patricia Poitevien, interim vice president for institutional equity and diversity.

Beginning in January, undergraduate HBCU students from Bennett College and Saint Augustine's University will have the opportunity to participate in otolaryngology and communication sciences research with Duke University faculty.

A team of scholars from the University of Kentucky, the University of Illinois, and the University of Georgia have found that consumers tend to prefer ads featuring interracial couples more than ads with White couples, but less than ads featuring same-race minority couples.

The appointments are Rhea Roper Nedd at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Robert Shorty at Grand Valley State University, Rassheedah "Eda" Watts at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, Janice Hall at Virginia Tech, and Romona West at the University of Arkansas.

“Our nation’s beautiful diversity is one of our greatest cultural and economic strengths. The grants announced today build on the administration’s historic investments in HBCUs and will help put more teachers of color in classrooms and in STEM careers—two key professions of today and tomorrow’s workforce,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

While the overall representation of Black faculty has barely increased over the past 20 years, a new study has found a small increase in Black faculty representation since 2016. However, this is almost entirely due to an increase among Black assistant professors in non-STEM fields.

Black enrollments at many of the nation's highest ranked universities are down significantly. But some top schools have been able to maintain a diverse student body despite the Supreme Court ban of race-sensitive admissions.

The appointments to diversity positions are LaVar J. Charleston at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Lynzie De Veres at Caltech, and Marlon Black at the University of St. Thomas. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to [email protected].

The appointments to diversity positions are Tamara Clegg at the University of Maryland, Andrew Alvez at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and Kendriana Price at the University of Kentucky.

The National Science Foundation has awarded ExpandAI grants to Bowie State University, Savannah State University, Alabama A&M State University, and Clark Atlanta University. The funding aims to advance diversity and inclusion in artificial intelligence research.

Dr. Jones was recognized for her research and work centering around Black children and their families, maternal mental health, and educating future health service psychologists.