Taking on new assignments are Tony Gaskew at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, Julia Ballenger at Texas A&M University-Commerce, Theddeus Iheanacho at Yale Medical School, and Wanda Heading-Grant at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Martin is a professor of sociology and a professor of African and African American studies. Dr. Martin joined the faculty at Louisiana State University in 2013, after teaching at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York.
Robin E. Dock was promoted to professor of rehabilitation counseling at Winston-Salem State University. Elwood Watson, a professor of history at East Tennessee State University, was named co-editor in chief of a prestigious journal and Ainsley LeSure is a new assistant professor of African studies at Brown University in Rhode Island.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Rhode Island School of Design, one of the nation's most prestigious educational institutions in the field, has announced that it is hiring 10 new faculty members as part of a cluster hire initiative focused on race and decolonization in art and design.
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.
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.
The alliance will provide underrepresented minority doctoral and postdoctoral students training opportunities to learn and network at partner institutions, conduct research exchange visits, and access resources for placement into faculty positions.
The four Black scholars in new posts are Brian K. Smith at Boston College, Zindell Richardson at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, Olufunmilayo Ayobami at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, and Blessing Masasi at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
The $16 million grant from the Duke Endowment allocates $10.5 million toward recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and $5.5 million to support the university community’s understanding of historical and current racism, to combat racism, and to create a more inclusive environment.
The five-year effort to create the new Center on Racial Disparities includes hiring 12 additional faculty members with research expertise in understanding and addressing racial disparities in areas such as health, education, housing, employment, and wealth.
The five Black scholars taking on new assignments are Nicole Patton Terry at Florida State University, Samuel Adu-Mireku at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Suzzette Shaw Goldmon at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Kristina Douglass at Pennsylvania State University, and Ethlyn McQueen-Gibson at Hampton University in Virginia.