Erika James to Lead the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
When she takes office on July 1, Erika James will be the first woman and the first African American to lead the prestigious business school since its founding in 1881. Since 2014, Dr. James has been serving as dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta.
The First African American to Be Promoted to Full Professor at Ithaca College
Dr. Cynthia Henderson joined the faculty at Ithaca College in 2000. In 2007, she was the first African-American woman to earn tenure at the college. Now she is the first African American who has been promoted to the rank of full professor in the 128-year history of Ithaca College.
The First Black Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review at Georgia State University
Jeannine Holmes is a 2008 graduate of the University of Virginia, where she majored in English. After studying design in New York City, She moved to Atlanta in 2016 to work in the healthcare field. Later she enrolled in law school part-time at Georgia State University.
Alcorn State University in Mississippi Graduates Its First Class of Doctoral Students
Six family nurse practitioners recently became the inaugural Doctor of Nursing Practice class at the Cora S. Balmat School of Nursing at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. All six of the graduates had earlier received a master’s degree in nursing from the university.
The Higher Education of the Next Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
On Tuesday, November 2, voters in the Commonwealth of Virginia elected Winsome Sears to the position of lieutenant governor. She will be the first woman and the first African American to hold the office in the 400-year history of the Commonwealth.
The First African American President of Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland
Dr. Daria Willis currently serves as president of Everett Community College in Washington. Earlier, Dr. Willis was the provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Onondaga Community College of the State University of New York and dean of academic studies at Lee College in Baytown, Texas.
Reginald DesRoches Will Be the Eighth President of Rice University in Houston
The will of oil tycoon William Marsh Rice stipulated that only White students would be allowed to enroll at the university bearing his name. From its founding in 1912 to 1965, no Black student was permitted to enroll at Rice University. Next summer, the university will install its first Black president.
African American Scholar is the First Faculty Hire for the Columbia Climate School
Kristina G. Douglass was the Joyce and Doug Sherwin Early Career Professor in the Rock Ethics Institute and assistant professor of anthropology and African studies at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Douglass' research focuses on investigating human-environment interaction in Madagascar.
Keshia Elder Will Be the First Black Woman to Lead a School of Optometry...
Keshia Elder has been named dean of the College of Optometry at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She has been serving as director of diversity, equity, and inclusion and director of externships at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry.
Claudine Gay Appointed the Thirtieth President of Harvard University
When she takes office on July 1, Claudine Gay will be the first African American to lead the university since its founding nearly 400 years ago. Since 2018, Dr. Gay has served as the Edgerley Family Dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She first joined the Harvard faculty in 2006.
The First Black Woman to Earn a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics at Florida State...
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Kalisa Villafana decided at the age of 12 that she would be a physicist.
Kara Freeman to Lead the National Association of College and University Business Officers
When she takes office on June 1, Freeman will be the first African American woman to lead the organization. Freeman has been serving as the senior vice president and chief operating officer at the American Council of Education. She has worked there since 2006.
The First Black Woman in Vanderbilt University’s Neurosurgery Residency Program
According to the American Society of Black Neurosurgeons, there are currently only 33 Black women who are in the field of neurosurgery in the United States. Tamia Potter, who completed her medical degree at Case Western Reserve University, will be the first Black women neurosurgery resident at Vanderbilt in the program's 91-year history.
Steven Watkin Will Be the New Leader of Bakersfield College in California
Watkin was hired by Bakersfield College nine years ago to build an outreach program in partnership with local area high schools. Most recently, he has served as associate vice chancellor of enrollment management at the Kern Community College District. In addition, Watkin has been pastor of the Church of God in Christ in Arvin, California, for the past 11 years.
Michele Carter Will Be the First African American Chancellor of Central Texas College in...
Dr. Carter began her career at Central Texas College 32 years ago as a receptionist. Most recently, she has served as deputy chancellor of finance and administration. When she takes office on July 1, she will be the first woman and the first African American to lead the college.
The First Black Deaf Woman to Earn a Ph.D. in Biochemistry
A native of Sierra Leone in Africa, Dr. Sankoh became deaf at the age of three. She was sent to live with a family friend in the United States at the age of 12. She struggled in school until she was able to master American sign language. She recently earned s Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Tennessee.
Howard University Receives Record-Breaking 36,000 Applicants for Class of 2028
The class of 2028 applicant pool at Howard University increased by 4,000 applications compared to last year's class of 2027. This year, the university's acceptance rate was roughly 31 percent, down five percentage points from last year.
Forbes Magazine Names Howard University the Top HBCU in the Country
This year, Forbes magazine listed Howard University as the top HBCU and 273rd best higher education institution in the United States. Spelman College, Morehouse College, Florida A&M University, North Carolina A&T State University, and Hampton University were also listed among the country's top 500 colleges and universities.
The First African American to Win a Major Award in Aviation Education
I. Richmond Nettey is the associate dean of the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability, and Technology at Kent State University in Ohio. He is being honored by the University Aviaton Association.
Historically Black Sorority Establishes Chapter at Washington and Lee University
Two of the first 12 members of the chapter at the university are White.
Historically Black Central State University in Ohio Names a New President
Cynthia Jackson-Hammond is the former provost and vice president of academic affairs at Coppin State University in Baltimore.
Arizona State University Honors Its First Black Football Player
In 1937 Emerson Harvey was the first Black player at ASU. His presence on the football team at the university served to play a major role in the racial integration of college sports in the southwest.
The Higher Education of the Only Black U.S. Senator
He is the first Black senator from a southern state since Reconstruction and he is the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.
A Military Milestone for a Claflin University Trustee
Calvin H. Elam, a member of the board of trustees of Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, has become the first African American general in the South Carolina Air National Guard.
Heidi Anderson Named Provost at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
When Dr. Anderson takes office in July, the university's two highest officials, president and provost, both will be African American women. Helen F. Giles-Gee became the university's president a year ago. Only 6 percent of the undergraduate student body at the university is Black.
Frances Henderson Is the First African American Woman Granted Tenure at Maryville College
She is the first African American woman to be granted tenure at the college in its 194-year history. Dr. Henderson has been teaching political science at the college for the past six years and she is now the only African American on the college's faculty.
Majority-Female Crew Refs Black College Football Game
For the first time in history, on October 24 a majority-female officiating crew took the field for an intercollegiate football game between Lane College and Miles College, two historically Black colleges.
The Higher Education of Mississippi’s First Black Female Federal Judge
Debra M. Brown, a graduate of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University and the law school at the University of Mississippi, is the only attorney in the state that has a degree in architecture.
Black Student Among the First Five Doctoral Degree Recipients at Georgia College & State...
Chioma Okereke is one of the five women in the first cohort of graduates of the university's doctor of nuring practice degree program. She has been hired to a nursing faculty position at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
Michael Drake Appointed President of Ohio State University
When he takes office in June, Dr. Drake will be the first African American to be president of Ohio State. Currently, Dr. Drake is chancellor of the University of California, Irvine.
Terrell Lamont Strayhorn: The Youngest Full Professor at Ohio State University
Dr. Strayhorn was promoted to full professor in the department of educational studies in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University. The appointment makes him the youngest full professor at the university.
The First African-American President of Kansas City, Kansas Community College
This week Doris F. Givens began her new duties as the fifth president of the Kansas City, Kansas Community College. She is the first woman and the first African American to lead the college.
Alcorn State University Alumna Becomes the First Black Woman Orthodontist in Mississippi
Chandra Minor recently opened Smile Design Orthodontics with offices in three cities. The Alcorn State University graduate is the first African American woman to practice orthodontics in the state of Mississippi.
Four Black Men Earn Doctoral Degrees From One Department at Ohio State
Four Black men earned doctorates this spring in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State under the mentorship of Dr. Terrell Strayhorn, the youngest full professor in the university's history.
Paula Johnson Will Be the First African American President of Wellesley College
Dr. Johnson is a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. She is the founder and executive director of the Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Black Identical Twins Each Had the Highest GPA at FIU’s College of Engineering and...
Shalisha and Shonda Witherspoon are identical twins. They recently graduated from the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University in Miami with identical 3.95 grade point averages, the best in the college.
