African Americans Appointed to Dean Positions at Three Universities

Earnstein Dukes was announced as the new dean of the University Library at Texas Tech University. Oscar Barton was appointed dean of the School of Engineering at Morgan State University and Jacqueline Hill was appointed dean of the School of Education at Florida Memorial University.

General Ronnie D. Hawkins Chosen to Lead Angelo State University in Texas

When General Hawkins takes office on August 14, Hawkins will be the first African American to serve as president of Angelo State University in its 92-year history. A retired three-star Air Force general, he is the former director of the Defense Information Systems Agency at Fort Meade, Maryland.

The New President of St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina

Dr. Irving Pressley McPhail was previously the sixth president and CEO at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, founding chancellor at the Community College of Baltimore County, president of St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, and president of Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis.

The New Leader of the Data Science Initiative of the Atlanta University Center Consortium

Talitha Washington, formerly of Howard University, will lead the effort that will work to increase the number of highly-skilled underrepresented minorities with skills in data science and to advance data science research, especially as it impacts minority communities.

Four African American Women Appointed to Dean Positions in Higher Education

The new deans are Taléa R. Drummer-Ferrell at Kent State University in Ohio, Dorie J. Gilbert at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, Cheryl Anderson at the University of California, San Diego, and Aarika Camp at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland.

In Memoriam: John Robert Lewis, 1940-2020

Congressman Lewis was one of the original Freedom Riders. He chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington in 1963. In 1965 he was beaten on the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on Bloody Sunday.

The First Black President in the 152-Year History of the University of California System

Dr. Drake, who had served as the first Black president of Ohio State University since June 2014, announced last fall that he would step down as president at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. Before being named president at Ohio State, Dr. Drake was chancellor of the University of California, Irvine.

Alexander Okwonna Has Been Appointed Provost at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas

Dr. Okwonna has been in higher education for more than 15 years. During his tenure at San Jacinto College, he has served as pharmacy technology professor, program director, and department chair. For the past seven years, he has been dean of Health and Natural Science at the college's South Campus.

Dorothy Mosby Appointed Dean of the Faculty at Mount Holyoke College

Dr. Mosby joined the Mount Holyoke community in 2003. She was professor of Spanish and was appointed associate dean of faculty in 2016. She has also served as a deputy coordinator for the Title IX compliance programs.

Lincoln University Board of Trustees Does Not Renew the Contract of President Brenda Allen

Before being named the fourteenth president of Lincoln University in 2017, Dr. Allen was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. She is the former associate provost for institutional diversity at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Nicole Pride Appointed President of Historically Black West Virginia State University

Dr. Pride had been serving as the vice provost for academic strategy and operations at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Earlier she served as associate vice chancellor for university relations and chief of staff for the chancellor of the university.

Stephen Kolison Named the Fourteenth President of SUNY-Fredonia

Since April 1, 2017, Dr. Kolison has served as executive vice president and provost for the University of Indianapolis. From 2008 to 2017, he served in the administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Four African Americans Appointed to University Dean Positions

The new deans are Anthony R. Bowrin at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, Ophelie Rowe-Allen at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, Ulysses Taylor at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, and Michele Cruse at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

Two African Americans Appointed to Lead Colleges of the City University of New York

Berenecea Johnson Eanes was appointed president of York College of the City University of New York. She has been serving as interim president since last fall. Anthony E. Munroe will serve as president of Borough of Manhattan Community College. Since 2017, he has been president of Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey.

Sonja Feist-Price Appointed Provost at the University of Michigan-Flint

Professor Feist-Price currently serves as the vice president for institutional diversity and professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Special Education and Counselor Education in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. She will begin her new job on August 1.

California Voters Have the Opportunity to Put Proposition 209 on the Trash Heap of...

In 1996 voters in California passed Proposition 209 which banned the consideration of race in admissions decisions at state-operated colleges and universities. But now the California legislature has voted to place a referendum on the November 3 ballot that would once again allow public universities in the state to consider race in their admissions decisions.

Lynden Archer Named Dean of the College of Engineering at Cornell University

A Cornell faculty member since 2000, Dr. Archer directed the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from 2010 to 2016. In the fall of 2017, he was named the David Croll Director of the Cornell Energy Systems Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

University of North Carolina School of the Arts Names its Next Provost

Professor Sims currently serves as the deputy vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion and the Elzie Higginbottom Vice Provost and chief diversity officer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also the founding director of the Theatre for Cultural and Social Awareness and a professor of theater at the university.

Robert E. Johnson to Take the Helm at Western New England University

Since 2017, Dr. Johnson has been the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. From 2010 to 2017, he was president of Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts. He will begin his new duties on August 15.

Michael Wesley Williams Named President of the Interdenominational Theological Center

Matthew Wesley Williams has been named the eleventh president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He has served as interim president since July 2019. He is the youngest person to ever lead the educational institution.

A Quartet of African American Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Posts

The new deans are Harris Smith in the College of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico, Shelley Johnson in the School of Nursing at Florida A&M University, Amanda Bryant-Friedrich at the Graduate School of Wayne State University in Detroit, and E. Patrick Johnson in the School of Communication at Northwestern University.

Brian Johnson Named President at Warner Pacific University in Portland, Oregon

Dr. Johnson has been serving as vice president of Mercy College and senior campus administrator at the college's New York City campus in Manhattan. Before that, he was president of Tuskegee University in Alabama from 2014 to 2017.

Historically Black Bowie State University in Maryland Names Its Next Provost

Dr. Carl Goodman has been serving as associate provost for academic affairs and student services at Florida A&M University. He has more than 20 years of teaching, research, and service in the Florida A&M University's College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Tracy Johnson Named Dean of the Division of Life Sciences at UCLA

Dr. Johnson is a professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology and holder of the Keith and Cecilia Terasaki Presidential Endowed Chair at UCLA. She joined the faculty in 2013 and has served as associate dean for inclusive excellence in the division of life sciences since January 2015.

Lloyd A. Holmes Appointed President of De Anza College in California

In 2014, Dr. Holmes was named vice president for student services at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York. Earlier, he was dean of students at North Shore Community College in Massachusetts. Dr. Holmes will begin his presidency at De Anza College on July 1.

A Major Black Faculty Hire at Boston University

Ibram X. Kendi, one of the nation’s leading scholars and historians of racism, will join Boston University’s faculty on July 1 and launch the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. Since 2017, he has served on the faculty at American University in Washington, D.C.

R. Charles Byers is the New Leader of West Virginia State University

Dr. Byers has served as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at the university since July 2019. He had retired as provost in 2014 after 41 years of service at West Virginia State University.

Austin Lane Selected as the Next Chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Dr. Lane served as president of Texas Southern University in Houston from 2016 to February of this year. When he takes on his new duties on July 6, he will be the first African American chancellor in the 150-year history of the Carbondale campus.

Cynthia Jackson-Hammond to Lead the Council for Higher Education Accreditation

Dr. Jackson-Hammond is retiring as president of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, on June 30. She became the historically Black university’s first woman president on July 1, 2012. Earlier in her career, she was provost and vice president of academic affairs at Coppin State University in Baltimore.

Black Man to Become Dean of the Nation’s Oldest Law School

A. Benjamin Spencer will be the next dean of the William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia. When he takes office on July 1, Professor Spencer will be William & Mary’s first African-American dean. Since 2014 he has been on the law school faculty at the University of Virginia.

Governors State University in Illinois Appoints Cheryl Green as Its Sixth President

Last year, Dr. Green was appointed interim chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. At that time she was vice chancellor of student affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Earlier, Dr. Green served as assistant vice president of student affairs at Tennessee State University.

Nate Bryant to Lead North Shore Community College in Massachusetts

Dr. Bryant currently serves as vice president and chief of staff to the president of Salem State University in Massachusetts. He will become interim president at North Shore Community College in July and serve through the 2020-21 academic year.

Howard University Appoints Two Black Scholars to Dean Positions

John M. M. Anderson is the new dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture and Anthony D. Wilbon was appointed the fourth dean of the Howard University School of Business.

Kevin James Named the Nineteenth President of Morris Brown College in Atlanta

Dr. James has been serving in this role on an interim basis since March 2019. The college has not been accredited since 2002 and enrolls only a few dozen students. But it is seeking to regain accreditation through the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools.

Two Universities Appoint African Americans to Provost Positions

Darrell Newton was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Winona State University in Minnesota and Saundra F. DeLauder was named provost and vice president of academic affairs at historically Black Delaware State University in Dover. She is the first woman to hold the post.

Lamont Repollet Appointed President of Kean University in Union, New Jersey

Dr. Repollet has been serving as the New Jersey Commissioner of Education. From 2014 to 2018, he served as superintendent of the Asbury Park School District. Previously, he served as principal of Carteret High School n New Jersey.

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