Craig Watters to Lead Oklahoma State University’s Riata Institute for Global Social Entrepreneurship
Dr. Watters is a clinical associate professor and the International Entrepreneurship chair. He has been a faculty member at Oklahoma State University since 2011. The new institute will focus on furthering student experiential study, research, and service.
The First Woman of Color to Serve as Dean of the St. Thomas University...
Tamara F. Lawson has been named dean of St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens, Florida. Professor Lawson, who had been serving as interim dean since June 2018, earlier was associate dean for academic affairs from 2017 to June 2018.
Seven African Americans Elected Into the National Academy of Medicine
A JBHE analysis of the list of the 75 members of the latest cohort elected into the National Academy of Medicine finds that it appears that seven, or 9 percent, are Black. Most have current affiliations with academic institutions in the United States.
The Racial Scoring Gap on the SAT College Entrance Examination
The results showed that only 21 percent of African American test takers met the college and career readiness benchmark for both reading and mathematics. Nearly 60 percent of Whites met the readiness benchmarks in both reading and mathematics.
Kimberly Dowdell Elected President of the National Organization of Minority Architects
Kimberly Dowdell is a faculty member in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. She is a licensed architect and partner with Century Partners, a Detroit-based real estate firm focused on equitable neighborhood revitalization.
Patricia Sims Named President of J.F. Drake State Community and Technical College in Alabama
Dr. Sims has 25 years of experience in K-12 and higher education. Most recently, she was the dean of the College of Education at Athens State University in Alabama. Before that, she was the director of student services management and dean of instructional and student services at Drake State.
Kevin Gaines Named to a New Endowed Professorship at the University of Virginia
Dr. Gaines comes to the University of Virginia from Cornell University where he was the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Africana Studies and History. Previously he has taught at Princeton University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Michigan.
The Racial Poverty Gap and Its Impact on Higher Education
In 2017, nearly 9 million African Americans, 21.2 percent of total Black population, were living below the official poverty line in the United States. Obviously this huge group of African Americans will face difficulty in obtaining higher education, a path that could lead them out of poverty.
Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, Experiences Legal Setback In Accreditation Battle
A federal judge has ruled that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges was within its rights to revoke the accreditation of Paine College in 2016. The college sued the accreditor and has retained its accreditation during the course of the litigation. The college has 30 days to appeal.
Gary LeRoy to Lead the American Academy of Family Physicians
Gary LeRoy is an associate professor of family medicine and the associate dean for student affairs and admissions at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He will become president of the organization that represents more than 131,000 physicians in 2019.
Ronald A. Johnson Steps Down From Presidency of Clark Atlanta University
Ronald A. Johnson, the fourth president of Clark Atlanta University, the historically Black educational institution in Georgia, announced that he is leaving his post for "personal reasons." Lucille H. Maugé, the chief financial officer, was appointed chief operating officer and will serve as acting president.
Elizabeth Dooley Becomes First Black Woman to Serve as Provost at the University of...
Dr. Dooley has worked for the university since 2015 and most recently served as the interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. Before coming to the University of Central Florida, Dr. Dooley spent 25 years at West Virginia University.
Danielle Laraque-Arena Will Step Down As President of the Upstate Medical University
Danielle Laraque-Arena, the first woman president of the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, has announced she is stepping down, effective at the end of this semester. She will return to a full-time faculty position in June 2019.
Maurice Edington Named Provost at Historically Black Florida A&M University
Dr. Edington had been serving as vice president of the Division of Strategic Planning Analysis and Institutional Effectiveness at the university since February 2017. Prior to that, he served as the university's founding dean of the College of Science and Technology from 2013 to 2017.
Kmt Shockley Appointed Executive Director of the Center for African American Research and Policy
Dr. Shockley has been serving as an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Earlier he was an associate professor of urban educational leadership at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Vann Newkirk Named Provost at Historically Black Fisk University in Nashville
Dr. Newkirk most recently served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and as a professor of history at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Prior to that, he served as associate provost and dean of the graduate school at Alabama A&M University.
Byron Hughes Named Dean of Students at Virginia Tech
Dr. Hughes began his career at Virginia Tech in 2008 as the assistant director for student conduct. Since 2013, he has been serving as the university's director of fraternity and sorority life. Prior to coming to Blacksburg, he worked in residential life positions at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and Salisbury University in Maryland.
The Persistent Racial Income Gap Hinders Black Access to Higher Education
In 2017, the median Black family income was 59.1 percent of the median income for White families. With only minor fluctuations, the racial gap in median income has remained virtually unchanged for nearly a half century.
Ben Vinson Is the New Chair of the National Humanities Center
The center, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is a nonprofit institute dedicated to advanced study in the humanities. Dr. Vinson is the provost and executive vice president of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
African Scholar William Abraham Honored With a Portrait at Oxford University
William Abraham is a professor of philosophy emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1959, Professor Abraham became the first African scholar to win a Prize Fellowship at All Souls College at Oxford University in England. Today, he remains the only African to ever win the prestigious award.
Lawrence D. Bobo Named Dean of Social Sciences at Harvard University
Dr. Bobo currently serves as the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences and chair of the department of African American Studies. He has been a Harvard faculty member since 1997. Earlier, he taught at UCLA and Stanford University.
Two African American Women Appointed to Dean Positions at Universities
Shetina M. Jones has been appointed dean of students at Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and Juline E. Mills has been named dean of the College of Education, Health, and Human Services at Westfield State University in Massachusetts.
George Walker, Educator and a Giant of the Music Industry, Dies at Age 96
Dr. Walker composed nearly 100 pieces over his lifetime. One of his most famous is Lyric for Strings which was inspired by the death of his grandmother, a former slave. In 1996, he became the first African American recipient of the Pulitzer Price for Music.
Paulette Dillard Named the Eighteenth President of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina
Dr. Dillard had been serving as interim president of Shaw University since June 2017. Previously, she was the vice president of academic affairs and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university. Dr. Dillard is a trained medical technologist certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology.
Clark Atlanta University’s Ronald E. Mickens Wins the 2018 Blackwell-Tapia Prize
Dr. Mickens is the Distinguished Fuller E. Callaway Professor in the department of physics at Clark Atlanta University. He is being honored for being a role model for mathematical scientists and students from underrepresented groups.
The Slow Progress of African American Enrollments at Flagship State Universities
A research team at UCLA found that the number of Black students enrolled at prestigious, public universities was either stagnant or declined over the past 40 years. They found that across the country, Black student enrollments at these top state-operated universities were not reflective of the Black population in that particular state.
Tavarez Holston Appointed President of Georgia Piedmont Technical College in DeKalb
Since 2013, Dr. Holston has served as vice president for academic affairs at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Georgia. He holds a master's degree in leadership and organizational effectiveness from Troy University in Alabama and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Valdosta State University in Georgia.
Sylvester James Gates to Lead the American Physical Society
Dr. Gates, Ford Foundation Professor at Brown University, has been named to the presidential line of the American Physical Society, a nonprofit organization that represents more than 55,000 physicists worldwide. Dr. Gates will serve as vice president in 2019, president-elect in 2020, and president in 2021.
The New Leader of Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock
Regina Favors has been serving as president and CEO of Pinnacle Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. Previously, she had worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has taught as an adjunct professor at Arkansas Baptist College.
Gloria Gibson to Be Inaugurated as the Seventh President of Northeastern Illinois University
Before being named president at Northeastern Illinois University, Dr. Gibson was senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Earlier, she was a professor of communication and executive vice president and provost at the University of Northern Iowa.
Penn State’s Michael Adewumi Appointed to Leadership Post at IES Abroad
Dr. Adewumi, currently vice provost for global programs at Pennsylvania State University, will lead all of the not-for-profit's more than 360 academic programs, offered at more than 30 locations around the world, for more than 9,000 students a year.
The Noisy Controversy Over Silent Sam
Last week the Silent Sam statue honoring soldiers who fought for the Confederacy on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s was torn down by protestors during a rally. But it appears that the controversy is far from over.
Paula McClain Will Lead the American Political Science Association
Paula D. McClain, dean of the Graduate School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, has been named the next president of the American Political Science Association. She will serve as president-elect for the 2018-2019 academic year and then as president for the following year.
The Growing Racial Gap in Home Ownership Rates and its Impact on Higher Education
The Black home ownership rate in the second quarter of 2018 was less than the rate in the second quarter of 1994, nearly a quarter century ago. This impacts the ability of Black families to finance the higher education of their children.
Mark Dean Is the New Leader of the College of Engineering at the University...
Professor Dean, who holds three of the nine patents in the earliest development of the personal computer, joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee in 2013. Earlier, he was chief technology officer for the Middle East and Africa for IBM.
Wanda Austin Is the New Leader of the University of Southern California
From 2008 to 2016, Dr. Austin was president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the application of science and technology relating to the nation's space program. She was the first woman and the first African American to serve as CEO of the organization since its founding in 1961.
