Edwidge Danticat Wins the Neustadt International Prize for Literature
Edwidge Danticat, the Haitian-American writer who has taught creative writing at New York University and the University of Miami, was chosen to receive the $50,000 Neustadt Prize, which is awarded by the University of Oklahoma.
Angela Amar Named Dean of the Nursing School at the University of Nevada, Las...
Currently, Dr. Amar is the associate dean for undergraduate studies and chief diversity officer at the School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta. Earlier, she was an associate professor and director of the advanced forensic nursing program at Boston College.
Wilma Mishoe Will Lead Delaware State University in Transition Period
Dr. Mishoe, who now chairs the board of trustees at Delaware State, is the former dean of the Office of Instruction at Delaware Technical & Community College. Her father Luna Mishoe was the president of what is now Delaware State University from 1960 to 1987.
Is Merit-Based Financial Aid Detrimental to the Future of American Medicine?
The number of students who graduate with no medical school debt has nearly doubled in the past five years. In contrast, the number of students who graduate with more than $300,000 in debt has also doubled.
Gary Bledsoe Is the New Leader of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Bledsoe, who has been president of the Texas NAACP since 1991, will lead the law school at Texas Southern University in Houston on an interim basis as the law school goes through its American Bar Association compliance process.
Harry Lee Williams to Lead the Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Harry Lee Williams was named the 10th president of Delaware State University in 2009. He will step down from his post on January 20 in order to take on his new role as president of the nonprofit fundraising organization representing public historically Black colleges and universities.
Michael V. Drake Elected Chair of the Association of American Universities
Dr. Drake became the 15th president of Ohio State University in June 2014. He is the first African American to hold the post. He will serve a one-year term as chair of the board of directors of the consortium of 62 leading research institutions.
The New Dean of University College at Fort Valley State University in Georgia
Stevie L. Lawrence II has been serving as executive director for retention services and interim vice president for student success and enrollment management at Fort Valley State University. Earlier, he was director of college success services for the University of North Carolina System.
Ruth J. Simmons Appointed the Eighth President of Prairie View A&M University in Texas
Dr. Simmons has been serving as interim president of the university since July. She served as the 18th president of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, from 2001 to 2012. Before becoming president of Brown University, Dr. Simmons was president of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.
The Next Provost at Texas Southern University in Houston
Kendall T. Harris has been serving as dean of the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. He joined the faculty at Prairie View A&M University in 2005 as a professor of mechanical engineering. Earlier, Dr. Harris taught at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Jerryl Briggs Appointed the Eighth President of Mississippi Valley State University
This past June, Jerryl Briggs was appointed acting president of Mississippi Valley State University when the then president William B. Bynum, left to become president of Jackson State University. Now Dr. Briggs has been selected to serve in the role on a permanent basis.
Arthur Dunning Retiring as President of Albany State University in Georgia
Dr. Dunning was named interim president of Albany State University in 2013 and was hired on a permanent basis in 2015. He successfully presided over the university during its merger with Darton State College.
Columbia University to Invest $100 Million in Faculty Diversity Programs
Over the next five years, Columbia University will invest $100 million in the effort to support recruitment and career development for professors, doctoral, and postdoctoral students who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education.
Leslie Howard Is the New Leader of Women and Mathematics Education
Leslie Howard is an adjunct associate professor of mathematics at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She has taught at Temple University and Drexel University, both in Philadelphia and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
David A. Thomas Named the 12th President of Morehouse College
Dr. Thomas currently serves as the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is the former dean of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
Clarence D. Armbrister Appointed the Fourteenth President of Johnson C. Smith University
Clarence Armbrister currently serves as president of Girard College, an independent college preparatory school in Philadelphia. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief of staff at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and chief operating officer at Temple University in Philadelphia.
African American Studies Granted Departmental Status at the University of Virginia
The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies at the University of Virginia was established in 1981. Now, 36 years later it has been granted departmental status allowing it to function autonomously to develop curriculum and hire faculty.
Nathaniel Glover Announces He Will Step Down as President of Edward Waters College
In 1995, Nathaniel Glover was elected as the first African American sheriff in Florida in more than 100 years and the first African American sheriff in the history of Jacksonville. He was named the 29th president of Edward Waters College in 2011.
Black Scholar Named to a High-Level Post in the Department of Education
Leonard Haynes has been appointed as senior advisor to the Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. He has been serving as a distinguished adjunct professor in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University.
The Racial Scoring Gap of the New SAT College Entrance Examination
This 177-point scoring gap on the revised SAT test is less than has been the case in the past. But The College Board maintains that these scores cannot be compared to previous results, so we have no idea if Black students are closing the racial gap.
Benita Powell to Lead the Southern Association of Pre-Law Advisors
Benita Powell is the assistant general counsel at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Powell will serve for a year as president-elect of the Southern Association of Pre-Law Advisors before taking over the leadership of the organization.
Two African Americans Named to Dean Positions at Alcorn State University
Edmund Buckner was named dean of the School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Donna Williams was appointed dean of the School of Business at the university.
Racial Discrimination in Hiring Remains Entrenched
The authors examined 28 different studies representing 55,842 job applications submitted for 26,326 positions. They found that since 1989, Whites receive on average 36 percent more callbacks than African Americans and that this rate remained constant over the period.
James B. Hughes Jr. to Lead the Emory University School of Law
Professor Hughes has been a member of the faculty at the law school since 1992. He also has been serving as associate dean for academic affairs. Earlier, he was a partner in the Atlanta law firm Trotter, Smith & Jacobs, where he practiced commercial real estate law.
Florida A&M University Extends the Contract of Interim President Larry Robinson
One year ago, the board of trustees named Larry Robinson as interim president of Florida A&M University. He had served in that role twice before from July 2012 to April 2014 and in 2007. Now the board of trustees has extended his contract as interim president for another year through September 2018.
The New Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Johnathan Holifield, an author, consultant, and former player in the National Football League has been named director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
DeRionne P. Pollard Receives the Academic Leadership Award From the Carnegie Corporation
DeRionne Pollard is president of Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. She is being honored for an ambitious strategic plan, which focused on student retention and completion. She will receive a $500,000 award to support her academic initiatives.
HBCUs Throughout the Southeast Impacted by Hurricane Irma
Many of the nation's historically Black colleges and universities are located in the southeastern United States. As a result many were impacted by powerful Hurricane Irma. The impact of the hurricane closed HBCU campuses in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Quinton T. Ross Chosen as President of Alabama State University in Montgomery
Dr. Ross is an Alabama State Senator. He also has served as director of adult education at Trenholm State Technical College in Montgomery. Dr. Ross was a finalist for president of Alabama State in 2013.
Spelman College in Atlanta Will Admit Transgender Students in 2018
Spelman College in Atlanta announced that for the class that will enter college in the fall of 2018 it "will consider for admission women students including students who consistently live and self-identify as women, regardless of their gender assignment at birth." Most of the nation's leading women's colleges made similar decisions two or three years ago.
Former Secretary of Education Is Now Teaching at the University of Maryland
John B. King Jr., the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, is a visiting professor in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is teaching a course on education policy.
The New Provost at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama
Colwick Wilson was the director of research, innovation, and grants at Kettering Health Network in Ohio. Earlier, he served in several capacities at Loma Linda University in Los Angeles.
Black Students at the University of Virginia Issue a List of Demands
In the wake of the race-related violence that took place in Charlottesville last month, The Minority Rights Coalition, an assemblage of student groups at the University of Virginia, issued a list of 10 demands to the university's administration.
Zadie Smith of New York University to Receive the Langston Hughes Medal
The Langston Hughes Medal honors writers of poetry, drama, fiction, biographies, and critical essays from throughout the Black diaspora. Previous winners include James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Walter Mosley, Gwendolyn Brooks, Octavia Butler, August Wilson, and Edwidge Danticat.
Cheyney University Receives a Major Boost in Efforts to Maintain Accreditation
In a special meeting of the board of governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, the board agreed to forgive $30 million in loans to Cheyney on the condition that the university maintain a balanced budget over the next four years.
Benjamin Akande Steps Down as President of Westminster College in Missouri
In 2015, the board of trustees of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, named Benjamin Akande as the educational institution’s 21st president. Now just two years later, Dr. Akande abruptly resigned from the post.
