The Next Leader of the School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago
Nadya Mason has been serving as the Rosalyn S. Yalow Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has also served as the director of the University of Illinois' Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza Will Be the Thirteenth President of West Valley College in California
Dr. Taylor-Mendoza has over 20 years of experience in the California Community College system, serving in a variety of roles. Since 2021, Dr. Taylor-Mendoza has served as the president of the College of San Mateo in California. She will become president of West Valley College on August 24.
Lorrie Frasure to Lead the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at...
Dr. Frasure joined the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2007. She was the first woman of color and the first Black woman to earn tenure and promotion to full professor in the political science department at the university. As the new director of the center, she will hold the inaugural Ralph J. Bunche Endowed Chair.
A Trio of Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Lisa Gardner has been named interim dean for the School of Nursing at Florida A&M University. Glenn Chambers has been appointed the interim dean of the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University and Eboni Zamani-Gallaher will serve as the Renée and Richard Goldman Interim Dean of the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Sonja Harris-Haywood Appointed Dean of the School of Medicine at Meharry Medical College
Dr. Harris-Haywood comes to Meharry from Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine, where she served as associate dean of curriculum integration and one of the key leaders that drove the transformation, implementation, and assessment of a new medical school curriculum that integrated medical and clinical sciences.
Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke Is the New Provost at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey
For the past two years, Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke has been serving as senior vice provost for academic and faculty affairs. Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke joined the faculty at the university in 1989. Her research focuses on the development of culturally responsive interventions to enhance learning.
Claire Oberon Garcia Is the New State Historian in Colorado
Dr. Garcis, who has been a professor at Colorado College for more than three decades, will also lead the State Historian’s Council. Dr. Garcia's research focuses on the experiences of women of the Black Atlantic in the beginning of the twentieth century.
Three Black Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Deleise Wilson is the inaugural AdventHealth Dean of Nursing at Polk State College in Winter Haven, Florida. Laurie Garrett-Cobbina is the new dean of the San Francisco Theological Seminary of the University of Redlands in California and Melinda Pettigrew will become dean of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in December.
University of North Carolina Bans Affirmative Action in Hiring and Contracting Decisions
The board of trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill approved a resolution on July 27 prohibiting the university from considering race, sex, or ethnicity in admissions decisions. But it went further and banned affirmative action in hiring and contracting decisions.
Derrick Warren to Lead the College of Business at Grambling State University in Louisiana
Dr. Warren previously served as associate dean and director of graduate programs for the College of Business at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Earlier, he spent over 32 years working for IBM.
The New Dean of the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville,...
André Green is the new dean of the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He was a professor of leadership and teacher education and associate vice president for academic affairs at the University of South Alabama.
A Trio of African Americans Who Have Been Appointed Deans at Universities
Reginald T. Braggs is the new assistant vice president and dean of students at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Nikesha Nesbitt was appointed interim dean of University College at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and Dale Wesson was named interim dean for the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences at Florida A&M University.
Gwendoyn Sutton Is the First Woman to Lead the Tennessee College of Applied Technology...
Dr. Sutton began her higher education career in 2001 as a financial aid officer. After two years at private colleges in Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, she joined TCAT Memphis as financial aid coordinator in 2003 and served in that role for 10 years. She has served as its vice president since 2017.
Gwendolyn Sutton Is the First Woman to Lead the Tennessee College of Applied Technology...
Dr. Sutton began her higher education career in 2001 as a financial aid officer. After two years at private colleges in Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, she joined TCAT Memphis as financial aid coordinator in 2003 and served in that role for 10 years. She has served as its vice president since 2017.
Two African American Women Named to Provost Positions
Cynthia Hester was named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Jarvis Christian University in Hawkins, Texas, and Rhonda Porter was promoted to interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Albany State University in Georgia.
Francine Conway Named Chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Francine Conway is the new chancellor of the flagship campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She has led Rutgers–New Brunswick under the hybrid title of “chancellor-provost” for the past two years. The separation of responsibilities between chancellor and provost mirrors the leadership structures of Rutgers’ other campuses.
Gwendoyn Sutton Is the First Woman to Lead the Tennessee College of Applied Technology...
Dr. Sutton began her higher education career in 2001 as a financial aid officer. After two years at private colleges in Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, she joined TCAT Memphis as financial aid coordinator in 2003 and served in that role for 10 years. She has served as its vice president since 2017.
A Hire Gone Wrong at Texas A&M University
In June, Texas A&M University announced that Kathleen McElroy, who had a 20-year career at The New York Times, would join the university's communication and journalism department as a tenured professor. After objections from conservative members of the campus community, Dr. McElroy decided to stay in her tenured post at the University of Texas at Austin.
Michael McFrazier to Serve as Provost at Prairie View A&M University
Professor McFrazier holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and two master’s degrees from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He earned a doctorate in educational administration at the University of Arkansas. For the past three months, he has been interim president of the university.
Alcorn State University in Mississippi Has Its Third Leader in Four Months
Tracy M. Cook is the new interim president of Alcorn State University in Mississippi. He took office on July 8, replacing Ontario S. Wooden who led the university as interim president since April 2023. Dr. Wooden replaced Felecia Nave in April. No reason was given for Dr. Nave's departure.
Cynthia Bond Hopson Chosen to Lead Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas
Dr. Hopson has been serving as chief equity officer and assistant general secretary of the Black College Fund at the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville. Earlier, she served on the faculty of Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, Murray State University in Kentucky, and the University of Memphis.
Edward Waters University Appoints Genyne Henry Boston as Provost
Prior to joining Edward Waters University, Dr. Boston served as associate provost for academic and faculty affairs at Florida A&M University and chief of staff to the provost at the university. Earlier, she served as the chair for the department of English at Florida A&M University.
Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Jenelle Pitt-Parker has been appointed dean of the College of Education and Integrative Studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Adrian L. Mayse is the new dean of the Division of Business Administration at Talladega College in Alabama and Lisa A. Crooms-Robinson was appointed interim dean of the Howard University School of Law.
Valerie Kinloch Named President of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte
In 2017, Dr. Kinloch was named the Renée and Richard Goldman Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Previously, she held positions as associate dean and professor at Ohio State University and taught at Teachers College at Columbia University.
A Change in Leadership at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis
Vernell A. Bennett-Fairs, president of LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis has resigned. No reason was given for her departure, just two and a half years since taking the job. Christopher Davis has been appointed as interim president.
Three African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Provost Positions
Pamela E. Scott-Johnson was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Spelman College in Atlanta, effective August 1. Allyson L. Watson was appointed provost and vice president for academic affairs at Florida A&M University and Ana Hunt was named provost of the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College.
Pamela Haney Is the New President of Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois
Since 2012, Dr. Haney has been serving as vice president for academic affairs at the college. Prior to coming to Moraine Valley in 2009, Dr. Haney served as program administrator and assistant professor of communication arts at Defiance College in Ohio. She also taught as an assistant professor of speech communication at Norfolk State University in Virginia.
Five African Americans Who Have Been Appointed Deans at Universities
Newly appointed to dean positions are Monika Williams Shealey at Temple University in Philadelphia, Kenyatta R. Gilbert at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Jonathan Bailey Holland at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Sharonda Ragland at Virginia Union University, and Twinette Johnson at the University of the District of Columbia.
Supreme Court Blocks Biden Administration’s Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Plan
The student debt crisis disproportionately impacts African Americans. For example, the average graduate education debt for Whites who earned doctorates in 2019 was $31,657. African Americans who earned doctorates in 2019, had an average graduate student debt of $84,050.
Supreme Court Ends Race-Sensitive Admissions in Higher Education
In a 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities can no longer use race as a specific basis for granting admission. Doing so would, according to the Court, be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Tony D. Hawkins Appointed President of Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York
Dr. Hawkins has served for the past eight years as the provost and executive vice president of academic affairs, continuing education, and workforce development at Frederick Community College in Maryland. Prior to this role, he was the college-wide dean of humanities at Montgomery College in Maryland.
Raphael Florestal-Kevelier Selected to Lead the American College Health Association
Raphael Florestal-Kevelie is the assistant vice chancellor for student health and wellness and a clinical assistant professor of community health sciences in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois Chicago. The American College Health Association has 750 higher education member institutions representing nearly 10,000 members.
Four African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
The new deans are Patricia Timmons-Goodson at North Carolina Central University, Badia Ahad at Oxford College of Emory University in Atlanta, Brittini Brown at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and Tiyahri Wilson at Texas Southern University in Houston.
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 New Leader of Buffalo State University in New York
Bonita R. Durand was named interim president of Buffalo State University, a campus of the State University of New York System. She will not be a candidate for permanent president of the university. Bonita Durand retired in 2018 after 22 years of service to SUNY Buffalo State, where she served as chief of staff and a graduate faculty member in the university’s higher education administration department.
The University of the District of Columbia Has Selected Its Next President
Maurice Eddington was the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Florida A&M University. In his 25 years at FAMU, Dr. Edington rose from assistant professor to being the second-highest-ranked administrator at the Tallahassee campus. He will begin his new duties on August 1.
