University of Texas to Move Statue of Jefferson Davis to an Educational Exhibit
On the Main Mall of the University of Texas at Austin are seven statues. Along with George Washington, there are statues of several Confederate officials. University of Texas President Gregory Fenves has decided to remove the Jefferson Davis statue.
The New Leader of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University
The Institute of Jazz Studies in the John Cotton Dana Library on the Newark, New Jersey, campus of Rutgers University is the repository of more than 150,000 jazz recordings and 6,000 books on the subject.
Florida State Scholar Named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
A native of London, Steve Acquah is an associate research professor at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Dr. Acquah, who is also a fellow of the Royal Microbiology Society, focuses his research on carbon nanotube-based sensors and devices.
The Vast Majority of Black High School Graduates Are Not Prepared for College
A new report from ACT and the UNCF finds that African American high school graduates are less prepared for college-level curriculum than students from any other major racial or ethnic group.
Tyler Stovall to Lead the American Historical Association
Tyler Stovall is dean of humanities at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He will serve one year as president-elect of the American Historical Association and then become president for one year. The AHA is the nation's largest professional organization devoted to the study and promotion of history.
The First Black Professor at an Israeli University
Anbessa Teferra was appointed to the position of senior lecturer of Semitic languages at Tel Aviv University in Israel. He is the first immigrant from Ethiopia to be granted status as a tenured senior lecturer at an Israeli University.
Heidi Anderson to Be the Next Provost at Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Since 2013, Dr. Anderson has been provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Previously, she served as a faculty member and an administrator at the University of Kentucky for 11 years.
Jarvis Christian College Extends Its President’s Contract for Five Years
The historically Black college, located east of Dallas in Hawkins, Texas, has extended the contract of President Lester C. Newman through June 2020. Dr. Newman became the 12th president of the college three years ago.
The New Chief of Staff in the Chancellor’s Office at Syracuse University
Candace Campbell Jackson has been serving as vice president for student success and vice provost for academic success at the University of Akron in Ohio. She will also hold the title of vice president at Syracuse University.
Dexter A. Woods Named Dean of the Howard University College of Dentistry
Dr. Woods has been serving as associate dean, associate professor, and director of faculty practice at the College of Dentistry. He joined the faculty at Howard University in 1999 after serving in the U.S. Air Force.
Claudia Rankine to Join the Faculty at the University of Southern California
Claudia Rankine was appointed to the Aerol Arnold Chair of English in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Professor Rankin will begin teaching at the University of Southern California in the fall of 2016.
Safiya Sinclair Wins the 2015 Prairie Schooner Book Prize for Poetry
Sinclair, a native of Montego Bay, Jamaica, is a graduate of Bennington College in southwestern Vermont and holds a master of fine arts degree from the University of Virginia. She is currently a Dornsife Doctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California.
The New President of Hennepin Technical College in Minnesota
Merrill Irving Jr. recently became president of the largest technical college in Minnesota serving 10,000 students at campuses in Brooklyn Park and Eden Prairie. African Americans make up 21 percent of the student body.
University of California, Berkeley’s Namwali Serpell Wins the Caine Prize
Namwali Serpell, an associate professor of English at the University of California, is the winner of the 2015 Caine Prize, honoring the best writing by an African author. Dr. Serpell is a native of Zambia and came to the United States at the age of 9.
Sojourner-Douglass College Loses Accreditation, Files Lawsuit Against Accrediting Agency
On June 30, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education revoked the accreditation of predominantly Black Sojourner-Douglass College in Baltimore. Now the college has filed a federal lawsuit against the accrediting body.
Latest Data Shows Blacks Four Times as Likely as Whites To Drop Out of...
According to the latest data, in 2012, 6.8 percent of the Black students enrolled in high school that year dropped out without receiving their diploma. For non-Hispanic Whites the figures was 1.6 percent.
Thomas Isekenegbe Named President of Bronx Community College
The two-year college enrolls more than 11,000 students. Blacks and Hispanics make up 93 percent of the student body. Almost all students at the college receive federal financial aid grants.
The First Black Woman to Lead a University in the United Kingdom
Baroness Valerie Amos has been named director of SOAS at the University of London. SOAS was founded in 1916 as the School of Oriental Studies and has since expanded its mission to also focus on Africa and the Middle East.
Al M. Panu Appointed Chancellor of the University of South Carolina at Beaufort
Since 2013, Dr. Panu has served as senior vice president for university affairs at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega. Earlier he was vice president for academic affairs at Gainesville State College, which is now part of the University of North Georgia.
Howard University’s New Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Anthony K. Wutoh has been serving as dean of the College of Pharmacy and associate provost for international programs at the university. Dr. Wutoh joined the faculty at Howard University in 1996 as an assistant professor.
The New Dean of the College of Education at East Tennessee State University
Terrence Hicks has been serving on the faculty at the Whitlowe R. Green College of Education at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. From 2004 to 2012, Dr. Hicks was on the faculty at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.
The Lehigh Valley Campus of Penn State Names Its Next Chancellor
Tina Q. Richardson has been serving as associate dean of academic affairs in the School of Education at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She will begin her new job on July 15.
The Next Dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine
Dr. David S. Wilkes has been serving as executive associate dean for research affairs at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He is a board-certified specialist in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine.
Richard Green to Lead The Lincoln University in Pennsylvania
Lincoln University in Pennsylvania has named Richard Green as interim president. He will begin his duties on July 1 and serve until a permanent president is named. Dr. Green has been serving as interim provost at Saint Cloud State University in Minnesota.
The Southern University System Names Its Next President
Ray Belton was named president of the Southern University System. The new system president will also have the added duty as chancellor of the main campus of the Southern University System in Baton Rouge. He has been serving as chancellor of the Shreveport campus of the Southern University System.
In Memoriam: Elson S. Floyd (1956-2015)
Elson S. Floyd, president of Washington State University since 2007, has died from complications of colon cancer. Earlier this month he had taken a medical leave of absence. Dr. Floyd became the 10th president of Washington State University in May 2007.
Andrea Miller Named President of LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis
When she takes office on September 1, Dr. Miller will be the first woman president in the historically Black college's 153-year history. Since 2012, Dr. Miller has been chancellor of Baton Rouge Community College in Louisiana.
A Sharp Rise in Suicide Among Young African Americans
The study, led by scientists at Ohio State University, discovered that the overall suicide rate remained stable over the past 20 years but this obscured a significant increase in suicide incidence in Black children and a significant decrease among White children.
The Next President of Grambling State University in Louisiana
Grambling State University, a historically Black educational institution in Louisiana, announced on June 4 that Willie D. Larkin will be its next president. Dr. Larkin is the chief of staff at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Names Its Next President
Dr. Tashni Dubroy has been serving as as the special assistant to the president for process optimization at Shaw University. Dr. Dubroy is also the co-founder of Tea and Honey Blends, a hair care products company.
The Next Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Franklin D. Gilliam Jr. has been serving as professor of public policy and political science and dean of the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles. He joined the UCLA faculty in 1986. Dr. Gilliam will become chancellor of UNCG on September 8.
Talmadge King Jr. to Lead the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
For the past nine years, Dr. King has been chair of the department of medicine at the university. He joined the faculty at the medical school in 1997 after teaching at the University of Colorado.
The New Provost at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina
Vann R. Newkirk has been serving as associate provost for academic affairs, dean of graduate studies, and professor of history at Alabama A&M University.
Maria Thompson Will Be the Next President of Coppin State University in Baltimore
Since 2011, Dr. Thompson has been serving provost and vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York at Oneonta. Previously, she held several administrative posts at Tennessee State University in Nashville.
Hugh Mighty to Lead the Howard University College of Medicine
Dr. Mighty has been serving as vice chancellor for clinical affairs at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. Earlier in his career, he was on the faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The Next President of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri
Benjamin Akande, a native of Nigeria, has been serving as a professor of economics and dean of the School of Business and Technology at Webster University in St. Louis. He will become the 21st president of Westminster College on July 1.
