Breaking News

Terrell Strayhorn Appointed Provost at Virginia Union University in Richmond

Dr. Strayhorn joined the faculty at Virginia Union earlier this year as a tenured professor in the Evelyn Reid Syphax School of Education and director of the Center for the Study of HBCUs. He has taught at the University of Tennessee, Ohio State University, and Le Moyne-Owen College in Memphis.

Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions at Universities

Manica Finch is the new dean of enrollment management at Harris Stow-State University. Martin Smith is the new dean of academic affairs for Trinity College at Duke University and Tresmaine R. Grimes was appointed dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education at Pace University.

A Sudden Change in Leadership at Fisk University in Nashville

Kevin D.  Rome Sr., president of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, was placed on leave after a man filed a restraining order against him. The Fisk University board of trustees immediately appointed Vann Newkirk, provost at Fisk, as acting president.

Jon Cawthorne Is the New Leader of the Association of College and Research Libraries

Dr. Cawthorne became dean of the Wayne State University Library System in 2017. Earlier in his career, he was dean of libraries at West Virginia University, associate dean for public services and assessment at Florida State University Libraries, and dean of the San Diego State University Library.

A Vote of Confidence for the President of Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida

The board of trustees of Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida, has voted to extend the contract of the college's president A. Zachary Faison Jr. until 2025. Faison became the college's 30th president in 2018 after serving as general counsel at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

Brenda Allen Is Back at the Helm of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania

On July 10, the board of trustees of historically Black Lincoln University in Pennsylvania voted not to renew the contract of the university’s president Brenda Allen. President Allen sued and the courts agreed that the vote not to renew her contract was illegal. Now the board has agreed to keep her as president.

Two African American Women Named to Provost Positions at Midwestern Universities

LaTonia Collins Smith was appointed provost and vice president of academic affairs at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, Missouri, and Susan M. Collins was appointed provost at the University of Michigan. Both had been serving as interim provost.

Jervette R. Ward Chosen to Lead the College Language Association

Jervette R. Ward is an associate professor of English at Mississippi State University. Founded in 1937, the College Language Association is comprised of English and world language educators and publishes scholarly books of critical essays and bibliographical references.

Two African American Woman Appointed to University Dean Positions

Loury Ollison Floyd has been named dean of the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Carmenita D. Higginbotham, an art historian, has been named dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts.

Howard Spearman Named the First African American President of Rock Valley College

Most recently, Dr. Spearman served as the vice president of student affairs and chief student services officer for Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin. From 2011-2019, Dr. Spearman served in several administrative roles at Rock Valley College.

Arlie Petters to Become Provost at the Abu Dhabi Campus of New York University

Dr. Petters has been serving as Benjamin Powell Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He is the former dean of academic affairs for the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke. He will begin his new duties on September 1.

Lesley-Ann L. Dupigny-Giroux Elected President of the American Association of State Climatologists

Lesley-Ann L. Dupigny-Giroux is a professor of geography at the University of Vermont. Dr. Dupigny-Giroux's research focuses on hydroclimatic natural hazards and climate literacy as well as the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems in the fields of spatial climate and land-surface processes.

Keith Whitfield Will Be the First Black President of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Dr. Whitfield has been serving as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs and a professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit. Earlier, Professor Whitfield was vice provost for academic affairs and a professor at Duke University in Durham North Carolina.

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.

Get the FREE JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News