A Leadership Change at Elizabeth City State University
Stacey Franklin Jones has resigned from her position as chancellor of Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Thomas Conway, vice chancellor and chief of staff at Fayetteville State University, was named to replace Dr. Jones.
Leslie McClellon Resigns as President of Rochester Community and Technical College
President McClellon had been criticized over her spending and hiring decisions since taking office only 18 months ago. She will take a position as a senior system director at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System.
Curtis Charles, President of Tiffin University in Ohio, Resigns
Curtis B. Charles served as president of Tiffin University for only six months. The board of trustees stated that Dr. Charles' resignation was due to "a difference in views on strategic vision."
Morgan State University Receives the Largest Donation in Its History
Morgan State University in Baltimore believes that the $5 million donation is the fifth largest gift by individuals to any HBCU in the nation. The money will be used for need-based scholarships for students from the City of Baltimore.
Paula Johnson Will Be the First African American President of Wellesley College
Dr. Johnson is a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. She is the founder and executive director of the Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Michelle Howard-Vital Is the New Provost at Florida Memorial University
From 2007 to 2014, Dr. Howard-Vital was president of Cheyney University in Pennsylvania. Earlier in her career, she served as interim chancellor of Winston-Salem State University and as associate vice president for the University of North Carolina System.
H. James Williams Named President of Mount Saint Joseph University in Cincinnati
Dr. Williams was president of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, from 2013 to September 2015. Previously, he served as dean of the business school at Grand Valley State University.
The New President of Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Alabama
Since 2010, Dr. Sykes has served as president of Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville. Earlier in his career, President Sykes was dean of students at Meridian Community College in Mississippi.
Two African American Scholars Nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award in Fiction
Two of five finalists for the award are African Americans with current affiliations at American universities. James Hannaham is an associate professor of humanities and media studies at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and Julie Iromuanya is an assistant professor of English and Africana literature at Arizona State University.
Roderick McDavis to Leave Presidency of Ohio University in 2017
Roderick J. McDavis, president of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, has announced that he will step down at the end of the 2016-17 academic year. Dr. McDavis has been president of Ohio University since 2004.
New $48 Million Scholarship Program for African Americans in STEM Fields
The Fund II Foundation of Austin, Texas, led by Robert F. Smith, founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, has teamed up with the United Negro College Fund to establish a $48 million scholarship program for African Americans in STEM fields.
Two African American Women Named Deans at Southern Universities
Stephanie G. Adams was named dean of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and Pamela Jackson is the new dean of the School of Business and Economics at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.
The New Dean of the School of Education at American University
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy currently serves as vice provost for faculty affairs and a professor of counseling and human development at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She will begin her new job in July.
Claude Steele Stepping Down From Provost Position at the University of California, Berkeley
Claude Steele was appointed executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California, Berkeley in 2014. He is stepping aside to deal with the health problems of his wife. He will remain at Berkeley as a professor of psychology.
Linda Scott Named Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Scott has been serving as the associate dean for academic affairs, associate professor of health systems science, and director of graduate studies at the School of Nursing of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Beverly Edmond to Serve as Provost at the University of Montana
Dr. Edmond will serve as provost during the 2016-17 academic year as the university searches for someone to serve in the role on a permanent basis. She has served as provost at Albany State University in Georgia and Alabama A&M University.
Stanford’s Jennifer Eberhardt Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences does not publish data on the race or ethnicity of its members. But according to a JBHE analysis of the group of 84 new members, it appears that only one of the new members is an African American.
Anthony L. Jenkins Appointed President of West Virginia State University
West Virginia State University is a historically Black university but today only 10 percent of the 2,800-member undergraduate student body is Black. Dr. Jenkins has been serving as senior associate vice president at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
University of Chicago Historian Thomas Holt Elected to the American Philosophical Society
Thomas C. Holt is the James Westfall Thompson Distinguished Service Professor of American and African American History at the University of Chicago. Other African Americans elected members of the society are Roger W. Ferguson of TIAA-CREF and Risa J. Lavizzo-Mourney of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Four African Americans Named to Dean Posts at Colleges and Universities
The new deans are Francine Conway at Rutgers University in New Jersey, Karlene Burrell-McRae at Colby College in Maine, DeMethra LaSha Bradley at Macalester College in Minnesota, and Logan Powell at Brown University in Rhode Island.
James H. Ammons Named Provost at Delaware State University
Dr. Ammons served as president of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee from 2007 to 2012. Also, he is the former chancellor of North Carolina Central University. For the past four years, he has been serving as a professor of political science at Florida A&M University.
Donald E. Palm Named Provost at Virginia State University
Dr. Palm has been serving as a tenured professor in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and associate provost for undergraduate education at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. He will begin his new job on August 1.
Willie Larkin Steps Down as President of Grambling State University
After just less than one year in office as the ninth president of Grambling State University in Louisiana, Willie D. Larkin has resigned his post. While President Larkin resigned, his comments appear to show that he was being forced out of his position.
James Ammons Changes His Mind on Becoming Provost at Delaware State University
In May, it was announced that James H. Ammons would be the next provost and vice president for academic affairs at Delaware State University in Dover. Now Dr. Ammons has decided to stay put as a professor of political science at Florida A&M University.
A Change in Leadership at the White House HBCU Initiative
Ivory Toldson, executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities has resigned and will return to the faculty at Howard University. Kim Hunter Reed will now lead the office. She was a deputy undersecretary of education and former chief of staff for the Louisiana Board of Regents.
Alabama A&M University Extends Contract of President Andrew Hugine Jr.
The board of trustees of Alabama A&M University in Huntsville has approved a contract extension through July 15, 2020 for Andrew Hugine Jr., president of the university. Dr. Hugine became the eleventh president of the university in 2009.
A Check-Up on Black Enrollments in U.S. Medical Schools
New data from the Association of American Medical Colleges show that during the 2015-16 academic year, 5,505 Black students were enrolled in U.S. medical schools. Three historically Black schools had the highest number of Black enrollees. Four medical schools had no Black students.
Wilberforce University in Ohio Names Its Next President
The oldest private historically Black college and university in the nation has named Herman J. Felton Jr. as the educational institution's 21st president. He has been serving as senior vice president and chief operating officer at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina.
Robert J. Jones Named Chancellor of the Urbana Campus of the University of Illinois
Dr. Jones will also serve as a vice president for the three-campus University of Illinois system and as a tenured professor in the department of crop science in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. He has been serving as president of the University at Albany.
Albany State University Announces Significant Staff Reductions
Art Dunning, president of historically Black Albany State University in Georgia, announced that Albany State University is eliminating 80 staff positions due to declining enrollments and a subsequent reduction in state funding.
A Change in Leadership at Bennett College in North Carolina
Rosalind Fuse-Hall has stepped down as president of Bennett College, the historically Black educational institution for women in Greensboro, North Carolina. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, provost and vice president for academic affairs, is serving as interim president.
Vanderbilt Paying $1.2 Million to Remove the Word “Confederate” From a Campus Building
Confederate Memorial Hall opened in 1935 and originally was used as a dormitory for women studying to be teachers. Its construction was partially financed by a donation from the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
A Trio of African Americans Appointed to Positions as Deans
The new deans are Amanda Bryant-Friedrich at the College of Graduate Studies of the University of Toledo in Ohio, Cheryl Easley at the College of Health Sciences at Alabama State University, and James D. Anderson at the College of Education of the University of Illinois.
A Major Crisis in College Readiness for Black Students
Some 34 percent of Whites who took the ACT test were deemed college ready in all four areas of English, mathematics, reading, and science. For Blacks, only 6 percent of all test takers were deemed college ready in all four areas.
Renee Middleton Appointed to a Third, Five-Year Term as Dean at Ohio University
Renee Middleton was appointed to a new, five-year term as dean of the Patton College of Education at Ohio University in Athens. She has served in this post since 2006.
Jamillah Moore Is the New President of Cañada College in Redwood City, California
Dr. Moore was selected from among 47 applicants for the job as president of Cañada College. She had been serving as interim vice chancellor of educational services and planning for the San Mateo County Community College District.
