Decisions Made on the Future of Three HBCU Presidents in Mississippi
Donna Oliver of Mississippi Valley State University did not have her contract renewed. Carolyn Meyers at Jackson State University and M. Christopher Brown of Alcorn State University received four-year extensions.
Spelman College Is Dropping Intercollegiate Athletics
According to President Beverly Daniel Tatum, the college will now focus instead on "fitness/wellness/intramural programs, emphasizing those activities that career women are likely to maintain for a lifetime - tennis, golf, swimming, yoga, Pilates, running and walking."
Larry Rivers Leaving Presidency of Fort Valley State University
He has served as the eighth president of he historically Black university since 2006. He is the former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida A&M University.
The University of Texas to Offer Ph.D. Program in Black Studies
The doctoral program in Black studies is the first in the state of Texas and the first in the southwestern United States.
The Reelection of Barack Obama: JBHE Readers Got It Right
Despite polls showing an extremely close race, some 89 percent of responders to last week's JBHE readers' poll predicted that the President would be reelected.
Oklahoma Bans Race-Sensitive Admissions in Higher Education
Oklahoma is the eighth state to ban the consideration of race in university admissions. Blacks make up about 8 percent of the state's population.
Africana Studies Scholar Elected to the California State Assembly
Shirley Weber, professor and chair of the department of Africana studies at San Diego State University, will be the first African American state legislator in California from a district south of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Fisk University Names Two Finalists for President
Fisk has chosen two finalists with far different resumes. One has a background in business while the other has had a career largely in academia.
Eric Lee to Lead Colorado Community College Online
Since April 2009, he has been the president and CEO of the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce and previously was assistant to the president at Suffolk University in Boston.
John Silvanus Wilson Jr. to Be the Next President of Morehouse College
Dr. Wilson currently serves as the executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black College and Universities. He will begin his new role in January.
Mortimer Neufville to Lead Coppin State University
The former executive vice president of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, he recently served for 10 months as interim president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
The New Director of the James Weldon Institute at Emory University
Tyrone Forman, a professor of sociology at Emory, replaces the late Rudolph R. Byrd, who founded the institute in 2007.
Appeals Court Strikes Down Michigan Ban on Race-Sensitive Admissions
In a highly controversial decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8 to 7 to strike down Proposal 2 that was overwhelmingly approved by Michigan voters in 2006.
New Leadership at Florida Memorial University
Mary A. O'Banner, who joined the university's staff in 1989 and most recently served as chief of staff in the Office of the President, was named acting president replacing Henry Lewis III, who was inaugurated as the university's 12th president earlier this year.
African American College Students Are Increasingly Studying Abroad
In the 2005-06 academic year, 3.5 percent of all American college students who studied abroad were Black. Since that time the percentage of Blacks in the study abroad pool has increased each year.
Tennessee State University Chooses Its Next President
Glenda Baskin Glover is currently dean of the College of Business at Jackson State University in Mississippi. She has been at Jackson State since 1994. Previously, she was chair of the department of accounting at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
St. Augustine’s University in Talks to Acquire Saint Paul’s College
Saint Paul's College lost its accreditation earlier this year but retains its previous status as it appeals the decision. However, there are only slightly more than 100 students on campus this fall.
African American Student at Auburn University Named a Mitchell Scholar
Marian Royston is a native of Roanoke, Alabama, and a senior at Auburn University where she is majoring in history. She is the only African American among this year's class of 12 Mitchell Scholars who will study in Ireland beginning in September 2013.
For New Job Market Entrants, a College Education Eliminates the Racial Earned Income Gap
Black bachelor's degree recipients who earned their degree during the 2007-08 academic year had an average earned income of in 2009 of $39,700. This was only slightly less than the average earned income of $40,500 for Whites who earned their degree in the same year.
Leadership in Flux at Alabama State University
Joseph H. Silver, who became president of Alabama State University in September, was placed on paid administrative leave by the university's board of trustees.
Luther S. Williams Earns Major Promotion at Tuskegee University
The university's provost for the past two years, he will continue in that post but, as the new executive vice president, will also take on administrative oversight over enrollment and retention programs, budget and fiscal affairs, the university's physical plant, and development efforts.
Russlyn Ali Steps Down From Civil Rights Post at the Department of Education
During her tenure, the Office for Civil Rights focused more on complaints of discrimination than had been the case in the Bush administration. Her office also issued new guidance for how colleges and universities should respond to incidents of sexual assault.
Fisk University Names Its 15th President
H. James Williams is dean of the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. He will assume his new post on February 1, 2013.
Patricia King Stepping Down From the Harvard Corporation
The Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law, Medicine, Ethics, and Public Policy at the Georgetown University Law Center has served on the principal fiduciary governing authority of Harvard University for the past seven years.
A Decline in Doctoral Degree Awards for African Americans
The number of African Americans earning doctorates has declined in each of the past two years, after reaching an all-time high in 2009. Over the last decade, the percentage of all doctoral degree awards that were earned by Blacks has stagnated at close to 6 percent.
David Wilson Shown the Door at Morgan State University
David Wilson, who has been president of Morgan State for only three years, was informed his contract would not be renewed. The board of regents appointed a member to serve as head of the transition team and announced that it would begin a search for a new president immediately.
Balitmore City Community College “Separates” President Carolane Williams From the College
Baltimore City Community College enrolls about 7,000 students in degree programs and three quarters of the students are African Americans. Dr. Williams has served as president for the past six years.
University of the District of Columbia Dismisses Its President
Dr. Allen Sessoms has led the University of the District of Columbia since September 2008. Previously, he was president of Delaware State University and before that he was president of Queens College, part of the City University of New York system.
Thomas Coley to Oversee More Campuses of Ivy Tech Community College
Thomas G. Coley, chancellor of the North Central region of Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana, was given additional responsibilities as interim chancellor of the college's Northwest region.
Law Professor to Lead the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
At the start of the new year Sherrilyn Ifill, professor at the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland, will become president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Harvard Student From Zimbabwe Named an International Rhodes Scholar
Dalumuzi Mhlanga, a senior at Harvard University, was named a Rhodes Scholar as part of the international contingent of Rhodes Scholars. He is a native of Zimbabwe.
Rachel Petty Now Leads the University of the District of Columbia
Dr. Petty, a professor of psychology and former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as interim chief operating officer until an interim president is named sometime in January.
Emilie Townes Named Dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School
Dr. Townes currently serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology at Yale Divinity School. She also is the associate dean of academic affairs. She will assume her new post in July.
Sylvester James Gates to Be Awarded the National Medal of Science
He is the John S. Toll Professor of Physics and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland in College Park. He has taught at the University of Maryland since 1984.
David Wilson Is Not Done Yet at Morgan State University
In early December, the board of regents of Morgan State University voted not to renew the contract of David Wilson who has served as president of the university since 2010. After protests from students, faculty, and alumni the board has had a change of heart.
Carolyn Hull Anderson Is the New Leader of Baltimore City Community College
Dr. Anderson was serving as an associate professor at Morgan State University but was on the faculty at Baltimore City Community College for nearly 30 years.
