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.
State University of New York at Oswego Selects Peter Nwosu as Its Next President
Dr. Nwosu has been serving as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and student success at Herbert H. Lehman College, a campus of the City University of New York in The Bronx. Prior to this role, he served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clark Atlanta University.
Yolanda Page Selected as the Eighth President of Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Since last fall, Dr. Page has been serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Savannah State University in Georgia. Earlier, she was a professor of English and vice president in the Division of Academic Affairs at Dillard University in New Orleans.
Three African American Men Who Have Been Appointed to Provost Positions at Universities
Stevie Lawrence II has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Farrell J. Webb is the new provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, and Ricardo Phipps is the new provost and vice president for academic affairs at Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dewayne Middleton Appointed President of Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi
The board of trustees of Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Mississippi, has named Dewayne Middleton as the ninth president of the college, effective July 1. Since 2021, he has been serving as executive vice president of the college.
Koffi C. Akakpo Will Be the Nineteenth President of Kentucky State University
Since February 2019, Dr. Akakpo has been president of Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Lexington, Kentucky. Before becoming president of the community college, he was vice president for business, administrative, and student services at North Central State College in Mansfield, Ohio.
A Change in Leadership at Tougaloo College in Mississippi
Carmen J. Walters is stepping down from her post as president of Tougaloo College in Mississippi. She has been president of the private HBCU since July 2019. No reason was given for her departure. An alumni group had been seeking her ouster. Donzell Lee, who worked as a faculty member and administrator at Alcorn State University for 45 years, has been selected to serve as interim president,
Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus Names Its New Provost
Jill Drake had served in the role on an interim basis for only a month when her appointment to the post on a permanent basis was made. Previously, she was associate vice president for academic affairs and a professor of education at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton.
Kimberly Rogers Appointed the Fifteenth President of Contra Costa College in California
Before being named acting president of the college in 2022, Dr. Rogers was vice president for instruction. Earlier in her career, she held academic appointments at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Université de Haute-Alsace in France.
