Appointments & Awards

Lincoln University of Pennsylvania Promotes Three Administrators to New Roles

Lincoln University of Pennsylvania has promoted Harry Stinson III, Mel Fenner, and Josh Dean to new roles in institutional advancement, digital innovation, and athletics, respectively.

New Appointments for a Trio of Black Scholars in Academia

Cacey Bester was promoted to associate professor at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and Tonya Peeples was named a special adviser to the provost at Pennsylvania State University. North Carolina A&T State University's James Daniels was appointed the second Poet Laureate for the city of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Harvard University Honors Three-Time College President Ruth J. Simmons

Dr. Simmons has served as president of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M University. When she was appointed president of Brown, she became the African American woman to lead an Ivy League school.

Three Black Administrators Appointed to New Roles at Universities

Samuel L. Hinton and Dilcie D. Perez are taking on new leadership roles in student success at South Carolina State University and the California State University System, respectively. Robert E. Gaddy, Jr. is chief of police at North Carolina Central University.

Three Black Scholars Promoted to New Faculty Ranks

Mercy Mumba was named a Distinguished Research Professor of Nursing at the University of Alabama. Krystle McLaughin was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of chemistry at Vassar College in New York and Nsoki Mavinga was promoted to professor of mathematics at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

Yale’s Marlene Daut and Kaiama Glover Win National Award for Co-Edited Book on Haitian Literature

Professors Marlene Daut and Kaiama Glover of Yale University have been honored by the American Comparative Literature Association for their co-edited collection of essays on Haitian literature.

New Appointments for Five Black Administrators at Universities

Here is this week’s roundup of African Americans who have been appointed to new administrative positions at universities throughout the United States. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to contact@jbhe.com.

A Pair of Black Scholars Selected for Endowed Faculty Positions at Historically Black Universities

Ibram X. Kendi is the inaugural Carter G. Woodson Endowed Chair in History at Howard University in Washington, D.C. James Lee III is the Endowed Professor in Composition and Theoretical Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Northwestern University’s Natasha Trethewey Honored for Her Outstanding Literary Career

Oregon State University has honored Natasha Trethewey of Northwestern University for her literary achievements. A Pulitzer Prize-winner and former Poet Laureate of the United States, Professor Trethewey is the author of five poetry collections, one monograph, and a memoir.

New Leadership Roles for Five Black Administrators in Higher Education

The five appointments are Breana M. Ware at Spelman College, Dianne Pledger at Winston-Salem State University, Kevin White at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Angelique D. Stallings at North Carolina Central University, and LaVada R. Rice at Voorhees University.

Cato T. Laurencin Named Top Orthopaedic Surgery Scholar in the United States

ScholarGPS has ranked Dr. Laurencin as the top scholar of orthopaedic surgery in the United States and the eighth best in the world. He currently teaches as an endowed professor at the University of Connecticut and CEO of the university's Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering.

Vanderbilt’s Velma McBride Murry Honored by the American Psychological Association

In her research, Dr. Murry investigates how social stressors shape the everyday life experiences, development, and well-being of African American youth and their families, especially in rural and under-resourced communities.

New Leadership Positions for Three Black Administrators in Higher Education

The administrators who have been selected for new leadership roles are Yurandol Thompson at the University of Phoenix, Allen Vital at Albany State University in Georgia, and Sheila Thimba at Kingsborough Community College in New York.

Ohio State’s James L. Moore III Recognized for Outstanding Contributions to STEM Education

An Ohio State faculty member for over two decades, Dr. Moore is currently on loan to the U.S. National Science Foundation, serving as the assistant director for its Directorate of STEM Education. He was recently honored by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's STEM Education Consortium for his remarkable contributions to STEM education.

Ronald Crutcher Honored by the American Association of Colleges and Universities

In addition to his presidency at the University of Richmond, Dr. Crutcher also served as president of Wheaton College in Massachusetts. He was recently honored by the American Association of Colleges and Universities for his outstanding contributions to higher education.

Three Black Scholars Appointed to New Academic Positions

Kara Yacoubou Djima of Wellesley College and Chanelle Wilson of Bryn Mawr College were both promoted to associate professor and granted tenure. Former Howard University President Ben Vinson III was named a fellow at the Afro-Latin American Research Institute in Harvard University's Hutchins Center for African & African American Research.

Arizona State University’s Jewell Parker Rhodes Wins the Coretta Scott King Book Award

Dr. Rhodes' award-winning book, Will's Race for Home (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2025), tells the story of a Black father and his 12-year-old son as they set out to win land in the Oklahoma land rush is the late nineteenth century.

New Positions for Four Black Administrators at Colleges and Universities

The appointments are Philip Culver at Farmingdale State College in New York, Vanessa Vales-Lewis at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Rodney D. Smith at Texas Southern University, and Christian Murphy at Spelman College in Atlanta.

New Faculty Appointments for Three Black Scholars

John Thabiti Willis of Grinnell College in Iowa and Erica Edwards of Yale University have been selected for endowed faculty positions at their institutions. Chipo Dendere was promoted to associate professor with tenure at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Clemson’s Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford Receives National Book Award in Educator Preparation

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has honored Dr. Hinnant-Crawford for the second edition of her book Improvement Science in Education: A Primer.
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