A Statistical Portrait of First-Year Students at Black Colleges and Universities
This nationwide survey prepared by UCLA compares current first-year students in terms of characteristics such as family income, grades in high school, future goals, study habits, political views, and social activities.
New Study Says Racial Lynchings Have Been Underestimated
The report from the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, says that in the 1877-to-1950 period, at least 3,959 Black people were killed in "racial terror lynchings." This is 700 more than has been documented in previous reports.
Report Finds Wide Racial Disparity in School Discipline of Girls
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education cited in the report, nationally Black girls were suspended six times more than White girls. Rates of expulsion were even more strikingly disproportionate.
Studying the Racial Gap in Infant Mortality Rates
The authors compared U.S. infant mortality rates to those in two European countries. They found that the reason infant mortality is lower in Europe is simply because these countries take better care of their low-income citizens than is the case in the United States.
Research Uncovers Racial Differences in Faculty Salaries at Berkeley
While the percentage differences in faculty pay are small, the report states that "the average salary difference between White men and minority faculty members is equivalent to about 1 to 2 years of career experience.”
The Gender Gap in African American Degree Attainment
The gender gap is most pronounced for holders of master's degrees. In 2014, there were 964,000 Black women who held a master's degree but no higher degree. For Black men, the figure was 565,000.
Report Finds That Women of Color in Science Face Both Gender and Racial Bias
Of the 60 women of color in STEM fields in the survey, all 60 women stated that they had been subjected to some sort of gender bias. In having to prove their competence to others, most of the Black women stated that race was more of a barrier than gender.
How Altruism Impacts Minority Students’ Academic and Career Paths in STEM Fields
A new university study finds that students from underrepresented minority groups are more likely to pursue courses of study and careers in the biosciences if they believe that pursuing this life path will help them solve problems in their communities.
Nearly 6 Million Living African Americans Hold a Four-Year College Degree
In 2014, nearly 6 million living African American now hold at least a four-year college degree. The data shows that 179,000 African Americans in 2014 held a professional degree and 206,000 had obtained a doctorate.
New Research May Ease Suffering of Sickle Cell Disease Patients
While people of any race can have the sickle-cell trait, the disease is far more common among African Americans than it is among Whites. A new device may be able to notify doctors when painful incidents brought about by sickle cells being trapped in blood vessels are likely to occur.
Examining the Roots of Racial Disparities in School Discipline
New research led by scholars at the School of Education at Indiana University in Bloomington shows that deep-seated racial biases contribute to widespread racial disparities in school discipline.
University Study Examines Racial Disparities in the Pittsburgh Area
The Center on Race and Social Problems at the School of Social Work of the University of Pittsburgh has issued a new report on racial disparities in the metropolitan region surrounding the university.
Perceptions of People Referred to as “Black” Compared to “African American”
A new study led by Erika V. Hall, an assistant professor at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, finds that people identified as "Black" are viewed more negatively than individuals referred to as "African American."
Racial Differences in the Road to the Doctoral Degree
For recent doctoral degree recipients, African Americans took longer than Whites to earn their doctoral degree. On average, Blacks tended to accumulate more debt and used their own resources to fund their doctoral studies more than Whites.
Fast Food Consumption May Negatively Impact Academic Performance
The relationship between fast food and academic success is of particular importance to African American families as previous studies have shown young Blacks consume fast food more often than young Whites.
University Study Examines How Racial Bias Seeps Into Jury Deliberations
A study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, Santa Cruz finds that White men tend to be the most influential figures in jury deliberations.
A Look at Current School Desegregation Orders in the United States
The ProPublica data shows that Mississippi continues to have more open desegregation orders with 61 school districts under court order or voluntary agreement with the Department of Education. Alabama ranks second and Georgia is third.
Ranking the HBCUs on the Debt Levels of Their Graduates
The average debt level of college graduates in 2013 was $28,400. But some HBCUs are among the schools where students have the lowest average debt and some are among the schools with the highest debt level for graduating students.
Ranking the Top Law Schools by Their Percentage of Black Students
At none of the 15 highest-ranked law schools do Black enrollments reach 9 percent. Harvard Law School ranks first with Black enrollments of 8.7 percent.
Academic Disciplines Where African Americans Earned No Doctoral Degrees in 2013
According to the National Science Foundation, there were 18 academic fields where none of the doctorates awarded in 2013 went to an African American. More than 1,800 doctorates were awarded in these fields.
Black Youth With Educated Parents May Be More Likely to Be at Risk for...
Generally, a high degree of parental education has been found to reduce the risk for depression among youths. But this study finds that the general wisdom does not hold true for Black youth.
University Study Finds Significant Reductions in Racial Health Care Disparities
The study, by researchers at Brown and the University of Pittsburgh, examined 12 million acute care hospitalizations for patients who had a heart attack, heart failure, or suffered from pneumonia and compared treatments received by patients by race and ethnicity.
Doctoral Degree Awards by HBCUs in 2013
The report shows that 396 doctorates were awarded by historically Black colleges and universities in 2013. Howard University in Washington, D.C., led the HBCUs, granting 96 doctoral degrees in 2013.
Pew Research Center Study Shows a Widening Racial Wealth Gap
A widening racial wealth gap impedes the ability of Black families to pay for the college education of their children and grandchildren. Since the Great Recession, the racial wealth gap has expanded significantly.
Greatest Gains in Black Educational Progress Occurred After Major Wars
A new study by John Rury, a professor of education at the University of Kansas and Derrick Darby a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, finds that the educational prospects for African Americans improved dramatically immediately after three major wars.
Why Do African Americans Avoid Engineering Degree Programs?
Although African Americans may be academically well-prepared for an engineering curriculum various factors may contribute to the feeling of “not fitting in” or a “lack of belonging.” A new study seeks to identify factors that produce such concerns and to recommend ways to eliminate them.
Addressing the Lack of Racial Diversity in Environmental Science
Environmental and earth sciences have among the largest racial shortfalls in faculty positions in higher education. Minorities make up only 11 percent of the total faculty in environmental sciences.
Strategies for Increasing the Number of Black Students in STEM Fields
Andrew C. Campbell, a professor of biology at Brown University, took 50 minority students from 15 different colleges and universities on a retreat and asked them for ideas to address the shortfall of Black and other minority students in STEM disciplines.
Center for African American Research and Policy Examines “Intersectionality”
The Journal of Progressive Policy & Practice, recently released a special issue on intersectionality titled, “Informing Higher Education Policy & Practice Through Intersectionality.”
Sub-Saharan Nations Sending the Most Scholars to Teach at U.S. Colleges and Universities
In the 2012-13 academic year there were 2,132 scholars from sub-Saharan African nations teaching at U.S. colleges and universities. This is up nearly 13 percent from the the 2011-12 academic year.
University Study Finds Link Between Sedentary Work and Obesity for Black Women
The research by scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found no correlation for sedentary work and obesity in men and a far smaller correlation for White women.
New Study Examines Racial Disparity in Maternal Mortality
The researchers stated that factors such as gestational age, fetal survival rate, duration of hospital stay, cesarean delivery rate, and lack of prenatal care contributed to the higher incidence of maternal mortality among Black mothers.
Rising Black Student Graduation Rates at Flagship State Universities
Among the flagship state universities a decade ago, only the University of Virginia had a Black student graduation higher than 70 percent. Now there are 13 flagship state universities at which the Black student graduation rate is 70 percent or higher.
Tracking U.S. College Students Who Study Abroad in Sub-Saharan Africa
More than 289,000 American students studied at foreign institutions of higher education during the 2012-13 academic year. Of all U.S. students studying abroad, 13,411, or 4.6 percent, attended universities in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Racial Gap in Home Computer Ownership and High-Speed Internet Access
The data shows that 66.3 percent of African America households have a desktop or laptop computer. More than 81 percent of White households have a desktop or laptop computer.
Tracking Black Student Graduation Rates at HBCUs
At half the HBCUs in our survey, the Black student graduation rate is 34 percent or lower. There are seven HBCUs in our survey where less than one in five entering Black students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years.
