"Under my leadership, Illinois State will remain visible, engaged, and a collaborative partner committed to improving the quality of life and enhancing the sense of belonging for everyone in our community," said Dr. Aondover Tarhule, the new president of Illinois State University.
Jeremy Toulon is the newly appointed director of student transition and success at Binghamton University in New York. Valencia Jordan is the new director of athletics at Fisk University in Nashville and Sharcus Steen is the new chief investment officer for the University System of Maryland Foundation.
Dr. Tarhule joined Illinois State University as vice president for academic affairs and provost in 2020. His immediate prior administrative appointment was vice provost and dean of the Graduate School at Binghamton University of the State University of New York System. Earlier, he served on the faculty at the University of Oklahoma.
Since May 2019, Mellissa Holloway has been general counsel for legal affairs at North Carolina A&T State University in East Greensboro. Earlier, she was deputy general counsel at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and general counsel at North Carolina Central University in Durham.
The new diversity officers are Michael Snowden at Northwestern State University in Louisiana, Schvalla R. Rivera at Grinnell College in Iowa, Dannie Moore at Eastern Kentucky University, Tanisha Stevens at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Clyde Wilson Pickett at the University of Pittsburgh, and Karen A. Jones at Binghamton University.
Dr. Blain is an associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, where she has served on the faculty since 2017. Her book examines the activism of Black nationalist women who challenged White supremacy and advocated for full citizenship and human rights for people of African descent.
Assuming new duties are Dorinda Carter Andrews at Michigan State University, Nkiru Nzegwu at Binghamton University in New York, Enobong "Anna" Branch at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and Sean K. Skeete at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
Keisha N. Blain, an assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Pittsburgh, was honored by the Organization of American Historians for her book on 20th-century Black women nationalists.
Prior to joining NYIT, Dr. Sheldon D. Fields served as chief wellness officer, dean, and professor in the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, California.
The award, administered by Washington University in St. Louis, recognizes the lifetime work of a noted scholar, writer, or artist who has made a significant and sustained contribution to the world of letters or arts. The award comes with a $25,000 prize.
Last month, Gale Gibson, president of Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey, was suspended with pay. Now the college's board of trustees has fired Dr. Gibson. She became president of the community college in 2013.
Marcus Thompson was given the title of Institute Professor at MIT. Alana Gunn was appointed an assistant professor of social work at Binghamton University, and Damion Waymer was named associate professor of communication at the University of Cincinnati.
A native of Kenya, Dr. Mazrui was considered a giant among African scholars and one of the world's great public intellectuals. At the time of his death, he was the Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities at Binghamton University in New York.