Tag: Columbia University
Poet Elizabeth Alexander Named President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Elizabeth Alexander, a professor at Columbia University who was selected to write a poem and read it at President Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, has been appointed president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New York.
In Memoriam: Joseph T. McMillan Jr., 1944-2017
Before becoming the fourth president of what is now Huston-Tillotson University in 1988, Dr. McMillan served for 18 years as director of the United Church of Christ's ministry in higher education. He served for 12 years as president of the historically Black college in Austin, Texas, before retiring in 2000.
Harvard University Acquires Massive Drawing by Kara Walker
Harvard University has acquired a collage of drawings by contemporary artist Kara Walker entitled "U.S.A. Idioms." The collage is the largest work in the more than 250,000 works held by Harvard University.
In Memoriam: Todd Jason McCallum
Todd McCallum was an associate professor in the department of psychological sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He joined the faculty there in 2002 and was promoted to associate professor in 2007.
Emory University Acquires a Collection of Letters Written by Barack Obama in His 20s
Rosemary Magee, director of the Rose Library at Emory University, stated the letters "reveal the search of a young man for meaning and identity. While intimate in a philosophical way, they reflect primarily a college student coming to terms with himself and others."
Law Professors Look to Narrow the Racial Gap in Broadband Internet Access
Olivier Sylvain, an associate professor of law at Fordham University in New York and Sheila Foster, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, are leading the legal team of a project that hopes to bring broadband internet access to low-income residents in Harlem.
Columbia University to Invest $100 Million in Faculty Diversity Programs
Over the next five years, Columbia University will invest $100 million in the effort to support recruitment and career development for professors, doctoral, and postdoctoral students who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education.
David A. Thomas Named the 12th President of Morehouse College
Dr. Thomas currently serves as the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is the former dean of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
Higher Education Grants or Gifts of Interest to African Americans
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.
Sheilah Paul to Lead the New School of Education at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn
Medgar Evers College, a campus of the City University of New York, has announced the establishment of the School of Education. The college enrolls about 6,800 students. African Americans make up more than three quarters of the student body. Dr. Sheilah M. Paul was named founding dean.
Former Secretary of Education Is Now Teaching at the University of Maryland
John B. King Jr., the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, is a visiting professor in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is teaching a course on education policy.
Cornell University Historian Russell Rickford Wins the Hooks National Book Award
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis has announced that Russell J. Rickford is the winner of the 2016 Hooks National Book Award. The award is given to an author of a book that "best advances an understanding of the American civil rights movement and its legacy."
The First Black Chair of the Cardiovascular Disease Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine
Olakunle Akinboboye is an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York. Dr. Akinboboye is the first Black physician to head the board in its 81-year history.
Ernest Morrell Appointed to an Endowed Chair at the University of Notre Dame
Professor Morrell will also serve as the inaugural director of the Center for Literacy Education in the university’s Institute for Educational Initiatives. He will hold joint appointments in the Department of English and the Department of Africana Studies.
Dana Canedy Named Administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes
Lee Bollinger, president of Columbia University, has announced that Dana Canedy will be the new administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. Canedy has worked at the New York Times since 1996, most recently as special adviser to the chief executive officer and executive editor.
New Assignments for Six African American Faculty Members
Taking on new roles are Desmond Patton of Columbia University, Dana Rice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Keisha M. Love at the University of Cincinnati, Regina Taylor at Fordham University, A. Todd Franklin at Hamilton College, and Christopher Lance Coleman at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Frederick Harris Named Dean of Social Science at Columbia University
Dr. Harris is a professor of political science at Columbia University in New York City and is the director of Center on African American Politics and Society. Professor Harris joined the faculty at Columbia University in 2007.
Princeton’s Tracy K. Smith Named the Next Poet Laureate of the United States
Tracy Smith is the Roger S. Berlind ’52 Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University, and director of the university’s Program in Creative Writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts. She joined the faculty at Princeton in 2005.
Ira Kincade Blake Selected as the Next President of the University of Houston-Clear Lake
Since 2009, Dr. Blake has been serving as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. When she takes office on August 1, she will become the first woman to serve as president of the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
HBCU Fellowship Program Established by Columbia’s School of Professional Studies
Under Columbia University's HBCU Fellowship program, high-performing students from a network of historically Black colleges and universities will be matched with sponsor companies to receive full scholarships to Columbia’s professional master’s degree programs.
Two African American Scholars Appointed to Named Professorships at Ivy League Universities
Mark Anthony Gooden was named the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Professor of Education Leadership at Teachers College of Columbia University and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey was appointed the 19th Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Sharon Davies Named the Next Provost at Spelman College in Atlanta
In 2015, Professor Davies was named vice provost and chief diversity officer at Ohio State University. She has been on the faculty at the university’s Moritz College of Law for the past 22 years and holds the Gregory H. Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties.
Black Students’ Loss of Trust in Their Teachers May Lead to Lower College Enrollment
A new study finds that middle school students of color who lose trust in their teachers due to a perception of mistreatment or unfairness are less likely to go to college, even if they achieved good grades and test scores that qualified them for college admission.
Alondra Nelson Will Be the Next President of the Social Science Research Council
Alondra Nelson, a professor of sociology and dean of social science at Columbia University in New York City, will serve as president of the Social Science Research Council for five years beginning in September.
Former Obama Cabinet Official to Lead The Education Trust
John B. King, who served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education at the end of the Obama administration, has been appointed president of The Education Trust. Before joining the Department of Education in 2015, Dr. King was commissioner of education for the state of New York.
New Website Chronicles Columbia University’s Ties to Slavery
Columbia University in New York City has debuted a new website that details not only the university's involvement in slavery since its founding in as King's College 1754 but also efforts by those at the university to abolish it.
Kimberly White-Smith Is the New Leader of the College of Education at the University of La Verne
Before coming to the University of La Verne, Dr. White-Smith was professor of education, associate dean of the College of Educational Studies and director of the Donna Ford Attallah Educator Development Academy at Chapman University in Orange, California.
African American Business Tycoon Financing Education of Women Kidnapped by Boko Haram
Robert F. Smith, founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners and the only African American man on the Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, has been identified by the Nigerian government as the Good Samaritan who is sponsoring the higher education of 24 women who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram.
The Progress of the Ivy League in Admitting Black Students
A decade ago, there were 1,110 Black students in the entering classes at the eight Ivy League schools. In 2016, there are 1,503, a 35 percent increase. Four of the eight Ivy League schools have an entering class that is more than 11 percent Black. A decade ago, the leader stood at 9.6 percent.
The New Chief Diversity Officer at Empire State College in New York
Elliott Dawes has been named the inaugural chief diversity officer for institutional equity and inclusion at Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, New York, a campus of the State University of New York System. He will be based in the college's New York City offices.
University of Delaware Professor Honored by the Association of Black Women Historians
Erica Armstrong Dunbar, the Blue and Gold Professor of Black American Studies and History at the University of Delaware, is the winner of the Lorraine A. Williams Leadership Award from the Association of Black Women Historians.
Major New Program Aimed a Combating Racism in South Africa and the United States
The non-residential program, hosted by Columbia University and funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies, will support 350 fellows over its 10-year lifespan, annually supporting up to 35 fellows from the United States and South Africa.
Columbia University to Open a New Wellness Center in West Harlem
The new Wellness Center will house the Community Health Worker Stroke Prevention program and the Mental Health First Aid program. The Wellness Center will also provide free blood pressure readings and cholesterol tests.
Kimberlé Crenshaw to Receive the Gittler Prize From Brandeis University
The Gittler Prize is presented annually to a person whose body of published work reflects scholarly excellence and makes a lasting contribution to racial, ethnic or religious relations. Professor Crenshaw, who is on the faculty at the law schools of Columbia University and UCLA, will receive the award and a $25,000 prize in October 2017.
Paul Beatty Wins the 2016 Man Booker Prize
Paul Beatty, who teaches at Columbia University in New York, is not only the first African American to win the distinguished award, he is the first American to do so.
Barbara Ransby Elected President of the National Women’s Studies Association
Barbara Ransby is the Distinguished Professor of African American studies, gender and women's studies, and history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her two-year term as president will begin at the conclusion of the association's annual conference in Montreal in November.
