Tag: Columbia University

The New Dean of Students at the College of New Rochelle

Tiffani Blake as been serving as special assistant to the president for mission and board relations at the College of New Rochelle in New York. She formerly served as director of student development at the college.

Higher Education Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Belinda Miles Named President of Westchester Community College

Since 2011, Dr. Belinda S. Miles has served as provost and executive vice president of access, learning, and success at Cuyahoga Community College in Parma, Ohio. She will begin her new duties in January.

Claudia Rankine Is a Finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry

Claudia Rankine, the Henry G. Lee Professor of English at Pomona College in Claremont, California, is one of five finalists for the National Book Award in the poetry category.

In Memoriam: Ali Alamin Mazrui, 1933-2014

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.

Five African Americans Appointed to New University Administrative Positions

The appointees are Delbert T. Foster at South Carolina State, Alta Mauro at New York University's Abu Dhabi campus, Willie James Young Jr. at Mississippi Valley State, Lotoya Battle-Brown at Rutgers University-Newark, and Dennis A. Mitchell at Columbia University.

Four Universities Selected as Finalists for the Obama Presidential Library

The Barack Obama foundation has narrowed the field of candidates to host the Obama Presidential Library to Columbia University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Hawaii.

President Ronald Mason on the Way Out at Southern University

The Southern University Board of Supervisors voted to not extend the contract of system president Ronald Mason, which expires on June 30, 2015. Dr. Mason has served as system president since July 2010.

University Study Finds Inner-City Youth More Likely to Have Food Allergies

The study found that 10 percent of young inner-city children had food allergies. Peanut allergies were the most common, followed by eggs, and milk. Nationwide about 3 percent of all adults and 6 percent of young children have food allergies.

Two Black Scholars in New Teaching Roles

Marc Lamont Hill was appointed Distinguished Professor of American American studies at Morehouse College and Adriel A. Hilton was appointed assistant professor of college student personnel and director of the College Student Personnel program at Western Carolina University.

Theodore Shaw to Lead the Center for Civil Rights and Hold an Endowed Chair at UNC-Chapel Hill

Theodore M. Shaw, the former director-counselor and president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, was appointed director of the Center for Civil Rights at the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He will also hold an endowed chair in law.

The Chief Justice of Massachusetts to Become a Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University

Roderick L. Ireland is the first African American Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He is leaving the bench in July and has accepted the position as Distinguished Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University in Boston.

Four Black Scholars in New Teaching Roles

Taking on new faculty posts are Lynn Nottage at Columbia University, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor at Princeton University, Linden F. Lewis at Bucknell University, and Matthew Delmont at Arizona State University.

New Study Examines Homogeneity and Diversity on Group Performance

The study by scholars at MIT, Columbia, and Northwestern found that homogenous groups may produce an artificially low level of conflict, not a normal level of conflict. The authors state that homogeneity reduces the likelihood that people recognize differences of opinion that exist.

In Memoriam: Vincent Gordon Harding, 1931-2014

Vincent G. Harding, the civil rights activist, author, and professor emeritus of religion and social transformation at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, died on May 19 in Philadelphia. He was an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Alondra Nelson Named Dean of Social Sciences at Columbia University

Dr. Nelson is professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality at the university. She will become dean on July 1.

Blacks Face Bias When Seeking Mentors Among University Faculty

A study, co-authored by Modupe Akinola of Columbia Business School, found that faculty members were less likely to respond to mentoring requests from prospective Black students than White students.

Three African Americans Named to New Administrative Positions

The new appointees are George Koonce at Marian University in Wisconsin, Katherine Phillips at Columbia Business School, and Stephanie Helms Pickett at Duke University.

Columbia University Awards the Kennedy Prize for Drama to Dominque Morisseau

The 2014 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History was awarded by Columbia University to Dominique Morisseau for her play Detroit '67.

Harvard’s New Group of W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute Fellows

Black scholars who are among the new group of fellows are Christopher Emdin, Shose Kessi, Achille Mbembe, Mark Anthony Neal, Wole Soyinka, and Deborah Willis.

Claude Steele Named Provost at the University of California, Berkeley

Since 2011, Dr. Steele has been dean of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Before becoming dean, Professor Steele served for two years as provost at Columbia University in New York City.

James McBride Wins the National Book Award for Fiction

James McBride, Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, won the National Book Award for fiction for his novel The Good Lord Bird.

Outreach Programs for Parents Can Reduce School Mobility Among Black Students

Students who change schools often have problems adjusting to the new educational environment and this can impact their academic performance. Programs that reach out to Black parents can reduce the likelihood that children will change schools.

In Memoriam: Leslie Woodard, 1960-2013

Leslie Woodard was a lecturer in English and creative writing and dean of Calhoun College at Yale University. Before joining the faculty at Yale, she was the director of undergraduate creative writing at Columbia University in New York City.

Racial Differences in Anticipated Debt for Medical School Students

The survey found that 77 percent of Black students anticipated accumulating at least $150,000 in debt during their medical training. For all medical school students, 62.1 percent anticipated debt of $150,000 or more.

Two Women Faculty Members in New Posts

JoAnna Williamson was named chair of the department of management and marketing at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. Alondra Nelson, a professor of sociology at Columbia University, was named director of the university’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender.

13 Blacks Receive Honorary Degrees From Ivy League Schools

The eight Ivy League universities gave out 52 honorary degrees this commencement season. Of the 52 honorary degrees awarded this year at Ivy League schools, 13, or 25 percent, went to Blacks.

Columbia University Seeking to Remove “Caucasian Only” Clause From a Fellowship

In 1920 a woman donated $500,000 to Columbia University for an endowed fellowship that was restricted to students from Iowa of "the Caucasian race." The university is asking a Manhattan court to remove the restriction.

Trevor Dawes Appointed Associate University Librarian at Washington University

From 2004 to 2013 Dawes was circulation services director at the Princeton University Library. From 1988 to to 2004 he held several supervisory positions at Columbia University Libraries.

The New Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans

David J. Johns has been serving as a senior education policy advisor to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. He is a former elementary school teacher in New York City and holds two degrees from Columbia University.

Former New York Governor David Paterson to Teach at Touro College

Paterson, the only African American governor in the history of New York State, will serve as a distinguished professor of health care and public policy at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harlem.

Xerox CEO Ursula Burns Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

It appears that Burns, who holds degrees from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and Columbia University, is the only African American among the 69 new inductees of the academy.

Columbia University Opens Its First Global Center in Africa

Projects at the center include the Millennium Villages Project, which helps rural villages lift themselves out of poverty, the Drylands Initiative that works to help drought-stricken areas, and the Africa Soil Information Services.

Leading Liberal Arts Colleges Form New Partnership to Increase Faculty Diversity

The Creating Connections Consortium is a partnership between 26 leading liberal arts colleges and the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University.

The Discovery of a New Novel by Claude McKay

Jamaican-born author Claude McKay died in 1948 but recently a researcher in the Columbia University archives discovered a novel penned by the key figure of the Harlem Renaissance.

Study Finds That Minority Elders Are Healthier in Ethnically Dense Communities

A study by scholars in the schools of public health at Yale and Columbia finds that Black and Hispanic seniors have lower rates of heart disease and cancer in neighborhoods with high concentrations of minorities compared to seniors in more racially mixed neighborhoods.

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