Tag: Harvard University
Five African American Scholars Appointed to New Faculty Positions
The new faculty appointments are Judith Byfield at Cornell University, Nikki Hoskins at Harvard University, Edda Fields-Black at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Shawn Utsey at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw at the University of Pennsylvania.
Two Black Historians in Higher Education Receive Prestigious Dan David Prize
Keisha Blain of Brown University and Cécile Fromont of Harvard University have received 2024 Dan David Prizes for their outstanding achievements as academic historians.
University of Nebraska Medical Center Selects Dele Davies as Interim Chancellor
An expert in pediatric infectious diseases, Dr. Davies joined UNMC in 2012. He has been serving as the medical center's senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Appoints Andrea Stewart as Interim Chancellor
"This institution holds a rich legacy of academic excellence and community impact, and I am committed to advancing its mission during this transitional period," said Dr. Andrea Stewart upon her appointment as interim chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Mark Brown to Be the First Alumnus to Serve as President of Tuskegee University in Alabama
On July 1, Dr. Mark Brown will assume the presidency of his undergraduate alma mater, Tuskegee University in Alabama, making him the first alumnus to serve in the position. He currently serves as the inaugural president and CEO of the Student Freedom Initiative.
In Memoriam: Christopher Fairfield Edley Jr., 1953-2024
Christopher Edley had an extensive career in both academia and public service. He served as a professor with Harvard Law School for 23 years and held senior advising roles for five presidential campaigns, including for his former student, Barack Obama.
In Memoriam: Clayton Bates Jr., 1932-2024
Dr. Bates taught physics and electrical engineering at Stanford University for over two decades. He was the first Black faculty member to earn tenure in Stanford's School of Engineering.
Study Finds Scientists With African Names are Less Likely to Be Featured in News Stories
The study found scientists with African-sounding names are 15 percent less likely to be quoted by news outlets than their peers with Anglo-sounding names.
Adler University Selects Lisa Coleman as President
Dr. Coleman currently serves as the inaugural senior vice president for global inclusion and strategic innovation at New York University. She will assume the presidency of Adler University in September.
Herman Taylor Jr. Honored for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Cardiology
Dr. Taylor, endowed professor at Morehouse School of Medicine, serves as the founding director and principal investigator of the Jackson Health Study, the largest community-based study of cardiovascular disease in African Americans.
Higher Education Gifts or Grants 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.
In Memoriam: William Strickland, 1937-2024
Strickland spent his lifetime dedicated to advancing civil rights and Black political representation. For four decades, he served as a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught courses on Black history and the civil rights movement.
Eight Black Scholars Appointed to New Faculty Positions
Here is this week’s roundup of African Americans who have been appointed to new faculty positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to contact@jbhe.com.
Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney Announces Retirement
In 2014, Dr. Berger-Sweeney became the first African American and first woman president of Trinity College since its founding in 1823. Over the past decade, the college has experienced growth in enrollment and graduation rates, hired more diverse faculty, and improved campus infrastructure.
Four Black Professionals Appointed to Administrative Positions
The appointments are Stanley Bazile at Ithaca College in New York, China Jude at Chadron State College in Nebraska, Kofi Ofori at Harvard University, and Brint Martin at Hampton University in Virginia.
In Memoriam: Norman B. Anderson, 1955-2024
Dr. Anderson was the assistant vice president for research and academic affairs at Florida State University at the time of his death. He had an extensive career in clinical psychology, which led him to become the first African American chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association.
Black Film Project and Film Studies Fellowships Established at Harvard University
Henry Louis Gates Jr., professor and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, will direct the newly established Black Film Project, an initiative aiming to support independent films focusing on Black history and culture.
University of Notre Dame Honors Maurice Cox With Henry Hope Reed Award
Maurice Cox has been named the 2024 laureate of the Henry Hope Reed Award at the University of Notre Dame for his dedication to education and public service.
Claudine Gay Resigns as President of Harvard University
Dr. Gay had served as president of Harvard University for only six months. She was the first African American and the second woman to lead Harvard in its nearly 400-year history.
Roger Fairfax Will Be the Next Dean of the Howard University School of Law
Fairfax currently serves as dean of the American University Washington College of Law. Earlier he was senior associate dean for academic affairs, Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor of Law, and founding director of the Criminal Law & Policy Initiative at George Washington University Law School.
In Memoriam: Willard R. Johnson, 1935-2023
Dr. Johnson joined the political science faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964 as an assistant professor. He was the first Black faculty member at MIT to rise through the ranks and achieve tenure from within.
Harvard Announces a Grant Program to Address Systemic Inequities for Descendants of Slavery
The Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative will offer annual funding up to $350,000 for long-term projects and $25,000 for smaller projects that address systemic inequities for descendants of slavery.
Harvard University Establishes the Black Teacher Archive
The archive consists of journals and newsletters created by members of Colored Teachers Associations that captured the political and social efforts of Black educators’ activism from the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights Movement. The old journals and bulletins chronicle the acts of resistance in places where Black educators fought against injustice in education under Jim Crow.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. Honored by the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
The James Dent Walker Award is the highest national award that can be bestowed by the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society upon a person who has exhibited distinguished accomplishments through a significant and measurable contribution to the research, documentation, and/or preservation of African American history.
Kerry James Marshall’s Portrait of Henry Louis Gate Jr. Donated to Cambridge University
Kerry James Marshall has donated his portrait of Harvard's Henry Louis Gates Jr. to the University of Cambridge. Professor Gates holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in English language and literature from Clare College at the University of Cambridge. The work is Marshall's first portrait of a living person.
Melissa Gilliam Will Be the First African American President of Boston University
Dr. Gilliam has been provost at Ohio State University since July 2021. Earlier, she was vice provost, the Ellen H. Block Distinguished Service Professor of Health Justice, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics at the University of Chicago. She will become president of Boston University on July 1, 2024.
Five Black Faculty Members Named MacArthur Fellows
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently announced the 20 latest recipients in its fellowship program, commonly referred to as “genius grants.” Of this year's 20 winners, five are Black scholars with current ties to the academic world.
Six Black Scholars Who Are Taking on New Duties in Higher Education
Taking on new roles are Imani Perry at Harvard University, Tyrone McKinley Freeman at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Alisha Butler at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Gordon Ibeanu at North Carolina Central University, Linda Lausell Bryant in the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, and Andrea Dawn Frazier at Columbus State University in Georgia
Marla Frederick Will Be the Next Dean of Harvard Divinity School
Dr. Frederick is currently the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Religion and Culture at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Prior to her appointment at Emory, she served on the Harvard faculty from 2003 to 2019
Harry Elam to Step Down as Occidental College President at the End of the Academic Year
Harry J. Elam Jr. became the sixteenth president of Occidental College in Los Angeles on July 1, 2020. Dr. Elam recently announced in a message to new students that he would be stepping down from his post at the end of the academic year due to a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
The First Black Dean of the Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia
Said Ibrahim has been serving as senior vice president of the medicine service line at Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider. He also serves as chair of the department of medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, and the Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University. He will become dean on December 1.
A Quartet of Black Scholars in New Faculty Positions
Taking on new duties are Ruth L. Okediji at Harvard University, Milton S.F. Curry at Cornell University, Felicia McGhee at Florida A&M University, and Summer Perry at Columbus State University in Georgia.
The Next Leader of the School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago
Nadya Mason has been serving as the Rosalyn S. Yalow Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has also served as the director of the University of Illinois' Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
In Memoriam: Charles J. Ogletree Jr. 1952-2023
Charles Ogletree was the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and the founding executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School. He taught at the law school for 36 years.
Study Finds Huge Racial Disparity in Killings by Off-Duty Police Officers
A new study led by Emmanuella Ngozi Asabor, an MD/Ph.D. candidate at Yale University found that Black men are the most common victims of killings committed by off-duty police officers in the U.S. Researchers found that many incidences occurred while off-duty officers were performing side jobs as security officers, and that these officers often obscured information about their involvement in situations that turned deadly.
Kimberly Rogers Appointed the Fifteenth President of Contra Costa College in California
Before being named acting president of the college in 2022, Dr. Rogers was vice president for instruction. Earlier in her career, she held academic appointments at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Université de Haute-Alsace in France.
