Tag: Harvard University

Steven Nelson to Lead the African Studies Center at UCLA

Dr. Nelson is a professor of African and African American art and architectural history at the university. Professor Nelson is currently working on books about the Underground Railroad and the history of the city of Dakar.

Early Admission of African Americans to Leading Colleges and Universities

Several of the nation’s highest ranked colleges and universities have reported data on students they have accepted under early decision or early action admissions plans. Some have provided data broken down by race.

Cato Laurencin to Receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation

Cato T. Laurencin has been selected by President Obama as one of seven winners of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. He is the only African American among the seven winners of the award this year.

Prudence Carter Appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Berkeley

Dr. Carter currently serves as the Jacks Family Professor of Education and the faculty director of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University.

Two Black Men Named to Ivy League University Faculties

Khalil Gibran Muhammad was appointed professor of history, race, and public policy at the Kennedy School at Harvard University and Desmond Jagmohan was named an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University.

In Memoriam: Walter J. Leonard, 1929-2015

Dr. Leonard served as president of Fisk University from 1977 to 1984. Earlier he held several posts at Harvard University and is credited with being a major force in the racial diversity of the student body at Harvard.

When Harvard President Drew Faust Used Morehouse College as a Safe Haven

In 1965 Drew Gilpin Faust, now president of Harvard University, traveled south to participate in the civil rights movement. Apprehensive about driving a car with northern license plates during tumultuous times, she spent the night in a parking lot at Morehouse College.

University Scientists Develop Portable Device for Sickle Cell Diagnosis

Scientists at the University of Connecticut, Yale University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new method of detecting sickle cell disease that can be used in remote areas that do not have advanced medical technology.

Harvard Law Students Protest the School’s Seal

The students say that the seal, depicting three bushels of wheat, is an image taken from the family seal of Isaac Royall Jr. who donated his estate to endow the first professorship in law at Harvard. Royall owned slaves and was a slave trader.

Nonprofit Starting Text-Message Counseling Service for College Students of Color

Stephen C. Rose, a graduate of Harvard University, committed suicide at the age of 29. Now his family and friends have established a nonprofit organization for programs to provide mental health services for college students of color. The latest effort is a new text-messaging counseling service, scheduled to debut this coming winter.

After Campus Protests, a Backlash of Racist Incidents Occur on College Campuses

It comes as no surprise that in the aftermath of campus protests on issues dealing with race, there has been a backlash, with several race-related incidents occurring on campuses across the nation.

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.

Indiana University’s Jacinda Townsend Wins Award for Her First Novel

Jacinda Townsend, an associate professor of English at Indiana University, is being honored by the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Rochester.

Two Black Scholars Join the Faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

The Graduate School of Education at Harvard University has announced that two members of the university's Faculty of Arts & Sciences - Danielle Allen and Roland G. Fryer Jr. - will hold joint appointments as professors of education.

President of Voorhees College Announces He Will Step Down

Cleveland L. Sellers Jr., a celebrated leader of the civil rights movement and president of Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina, announced that he will step down at the end of the current academic year.

Higher Mortality Rates for All Races in Communities With High Levels of Racial Prejudice

The data showed that communities with a higher level of anti-Black prejudice had a death rate for people of all races that averaged 24 percent higher than in communities with low levels of racial prejudice.

Emory’s Kevin Young Wins the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize

The award honors the most outstanding book of poetry published in the United States in the previous calendar year and is presented by the American Academy of Poets. The prize comes with a $25,000 cash award.

Christopher Howard Named President of Robert Morris University

Since 2009, Christopher B. Howard has been serving as president of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, one of the few all-male colleges in the United States. He is a former U.S. Air Force helicopter pilot and earned a doctorate at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

The Inaugural Dean of the School of Public Health at Jackson State University

Dorothy C. Browne has been serving as an adjunct professor of maternal and child welfare in the School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the former director of the Public Health Institute at North Carolina A&T State University.

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham Awarded the National Humanities Medal

Professor Higginbotham was honored by President Obama "for illuminating the African-American journey. In her writings and edited volumes, Dr. Higginbotham has traced the course of African-American progress, and deepened our understanding of the American story."

African American Scholar From Harvard University to Lead New Technology Journal

Latanya Sweeney was appointed editor-in-chief of Technology Science, a new journal published by the Data Privacy Lab at Harvard University. During 2014, she served as the chief technology officer for the Federal Trade Commission.

Archive of African American Women Soldiers’ Letters Donated to Harvard University

Maryline Morris Whitaker sent 1,000 packages of hair care products to African American women serving in combat areas overseas. The letters she received in return from the soldiers have been donated to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

Tyler Stovall to Lead the American Historical Association

Tyler Stovall is dean of humanities at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He will serve one year as president-elect of the American Historical Association and then become president for one year. The AHA is the nation's largest professional organization devoted to the study and promotion of history.

Stanford’s Jennifer Eberhardt Is Among the “50 Groundbreaking Scientists”

Jennifer L. Eberhardt, an associate professor of psychology at Stanford University, was one of 15 women among the "50 Groundbreaking Scientists Who are Changing the Way We See the World" selected by Business Insider.

Tracy Smith to Lead the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University

Professor Smith has taught creative writing at the university since 2005. Earlier, she taught at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, the University of Pittsburgh, and Columbia University. In 2012, she won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

Study Finds Blacks Have More Sleep-Related Problems Than Whites

Since sleep difficulties can lead to a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and other health complications, the racial differences in sleep disorders may be a significant factor in the overall racial health disparity in the United States.

Four Black Scholars in New Faculty Posts

Taking on new faculty roles are Yosvany Terry at Harvard University, Darrick Hamilton at The New School, Paula T. Hammond at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Eugene T. Parker III at the University of Kansas.

University of California, Berkeley’s Namwali Serpell Wins the Caine Prize

Namwali Serpell, an associate professor of English at the University of California, is the winner of the 2015 Caine Prize, honoring the best writing by an African author. Dr. Serpell is a native of Zambia and came to the United States at the age of 9.

Talmadge King Jr. to Lead the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine

For the past nine years, Dr. King has been chair of the department of medicine at the university. He joined the faculty at the medical school in 1997 after teaching at the University of Colorado.

Danielle Allen Elected to the American Philosophical Society

This year 34 new members were elected to the society. Of these, 27 are Americans. After an analysis of the new member list by JBHE, it appears that of the 27 new American members, only one is an African American.

Claudine Gay Appointed Dean of Social Science at Harvard University

Dr. Gay is a professor of government and a professor of African and African American studies at Harvard University. Before joining the Harvard faculty in 2006, Professor Gay taught at Stanford University.

Two Black Scholars Elected Members of the National Academy of Sciences

The two African Americans elected members of the National Academy of Sciences are Scott V. Edwards, a professor of biology at Harvard University, and Jennifer A. Richeson, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University.

Medical Education Pioneer Donald Wilson Honored by the American College of Physicians

In 1991, Dr. Donald E. Wilson was named dean of medicine at the University of Maryland, the first African American dean of a predominantly White medical school. He was also was the first Black president of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Three African Americans at Leading Universities Receive Prestigious Honors

The honorees are Roland G. Fryer Jr., the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard, assistant professor Stephen M. Avery of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Iris Outlaw, director of multicultural student programs and services at the University of Notre Dame.

Five Black Scholars Elected Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Through an analysis of the list of new fellows conducted by JBHE, it appears that eight of the new members of the AAAS are Black. Five of the eight have current ties to the academic world.

Jason Wingard Named Dean of Continuing Education at Columbia University

Currently, Dr. Wingard is the chief learning officer at Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment firm. Earlier, he was vice dean of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he led the executive education program.

Breaking News