Tagged: Swarthmore College

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 [email protected].

The American Philosophical Society (APS), the oldest learned society in North America, has announced the election of 38 new members. Of the 28 new members from the United States, three are African Americans with current ties to the academic world.

Swarthmore's vice president of DEI, Brooke Vick stated, "Forward steps, especially in the march toward racial justice and liberation, are often met with backward steps, frequently driven by a backlash rooted in fear. They want people to believe that diversity work is about exclusion. But this is what it’s about. It is about creating spaces where representation not only matters but is delivered."

Here is this week’s roundup of Black leaders who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to [email protected].

The faculty appointments are Natalie Sowell at Spelman College in Atlanta, Cheryl Jenkins at Talladega College in Alabama, and Isaiah Wooden at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

Valerie Smith was named president of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania in 2015. She will continue in her role through at least June 2027.

The new appointees are Elisa A. Mitchell, Keisha Green, Hayden Dawes, Sherritta Michelle Williams, Walter Lee, Breonte Guy, and Quin'Nita Cobbins-Modica.

The faculty appointments are Jude Sandy at Swarthmore College, Jean Beaman at CUNY's Graduate Center, Seth Gaiters at North Carolina State University, Andrew Waaswa at the University of Nevada, Reno, and Alex Alston at Bryn Mawr College.

Vance served as director of student disability services at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania for the past six years. In this role, she focused her efforts on DEI initiatives, student accessibility, and disability rights.

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.

The new diversity officers are Chancey Page at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, S. Brooke Vick at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Donyale R. Padgett at Wayne State University in Detroit. and Laura Renée Chandler at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Taking on new faculty roles are Michael Carbin at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Judith Casselberry at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, Yvonne Chireau at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Tesfaye Mengiste at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Rae Shaw at San Francisco State University.

Professor James joined the faculty at Swarthmore College in 1973 and remained on the faculty there for 32 tears. His research focused on the writings of Harlem Renaissance author Arna Bontemps.

Dr. Campbell became president of Spelman College in Atlanta on August 1, 2015. She is dean emerita of the Tisch School of the Arts and University Professor of art and public policy at New York University. Early in her career she was the director of the Studio Museum in Harlem and was cultural affairs commissioner for the City of New York. She joined the faculty at New York University in 1991 and served as dean for two decades.

Taking on new jobs are Cynthia Evers at Howard University, R. Darrell Peterson at Caltech, Ashley Hodges at Notre Dame University of Maryland, Stacie Clayton at Wayne State, Vincent L. Young at Mississippi State, Kristen Smith at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Don Hunt at North Carolina State, and Kelly McMurray at Florida A&M University.

The four African Americans who have retired from their positions in the academic world are Forrester Lee at Yale University, Micheline Rice-Maximin at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, William Welburn at Marquette University in Milwaukee, and Lynn Thompson at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach Florida.

Dr. Nunez-Smith, an associate professor and associate dean for health equity research at Yale Medical School, was honored for her work to address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and brown communities.

Nina Johnson was promoted to associate professor of sociology at Swarthmore College. Joseph Derrick Nelson was promoted to associate professor of educational studies and Ron Tarver was promoted to associate professor of photography.