Tag: University of Connecticut

Sigma Xi Presents Its Highest Honor to Cato Laurencin

The Golden Key Award from Sigma Xi is presented annually to a member who has made outstanding contributions to scientific research and advocacy. The award is considered the society's highest achievement.

Three Black Men Appointed to Administrative Leadership Positions in Higher Education

The appointments are Jaquion Gholston at Howard University, Andrew Agwunobi at the University of Connecticut, and Dwayne Lee Pinkney at the University of Pittsburgh.

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.

Lawrence P. Ward Named Seventh President of the University of Hartford

“In my experience, leading with personal authenticity and humility, as well as with vision and strategy, builds credibility, increases trust, and strengthens people’s willingness to work well together," said Dr. Ward. "That’s how I will approach my presidency at UHart."

In Memoriam: Ruth R. Martin, 1930-2024

Dr. Martin was a professor emerita of social work at the University of Connecticut. In addition to teaching, she served the university as associate dean prior to retiring in 1999.

Cato Laurencin Receives the John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award

The award, presented by the Houston Academy of Medicine, seeks to identify and recognize multi-accomplished physicians who have enriched the field of medicine with excellence and humaneness. Dr. Laurencin is a University Professor and former dean of the medical school at the University of Connecticut.

Racial Differences in Cold Sensitivity Are Both a Health and Economic Issue

A new study at the University of Connecticut suggests Black households pay more to keep their homes comfortable, in part due to increased cold sensitivity. Black people who can’t afford those couple extra degrees end up seeking medical attention more often than their White counterparts.

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.

Study Finds That Protesting NFL Players Who ‘Took a Knee’ at 2016 Games Were Penalized Financially

A recent study by scholars at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Connecticut, and Pennsylvania State University examined the career trajectories of the first 50 NFL athletes to kneel in protest during a pregame national anthem in 2016.

Four Black Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Assignments

Taking on new roles are Marc Lamont Hill at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Chinenye Anyanwu at the University of Connecticut, James Kereri at the University of Missouri, and Curtis Austin at Arizona State University.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to New Positions

Kafui Dzirasa will be the inaugural holder of an endowed chair at the School of Medicine at Duke University. Paula Austin was promoted to associate professor of history and African American studies at Boston University and Lewis R. Gordon was appointed a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut.

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.

The University of Connecticut to Establish a Social Justice Course Requirement

The University Senate at the University of Connecticut has voted to create a social justice requirement in the university's curriculum. The new social justice requirement focuses on the one-credit “Anti-Black Racism” course that has been offered as an elective since the 3021=-22 academic year. The new requirement will be in effect beginning in the 2024-25 academic year.

Cato T. Laurencin Honored for Diversity Efforts by the Society for Biomaterials

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award recognizes Dr. Laurencin of the University of Connecticut for promoting anti-racism and creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for historically excluded groups in the STEM disciplines, especially in the field of biomaterials. He is the inaugural winner of the award.

Cato Laurencin Creates Institute for Regenerative Engineering at the University of Connecticut

The institute will integrate biology, medicine, surgery, chemistry, physics, engineering, and artificial intelligence/machine learning to create a powerful platform for addressing scientific and medical problems in the regeneration and healing of complex tissues, organs, or organ systems. Its goal is to achieve limb regeneration by the year 2030.

Study Finds Foods Companies Increasingly Marketing Unhealthy Products to Blacks

American food and beverage companies disproportionately target Black and Hispanic consumers with advertising for high-calorie, low-nutrient products, including candy, sugary drinks, and snacks, according to a new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health at the University of Connecticut.

Cato T. Laurencin to Receive the Highest Honor of the American Chemical Society

Dr. Laurencin, who holds an endowed chair at the Univerity of Connecticut, is recognized as the leading international figure in polymeric biomaterials chemistry and engineering who has made extraordinary scientific contributions, while at the same time he has had profound contributions to improving human health.

Are School Choice Programs Compatible With the Goal of Racial Integration?

School choice programs are often touted as a means to address systemic inequities in schools, but they largely operate as unregulated “open enrollment” programs. Without regulation, and without an explicit focus on the goal of better-integrated school environments, segregation becomes more pronounced.

Four Black Scholars Who Are Assuming New Roles at Colleges and Universities

Taking on new duties are Richard Wynn at the University of North Florida, Michelle Williams at the University of Connecticut, Lisa Jones at the University of California, San Diego, and Elena FitzPatrick Sifford at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Talitha Washington Selected to Lead the Association for Women in Mathematics

Talitha Washington, a professor of the mathematical sciences at Clark Atlanta University and the director of the Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative, has been named president-elect of the Association for Women in Mathematics. She will become president of the organization in 2023.

The Chair-Elect of the National Association of College Admission Counseling’s Board of Directors

Since 2018, Vern Granger has been director of undergraduate admissions in the Division of Enrollment Planning & Management at the University of Connecticut. In each of the undergraduate admissions cycles since his appointment, the university has attracted record numbers of students of color as part of the incoming classes.

University of Connecticut Report Finds Increased Fast Food Marketing to Black Youth

The study from the University of Connecticut shows that disparities in racial and ethnic targeted advertising are widening. Black youth viewed 75 percent more fast food ads than their White peers in 2019, up from a 60 percent difference found in 2012.

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.

Andrew Agwunobi Appointed to Lead the University of Connecticut

Dr. Agwunobi is a pediatrician by training and has been serving as CEO of University of Connecticut Health since 2015. He will continue in that role while serving as interim president of the university. The board of trustees stated that it is in no rush to start the search process.

Five Universities That Have Announced the Appointments of Black Administrators

Taking on new administrative roles are Donica Thomas Varner at Cornell University in New York, Godlove Fonjweng at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, Lawrencina Mason Oramalu at Texas Woman's University, Gerald Lewis Jr. at the University of Connecticut, and Alicia Dorn at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

In Memoriam: Jacqueline Rosemarie Satchell, 1968-2020

A native of Jamaica, Jacqueline Rosemarie Satchell was an assistant professor of medicine and a leading clinician-educator in the Yale Section of General Internal Medicine and Veterans Administration's Connecticut Healthcare System.

Cato Laurencin Honored for Promotion of Social Justice in Medical Education

Cato T. Laurencin is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, professor of chemical engineering, materials sciences, and biomedical engineering, and one of only two University Professors at the University of Connecticut.

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.

The New Leader of the Data Science Initiative of the Atlanta University Center Consortium

Talitha Washington, formerly of Howard University, will lead the effort that will work to increase the number of highly-skilled underrepresented minorities with skills in data science and to advance data science research, especially as it impacts minority communities.

Five African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Positions

Taking on new roles are David Valentine at the Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles, Aileen Warren at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Keith Smith at Tacoma Community College in Washington, Stuart Robinson at New York University, and Franklin A. Tuitt at the University of Connecticut.

Three African American Women Scholars Who Are Embarking on New Assignments

The three women scholars who are taking on new duties are Joelle A. Murchison of the University of Connecticut, Marietta Simpson, a Rudy Professor of Music in the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and Erica Cooper of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The Next Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law

Eboni S. Nelson currently is associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Before joining the faculty at the University of South Carolina in 2007, she taught at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston.

Two White Students Arrested for Yelling Racial Slurs at the University of Connecticut

The White male students were charged with ridicule on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality or race. They were released pending a court date.

How Teachers Can Impact The Pathway to College for Young Black Students

The researchers found that Black students who had just one Black teacher by third grade were 13 percent more likely to enroll in college, and those who had two Black teachers were 32 percent more likely to go to college.

New Administrative Positions for Seven African Americans in Higher Education

Here is this week’s roundup of African Americans who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

New Study Shows Racial Health Gap in HIV Cases Remains Wide

In 2016, Blacks were 8.4 times more likely than Whites to be diagnosed with HIV, whereas in 2005 they were 7.9 times more likely. The number Black men diagnosed with HIV increased from 9,969 in 2005 to 12,890 in 2016.

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