Tagged: University of Notre Dame

As director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, Dr. Phelps challenged the Catholic Church to better understand itself through the voices and experiences of Black Catholics and those on the margins. 

Dr. Goliath, an assistant professor of anthropology and Middle Eastern culture at Mississippi State University, is an expert in skeletal biology. He focuses his research and community outreach efforts on supporting marginalized populations and improving outcomes for missing and unidentified persons, particularly in underserved regions in the rural American South.

Dr. Daut, professor of French and of Black studies at Yale University, was honored for her newest book, The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe, which examines the complex political and intellectual life of early nineteenth-century Haiti.

“As provost, I will advance Emory's academic mission by enhancing the conditions in which our students thrive and our faculty produce life-changing, life-saving scholarship and research,” said Dr. Ahad.

While Black athletes make up nearly half of all NCAA Division I football players, there are currently only 16 Black head coaches at NCAA Division I schools, representing just 12.3 percent of the head coaches at the 130 member institutions. A Black coach has never won the NCAA Division I college football championship.

Colleges and universities that have eliminated test score requirements for admissions have generally increased their overall student diversity. However, those that have experienced institutional hardships and those that continue to prioritize test scores despite their optional policy have not seen a significant increase in their enrollment of students from underrepresented racial backgrounds.

An observational study from the University of Notre Dame's Gwendolyn Purifoye and Morehouse College's Derrick Brooms has found that Black men - both passengers and transit workers - are frequently ignored and discriminated by others while using public transportation.

The three African Americans appointed to diversity positions are Melanie Duckworth at the University of Nevada Reno, Doug Thompson at the University of Notre Dame, and Anthony Jones at Centre College in Kentucky.

“It is important to understand how race and racism shape children’s earliest school experiences,” wrote study author, Dr. Calvin Zimmerman. “Even for students as young as 6 years old, schools perpetuate existing social and educational inequalities.”

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.

Taking on new roles relating to diversity are Jamila Lee-Johnson for the Graduate School at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, Sheryl R. Wilson at Bethel College in Kansas, Dionne Lambert at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, and Markeisha Miner at the University of Rhode Island.

Kenyon Bonner has been appointed as vice president and chief student affairs officer at the University of Virginia. J. David Bratton was named director of choirs at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, and Jamila Lee-Johnson is the inaugural assistant dean of inclusive excellence for the Graduate School at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

In a study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame and Cornell University found that Black families — regardless of where they lived — still ended up in similar economic circumstances as they moved into adulthood and entered the workforce. “Race, not class origins, is the dominant factor governing the economic mobility of Black individuals,” the researchers wrote.

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.

Taking on new duties are Curtis Burton at Lincoln University in Missouri, Tracy Worthy at Winston-Salem State University, J. Rex Tolliver at the University of South Carolina, Joy Hill at Virginia Union Unversity, Constance Cannon Frazier at Dillard University in New Orleans, Hampton Cantrell at Caltech, and A. Roxanne Gregg at the University of Nortre Dame.

Dr. Dames came to Notre Dame this fall after serving as Boston University Librarian since 2018. Earlier, Dr. Dames was associate university librarian for scholarly resources and services at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Blake is currently executive vice president for academic affairs and provost of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 2015, he was appointed provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He will begin his new duties on August 9.

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.