Tagged: University of Southern California

In 1995, Dr. McPhail was named the first woman and first African American president of Cypress College in California, where she served for three years. Over two decades later, she served as president of historically Black St. Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“This work reveals that adolescents of color are already engaging in sophisticated forms of digital literacy,” said Avriel Epps of the University of California, Riverside. “They have developed these critical skills in many cases from their lived experiences navigating online racism, not necessarily from school-based instruction.”

In 2025, 24.3 percent of the 111 directors who made the 100 top-performing films were made by a director of an underrepresented racial background. Just 43 Black men and 11 Black women have directed a movie included in the 1,900 top-performing films since 2007.

“Banning DEI policies in higher education directly contradicts their fundamental purpose: to eliminate barriers to equal opportunity and create more equitable academic institutions,” the report authors write. “Without these programs, systemic disparities are likely to persist and widen, thereby reinforcing inequities in education, employment, and social mobility.”

According to a new study led by Brendesha Tynes of the University of Southern California, Black adolescents average six race-related online experiences per day, with 3.2 considered online racism. Those who do encounter online racism are more likely to experience next-day anxiety and depression.

This year, 15 works of fiction authored or edited by 19 writers and poets were awarded an American Book Award. Of these winners, three are Black scholars currently holding faculty appointments at American-based institutions.

The appointments are Michelle McCay at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Lance Collins at Virginia Tech, Terry Allen at the University of Southern California, and Marcus Denard Johnson at Florida State University.

“Across all institution types, [stakeholders] need high-quality data about how students across all racial groups are appraising and experiencing classrooms and out-of-class environments,” the authors write. “Simply conducting climate assessments and having the data are not enough – practitioners must use what they learn to strategically inform policymaking, practice, and curriculum.”

The representation of Black speaking characters in the top 100 films of 2024 is roughly on par with Black Americans' share of the overall U.S. population. However, Black directors remain vasty underrepresented in their field; only 3 of last year's highest-grossing films were made by a Black director.

In an analysis of admissions data at 18 universities, research from the Urban Institute has found slight increases in Black students' applications and enrollment, while admittance rates have remained unchanged. However, at highly selective institutions, Black students' enrollment is decreasing, despite recent increases in their share of applications.

Percival Everett of the University of Southern California, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins of Yale University, and Edda Fields-Black of Carnegie Mellon University have received Pulitzer Prizes in fiction, drama, and history, respectively.

Only 25 films out of the top 100 highest-earning movies in 2024 featured a nonwhite lead or co-lead actor. These 25 films feature a combined 26 protagonists, 10 of whom are Black.

Pannell was a professor of evangelism and preaching at Fuller Seminary for nearly three-decades. He served as director of the seminary's Black Pastors' Program, which has since been renamed in his honor to the William E. Center for Black Church Studies.

In the aftermath of the June 29, 2023 United States Supreme Court decision banning the consideration of race in college admissions decisions, more high-ranking colleges and universities have reported a drop in Black enrollments for their entering classes this fall.

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. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to contact@jbhe.com.

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.

Peddrew was the first African American to enroll in Virginia Tech. While he attended the university, the school's administration required Peddrew to live off campus. Fifty years later, the university dedicated a residential hall in his honor.

The new law school deans are Marcilynn Burke at Tulane University in New Orleans, LaVonda Reed at the University of Baltimore, and Franita Tolson at the University of Southern California.

“Through her leadership and scholarship, Dr. White-Smith inspires a new generation of teachers to serve students and approach their work with equity, compassion, and respect,” said Gail F. Baker, provost and senior vice president at the University of San Diego. 

Brietta Clark is the new Fritz B. Burns Dean of Loyola Marymount University Law School in California. Clark, who is the nineteenth dean of the law school, is the first woman to hold the position and also the first Black dean in the law school's history.