Tag: University of Southern Mississippi
Monic Ductan Receives Inaugural Tennessee Book Award in Fiction
Monic Ductan was honored for her first book, Daughters of Muscadine: Stories. She currently teaches creative writing and literature at Tennessee Tech University.
Sherita Johnson Appointed Director of the Africana Research Center at Pennsylvania State University
Sherita Johnson is a scholar of nineteenth-century African American literature and print culture. She has conducted extensive archival research on the experiences of Black writers, activists, and public intellectuals.
Six African Americans Selected for Administrative Positions at Universities
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.
Connie Walton Is the New Leader of Grambling State University in Louisiana
Dr. Walton has been serving as the institution’s provost and vice president for academic affairs and has worked at Grambling for over 30 years. Dr. Walton has been a professor of chemistry at the university. Her research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of molecules that exhibit liquid crystalline behavior and polymer synthesis. She holds two U.S. patents.
Six Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to New Faculty Roles
Taking on new duties or roles are Reginald Perry at Florida A&M University, Tiffany Morris at North Carolina A&T State University, Derreck Williams at the University of Southern Mississippi, Aaron Kamugisha at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, Tonya Pinkins at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and Alford A. Young Jr. at the University of Michigan.
Four Black Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Assignments
Taking on new duties are Royel Johnson of the University of Southern California, Karen Keaton Jackson at North Carolina Central University, Aaron Allen at the University of Southern Mississippi, and Corcoran Holt at the Arizona State University School of Music, Dance and Theatre.
Rodney Bennett Selected to Serve as the Next Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
As required by state law, Dr. Bennett’s candidacy now undergoes a 30-day vetting period which will include a series of public sessions during which members of the university community and the news media can meet him and ask questions. After 30 days, the board of regents can vote on Dr. Bennett's appointment. If approved, he will be the first African American to lead the university.
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.
Rodney Bennett Announces He Will Step Down as President of the University of Southern Mississippi
Rodney Bennett, who has served as president of the University of Southern Mississippi since 2013, announced that he will step down from his post at the end of his contract in 2023. He is the first African American to serve as president of one of the state's five predominantly White public universities.
Jinx Coleman Broussard Honored for Her Mentoring Work in Public Relations
Jinx Coleman Broussard, the Bart R. Swanson Endowed Memorial Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State Univerity, has been selected as the 2021 Bruce K. Berger Educator Honoree from the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. The center is housed at the University of Alabama.
Five Black Scholars Taking on New University Faculty Assignments
Taking on new roles are Garrett L. Washington at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Marjuyua Lartey at the University of Southern Mississippi, Darius Young at Florida A&M University, LaTasha Barnes at Arizona State University, and Gregory K. Freeland at California Lutheran University.
Gary Crosby Will Be the First Man and First African American to Lead Saint Elizabeth University
Since 2015, Dr. Crosby has been vice president for student affairs at Alabama A&M University. Prior to joining AAMU, he served in various capacities at Jackson State University in Mississippi. When he takes office on July 1, he will be the first man and first African American to lead the university in its 121-year history.
In Memoriam: Jacqueline E. Fuller Certion, 1972-2020
Jacqueline Certion was the assistant director of the Foundations for Academic Success Track, or FASTrack, in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi. In her position, Certion served as an adviser and mentor for thousands of students over the past 19 years.
Connie Walton Appointed Provost at Grambling State University in Louisiana
Dr. Walton is a professor of chemistry at the university. Her research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of molecules that exhibit liquid crystalline behavior and polymer synthesis. She holds two U.S. patents. Dr. Walton has served as interim provost since May 2019.
University of Southern Mississippi Acquires Papers of its First African American Faculty Member
In 1970, John Calvin Berry became the first African American faculty member at the university when he was named an instructor of student teaching. He retired from the university in 1985 as an associate professor of educational leadership and research.
Four African Americans Who Have Announced Their Retirements From University Posts
The four African Americans who have retired or have announced their retirements are Tommie Stewart at Alabama State University, Adolph Reed Jr. at the University of Pennsylvania, Walter Fluker at the School of Theology at Boston University, and Alfreda Horton at the University of Southern Mississippi.
University of Southern Mississippi Team Finds the Wreckage of the Last Slave Ship
In 1860, the ship Clotilda is believed to be the last vessel to import slaves into the United States, more than 50 years after the international slave trade had been abolished.
New Faculty Appointments for Five African American Scholars
Taking on new assignments are Alondra Nelson at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, Keith A. Alford at Syracuse University, Kendall M. Campbell at East Carolina University, Duane Lee Hollland Jr. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Curtis Davis. Jr. at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Two African American Scholars Announce Their Impending Retirements
Joyce E. Smith, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, has announced she will retire in summer 2020 and Eddie A. Holloway, assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Southern Mississippi, will retire in June.
Notable Awards for Three African Americans
The honorees are Derron Wallace, an assistant professor at Brandeis University, Crystal A. George Mwangi, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, and Clyde Kennard, the first Black student to seek admission at the University of Southern Mississippi.
New Historical Marker Honors First Black Student to Apply to the University of Southern Mississippi
Clyde Kennard applied for admission to what was then Mississippi Southern College in 1955 and was denied. In 1959, he applied again and was rejected. For challenging the rules of Jim Crow, he was framed and sentenced to seven years in state prison.
Seven Black Faculty Members in New Roles in Academia
They are: Melissa C. Thomas Hunt at Vanderbilt, Charkarra Anderson Lewis at the University of Southern Mississippi, Talitha Washington at Howard, Charmaine Royal at Duke, Tara T. Green at UNC-Greensboro, Alwyn Leiba at Miami Dade College, and Enobong Branch at the University of Massachusetts.
In Memoriam: Samuel Griffin, 1945-2017
Griffin's career at Alcorn State lasted for more than 40 years. He was named director of bands in 1969 and remained in that post until his retirement in 2012. He was the founder of the university's Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite marching band.
Five African Americans Appointed to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education
The appointees are Timothy Dunn at Trinity College in Connecticut, Eboney Hearn at MIT, Latonya Guillory at the University of Southern Mississippi, Tracy Dildy at Chicago State University, and Getchel L. Caldwell at Clark Atlanta University.
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.
The First Black Student to Earn a Ph.D. in History at the University of Southern Mississippi
A half century after the racial integration of the University of Southern Mississippi, Tonya De'Nee Blair is the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in history at the university.
Five African Americans Named to Administrative Posts in Higher Education
The appointees are Andra Johnson at Alcorn State University, Kery D. Davis at Howard University, Shea Kidd Houze at the University of Southern Mississippi, C.C. Jackson at South Carolina State University, and Matthew M. Winston Jr. at Virginia Tech.
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.
University of Southern Mississippi President Gets Contract Extension
Just three days after Dr. Rodney Bennett had been named the 10th president of the University of Southern Mississippi in February 2103, a devastating tornado hit the Hattiesburg campus.
Three African American Women Scholars Honored With Awards
The honorees are Lissa Stapleton of the University of Southern Mississippi, Retha Hill of Arizona State University, and Karla FC Holloway of Duke University.
Black Enrollments at State Universities in Mississippi
There are 3,285 African Americans enrolled at the University of Mississippi this fall. They make up 14.2 percent of the total enrollments. Blacks make up 37.4 percent of the state's population.
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.
University of Southern Mississippi to Double Its Digital Archive of Civil Rights Era Oral Histories
The University of Southern Mississippi recently received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to digitize its collection of oral histories and make them available to the public. At the present time, many of the oral histories are on reel-to-reel or cassette tapes.
Two African American Leaders Are Stepping Down From Their University Posts
Linda R. Crump will soon step down as assistant to the chancellor for equity, access, and diversity programs at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and Royal P. Walker Jr. has retired from his position as executive director of the Institute of Disability Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Royal Walker Jr. Appointed by President Obama to the National Council on Disability
Royal P. Walker Jr. is the executive director of the Institute for Disability Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi. He will serve a four-year term on the council that advises the President and Congress on disability issues.
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.
