Dr. Jones has been serving as Mississippi Delta Community College's vice president of administrative and student services. He is slated to become the institution's 10th president on January 1.
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 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.
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 [email protected].
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.