Presented by Harvard University, the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal is considered the university's highest honor in the field of African and African American studies.
After serving as interim dean for nearly a year and half, Dr. Morris has been selected to serve as permanent dean of the College of Business and Analytics at Southern Illinois University. He has been a faculty member with the university for two decades.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman brokered a deal with the Republican-controlled legislature that called for a freeze hiring for diversity positions through the end of 2026 and shift at least 43 diversity positions to focus on “student success.” But the deal was rejected by the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
In addition to her service as dean of the Honors College at Texas Southern University, Dr. Jemison Pollard was chair of the department of fine arts at the university for 10 years. She also was an award-winning university stage director who directed over 50 productions.
The three African Americans in new diversity roles at universities are Adrienne Morgan at the University of Rochester in New York, Algerian Hart at Missouri State University in Springfield, and Monica Smith for the University of Wisconsin System.
Williams Spriggs began his academic career teaching at North Carolina A&T State University and then at Norfolk State University in Virginia. In 2005, Dr. Spriggs joined the faculty at Howard University, where he chaired the economics department until 2009. He then served as assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Obama administration. He returned to Howard and was named chief economist at the AFL-CIO in 2012.
Dr. Smith joined the faculty of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California in 2002. Earlier, he served as the director of primary research for Ruder Finn Public Relations in New York City.
Dr. Smith joined the faculty of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California in 2002. Earlier, he served as the director of primary research for Ruder Finn Public Relations in New York City.
Appointed to new positions or taking on new duties are Michelle Robinson at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Charles D. Brown II at Yale University, Patricia Smith at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University in New Jersey, and Angela Byars-Winston of the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin.
A native of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Professor Broderick came to the United States in 1959 to attend what is now Otterbein University in Ohio. He later taught at North Carolina A&T State University, the University of Wisconsin, and universities in Brazil and Africa.
Taking on new roles or duties are Brian Burt at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kimberley McKinson at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Amber Wiley at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania, Eljenette West at the Mississippi University for Women, and Chelsea Mikael Frazier at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Michael C. Morgan is taking a leave from his faculty position to serve as assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction. In that capacity, he will serve as deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Baron Kelly was appointed to the Vilas Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Dance at the University of Wisconsin. Roxane Gay was appointed to the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair at Rutgers University in New Jersey and Cherene Sherrard-Johnson was appointed the E. Wilson Lyon Professor of the Humanities at Pomona College in California.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Texas have found that the high-stress environment of higher education may negatively impact the mental and physical health of Black women in the academic world.
Babatunde A. Ogunnaike, a native of Nigeria, was the William L. Friend Chair of Chemical Engineering and former dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware. He was an expert in process control, modeling and simulation, systems biology, and applied statistics.
Tyler Stovall was a renowned historian of modern Europe, professor, and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University. From 2014 to 2020, he was dean of humanities at the University of California, Santa Cruz
The leading feminist scholar bell hooks, the Distinguished Professor in Residence in Appalachian Studies at Berea College in Kentucky, died at her home in Berea on December 15 at the age of 69.
Minor most recently served as assistant vice chancellor and senior strategist in the Office of the Chancellor at California State University. Prior to his post at California State University, Dr. Minor served as deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. He will begin his new job on March 1.
Teresa A. Miller was senior vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and chief diversity officer for the State University of New York. Earlier, Miller was a tenured professor of law at the University at Buffalo, specializing in immigration law, criminal procedure, and prisoner law.