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Alumna Valerie Kinloch has been chosen to serve as the fifteenth president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. She will take office on August 1.
Historically Black Johnson C. Smith University enrolls just over 1,100 undergraduate students and a few dozen graduate students, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education. Officially, African Americans make up 72 percent of the student body but another 24 percent are listed as “race/ethnicity unknown.”
“It’s a dream come true to be invited to lead one of the finest historically Black colleges and universities in America – and at the same time come home,” Dr. Kinloch said. “My years at JCSU were some of the best of my life. This university set me on course to grow beyond anything I could imagine, so it is incredibly gratifying to return and give back to the institution that helped make me who I am.”
In 2017, Dr. Kinloch was named the Renée and Richard Goldman Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Previously, she held positions as associate dean and professor at Ohio State University and was a faculty member at Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City and at the University of Houston-Downtown. She is the author of Harlem on Our Minds: Place, Race, and the Literacies of Urban Youth (Teachers College Press, 2009).
A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Dr. Kinloch holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Johnson C. Smith University. She earned a master’s degree in English and African American literature and a Ph.D. in English and composition studies with a cognate in urban studies from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Pamela E. Scott-Johnson was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Spelman College in Atlanta, effective August 1. She has been serving as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Before joining Monmouth, Dr. Scott-Johnson served as the dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences at California State University, Los Angeles. She spent nearly 15 years on the psychology faculty at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Earlier, she held a tenured faculty post at Spelman College.
“I am thrilled to be returning to my alma mater as a member of the leadership team to help shape and enhance the academic landscape through which women of Spelman develop as change agents,” said Dr. Scott-Johnson. “Spelman has been and will continue to be a special place for women of African descent and how they impact the world. I look forward to guiding additional pathways for advancing faculty, at all levels, and delivering innovation in student success from retention to graduation.”
Dr. Scott-Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Spelman College. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology and neuroscience from Princeton University in New Jersey.
Allyson L. Watson was appointed provost and vice president for academic affairs at Florida A&M University. Dr. Watson, who came to the university in 2019 as dean of the College of Education, has served as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs since December 2022. Before she arrived at Florida A&M University, Dr. Watson served as the interim chief academic officer and dean at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Earlier, Dr. Watson spent nearly 14 years on the faculty at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where she held the Eddings Endowed Chair for Urban Education, Outreach & Research.
“Florida A&M University is an institution of academic excellence. I am honored to represent the significance of our history and the academic contributions we have accomplished and be at the helm of such an important time for our future,” Dr. Watson said. “Our future is bright, and I look forward to leading with vision, tenacity, and innovation.”
Dr. Watson holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. She earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational administration, curriculum, and supervision from the University of Oklahoma.
Ana Hunt was named provost of the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College. She has been serving as interim provost and previously was interim chancellor of the college. She joined Pulaski Tech in 2019 as registrar. Earlier, she was registrar at National Park College in Hot Springs, Arkansas. From 2012 to 2016, Dr. Hunt was registrar and enrollment coordinator at Baptist Health College in Little Rock, Arkansas.
“I’m humbled and very grateful that the search committee chose me,” Dr. Hunt said. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to offer the best educational experience in Arkansas.”
Dr. Hunt is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello. She holds a master’s degree in college student personnel from Arkansas Tech and a doctorate in educational leadership and management from Capella University.
Pamela J. Haney is the president of Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Illinois. She took office on July 1.
Moraine Valley Community College enrolls more than 10,500 students, according to the most recent data reported by the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 10 percent of the student body.
“It is an honor and privilege to be named as Moraine Valley’s president,” Dr. Haney said. “I’m following in the footsteps of a highly respected and committed leader from whom I’ve learned so much. As I begin my presidency, I promise to build on the college’s excellent foundation while advancing student success, innovation, community engagement, and mission-driven priorities.”
Since 2012, Dr. Haney has been serving as vice president for academic affairs at the college. Prior to coming to Moraine Valley in 2009, Dr. Haney served as program administrator and assistant professor of communication arts at Defiance College in Ohio. She also taught as an assistant professor of speech communication at Norfolk State University in Virginia.
Dr. Haney holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and a master’s degree in speech communication, both from Norfolk State University. She earned a doctorate in interpersonal communication from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Monika Williams Shealey was appointed dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Temple University in Philadelphia. She previously served as senior vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion and dean of the College of Education at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Earlier, Dr. Williams Shealey served as associate dean for teacher education at the School of Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Dr. Williams Shealey holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She earned her doctorate at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Kenyatta R. Gilbert has been named dean of the School of Divinity at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Since 2006, Dr. Gilbert has been a professor of homiletics at the divinity school. He is a nationally-recognized expert on African American preaching. He is the author of four books including A Pursued Justice: Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights (Baylor University Press, 2017).
Dr. Gilbert earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He holds a master of divinity degree and a Ph.D. in practical theology from the Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey.
Jonathan Bailey Holland has been named dean of the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, effective September 1. He has been serving as the Jack G. Buncher Head of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music in Pittsburgh. Earlier, he served on the faculties of the Berklee College of Music, the Boston Conservatory, and the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Dr. Holland received a bachelor’s degree in music from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He earned a Ph.D. in music from Harvard University.
Sharonda Ragland will serve as the acting dean for the School of Arts and Sciences at Virginia Union University in Richmond. She is an assistant professor of mathematics and interim chair of mass communications at the university. Earlier, she was assistant dean for undergraduate studies in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Ragland holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in applied and computational mathematics from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She is completing work on a doctorate in education from Regent University in Virginia Beach.
Twinette Johnson was named dean of the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia. She has been interim dean since August 2022. Prior to joining the faculty in 2017, Professor Johnson was an associate professor of law and director of the Academic Success Program at Southern Illinois University School of Law. Professor Johnson’s research interests include higher education access policy and learning theory models in legal education.
Dr. Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University. She earned a juris doctorate at Tulane University in New Orleans.
Derrick Brooms was appointed executive director of the Black Men’s Research Institute at Morehouse College in Atlanta, effective August 1. Dr. Brooms joins Morehouse from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where he is a professor of Africana studies and sociology and the associate department head of Africana studies. His research primarily centers on Black men and boys’ pathways to and through college, their engagement on campus and identity development, as well as their lived experiences and representations in the media. He is the author of several books including Being Black, Being Male on Campus: Understanding and Confronting Black Male Collegiate Experiences (SUNY Press, 2017) and Stakes is High: Trials, Lessons, and Triumphs in Young Black Men’s Educational Journeys (SUNY Press, 2021).
Dr. Brooms is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where he majored in African and African American studies. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Loyola University Chicago.
Sherrilyn Ifill is the inaugural holder of Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights at the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. Professor Ifill most recently served as the seventh president & director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. Earlier, she was a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore for 20 years.
Professor Ifill is a graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She earned a juris doctorate at New York University.
Aisha Ali-Gombe, an associate professor of computer science and engineering at Louisiana State University, was named the director of the university’s new Cybersecurity Clinic.
Dr. Ali-Gombe is a graduate of the University of Abuja in Nigeria, where she majored in computer science. She holds an MBA from Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria, and a master’s degree in computer science and a Ph.D. in engineering and applied science from the University of New Orleans.
Earlier, this year, historically Black Shaw University petitioned the Raleigh City Council to rezone 27 acres of its downtown campus, requesting that its property be redesignated as a “Mixed Business District.”
Some alumni of the university adamantly opposed the plan. They formed a group called Save Our Shaw that sought to block the plan. The proposal called for historic buildings Estey Hall, Tupper Memorial Hall, Leonard Hall, and Tyler Hall to the removed if they are damaged or destroyed to more than 50 percent of their respective total replacement costs. The proposal also included a change that would allow the existing heights of buildings to increase from 12 t0 30 stories, structures that would dwarf historic buildings on the Shaw campus, according to opponents of the plan.
Save Our Shaw held a Citizens United Against Gentrification Rally on June 10, ahead of the city council’s vote on the matter. Rally participants marched around the perimeter of Shaw’s campus, demanding that city leaders and university administration prioritize the needs of the students, the community, and other stakeholders, over profit-driven development schemes.
“We advocate for alternative solutions to gentrification and support efforts to preserve the university’s history and its surrounding area. Shaw is not just a physical space, but a cultural and historical landmark that should be protected and respected,” said Eugene Myrick, of Save Our Shaw.
But on June 20, the Raleigh City Council voted 5-3 in favor of approving Shaw University’s application for rezoning. The university agreed to save the historic buildings mentioned above and to limit the height of new construction in close proximity of the historic sites.
Shaw University President Dr. Paulette Dillard said: “The ShawU District – owned and controlled by the university – envisions and reimagines the campus and its facilities to model a new era of HBCU innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship for students. By leveraging our legacy and maximizing our potential, Shaw University will empower and equip new generations of learners and leaders, while deepening our roots and securing our future as an anchor in downtown Raleigh.”
Dr. Dillard added that “this outcome reflects a recognition of the university’s commitment to education and retaining and attracting new students – and the importance of progress, innovation, and growth. We look forward to continuing our mission of providing a quality education for our students while fostering positive relationships with our neighbors and the city of Raleigh.”
Columbia University and Southern University and A&M College, a historically Black university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize a new partnership that will facilitate faculty research collaborations; exchange and experiential learning programs for students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty; and innovation and economic development initiatives.
Pathway programs for students will be a major focus of the partnership, encouraging promising Southern University undergraduates to apply to Columbia Ph.D. programs for graduate studies, where they will be co-mentored by both Columbia and Southern faculty before returning to Southern for tenure-track positions.
Dennis Mitchell, executive vice president for university life, senior vice provost for faculty advancement, and professor of dental medicine at Columbia, said that “we are looking forward to opening up collaborations for students, faculty, and trainees across our campuses. By enhancing the diversity of Columbia graduate programs, and ultimately the professoriate, we are making a long-term investment in inclusive excellence that reaches far beyond our two institutions.”
“At this pivotal moment for HBCUs, when federal agencies have carved out funding for underserved institutions, we have extraordinary opportunities to leverage,” added Dennis J. Shields, president of the Southern University System and chancellor of Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College. “The intellectual capital and resources that a university like Columbia has, teamed up with an under-resourced but intellectually strong institution like Southern, could open new doors for faculty and students while creating a long-lasting impact on higher education.”
Historically Black Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh are expanding their educational partnership allowing associate degree graduates more opportunities to pursue bachelor’s degrees.
Wake Tech Community College enrolls more than 21,000 students. African Americans make up 22 percent of the student body.
Since 2012, the two institutions have offered transfer options for Wake graduates in business administration and criminal justice technology. According to the new agreement, graduates of any associate degree program at Wake Tech can now transfer up to 64 credits toward a four-year degree in an applicable degree program at the private historically Black university.
Under the new transfer agreement, students must complete an associate degree at Wake Tech with an overall grade point average of 2.0, and earn a grade of “C” or better in transfer courses. Students who meet the minimum transfer qualifications are eligible for a $2,000 per year scholarship. Students with a 2.8 or higher GPA with 40 hours of documented community service are also considered for the Community College Tuition Transfer Grant, a value of nearly $9,000 per year.
“This agreement reaffirms our commitment to our common goals, opening new pathways for students and creating new learning opportunities,” said Christine Johnson McPhail, president of Saint Augustine’s University. “We want to replicate the quality students receive at Wake Tech when they come to Saint Augustine’s University.”
Soraya M. Coley, president of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, has been selected to receive the 2023 Donna Shavlik Award from the American Council on Education. She will be honored at the Women’s Leadership Dinner at the American Council on Education’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
The American Council on Education established the Donna Shavlik Award to commemorate the long and outstanding service of Donna Shavlik, former director of ACE’s Office of Women in Higher Education. Presented annually, the award honors an individual who demonstrates a sustained commitment to advancing women in higher education through leadership and career development.
“Throughout her decades-long career, President Coley has demonstrated a sustained and continuing commitment to the advancement of women through actions or initiatives enhancing women’s leadership development,” said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education. “President Coley’s unwavering dedication to advancing women in higher education exemplifies the spirit behind the ACE Donna Shavlik award.”
Dr. Coley has spent nearly her entire career in the California State University system, rising from lecturer to a tenured faculty member, department chair, dean, provost, and president. She is the first woman and first African American scholar to serve as president of Cal Poly Pomona.
Before being named president of Cal Poly Pomona, Dr. Coley was provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Bakersfield. Earlier in her career, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Alliant International University and as dean of the College of Human Development and Community Service at California State University, Fullerton.
Dr. Coley is a graduate of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where she majored in sociology. She holds a master’s degree in social planning and social work and a Ph.D. in social planning and policy from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.
Phillip D. Jones was appointed vice president for institutional effectiveness and strategic planning at Hampton University in Virginia. He has been serving as the mayor of Newport News, Virginia.
Jones is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. He holds a master of public policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Karla C. Lewis has been named the associate director of state and community relations at the SERVE Center of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to this role, she focused on evaluations of Early College high school projects, student support services, and STEM initiatives at the university.
Dr. Lewis is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she majored in sociology. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in educational policy studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Andrea Simpson will serve as chief information security officer at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was the chief information security officer at the Federal Communications Commission.
Simpson holds a master’s degree in information systems and telecommunications from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Camacia Smith-Ross has been appointed chief of staff at Southern University New Orleans. She is the former dean of the School of Education at Louisiana College in Pineville. Earlier in her career, Dr. Smith-Ross was an assistant professor of education at Southern University.
Dr. Smith-Ross is a graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, where she majored in elementary education. She holds a master’s degree in urban education and leadership from the University of New Orleans and an educational doctorate in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
Zenobia Lane was named vice president for human resources at Santa Clara University in California. She has been serving in the role on an interim basis. Before joining the staff at Santa Clara University, Lane held human resources leadership roles in Pennsylvania at Saint Joseph’s University and at Swarthmore College.
Lane earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in human resources management from Walden University.
Randall Robinson, a lawyer, civil rights activist, and educator died from aspiration pneumonia on March 23 in Basseterre, St. Kitts, where he had lived for the past two decades. Robinson was 81 years old.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Robinson attended what is now Norfolk State University but left to join the U.S. Army. After military service, Robinson earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at Virginia Union University. He held a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School. At Harvard, it was the first time Robinson had ever sat in a classroom with White students.
After law school, Robinson worked as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill. In 1977, he established the TransAfrica Forum. According to the group’s website, TransAfrica is a “research, educational and organizing institution for the African-American community, offering constructive analysis concerning U.S. policy as it affects Africa and the African Diaspora in the Caribbean and Latin America.” While leading TransAfrica, Robinson became one of the strongest voices in the United States against South African apartheid. In 1994, Robinson went on a 27-day hunger strike to protest U.S. policy toward Haiti.
Robinson worked at Penn State jointly as a professor of law at the University Park campus and as a professor at the Penn State School of International Affairs from 2008 to 2016. He was the author of seven books including Defending the Spirit: A Black Life in America (Dutton, 1998). In the book, Robinson stated “I am obsessively Black. Race is an overarching aspect of my identity. America has made me that way.”
“Randall Robinson was an intellectual giant,” said Victor Romero, a professor of law at Penn State. “His pathbreaking work in the area of international human rights and social justice, especially regarding the history and condition of Africans and African-Americans, was particularly influential and still resonates today.”
Ella Nora Phillips was born in Stringtown, West Virginia, in 1893. She had planned to become a teacher but decided to marry Charles Phillips who was a chauffeur in Pittsburgh. The couple had a daughter who died from whooping cough. Then Phillips Myers applied to the School of Pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh. But she was rejected. She persisted and eventually was admitted in 1914. In the classroom, White males had the first rows of seats, and they were followed, in descending order, by White females, then Jews, then Blacks. She graduated in 1916 and became the first Black woman to practice pharmacy in Pennsylvania.
Myers established a drugstore in Pittsburgh before marrying fellow Pitt pharmacy graduate William Stewart in 1920. She changed her name to Ella P. Stewart. After moving to Ohio, she became the first Black pharmacist and employee to work at Youngstown City Hospital. Later, she and her husband then opened Toledo’s first Black-owned and operated drugstore.
Now the University of Pittsburgh is recognizing Stewart by naming a conference room in her honor. A portrait of Stewart commissioned by the university will hang on a wall of the conference room.
Stewart died in 1987. Her papers and memorabilia are held in archives at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University. An elementary school in Toledo was named in her honor.
Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black educational institution in Texas, has established a new partnership centered on an undergraduate certificate program called Peace Corps Prep. Students in the Peace Corps Prep program will combine targeted coursework with hands-on experience, building the competencies needed to be strong Peace Corps volunteers or other intercultural fieldworkers.
Peace Corps Prep will be structured as an interdisciplinary certificate program housed in PVAMU’s Office of International Programs. Through a combination of coursework and hands-on experience, students will develop four core competencies that are critical to intercultural fieldwork: foreign language proficiency, intercultural competence, professional and leadership development, and sector-specific skills in one of Peace Corps’ six sectors.
“Prairie View A&M University is pleased to partner with the Peace Corps, as the collaboration will help us advance an important aspect of our mission, which seeks to invest in programs and services that address issues and challenges affecting the diverse ethnic and socioeconomic population of Texas and the larger society including the global arena,” said Godlove Fonjweng, executive director of international programs at the university, who will also serve as the Peace Corps Prep coordinator. “The Peace Corps Prep program offers our students the opportunity to hone the skills they will need to be successful in the international arena, either as Peace Corps volunteers or serving the global community in other capacities.”
Barnard A. Jones was promoted to associate professor in the division of criminal justice and homeland security of the Lesley H. and Williams L. Collins College of Professional Studies at St. John’s University in Staten Island, New York. He was also granted tenure.
Dr. Jones earned a master’s degree in emergency management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a second master’s degree in management information systems from Kean University in Union, New Jersey. He holds a doctorate in civil security leadership, management, and policy from New Jersey City University.
Artha Gillis, a psychiatrist who studies the long-term effects of early-life adversity on children, will be the inaugural holder of the RNPH Board Advisors Term Chair in Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Gillis has been a member of the UCLA faculty since 2021, after serving as a staff psychiatrist at UCLA Health. She specializes in evaluating and treating children who have experienced sexual trauma.
Dr. Gillis holds a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and a medical doctorate from the University of California, Davis.
Terry-Ann Jones, professor of political science and director of the Africana studies program at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has been appointed the deputy provost for undergraduate education at the university. She was on the faculty at Fairfield University in Connecticut for 15 years before joining the faculty at Lehigh in 2020.
Dr. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Latin American and Caribbean studies from York University in Toronto. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in international studies from the University of Miami.
David Staten, a professor of rehabilitation counseling, has been named associate provost for academic affairs at South Carolina State University. He has served in the role on an interim basis since December 2021. He has been on the faculty for 22 years. Dr. Staten was the first African American man to serve as the president of the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association.
Dr. Staten received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in rehabilitation both from South Carolina State University. He received a Ph.D. in rehabilitation counselor education from the University of Iowa.
The Graduate School and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville has partnered with historically Black Fisk University to create a groundbreaking new postdoctoral fellowship program.
These fellowships have been designed to offer opportunities for recent Vanderbilt Ph.D. graduates to build their teaching and scholarship portfolios, receive mentoring from faculty at both institutions and allow time for publishing their dissertations or preparing other research papers. Fellows will be considered by Fisk for faculty positions, with the goal of leading to tenure-track positions.
Two, 24-month fellowships will be available for the inaugural cohort which will launch this fall. Over the next few years, the cohorts will grow to five and then 10 members, and the plan is to eventually welcome applicants from outside Vanderbilt. The program’s aim is to serve as a national model for predominantly White institutions and historically Black colleges and universities to collaborate to prepare new generations for the professoriate.
“This collaboration with Fisk creates an innovative opportunity for Vanderbilt doctoral students to strengthen their preparation for the professoriate,” said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “One aim of our initiative is to provide everyone in our university community with opportunities for deeper engagement and more mentoring, across our campus and beyond. We are proud to partner with another leading Nashville university for the benefit of both of our campus communities.”
The Bancroft Prize is one of the nation’s top honors in the field of American history. The prizes are awarded annually by Columbia University for books published in the previous year, and judged by a panel of distinguished historians “in terms of scope, significance, depth of research, and richness of interpretation that they present in the areas of American history and diplomacy.” The prize includes a $10,000 award.
This year, one of the three winners is Black.
Kelly Lytle Hernández holds the Thomas E. Lifka Chair of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. She was honored for her book Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands (W.W. Norton, 2022). The book is an “ambitious and exciting study of the Mexican Revolution as both Mexican and American history focused on the liberal-turned-anarchist Ricardo Flores Magón and the radical men and women that surrounded him,” according to the prize committee.
Dr. Lytle Hernández is also the director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. Currently, Professor Lytle Hernández is the director and principal investigator for Million Dollar Hoods, a university-based, community-driven research project that maps the fiscal and human cost of mass incarceration in Los Angeles.
Professor Lytle Hernández is s graduate of the University of California, San Diego and earned a Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles
The University of the District of Columbia, a historically Black educational institution in Washington, has entered into an agreement with Michigan Technological University. The agreement calls for:
• Student exchanges and graduate study articulations,
• Faculty collaborations and visiting professorships
• Joint funding proposals and philanthropy.
According to the agreement, Michigan Technological University will provide mentorship in helping the University of the District of Columbia attain R2 status within the Carnegie Classification system for research universities. In return, UDC will provide cultural responsiveness mentorship to MTU.
The agreement encourages individual colleges and departments within each university to collaborate on mutually supportive endeavors. Colleges, departments, and faculty will be able to create sub-agreements underneath the umbrella of the overall partnership.
Ronald Mason Jr., president of the University of the District of Columbia, the agreement is an incredible opportunity for both universities to expand their global reach.“We look forward to seeing how our partnership impacts not only our respective schools but the world,” he said. “This collaboration is a collective commitment to go beyond common boundaries.”
Michigan Technological University in Houghton enrolls nearly 6,000 undergraduate students and more than 1,200 graduate students, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Education. Blacks make up just one percent of the undergraduate student body.
Greg Hart has been named chief technology officer at Washington University in St. Louis. Most recently, he has been vice president of corporate engineering for Faith Technologies Inc. of Lenexa, Kansas. Prior to that, he served for four years as vice president of enterprise project management and performance improvement for Mosaic Life Care, a four-hospital health system in Kansas City.
Dr. Hart earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and technology from California University of Pennsylvania. He holds an MBA from Ashland University in Ohio and a Ph.D. in information technology management from Capella University.
Brenda Murrell is the new associate vice chancellor for research in the Office of Sponsored Programs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. She has served in the role on an interim basis for the past year. She has been on the staff at the university for 17 years.
Murrell holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Memphis and a bachelor’s degree in management from Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis. She earned an MBA in finance from Christian Brothers University in Memphis.
Todd Misener was appointed assistant vice president in the Division of Student Affairs at Oklahoma State University. Since 2016, he has been the chief wellness officer at the university. Earlier, Dr. Misener was assistant director of wealth and fitness at Western Kentucky University.
Dr. Misener is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where he majored in kinesiology. He holds a master of public health degree from Western Kentucky University and a Ph.D. in health promotion from the University of Louisville.
D’Andra Mull will be the next vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder, effective June 1. Dr. Mull most recently served as vice president for student life at the University of Florida. Prior to her position at the University of Florida, she held leadership positions at Ohio State University.
Dr. Mull is a graduate of Kent State University in Ohio. She holds a master’s degree in adult education and human resource management from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in educational policy and leadership from Ohio State University.
Khala Granville is the new director of undergraduate admission and recruitment at Morgan State University in Baltimore. She is the former dean of admissions at the College of Charleston in South Carolina and a senior associate director of admissions, diversity recruitment, and outreach at Indiana University.
Granville holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Louisville. She earned a master of divinity degree from the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.
A Black Lives Matter banner hanging on the outside wall of the Degenstein Campus Center on the campus of Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, was vandalized.
Campus police identified the person responsible for the vandalism. He was a Pennsylvania State University student who was visiting friends at Susquehanna. The student admitted to being intoxicated when the vandalism occurred.
Susquehanna President Jonathan D. Green condemned the vandalism saying the “hateful act violates our university values and is hurtful to everyone, and especially to our students, colleagues, neighbors, and friends within the Black community. The timing of this targeted destruction follows recent social-media commentary opposing our principled efforts to foster an inclusive and welcoming community.”
The University of California System has announced application totals from California students for its nine undergraduate campuses for the class that will enter this coming fall. Systemwide 132,226 students from California applied to at least one of the nine campuses. Of these, 8,519 students were African Americans, making up 6 percent of all applicants.
The total number of applicants to the university system was down slightly from a year ago. That year Blacks were 7 percent of all applicants.
African Americans made up 6 percent of the applicants at the flagship Berkeley campus but the total number of Black applicants to Berkeley was down slightly from a year ago.
At the University of California at Los Angeles, Blacks made up 7 percent of all applicants, the highest level of any of the nine undergraduate campuses. But again the number of Black applicants to UCLA was down slightly from a year ago.
At all other undergraduate campuses, Blacks were either 5 or 6 percent of total applicants.
By state law, public universities in California at not permitted to consider race in admissions decisions.
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