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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.
Harvard students and supporters marched through Harvard Square during a rally on Saturday to oppose the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmation action.
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
“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.”
Is it ever possible to reconcile clashing visions of national memory?
The post Socialist Nostalgia, Cuban State Power appeared first on Public Books.
In today’s newsletter: A stalemate between lecturers and universities has left thousands of exams and dissertations ungraded – what’s the dispute about, and how might it end?
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Good morning. Finishing the last exam of your degree course should be one of the happiest moments of a student’s career. The stress of finals is over, the hard work has paid off. Graduation beckons and, beyond that, the next exciting stage of life.
But for tens of thousands this summer, the reality is proving very different. A marking boycott by the union representing many UK university lecturers means that tests are being left ungraded and dissertations unassessed.
Net zero | The government’s plans to hit net zero have been criticised in a report by its own advisers that warns targets are being missed on nearly every front. Lord Deben, outgoing chair of the CCC, said the UK had “lost the leadership” on climate action shown at Cop26 in 2021 and done “a number of things” that were “utterly unacceptable”.
Julian Sands | A body that was discovered in the wilderness near Mount Baldy in California on Saturday has been confirmed to be that of the missing British actor Julian Sands. San Bernardino county sheriff’s department had been coordinating a search for the actor who was reported missing on 13 January.
Health | Senior doctors in England have voted to go on strike over pay for the first time in nearly 50 years. Hospital consultants will strike for two days on 20 July, which will bring major disruption to services that have already had to reschedule 651,000 appointments since a wave of NHS strikes began last December.
Covid | Matt Hancock has said he is “profoundly sorry” for his part in mistakes that meant the UK was not properly prepared for Covid. He told the Covid public inquiry that he had not properly challenged assurances that sufficient planning was in place.
UK economy | The UK’s largest mobile and broadband companies have been accused of fuelling “greedflation” after pushing through the biggest round of price hikes for more than 30 years. Six companies controlling most of the telecoms market all charged a 3.9% supplement on top of their annual inflation-linked increases this year, meaning millions of customers have faced mid-contract price increases of up to 17.3%.
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University says about 20% of final-year students will face delays if industrial action continues
More than 1,000 final year students at Durham University could be left without a degree this summer because of the marking boycott disrupting universities across the UK.
Durham, one of 145 universities affected by the industrial action over pay and working conditions called by the University and College Union (UCU), said about 20% of its 5,300 final year students would “at the moment, face delays in receiving all their marks and final classifications”.
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Ministers are ultimately responsible for weakening the arts and humanities. They are taking the country backwards
The announcement that the University of East Anglia is to cut 31 arts and humanities posts – out of a total of 36 academic job cuts – has rightly prompted anger as well as dismay. UEA became a literary flagship among the new universities that opened in the 1960s. This year is its 60th birthday, and since 1970 it has been home to one of the most famous creative writing courses in the world: founded by the novelists Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson, its students have included Anne Enright, Ian McEwan and the Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro.
There is shock, among alumni and observers, that the financial problems of the UK’s higher education sector now threaten such prestigious institutions. Once celebrated for their innovative approaches, 1960s campus universities were where different kinds of courses were developed. Creative writing is one example; media, development and women’s studies are others. In cutting the arts and humanities in these universities, managers and policymakers are turning back the clock – at a time when, arguably, there has never been a greater need for courageous innovation. Any idea that the risks are limited to the post-1992 universities should be junked.
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My former colleague Osman Durrani, who has died aged 77, was a scholar of German literature and culture with a broad range of research interests. He wrote books on Goethe, Faust and the Bible (1977) and Faust: Icon of Modern Culture (2004), and another on fictions of Germany in the modern novel. He also edited an anthology of German Romantic poetry and had a collection of his poems, After Sunset, published in 1978.
There was more to Osman’s range than classical literature, though. He was a close observer of the contemporary literary scene, a friend of the novelist Joseph von Westphalen, and a key participant in the 1990s at conferences on post-unification German themes, one of which he organised himself at University College Durham in 1994, resulting in the publication The New Germany: Literature and Society after Unification, co-edited with Colin Good and Kevin Hilliard. To the end of his life he enjoyed reviewing books, for academic journals and the Times Literary Supplement, insisting that a review should never take more than a day to write.
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Read more in this series: Cotton Capital
More and more institutions are commissioning investigations into their historical links to slavery – but the fallout at one Cambridge college suggests these projects are meeting growing resistance
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An unlucky cohort of undergraduates has been plagued by Covid restrictions, education strikes and finally a marking boycott
Emily Smith, a final-year geography student at Durham University, never imagined her already heavily disrupted university experience could end like this. She won’t be graduating this summer because half her work remains unmarked owing to a national marking boycott by lecturers.
She refuses to attend the “completion ceremony” Durham has offered her instead. Without an actual degree classification it seems like a “farce”. Like so many in this deeply unlucky cohort of students, she feels this is the last straw.
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Small number could attend graduation but later be told they have failed as pay dispute affects assessments at 145 universities
Tens of thousands of university students are being left in limbo without their final degree results this summer, including some who could attend graduation ceremonies only to be told later that they have failed.
About a third of the UK’s 500,000 final-year undergraduates are thought to have been affected by the marking and assessment boycott at 145 universities, part of the pay dispute between the University and College Union (UCU) and employers that has strained relations between staff, students and management.
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“I’m very skeptical about the ability of people in positions of power and privilege—including intellectuals—to name truths about the world.”
The post Don’t Save Yourself, Save the World: A Dialogue with Vincent Lloyd appeared first on Public Books.
Most university students supporting themselves say it is negatively affecting their studies, survey finds
The cost of living crisis is forcing more university students to take on more hours in their part-time jobs, with most saying that supporting themselves is affecting their studies, according to a new study.
More than half of the 10,000 students surveyed by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) said they did paid work during term time, with most saying they were using their wages to support their studies.
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