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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.
Ben Vinson III is a historian, with his focus cast outside of the United States.
Vanderbilt University in Nashville held a ceremony honoring the 41 faculty members who have recently been appointed to endowed chairs. Several of these appointments went to Black scholars, including three who teach chemistry.
Rena Robinson, a professor of chemistry, is the inaugural Dorothy J. Wingfield Phillips Chair. The chair is named for Dorothy Phillips, the first black woman to complete a bachelor’s degree at Vanderbilt. Dr. Robinson’s research focuses on using technology to understand the molecular basis of health disparities in Alzheimer’s disease and sepsis. A graduate of the University of Louisville, Dr. Robinson earned a Ph.D. at Indiana University.
Steven Townsend, a professor of chemistry, holds the Stevenson Chair. His lab focuses on small molecule research involving the synthesis of natural products which may prove clinically useful in the treatment of human diseases ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders. He earned his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University.
Sean Seymore holds the Centennial Professorship in Law and is a professor of law and a professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt. He taught at Notre Dame Law School in 2021-22 as the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law. Professor Seymore had previously served on Vanderbilt Law faculty from 2010 to 2021. Before joining Vanderbilt, Seymore taught at Washington & Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. Professor Seymore earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Tennessee. He holds a master’s degree in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in chemistry as well as a juris doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.
Lisa Lynette Thompson now holds the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Black Homiletics and Liturgics. She was an assistant professor of Homiletics at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She is the author of Ingenuity: Preaching as the Outsider (Abingdon, 2018). Dr. Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds a master of divinity degree from the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and a master’s degree in religion and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.
Emily Townes holds the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Chair. She was most recently the dean of the Divinity School at the university. Before coming to Vanderbilt in 2013, Dr. Townes was the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology at Yale Divinity School. She is the author of Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). Dr. Townes holds a bachelor’s degree, a master degree in divinity, and a doctorate of divinity from the University of Chicago. She holds a second doctorate from the joint Northwestern University/Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary program.
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.
Dr. Fayneese Miller, the president of Hamline University, lost the confidence of the university’s full-time faculty members.
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.
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.
Bree Alexander was appointed clinical assistant professor and interim coordinator for the bachelor of social work degree program at the University of South Carolina. Earlier, she was a school-based therapist at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health.
Dr. Alexander completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Furman University in South Carolina. She earned a master of social work degree at the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in social work at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She is the youngest person to ever earn a Ph.D. in social work at Baylor.
Cajetan Iheka is the new director of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University. He is currently a fellow of the Whitney Humanities Center and a professor of English at Yale. Dr. Iheka joined the faculty at Yale in 2019 after teaching at the University of Alabama. He is the author of two books that bridge African studies, literary and media studies, and the environmental humanities: Naturalizing Africa: Ecological Violence, Agency, and Postcolonial Resistance in African Literature (Cambridge University Press, 2017) and African Ecomedia: Network Forms, Planetary Politics (Duke University Press, 2021).
Dr. Iheka is a graduate of Imo State University in Nigeria, where he majored in English education. He holds a master’s degree in English language and literature from Central Michigan University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Michigan.
Earl J. Edwards is a new assistant professor in the educational leadership and higher education development program in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. He had taught in the public schools in Providence, Rhode Island, and Los Angeles. Dr. Edwards is a co-author of All Students Must Thrive: Transforming Schools to Combat Toxic Stressors and Cultivate Critical Wellness (National Center for Leadership in Education, 2019).
Dr. Edwards is a graduate of Boston College, where he majored in sociology. He holds a master’s degree in school leadership from Teachers College at Columbia University and a Ph.D. in urban schooling from the University of California, Los Angeles
Peter Gitau was named vice chancellor for student affairs at the Spokane campus of Washington State University. Most recently, Dr. Gitau was the vice president for student services at Butte-Glenn Community College in Oroville, California. He has also held executive leadership positions at Utah Technical University, Northern Kentucky University, and Southern Illinois University.
Born and raised in Kenya, Dr. Gitau received his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He earned a master’s degree in educational administration from Eastern Illinois University and a doctoral degree in higher education administration from the University of Kansas.
Donald Miles is the new executive director of the Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Analytics at the University of South Carolina. He joined the staff at the university in 2012.
Miles is a graduate of the University of South Carolina-Aiken, where he majored in political science. He holds a master of public administration degree from Augusta University in Georgia.
Pat Kendrick was appointed interim executive director of athletics and recreation at Xavier University in New Orleans. She has been the head women’s volleyball coach at the university for the past six years. Prior to joining the staff at Xavier University, she served in various roles as a coach and instructor with USA Volleyball.
A native of Lorton, Virginia, Kendrick is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where she was a two-sport athlete in volleyball and track & field.
Joseph O. Montgomery is the new interim associate vice provost for enrollment management at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He was vice president for enrollment management and student success at Tuskegee University in Alabama.
Montgomery is a graduate of what is now Voorhees University in South Carolina, where he majored in biology. He holds a master’s degree in adult education from North Carolina A&T State University.
Brittney Johnson was named senior associate athletic director for compliance and senior woman administrator at Florida A&M University. Before joining FAMU, Johnson served as the associate athletic director for student-athlete development and academic success at the University of South Alabama.
Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from the University of Alabama in 2007. She holds a master’s degree in foods, nutrition, and wellness studies from Alabama A&M University and is working on a doctorate from Walden University.
Altheia Richardson has been named the inaugural chief diversity officer and vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at Newberry College in South Carolina. She currently is associate vice president for strategic diversity leadership at Clemson University in South Carolina.
Dr. Richardson is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. She holds an MBA and a doctorate in educational leadership from Clemson University.
D’Angelo Taylor has been named vice president for hope, unity, and belonging at Belmont University in Nashville. As part of this work, Dr. Taylor will lead the university’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. He has been serving as vice president for student affairs at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. Earlier, Dr. Taylor was the associate director of the Multicultural Center at the University of Southern Indiana.
Dr. Taylor holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Western Illinois University. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of New England.
Monae Roberts is the inaugural chief diversity officer for the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Roberts previously served as director of the LGBTQIA Resource Center and as a program coordinator at the Cross Cultural Center at the university.
Davis is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Davis holds a master’s degree in health and physical education from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in African American studies from Temple University in Philadelphia.
Derrick Harriell, an associate professor of African American studies and English at the University of Mississippi, is the new director of the university’s African American studies program. Dr. Harriell served as director of the master of fine arts in creative writing program at the university from 2014 to 2022.
A native of Milwaukee, Dr. Harriell holds a master’s of fine arts degree in creative writing from Chicago State University. He earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, a professor of obstetrics & gynecology and population & quantitative health sciences at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has been appointed the inaugural executive director of the medical school’s Collaborative in Health Equity. She was the founding director of the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic and director of the Office of Refugee Health in the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center at Arizona State University.
Dr. Johnson-Agbakwu is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where she majored in biology. She earned her medical degree at Cornell University.
Duane Watson, the Frank W. Mayborn Professor and professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, has been named associate provost for faculty development for the university. He has been serving as associate dean of equity, diversity, and inclusion for Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development.
Professor Watson, who joined the faculty at Vanderbilt in 2016 after teaching at the University of Illinois, is a graduate of Princeton University in New Jersey, where he majored in psychology. He earned a Ph.D. in brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Phylicia Rashad, dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University in Washington, D.C., has been named the inaugural holder of the Toni Morrison Endowed Chair in Arts and Humanities at the university. The chair was funded by a $3 million endowment that was part of a $40 million gift to the university in 2020 from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
An accomplished actor and stage director, Rashad is perhaps best known for her role as Claire Huxtable on the long-running television hit “The Cosby Show.” Dean Rashad is a graduate of Howard University and holds honorary doctorates from more than a dozen colleges and universities.
Misty De Berry was hired as an assistant professor of performance studies in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University beginning in the 2023-24 academic year. Dr. De Berry is currently a senior lecturer in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Dartmouth College.
Dr. De Berry is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She holds a master of fine arts degree from Columbia College in Chicago and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Antwan Lofton has been named vice president for human resources at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He has served as the interim vice president for human resources since April 2022, while also serving as the assistant vice president for staff and labor relations and staff and family programs since 2017.
Lofton is a graduate of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He earned a master’s degree at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Mya Jolly is the new director of public relations at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama. Before joining Miles College, Jolly worked for the community engagement firm CBG Strategies and at a public relations firm in Detroit.
Jolly is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she majored in communication with a public relations concentration and minored in political science.
Timothy A. Minor has been named interim vice chancellor for strategic partnerships at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He was vice president for development for the University of North Carolina System. Minor served as associate vice chancellor for university advancement at North Carolina A&T from 2008 to 2013.
Minor holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned a master of public affairs degree with a concentration in nonprofit management from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Lisa McClinton has been named the vice chancellor for finance and administration at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, effective April 1. She has been serving as vice chancellor for business and finance at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Earlier, she was associate vice chancellor for finance at the University North Carolina School of the Arts.
McClinton received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and management information systems from Winston-Salem State University and a master’s degree in accounting and financial management from the Keller Graduate School of Management.
Jessica Madison is the new executive director of strategic communications and marketing at Alabama State University in Montgomery. She was the assistant athletic director for development and marketing at the university. Earlier, she held positions with NASCAR, Arena Football, and the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
Madison earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in sport management from Troy University in Alabama. She is completing work on a doctorate through Walden University.
Marcus Byrd was appointed director of financial aid at Alabama A&M University. He was the director of financial aid at Coppin State University in Baltimore.
Byrd earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA with a concentration in management information systems from Alabama A&M University.
Michelle Robinson, an associate professor in the School of Dentistry, was given the added duties of senior vice provost for faculty affairs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Robinson has previously served as associate dean for Health Information and Business Systems and interim dean of the School of Dentistry.
Dr. Robinson is a graduate of Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. She earned a doctorate in dental medicine at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey.
Charles D. Brown II is a new assistant professor of physics at Yale University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked on experiments with ultracold atomic gasses trapped in optical lattices.
Dr. Brown is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he majored in physics. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from Yale University.
Patricia Smith was appointed professor in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, effective September 1. She is currently a visiting professor in creative writing at Princeton and a distinguished professor at the City University of New York, where she has taught since 2009. She is the author of eight books of poetry, including Incendiary Art (TriQuarterly, 2017), which won the 2018 Kingsley Tufts Award for Poetry.
Professor Smith earned a master of fine arts degree in creative writing at the University of Southern Maine.
Angela Byars-Winston, a professor of general internal medicine in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin, has been given the added duties as chair of the newly established Institute for Diversity Science at the university. She also serves as associate director in the Collaborative Center for Health Equity and as faculty lead in the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research.
Dr. Byars-Winston holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in counselor education from San Diego State University and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Arizona State University.
Kafui Kouakou has joined Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, as the assistant vice president of career development and experiential learning. Dr. Kouakou comes to Quinnipiac from Albion College in Michigan where he served as dean of the School for Public Purpose and Professional Advancement.
Dr. Kouakou earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and business administration from York College. He earned a master’s degree in economics from Brooklyn College and a doctorate in higher education administration from Northeastern University in Boston.
Rashonda Austin is the new director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She has served as interim director of undergraduate admissions since June 2022. Earlier, Austin served as associate director of undergraduate admissions since 2019.
Austin earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Teriya Richardson was named university physician at Texas Southern University in Houston. In this role, she will oversee the daily medical operations of Student Health Services. She is a former assistant professor at the University of Texas at Houston
A native of Chicago, Dr. Richmond received a bachelor’s degree from Mount Saint Clare College in Clinton, Iowa. She earned both a medical doctorate and a master of public health degree from the University of Illinois.
Troy Miller has been named vice president for strategic enrollment management at the University of Southern Indiana, effective April 3. Most recently, Miller served as the vice president for enrollment management and intercollegiate athletics at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. Earlier, he was the associate vice provost and director of admissions at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System.
Miller earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. He holds a master’s degree in human resource management and labor relations from the New York Institute of Technology and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Christian Mitchell has been named the next vice president for civic engagement at the University of Chicago, beginning April 1. He has been serving as the deputy governor for public safety, energy, and infrastructure under Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Mitchell is a 2008 graduate of the University of Chicago, where he majored in public policy. He earned a juris doctorate at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Vernese Edghill-Walden will be the inaugural vice president of equity and inclusive excellence at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, effective July 31. Edghill-Walden is currently vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion and chief diversity officer at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Earlier in her career, she was the director of the Center for Black Culture and Multicultural Programs at the University of Delaware for 12 years.
Dr. Edghill-Walden earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with minors in counseling and human service systems from Bucknell University. She went on to earn a master’s degree in education from the University of Delaware and a Ph.D. in sociology from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
B. Afeni McNeely Cobham has been named the first associate vice chancellor and vice provost for equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. Dr. McNeely Cobham was the inaugural chief equity and inclusion officer at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan, serving from 2018 to 2022. Earlier, Dr. McNeely Cobham served as an associate dean at Connecticut College, associate provost of student life and affiliate faculty at the University of Denver, and assistant dean at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Dr. McNeely Cobham is a graduate of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Indiana University.
Shawna Watkins is the new director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Tulsa campus of the University of Oklahoma. She was the director of workforce education at Texarkana College in Texas. Watkins has also been serving as the executive officer of the Northeast Texas Alliance of Black School Educators.
Watkins is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, where she majored in criminal justice. She holds a master of public administration degree from Arkansas State University.
Soyica Colbert, former interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and the Idol Family Professor of Performing Arts and African American Studies, was given the added duties of vice president for interdisciplinary initiatives at the university. She joined the faculty in 2013 and has served as chair of the department of performing arts and director of the Theater and Performance Studies Program. She is the author of Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry (Yale University Press, 2021),
Dr. Colbert is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Arisa White was promoted to associate professor of English and creative writing at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She was also granted tenure. She joined the faculty in 2018. White is the author of Who’s Your Daddy? (Augery Books, 2021).
White is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, where she majored in creative writing and literature. She holds a master of fine arts degree in English poetry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Samuel Johnson, a clinical associate professor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, was appointed chair of the department of radiology at the medical school. Dr. Johnson joined the WSU School of Medicine faculty as an assistant professor and section chief of ultrasound in 1990. He served as course director of radiologic anatomy for first-year medical students from 2003 to 2017.
Dr. Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and a medical doctorate at the University of Michigan.
Sherard Robbins is a new lecturer in the department of leadership, policy, and organizations at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development. He is a former assistant research professor in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Robbins is a graduate of Wheelock College, which is now part of Boston University. He holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from Salem State University in Massachusetts. Dr. Robbins earned a master’s degree in constitutional law and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Arizona.
Michelle Garfield Cook has been named the next vice president for student affairs at the University of Georgia. She has been serving as senior vice provost, where she oversaw strategic initiatives and programs spanning the University of Georgia while also leading the Office of Institutional Diversity.
Dr. Cook joined the staff at the university in 1998. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s degree from Yale University, and a Ph.D. from Duke University.
Tasha A. Carson has been appointed assistant vice president for first-year students in the Division of Enrollment Management at Tennessee State University. She was the executive director of new student programs and retention at the university. She joined the staff at Tennessee State in 2018.
Dr. Carson holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and human science and a master’s degree in counselor education from North Carolina Central University. She earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Jackson State University in Mississippi.
Anthony D. Henderson, Sr. was appointed director of athletics at Hampton University in Virginia, effective February 27. Henderson comes to Hampton from Yale University where he served as deputy director of athletics. Earlier, he was the senior associate athletics director and executive director of athletics advancement at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Henderson is a graduate of Hampton University, where he majored in marketing and played football. He holds a master’s degree in sports leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Brenda Tindal is the first chief campus curator for Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She has been serving as the executive director of Harvard Museums of Science and Culture. Earlier, she was the founding director of education and engagement for the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.
Tindal earned a bachelor’s degree in history and Africana studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds a master’s degree in American Studies from Emory University in Atlanta.
Anna Ponder was appointed vice president for alumni, development, and communications at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Dr. Ponder was vice chancellor for advancement at the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
Dr. Ponder earned a bachelor’s degree in French language and European history from Spelman College in Atlanta. She holds a master’s degree in international economics and African studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University.
Joshua Quinn Tucker was appointed the inaugural assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
Dr. Tucker earned dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and business administration at the University of Mississippi in 2017. He earned a juris doctorate from the university’s law school in 2020 and then earned a doctorate from the School of Education in 2022.
Lita Little Giddins was appointed associate vice president in the Office of Belonging at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Prior to this appointment, Little Giddins worked as the coordinator of diversity, collaboration, and inclusion in the College of Family, Home, and Social Science at the university.
Little Giddins holds a bachelor’s degree in sociocultural anthropology and a master of social work degree from Brigham Young University.
Steven Kniffley Jr., an expert on the treatment of race-based stress and trauma, has been named senior associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, effective May 8. Dr. Kniffley currently serves as chief diversity officer at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, where he is an associate professor in its School of Professional Psychology.
Dr. Kniffley is a graduate of the University of Louisville, where he majored in psychology. He holds a master of public administration degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a master’s degree and a doctorate in psychology from Spaulding University.
Alicia Richardson has been named the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging officer at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. Previously, Richardson had a 13-year career with SUNY Schenectady County Community College, for which she has been serving as interim chief diversity officer since September 2021.
Richardson is a graduate of the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut, where she majored in English language and literature. She holds a master’s degree in Africana studies from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System.
Historically Black Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina has announced that seven faculty members have been promoted to full professor. Three of these scholars are Black.
Ike Okonta is a professor of philosophy in the department of history, politics & social justice. He joined the faculty at the university in 1987. Dr. Okonta holds a master’s degree in political philosophy from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He earned a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Georgia.
Tennille Presley was promoted to professor of chemistry. Her research focuses on providing a better understanding of contributing factors to vascular dysfunction and blood disorders as they relate to overall functional health in diabetic individuals in the African American population. Dr. Pressley is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University. She earned a Ph.D. in biophysics from Ohio State University.
Pamela G. Jones was promoted to professor of biological sciences. Professor Jones is a graduate of Xavier University. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.
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