Black Issues in Higher Education articles from December 2003

Black Issues in Higher Education archives from December 2003

From political speak to free speech.(Editor's Note)
December 4, 2003... With the presidential primaries around the corner, we're taking a look at what the nine Democratic candidates as well as the Republican Party are doing to connect with Black voters. Similar to visits to Black churches on Sunday mornings,...

Lieberman, Dean announce higher education plans: tuition assistance, increased funding at center of both proposals.(Washington Update)
December 4, 2003... Democratic Presidential candidates Joe Lieberman and Howard Dean announced higher education plans last month aimed at increasing college access and funding resources. The Connecticut senator's plan sets a goal that by the year 2020, at...

International students to pay $100 fee for SEVIS administration.(Washington Update)
December 4, 2003... The Department of Homeland Security announced at the end of October that most international students are now required to pay a $100 fee to cover the cost of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) that tracks their...

House committee passes bill to ease immigrants' access to college.(Washington Update)
December 4, 2003... The Senate Judiciary Committee in October passed the DREAM Act on a 16-3 vote, pushing forward a bill that would make it easier for undocumented immigrants to attend U.S. colleges. About 50,000 undocumented immigrants graduate from U.S....

Education Department, corporate sponsors offer financial advice to HBCUs.(Washington update)
December 4, 2003... The Education Department and two blue chip companies held the first of three annual seminars last month to advise presidents of historically Black colleges and universities on how to better manage their institution's finances. JP Morgan...

First amendment flap: Hampton controversy illustrates long-standing tension between HBCUs and student press.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... HAMPTON, VA. Hampton University's confiscation of student newspapers earlier this semester is a reminder of the long-standing problems of maintaining a free press at Black colleges and building strong journalism programs there. In...

Grambling figures into outcome for Louisiana governor: financial problems, credentials controversy come back to haunt Republican candidate.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... BATON ROUGE, LA. Grambling State University's recent financial problems came back to haunt former University of Louisiana System President Bobby Jindal in the recent runoff for Louisiana governor The 32-year-old Republican ran into...

AIDS treatment study in Africa enrolls first participants.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... CHAPEL HILL, N.C. After overcoming numerous financial and governmental obstacles, doctors have enrolled five people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in the first National Institutes of Health-funded AIDS treatment research...

More women apply to medical school, but minority enrollees continue to decline.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... WASHINGTON After a six-year decline, the number of applicants to U.S. medical schools is on the rise, according to data released last month by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The increase is primarily due to the rise...

Foreign language enrollment hits record level.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... NEW YORK More students are studying foreign languages than ever, and the variety of languages being taught is greater than ever, according to a recent survey. "Students are clearly recognizing the importance of learning other...

Former Meharry Medical School dean wins Nickens Award.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... WASHINGTON A former dean of the school of medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., has been named fire most recent recipient of the Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) prestigious Herbert W. Nickens, M.D.,...

Efforts to improve transfer agreements between schools gain $2.5 million boost.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... WASHINGTON A $2.5 million grant will help a national coalition make postsecondary education more accessible to interested students by changing transfer policies in higher education and improving shared technology for planning, financial...

New affirmative action issues expose split U.S. Supreme Court.(Affirmative Action Watch)
December 4, 2003... WASHINGTON Fresh off the divisive University of Michigan cases involving affirmative action in college admissions, a divided U.S. Supreme Court refused last month to consider the constitutionality of a Denver law that gives minority- and...

Court hears arguments in Mississippi College desegregation appeal.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... NEW ORLEANS The $503 million settlement reached in the Mississippi college desegregation case is "unconstitutional, unreasonable and unfair" to the state's three historically Black universities, a lawyer for plaintiffs opposed to the deal...

Singer Ray Charles donates $1 million to Dillard University.(Noteworthy News)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... NEW ORLEANS Singer Ray Charles donated $1 million to Dillard University last month to create an endowed chair and program in African American material culture. The program will be designed to study music, food and other African...

Shifting in Division I-A conference influences graduation rates.(Noteworthy News)
December 4, 2003... ORLANDO, FLA. Recent changes ill the Division I-A conference has not only influenced the game of football but conference graduation rates as well, according to a new study. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the...

Counting on Black votes: will democrats inspire their most loyal constituency to the polls? Historically Black colleges offer symbolic venue for candidates wanting to connect with Black voters.
December 4, 2003... The push for a connection between Black American voters and the campaigns of Democratic Party presidential candidates reached a symbolic high in September when the contenders squared off in a nationally televised debate on the campus of Morgan...

Can the GOP up the ante? Some political scholars challenge the Republican party's quest for Black and Latino voters.
December 4, 2003... When Colin Powell took the podium at the 2000 GOP national convention, his words of apparent reconciliation--"The party must follow (Gov. Bush's) lead in reaching out to minority communities, and particularly the African American community, and...

A library fit for a King; university, city officials pool funds, resources to build an institution for all ages.
December 4, 2003... SAN JOSE, CALIF. San Jose's spanking new library, the nation's first city-university library, is confronting an unexpected problem in its first few months: success. The library is simply much more popular than city and university officials...

Research schools work to improve classroom use of computer games.(Tech Talk)
December 4, 2003... CAMBRIDGE, MASS. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Wisconsin have launched the Education Arcade, an initiative that seeks to transform the way video and computer games are used in the...

Caltech to host summer science program for high-school students.(Tech Talk)
December 4, 2003... VIENNA, VA. The Virginia-based Center for Excellence in Education (CEE), furthering its mission of nurturing careers of leadership and excellence in science and technology, is teaming up with the California Institute of Technology to host...

Music college offers lessons via online program.(tech briefs)
December 4, 2003... BOSTON The Berklee College of Music, the world's largest independent music college, has announced the launch of a free, downloadable computer program that provides music lessons. The program, Berklee Shares, encourages musicians to share...

Wiredscholar.com launches Web site for guidance counselors.(tech briefs)
December 4, 2003... RESTON, VA. Wiredscholar.com, Sallie Mac's award-winning college financial planning Web site, has recently launched a new online resource for high-school guidance professionals. The High School Counselor Resource, available at , helps...

Getting online with a discounted Internet service provider.(Personal Computing)
December 4, 2003... Broadband may be the cutting edge in Internet access, with cable and DSL modern users surfing the Net at blazing speeds. But you pay more for this privilege. Many Internet novices are America Online subscribers. AOL is the world's largest...

Valerie Dorsey Allen has been named director of the African American Resource Center at the University of Pennsylvania.(On The Move)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Allen brings extensive experience as a career development counselor and student services manager with the Department of Labor Job Corps Program. She earned a bachelor's degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Ulysses Brown has been appointed professor of management at Florida A&M University.(On The Move)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Brown, a participant in The PhD Project, had a career in the U.S. Navy before deciding to pursue graduate education. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Valdosta State University and a doctorate from Jackson State University in...

Dr. Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina is the new director of Pan-African studies and professor of English at Barnard College.(On The Move)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Previously, Gerzina was director of Africana Studies at Vassar College for 14 years. She earned a bachelor's from Marlboro College in Vermont, a master's from Simmons College and a doctorate in English and comparative literature from Stanford...

Dr. Darrick Hamilton has been named assistant professor in the urban policy analysis and management program at New School University in New York.(On The Move)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... He earned a bachelor's from Oberlin College and a doctorate in economics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Patricia Mell has been appointed dean of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.(On The Move)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... She was previously associate dean at Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law. She earned a bachelor's from Wellesley College and a juris doctorate from Case Western Reserve University Law School.

Kenneth L. Whitehurst has been named associate vice president for academic and student services for the North Carolina Community College system office.(On The Move)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Whitehurst has been a campus administrator within the North Carolina Community College system for 17 years. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Duke University.

Howard University College of Medicine (D.C.), Meharry Medical College (Tenn.), Morehouse School of Medicine (Ga.) and the Charles R. Drew University of Science and Medicine (Calif.) will each receive a grant of $25,000 from Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care.(Grants & awards)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Howard University College of Medicine (D.C.), Meharry Medical College (Tenn.), Morehouse School of Medicine (Ga.) and the Charles R. Drew University of Science and Medicine (Calif.) will each receive a grant of $25,000 from Nova Nordisk, a...

New York University School of Medicine.($5 million grant received)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... New York University School of Medicine has received a $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the nation's first Center for the Study of Asian American Health.

Norfolk State University.(250,000 grant received)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Norfolk State University's SkillTek program (Va.) received a $250,000 grant from the civil rights division of the Virginia Department of Transportation to develop a construction curriculum module.

Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the deaf has received $500,000 from the New York State Education Department.(Grants & awards)
December 4, 2003... Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical institute for the deaf has received $500,000 from the New York State Education Department. The money will be used to continue professional development training for sign language...

The University of Notre Dame (Ind.) and the University of San Diego (Calif.) each received $50 million from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, the widow of the founder of the McDonald's fast-food chain.(Grants & awards)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... The University of Notre Dame (Ind.) and the University of San Diego (Calif.) each received $50 million from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, the widow of the founder of the McDonald's fast-food chain. The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International...

The University of Rhode Island received a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.(Grants & awards)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... The University of Rhode Island received a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will be used to expand the number of tenured female scientists, provide career opportunities for women on the faculty and...

Events.(Calendar)
December 4, 2003... JANUARY 2004 Jan. 2-6 Association of American Law School 2004 Annual Meeting Atlanta Web: www.aals.org Jan, 15-16 University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) Workforce Development Forum "Forging Partnerships: Why Business,...

More implications of the Michigan decisions.(Last Word)
December 4, 2003... Colleges and universities this June received a momentous set of rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court in the twin University of Michigan affirmative action decisions. The court gave major new guidance on the permissible consideration of race in...

The highly anticipated year in higher education.(Editor's Note)
December 18, 2003... I began my last Editor's Note in 2002 with "2003 is gearing up to be a memorable year," primarily because we knew by then that the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to hear the University of Michigan's Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger...

Democrats' bill would penalize states that slash higher education.(Washington Update)
December 18, 2003... The best way to keep tuition costs from climbing is to lean on states that cut college budgets. At least that is the thinking behind a new bill proposed by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats say their initiative makes...

House passes bill to create Black history, culture museum.(Washington Update)
December 18, 2003... The House voted overwhelmingly last month to establish national museum of Black history and culture, pushing the plan a step closer to reality after 15 years of efforts by veteran civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. Lewis has...

House, Senate negotiators agree on D.C. school voucher plan.(Washington Update)
December 18, 2003... Congressional negotiators agreed last month on a private-school voucher plan for the District of Columbia that would be the first federally funded voucher program. The deal, part of an emerging spending package for the nation's capital and...

House bill could return $340 million to Pell Grant program.(washington update)
December 18, 2003... House Republicans introduced a bill last month to reduce fraud in the Pell Grant program, a move they say could free up as much as $340 million for the higher education program. The lawmakers say they would use the additional funds to...

College students spending more time in remedial courses, report says.(washington update)
December 18, 2003... More than a third of students at two-year and four-year colleges spent an average of a year in remedial courses, and those that did spent more time in those courses in 2000 than they did in 1995, a new report says. More than 40 percent of...

ETS identifies factors affecting student achievement.(washington update)
December 18, 2003... The Educational Testing Service (ETS) released a report last month detailing more than a dozen factors related to student achievement. "The gaps in student achievement mirror inequalities in those aspects of school, early life and home...

Federally funded grants, loans send more D.C. residents to college.(washington update)
December 18, 2003... More residents from the District of Columbia are attending colleges far from home, taking advantage of a federally funded grant program that pays for up to $10,000 of out-of-state tuition, and an expanded feature this year that offers $2,500...

Dean announces plan to Bolster K-12 education, reform no child Left Behind Act.(washington update)(Howard Dean)
December 18, 2003... Leading Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean visited a school in Iowa last month to announce a plan to strengthen K-12 education that was long on promises but short on specifics. Dean unveiled his plan in Davenport, Iowa, before a...

Report, educators call for more study abroad programs: lack of global knowledge threatens the nation's security, future, experts say.(Noteworthy News)
December 18, 2003... WASHINGTON Americans don't know enough about the world in which they live, according to a new report by an international-education task force, which calls for a "national effort" to reverse the trend. The report says higher education is...

Florida Court says NAACP can challenge anti-affirmative action measures.(Noteworthy News)
December 18, 2003... TALLAHASSEE, FLA. The Florida Supreme Court ruled last month that the NAACP can challenge the governor's elimination of racial and gender preferences in state university admissions. The 4-3 ruling overturned a 2002 decision by the 1st...

California State University expected to turn away up to 15,000 students next year.(noteworthy news)
December 18, 2003... LONG BEACH, CALIF. California State University expects to turn away up to 15,000 new students next year as it faces record enrollment growth and a statewide budget deficit, the chancellor said last month. Chancellor Charles B. Reed...

FAMU law school officials break ground for new campus.(noteworthy news)(Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... ORLANDO, FLA. Florida A&M University broke ground for its new law school campus last month, giving the historically Black school a permanent home to educate future lawyers for the first time since 1968. "It's a great feeling to know...

Study finds prostate cancer treatment less successful for Blacks.(noteworthy news)
December 18, 2003... CHAPEL HILL, N.C. Black men tend to have poorer overall survival rates than White men after being treated for localized prostate cancer, a new study shows. The findings, published in a November issue of the Journal of the National...

Racism, sexism persist on U.S. college campuses, study finds.(noteworthy news)
December 18, 2003... COLUMBIA, Mo. A new study shows large numbers of female and minority faculty experience a particularly challenging and sometimes hostile campus climate, even as universities across the United States seek to create an academic environment...

Radio, magazine advertising contributes to racial inequality, researchers say.(noteworthy news)
December 18, 2003... UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. Radio and magazine advertising has helped promote racial and ethnic inequality in the United States by limiting minority visibility, exploiting minority consumers and perpetuating stereotypes in the ads themselves,...

Benchmarks & Barriers for People of Color in Higher Education.
December 18, 2003... JUNE 17-19, 2004 Marriott Crystal Gateway Arlington, Virginia (Washington, D.C. metropolitan area) A special conference commemorating the 20th anniversary of Black Issues In Higher Education 2004 A YEAR OF REMEMBRANCE AND...

New name for Mary Washington College sparks controversy.(noteworthy news)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... FREDERICKSBURG, VA. Mary Washington College's board of visitors voted last month to recommend the new moniker "University of Mary Washington"--after students, faculty and alumni balked at more drastic name changes. Earlier a committee...

Razor-maker Gillette to partner with N.C. A&T to provide career opportunities for students.(noteworthy news)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... GREENSBORO, N.C. Razor and battery manufacturer Gillette will give $1 million to North Carolina A&T State University over the next three years in a partnership that will provide career opportunities for minority students. The program,...

Ruth Simms Hamilton (1937-2003).(In Memoriam)(Biography)
December 18, 2003... The Michigan State University community, along with others in higher education, mourned the loss of long-time MSU professor of sociology Ruth Simms Hamilton. She was 66 years old. "Dr. Hamilton was a valued member of our community for more...

Mississippi State names first Black SEC head coach.(noteworthy news)
December 18, 2003... STARKVILLE, Miss. For the first time in its 71-year history, the Southeastern Conference has an African American head football coach. Sylvester Croom, a veteran of 28 years coaching on the professional and collegiate levels, was named head...

Silas Purnell (1923-2003).(In Memoriam)
December 18, 2003... An African proverb says, "I am because we are and because we are, therefore, I am." Silas Purnell didn't believe that he was an important person. He believed, like the African proverb, that he was only important because of the work he was doing...

Top HBCU Bands selected for Honda showcase.
December 18, 2003... ATLANTA From a field of 43 historically Black college and university (HBCU) marching bands, 10 have been selected to perform at the second annual Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase, Jan. 24 at the Georgia Dome. With all the...

A year in review: black issues looks back over a year of educational highlights.
December 18, 2003... Ten years since the death of scholar athlete Arthur Ashe, 100 years since the publication of W.E.B. Du Bois' timeless The Souls of Black Folk--2003 has been another memorable year. But what probably most set the tone for the year ahead in...

School vouchers: a wedge issue for African Americans?(Speaking Of Education)
December 18, 2003... Thanks to President George W. Bush's early morning arm-twisting and a blatant Republican disregard for Congressional rules (with a 15-minute vote taking more than three hours while Republican leadership pressured dissenting members of Congress...

Celebrating culture, revisiting classics.
December 18, 2003... AFRICANA WOMAN: HER STORY THROUGH TIME By Dr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter Introduction by Dr. Dorothy Height National Geographic Books, November 2003, 255 pp., $40.00 cloth, ISBN 0-7922-6165-8 This lavishly illustrated volume traces the...

Chicago-Pittsburgh link marks first step of new national computer infrastructure: network expected to advance science, engineering and medical research.(Tech Talk)
December 18, 2003... PITTSBURGH A consortium of top U.S. research universities and private sector technology companies announced last month the establishment of a high-speed computer connection between research centers in Chicago and Pittsburgh, marking the...

Clemson University to establish automotive research center.(tech briefs)
December 18, 2003... CLEMSON, S.C. Clemson University has announced plans to develop a 400-acre automotive research campus to make South Carolina a hub of the nation's automotive and motor-sports industry. The project already has generated $90 million in state...

National strategy needed to combat identity Fraud, researchers say.(tech briefs)
December 18, 2003... UTICA, N.Y. Researchers at the Economic Crime Institute of Utica College and LexisNexis, a global leader in information services for legal, business and government professionals, have called for a new national strategy in the fight against...

Study to examine influence of globalization on engineers.(tech briefs)
December 18, 2003... URBANA, ILL. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign officials have commissioned a new research study to understand what it means to be an engineer in the 21st-century global economy. The university is inviting participation from...

The brave new world of book buying.(Personal Computing)
December 18, 2003... "Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other... For every thing that is given, something is taken," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in his 1841 essay "Self-Reliance." The newest application of this old wisdom...

University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.(Akwasi B. Assensoh hired)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... DR. AKWASI B. ASSENSOH, professor in the African American and African Diaspora studies department at Indiana University, has been named the Richard A. Bernstein Research Professor at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore. Assensoh received...

Minority and Communications Division.(Linda Florence Callahan changes jobs)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... DR. LINDA FLORENCE CALLAHAN, an associate professor in the department of journalism and mass communication at North Carolina A&T State University, is now the division head of the Minority and Communications Division of the Association for...

Commission on Academic.(On The Move)
December 18, 2003... DR. MYRTLE E.B. DORSEY, chancellor of Baton Rouge Community College, has been appointed to the Commission on Academic, Student and Community Development of the American Association of Community Colleges. Dorsey received her bachelor's and...

Community College of Philadelphia.(Pamela Gallimore named assistant to v.p of student affairs)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... PAMELA GALLIMORE has been named assistant to the vice president of student affairs at the Community College of Philadelphia. She brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education administration. Most recently, she served as director...

School of Education, Education Foundations, Leadership and Technology.(Jewell Winlock Henderson named visiting professor)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... DR. JEWELL WINLOCK HENDERSON has been named visiting professor in the School of Education, Education Foundations, Leadership and Technology at Auburn University. She has worked with National University and the Los Angeles Unified School...

Hampton University.(Arlene J. Montgomery named chair of graduate nursing department)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... DR. ARLENE J. MONTGOMERY has been named the chair of Hampton University's department of graduate nursing education. Montgomery, who has more than 30 years experience in clinical nursing, received both bachelor's and master's degrees from the...

Atlantic Cape Community College.(receives $569,755 grant)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... Atlantic Cape Community College (N.J.) received $569,755 from the New Jersey Department of Labor to upgrade the skills of workers in the casino industry.

Benedict College.(Grants & awards)
December 18, 2003... Benedict College (S.C.) will receive $4.3 million in the next five years from the National Institutes of Health for biomedical research in collaboration with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. The grant will be used to improve...

New School University.(receives $200,000 grant from NASDAQ)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... New School University's Graduate Program in International Affairs (N.Y.) received a $200,000 grant from the NASDAQ Stock Market Educational Foundation to establish the NASDAQ Economic Policy Seminar.

New York University College of Dentistry.(Grants & awards)
December 18, 2003... New York University College of Dentistry has received a grant of $100,000 from the National Institutes of Health's Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. The grant will be used to establish an intensive research training program for...

Savannah State University.(Grants of $150,000)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... Savannah State University (Ga.) has been awarded a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund five graduate students in the public administration and urban studies graduate degree programs.

University of South Carolina.(receives grant from NASA)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... The University of South Carolina will receive a $2.4 million grant from NASA to create a computer system to help emergency workers plan better for and respond to disasters.

Xavier University.(3 year $887,073 grant)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... Xavier University (La.) received a three-year $887,073 grant from the National Science Foundation to take the lead in a nationwide study to determine why more women do not pursue careers in the computer sciences. XU's College of Pharmacy also...

Events.(Calendar)
December 18, 2003... JANUARY Jan. 2-6 Association of American Law Schools 2004 Annual Meeting Atlanta Web: www.aals.org Jan. 15-16 University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) Workforce Development Forum "Forging Partnerships: Why...

Sharing the responsibility: increasing black male student enrollment.(Last Word)
December 18, 2003... Earlier this year, the University System of Georgia's board of regents accepted 15 task-force recommendations designed to increase the number of African American males enrolling in Georgia's colleges and universities (see Black Issues, Oct....