Black Issues in Higher Education articles from July 1999

Black Issues in Higher Education archives from July 1999

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
July 8, 1999... Giving Credit Where Credit is Due I read with interest the article you wrote on Dr. David Swinton and Benedict College, which appeared in the June 10, 1999 issue of Black Issues In Higher Education. I commend you for writing such a fine...

WASHINGTON UPDATE.
July 8, 1999... Black Caucus Demonstrates Support for FCC's E-Rate Decision For the Congressional Black Caucus, the chance to influence a major decision on education was too good to pass up. In what they termed an "unprecedented" visit, 15 caucus...

Journalism Professor Denied Tenure Sues FAMU.
July 8, 1999... TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida A&M University journalism professor denied tenure because she didn't have a doctorate has filed a sex and race discrimination complaint against the school, saying it is run by and for Black men. Assistant...

Michigan Admits Fewer Minority Applicants.
July 8, 1999... ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- While the University of Michigan continues to encourage a diverse student body, data released last month indicate that fewer underrepresented minorities have been admitted to this year's incoming freshman class than last...

Former Governor Becomes College Board Head.
July 8, 1999... NEW YORK -- Former West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton succeeded Dr. Donald M. Stewart as the president and chief executive officer of the College Board on July 1. Caperton brings a well-respected reputation for what is considered...

Oregon Universities Acknowledge Racial Tensions.
July 8, 1999... PORTLAND, Ore. -- Racial tensions at Oregon's two largest universities have resulted from long-standing frustration, and some students and faculty say school officials do not understand the root causes of the problem. As the school year drew to...

What's New.
July 8, 1999... Programs, Accreditations, & Initiatives The City University of New York-Baruch College's Weissman School of Arts and Sciences has added a master's program in business journalism. The program will teach students how to identify and analyze...

Protests Accompany Abu-Jamal's Commencement Speech.
July 8, 1999... OLYMPIA, Wash. -- During a taped speech by convicted murderer Mumia Abu-Jamal at Evergreen State College's commencement ceremony last month, a handful of the approximately 800 graduates walked out in protest, two dozen other graduates stood and...

Harvard Report Says Nation's Schools are Resegregating.
July 8, 1999... WASHINGTON -- Forty-five years after the Supreme Court effectively ended legal segregation of public schools, most students still attend schools dominated by those of their own race and income level, a Harvard University report says. A...

Study: More Barriers Keep Women Out of College than Men.
July 8, 1999... WASHINGTON -- If women don't attend college, it's usually because they can't. Debt, children, age, and anxiety keep them away. But men who go straight from high school into the work force tend to do so because they were "never that...

Greek American May Sue Over Picnic's Name.
July 8, 1999... PHILADELPHIA -- A lawyer representing several Greek American organizations says he will likely file a lawsuit to stop organizers of an annual gathering of Black fraternities and sororities from using the name "Greek Picnic." "We're still...

The Cost-of-Education Increase.
July 8, 1999... As the annual rise in tuition and fees at colleges and universities continues, trustees and administrators at public institutions blame inadequate state funding WASHINGTON -- Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) student Lindsay...

Tempest in a Task Force.
July 8, 1999... NEW YORK -- The City University of New York system is poised to serve as a national model for urban institutions. That's the good news. The bad news requires a considerably longer sentence; make that, paragraph; make that, report. The...

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS.
July 8, 1999... As administrators at a handful of universities have discovered, cooperative dual-degree programs offer a winning formula for increasing the production of underrepresented graduates Dr. Calvin Mackie almost didn't become an engineer....

RISING Numbers Proportionally FLAT.
July 8, 1999... This year's Top 100 data reveal that while there are more graduates of color, their percentage of the overall graduating pool remains constant An examination of this year's Top 100 data reveals encouraging news: people of color continue to...

THE TOP 100: Interpreting the Data.
July 8, 1999... TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS Eight years and running. Since 1992, I have provided Black Issues with a set of lists enumerating the colleges and universities that have conferred the highest number of degrees to students of color. The first Top...

SPECIAL REPORT TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS.(Statistical Data Included)
July 8, 1999... Total Minority Associate Degrees-All Disciplines Combined, 1996-97 RANK INSTITUTION STATE MEN WOMEN 1 MIAMI-DADE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FL 1704 2331 2 COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF THE AIR...

Boost may spur Research Boom for Shcolars of COLOR.
July 8, 1999... Boost MAY SPUR Research BOOM for Scholars of COLOR WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a major spending hike for the e-rate policy, in May, marking a significant boost to the controversial federal subsidy...

Former Arizona Africana Studies Professor Charges Discrimination.
July 8, 1999... TUCSON, Ariz. - A former associate professor in the University of Arizona's Africana Studies department is suing the institution claiming she was a victim of discrimination, according to a story in the Arizona Daily Wildcat. Tolagbe...

Minorities Having Problems Qualifying for LIFE Scholarships.
July 8, 1999... COLUMBA, S.C. -- Black students aren't the only racial minorities that had a tough time qualifying for the state's new LIFE scholarship last fall. And LIFE's not going to get any easier next year as standards rise. About a quarter of the...

Minority Golf Tournament Changes Policy.
July 8, 1999... WASHINGTON -- Following the controversy surrounded this year's National Minority College Golf Championship at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., the tournaments organizers have changed the bylaws to give more minority players a chance to...

A Two-Pronged Attack on Standardized Tests Is Needed.
July 8, 1999... This summer, hundreds of thousands of high-school juniors will, enroll in SAT coaching courses. They II do it because they know that a three- or four-digit number that ranges from 400 to 1600 may make every difference in where they'll go to...

HAIKU: THIS OTHER WORLD.(Review)
July 8, 1999... HAIKU: THIS OTHER WORLD By Richard Wright Arcade Publishing, 1998 New York City 304 pages Hard cover: $23.50 Upon his death at the age of 52 in Paris on Nov. 28, 1960, Richard Wright, author and subject of Black Boy, left a literary legacy...

Black Issues Quiz.
July 8, 1999... The Black Issues Quiz offers you an opportunity to test your knowledge on the people, places, issues, and history surrounding the struggle for academic equity. Each question is based on information published in the current or previous editions...

Professional APPOINTMENTS.
July 8, 1999... ACADEMIC CARMEN ASHHURST is the new director of university communications at the New School University in New York City. She comes to the New School from Radiant Entertainment Inc., a media production and special events planning consultant...

GRANTS & AWARDS.
July 8, 1999... * Rice University has received a $1.475 million matching grant to fund three postdoctoral fellowships in the humanities and associated social sciences. The positions will be located in the university's Center for the Study of Cultures. *...

Societal Schizophrenia and Academic Retrenchment: A Tale of Two Inconsistencies.
July 8, 1999... As we approach the new millennium, it is indeed the best of times and the worst of times for African Americans in higher education. College attendance for African American students is at an all-time high. However, those percentages are...

OCR Exam Guidelines Meeting Increased Resistance.(Office for Civil Rights)
July 22, 1999... Despite the support of civil right advocates, criticism is mounting for the newly proposed Clinton Administration guidelines that would limit the use of standardized tests in college admissions and scholarships. The guidelines from the...

D.C. Tuition-Assistance Plan Bogged Down By Eligibility Debate.
July 22, 1999... Income eligibility is fast becoming a major sticking point between the Senate and House of Representatives on legislation to provide new tuition benefits for District of Columbia students. Testimony before a Senate hearing in late June...

Student Borrowers May Get Financial Break.
July 22, 1999... Seeking to match incentives offered by banks, the Clinton Administration wants to give college students a $600 break on their education loans. The Education Department in June made three moves to make direct loans more appealing to student...

CUNY-City College's Moses Resigns -- Under Pressure.
July 22, 1999... NEW YORK -- Dr. Yolanda T. Moses resigned as president of the City University of New York-City College just days after the trustees decided they needed another leader for the Harlem campus, according to The New York Times. The resignation...

EEOC Chastises Arizona for Second Time in Six Months.
July 22, 1999... TUCSON, Ariz. -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says a pattern of discrimination toward Black women persists in the University of Arizona's African American Studies program and the professor who complained about it was...

Minority Numbers Down at Washington Law School.
July 22, 1999... SEATTLE -- The University of Washington Law School appears headed for its least diverse class in three years next fall. Admission figures released last month show that only 41 minority students admitted to the law school paid their deposit...

President Tells Trustees SC State Expects Balanced Budget.(Dr. Leroy Davis; South Carolina State University)
July 22, 1999... ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Although South Carolina State University's athletic department is expected to have an overall accumulated deficit of $6.7 million, the institution's president, Dr. Leroy Davis Sr., says the school will end the fiscal year...

Northridge Remediation Producing Failures.(California State University at Northridge)
July 22, 1999... LOS ANGELES -- California State University-Northridge flunked more than half the freshmen who took remedial English and mathematics classes this year. Out of 1,157 students who were admitted on the condition that they pass the two classes...

AAUP Lifts Censure of Alabama State.(American Association of University Professors)
July 22, 1999... MONTOGMERY, Ala. -- The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has removed historically Black Alabama State University from its list of censured institutions, ASU's president, Dr. William H. Harris, announced Dr. William T. Harris...

Black College Weekend Traffic Suit Dismissed by Judge.
July 22, 1999... ORLANDO, Fla. -- U.S. District Judge Patricia Fawsett dismissed a lawsuit last month contesting Daytona Beach's traffic plan for Black College Reunion, saying nothing is left to decide because the event is over. However, she did rule that...

Student Apologizes for Swastika.
July 22, 1999... LAWRENCE, Kan. -- A University of Kansas student told a judge that the swastika burned into the carpet at his residence hall was a "harmless prank" and that he's not racist or anti-Semitic. Aaron Hale Culwell of St. Francis was accused of...

Basketball Coach Resigns Amid Charges of Academic Fraud.(Clem Haskins, University of Minnesota)
July 22, 1999... MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota's men's basketball coach, Clem Haskins, resigned late last month and accepted a $1.5 million buyout in the midst of a controversy involving alleged academic fraud in the program (see Black Issues,...

Programs, Accreditations, & Initiatives.
July 22, 1999... Programs, Accreditations, & Initiatives The Education Department has announced that 118 higher education institutions in 17 states will now offer federal student aid under the Distance Education Demonstration Program -- a pilot program...

Former Journalism Advisor Sues; Cites First Amendment, Racial Discrimination.
July 22, 1999... ATLANTA -- John Schmitt, a former instructor at Fort Valley State University, has filed a federal lawsuit saying his First Amendment rights were breached, claiming he was let go because of articles published in the student newspaper he advised....

Number of High School Graduates Attending College Drops.(Statistical Data Included)
July 22, 1999... WASHINGTON -- Nearly two-thirds of U.S. students who graduated from high school last year attended college in the fall -- but the percentage was down from the record-breaking 1997 class, the Labor Department reported last month. Of the 2.8...

Supreme Court Questions Classification of Reading Disorder as Disability.
July 22, 1999... WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court set aside a ruling last month that said New York officials had discriminated against a law school graduate who failed the state's bar examination five times. The justices told a federal appeals court to...

Student Gets Two-Year Prison Term for Sending Threatening E-Mail.
July 22, 1999... LOS ANGELES -- Kingman Quon, the 23-year-old college student who pleaded guilty to civil rights charges for e-mailing hate messages to dozens of Hispanics around the nation, was sentenced late last month to two years in federal prison. ...

UM-Flint Taps Hispanic as Chancellor.
July 22, 1999... FLINT, Mich.--Dr. Juan E. Mestas, the current deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), has accepted appointment as chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint, according to a news release from the office of the...

USC Cultural Head Files Discrimination Complaint.
July 22, 1999... LOS ANGELES -- Dr. Pamela Porter, the director and founder of the University of Southern California's Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs, has filed a formal complaint of discrimination with the California Department of Fair...

UPenn Charged with Reverse Gender Discrimination.
July 22, 1999... PHILADELPHIA -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has concluded that the University of Pennsylvania was using gender discrimination in 1997 when it "took extraordinary measures to recruit only female candidates" to be the women's...

Student Senate Refuses to Recognize Confederate Flag.
July 22, 1999... BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Florida Atlantic University Student Senate rejected a resolution to decry the murder of Michael Westerman, who was killed in Texas in 1995 because, according to authorities, he displayed a Confederate flag on the back of...

Governor Awards Michigan Students Merit Scholarships.(Gov. John Engler)
July 22, 1999... EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Gov. John Engler signed into law earlier this month, scholarships for Michigan students who pass the state assessment test. Beginning with next year's graduates -- the class of 2000 -- a student who meets state...

State's NAACP Head Unhappy with Governor's Choice of Regents.(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
July 22, 1999... SALT LAKE CITY -- Jeanetta Williams, Utah president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is questioning the appointment by Gov. Mike Leavitt of Maria Sweeten, a minority businesswoman who doesn't have a college...

UDC's Nimmons Admits Violating Hiring Rules.
July 22, 1999... WASHINGTON -- Dr. Julius F. Nimmons Jr., the president of the University of the District of Columbia, has rescinded the appointment of Dr. Beverly J. Anderson as provost, acknowledging that he violated the institution's rules last summer when...

CONSENSUS-BUILDING & COMMITMENT.
July 22, 1999... MEMPHIS -- Are Asian Americans becoming honorary Whites? What is White Privilege? Ethnic Studies and American Studies: Friends or Enemies? These were just a few of the provocative questions raised and pondered here during last month's...

PUTTING `OUR INSPIRATION TO GOOD USE'.(Excerpt)
July 22, 1999... EXCERPTED FROM A SPEED BY DR. SHIRLEY JACKSON WASHINGTON - Last month, nearly 1,000 African American women scholars and administrators converged upon this city for the Black Women in the Academy II: Service and Leadership Conference. One of...

Blameless -- Possibly -- BUT NOT GUILT-FREE.
July 22, 1999... Sports Forum Examines Test Scores, Role of Black Community in Meeting NCAA Eligibility Requirements WASHINGTON -- It was nearly unanimous. The National Collegiate Athletics Association is not responsible for the problems surrounding the...

Lincoln Faculty Members DISSATISFIED with Appointment of Nelson as President.
July 22, 1999... OXFORD, Pa. -- Lincoln University trustees were hopeful that the announcement of their selection of a new president last month would mark a new beginning for the storied historically Black institution- and put an end to its highly publicized...

DIAGNOSING A DILEMMA.(medical school preparation for minority students)(Statistical Data Included)
July 22, 1999... The anti-affirmative action climate appears to have infected the Association of American Medical College's Project 3000 by 2000 For many higher education administrators, the steamy days of summer constitute a season for rest and renewal....

LEGAL MANEUVERING.(Statistical Data Included)
July 22, 1999... Law schools struggle to produce despite affirmative action bans Years ago, law schools did not so much recruit applicants as wait for them to apply, and then pick the best and the brightest. However, a ban on affirmative action policies and...

Lacking Post Baccalaureate Incentive.(minorities in postgraduate programs)
July 22, 1999... For state governments, thereto be little motivation to invest in graduate-school education Despite the erosion of affirmative action programs increase in the number and representation level of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and...

THE TOP 100: Interpreting the Data.(colleges and universities that award degrees to minority students)(Statistical Data Included)
July 22, 1999... Since 1992, I have provided Black Issues with a set of lists enumerating the colleges and universities that have conferred the highest number of degrees to students of color. The first Top 100 issue examined degree production during the 1988-89...

Understudy Massey Steals Show At Northwestern.(commencement address by Morehouse College President Dr. Walter E. Massey)
July 22, 1999... EVANSTON, Ill. -- He may have only been a stand-in, but he was a hit with the audience. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was scheduled to give the commencement address at Northwestern University last month, but a significant...

Legislators Unite Behind Law Schools for FAMU and FIU.(Florida A&M University; Florida International University)
July 22, 1999... MIAMI -- Black and Hispanic state lawmakers appeared at joint news conferences here and in Tallahassee last month to announce plans for new law schools at Florida A&M University (FAMU) and Florida International University (FLU). "Florida...

Oklahoma Legislature Amends Scholarship Program.(racial discrimination against whites charged)
July 22, 1999... TULSA, Okla. -- Lawmakers amended the state's Academic Scholars Program last month in response to a lawsuit brought by a University of Tulsa student who alleges that the state scholarship discriminated against White males. State regents also...

Black Issues Book Review Named Best New Magazine.
July 22, 1999... FAIRFAX, Va. -- The Library Journal has named Black Issues Book Review to its prestigious "10 Best" new magazines of the year list, Cox, Matthews & Associates, Inc. (CMA) announced last month. Commenting in the journal's May 15, 1999...

Black Issues Quiz.
July 22, 1999... 1 This year, President Bill Clinton, for the second time during his presidency, gave the commencement address at a historically Black university when he spoke before the graduates of Grambling State University in Louisiana. At which HBCU did...

Professional appointments.
July 22, 1999... ACADEMIC DR. BEVERLY ANDERSON has been appointed dean of the school of arts and sciences at Eastern Connecticut State University. Previously, she served as interim dean and professor of sociology. Anderson earned a bachelor's degree in...

Career consultants.
July 22, 1999... Dear BI Career Consultants: Is there a glass in higher education? And if so, what are the political Issues for people of color and how do you deal with them? DR. RAYMOND C. BOWEN President City University of New York-La Guardia...

GRANTS & AWARDS.(universities and colleges)
July 22, 1999... * San Francisco State University has received $2 million in private endowed gifts from Y.F. Chang, group chairman and founder of The Evergreen Group, a parent company of the world's largest container ship operator; Evergreen Marine Corporation,...

Corporate America's Stake in Higher Education Diversity.
July 22, 1999... Ten years ago, corporate America was predominately ,White and male. It still is today, but with one big difference -- it s trying to change. And no wonder. The U.S. Department of Labor projects that by the year 2000, only 15 percent of...