Black Issues in Higher Education articles from June 2003

Black Issues in Higher Education archives from June 2003

Topping the charts. (Editor's Note).(Editorial)
June 5, 2003... It's that time of year again, when we recognize the colleges and universities that graduate the most students of color at the undergraduate level. In 2001, we celebrated the fact that the number of African American students receiving bachelor's...

Lawmakers link affirmative action, K-12 funding issues: race-conscious admissions help 'right' inequities in local school financing, coalition says. (Affirmative Action Watch).(Congressional Black Caucus leads coalition )
June 5, 2003... A congressional coalition is seeking to link two of the most contentious issues in education today--unequal K-12 funding and affirmative action in higher education. U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., who is leading the coalition, says unequal...

Legislation seeks to broaden access to HOPE Scholarship. (Washington Update).(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... Low-income students need greater access to the federal HOPE Scholarship, say lawmakers and a group of higher education leaders seeking action in Congress. Legislation proposed by Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., would make changes in the...

UC regents turn the tables on Ward Connerly; regents oppose initiative to outlaw collection of racial data even as Connerly predicts victory at the ballot box. (Noteworthy News).(University of California Board of Regents)
June 5, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO The University of California Board of Regents went on the offensive recently against fellow regent Ward Connerly, formally opposing his campaign to outlaw the collection of racial data. In a 15-3 vote, with one...

Poll finds hardening of positions, less support for vouchers; first-time polling of Hispanics finds greater optimism about public schools and interest in non-public schooling. (Noteworthy News).
June 5, 2003... WASHINGTON Black, Hispanic and White support has hardened in an unfavorable way to publicly funded vouchers for private school, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found in a poll it released last month. The shift in...

Scholars, policy-makers urge choice as the way to education reform. (Noteworthy News).
June 5, 2003... WASHINGTON While not endorsing school vouchers as the sole answer to education reform in failing urban school systems, educators and policy-makers at a libertarian think tank forum on the Brown v. Board decision said vouchers should...

New study uncovers hidden dropout crisis. (Noteworthy News).(Center for Labor Market Studies shows higher dropout rates than U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau)
June 5, 2003... WASHINGTON Anew study shows that the nation's high school dropout rate may be as high as 30 per. cent, almost three times higher than government estimates. The study commissioned by The Business Roundtable (BRT) and conducted by the...

National groups join forces to improve college access. (Noteworthy News).(American Association of Community Colleges and American Association of State Colleges and Universities)
June 5, 2003... WASHINGTON Two national associations representing the majority of U.S. public colleges and close to 10 million students are now partnering to help more students continue their education and earn a bachelor's degree. While a college...

Homeland security tops list of critical higher education policy issues. (Noteworthy News).(Ten Public Policy Issues for Higher Education in 2003 and 2004)
June 5, 2003... WASHINGTON Homeland security and affirmative action are at the top of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges' (AGB) list of 10 public-policy issues that higher education leaders will need to address in the next...

Sorority launches science, technology radio show. (Noteworthy News).(Science and Everyday Experiences (SEE) radio program)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... WASHINGTON Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., has teamed up with a Washington-based talk radio station to bring science and technology information into African American homes. The Science and Everyday Experiences (SEE) radio program is part...

Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation unveils ad campaign. (noteworthy news).(to raise support for planned Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Memorial)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... WASHINGTON Imagine what America would be like if Martin Luther King Jr. never had a dream. That is what a new public service advertising (PSA) campaign asks with a series of provocative radio, print and television advertisements unveiled...

In memoriam: former United Negro College Fund president dies at 75.(Christopher Fairfield Edley)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
June 5, 2003... NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. Christopher Fairfield Edley, who served as president emeritus of the United Negro College Fund, died of a heart attack at his home last month. He was 75. Born in Charleston, W.Va., Edley graduated magna cum laude...

Bethune-Cookman College to cut 90 jobs. (noteworthy news).(faculty positions remain)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. Bethune-Cookman, College announced plans to eliminate 90 positions last month, reducing its work force by 14 percent. The board of trustees ordered the move so the small, historically Black school could "bring...

Harvard's Gates to be visiting scholar at Princeton think tank. (noteworthy news).(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... TRENTON, N.J. The chairman of Harvard University's Department of Afro-American Studies is joining a think tank in Princeton for one year as a visiting scholar. Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. ended a widely watched academic tug-of-war in...

Hampton's Pharmacy School receives $2 million to study Ecstasy. (noteworthy news).
June 5, 2003... HAMPTON, VA. The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Hampton University School of Pharmacy recently received a $2.1 million award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse at National Institutes of Health to study the causes of...

More colleges will require writing tests of future freshmen. (noteworthy news).
June 5, 2003... STATE COLLEGE, PA. A growing number of colleges will require future applicants to take a standardized writing test, even though some admissions officials question the value of such tests. Penn State University, which receives 50,000...

Bennett alumnae raise $1 million to shrink school's deficit. (noteworthy news).(Bennett College)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... GREENSBORO, N.C. Graduates of Bennett College broke records by raising $1 million to help their alma mater out of a deficit that could threaten its accreditation. The $1,027,533 gift is the largest ever from Bennett's National Alumnae...

San Jose students want statue honoring Olympic salute. (noteworthy news).(San Jose State University)(black activist athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos)
June 5, 2003... SAN JOSE, CALIF. Thirty-five years after sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised their fists on the Olympic podium in a Black power salute, students at their alma mater want to honor their controversial gesture...

Beacons of hope: SECME Inc. partners with minority-serving institutions to create alternative high schools to increase high school, college completion rates. (Top 100: 2001-2002).
June 5, 2003... In 2000, only 18 percent of all African American and 10 percent of Hispanics completed a four-year degree by age 29, compared with 34 percent of Whites (total populations), according to the U.S. Department of Education. The reason, experts...

Labor of love: law professors' study provides new weapons in fighting job discrimination. (Top 100: 2001-2002).
June 5, 2003... Ruth and Alfred "Al" Blumrosen have worked for almost 50 years to improve labor conditions in this country and around the world. And despite recently buying a beach house in Naples, Fla., the couple, law professors at Rutgers University in...

Testing's pains & gains: Southern states see increase in the number of students taking SAT, ACT, as well as in test scores, but some states get in and some don't. (Top 100 2001-2002).
June 5, 2003... Far more high school seniors in Southern states are taking the SAT and ACT, and scores have shown improvement--dramatic improvement in some states--over the last decade. But there's bad news for the region, too, in an analysis of test scores...

Getting through the hard times: graduating seniors are confronting one of the tightest job markets in recent years. What are students doing to remain competitive?
June 5, 2003... As a business administration major, Jermanne Perry, a graduating senior at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, recognized last year that the slumping U.S. economy showed little promise of turning around by spring 2003. By getting an...

The top 100: interpreting the data.(colleges and universities ranked by minority student populations)
June 5, 2003... The stakes seem to get larger every year. Never before in U.S. history has the quality of our lives as individuals, as communities, and as a society, depended more on the education of the populace. College degrees have replaced the high school...

Unfit to print: Jayson Blair and attacks on affirmative action. (Speaking Of Education).(Editorial)
June 5, 2003... I'm addicted to the printed word so I was as shocked and appalled as the rest of the world when Jayson Blair, the young New York Times reporter, was revealed as an all-out prevaricator. I mean, the young man plagiarized, invented and created...

North Carolina HBCU evaluates emerging imaging technology. (Tech Talk).(passive millimeter-wave imager at Johnson C. Smith University)
June 5, 2003... CHARLOTTE, N.C. Researchers at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) have begun evaluating an emerging imaging technology that should yield advances in homeland security and aviation safety. The project, funded by the NASA Glenn Research...

Philadelphia adopts computer certification program. (Tech Talk).(Greater Philadelphia Computer Skills Collaborative)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... PHILADELPHIA In an effort to boost work-force productivity and business growth, a coalition has been formed to better prepare Philadelphia area residents to succeed in the technology-driven workplace. The newly-formed Greater...

North Carolina A&T State University. (On The Move).(Dr. Gilbert Casterlow is named assistant vice chancellor)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... DR. GILBERT CASTERLOW has been named assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs and director of summer sessions and outreach at North Carolina A&T State University. Previously, he served as interim in the position. Casterlow earned his...

University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. (On The Move).(Rodney T. Cohen appointed as director of development)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... RODNEY T. COHEN has been appointed as director of development at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Cohen has more than 10 years of professional experience in higher education including appointments at the University of Notre...

North Carolina Central University. (On The Move).(Roland H. Gaines new Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs )(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... ROLAND H. GAINES has been named the new vice chancellor of Student Affairs at North Carolina Central University. Most recently, Gaines served as NCCU interim vice chancellor of student affairs and director of enrollment management. He received...

George Mason University. (On The Move).(appointment of Dr. Marilyn Mobley McKenzie as associate provost for educational programs )(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... DR. MARILYN MOBLEY MCKENZIE has been appointed associate provost for educational programs at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. McKenzie is an associate professor of English and founder of the African American Studies program at George...

Duke University. (On The Move).(Dr. Benjamin D. Reese Jr. becomes Duke's vice president for institutional equity)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... DR. BENJAMIN D. REESE JR. has been selected to become Duke University's vice president for institutional equity. Previously, Reese was assistant vice president in the office of institutional equity. Reese earned an associate's degree from Bronx...

Virginia State University. (On The Move).(Dr. W. Eric Thomas new provost/vice president)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2003... DR. W. ERIC THOMAS has been named provost/vice president for academic affairs at Virginia State University. Thomas comes to Virginia State from Illinois State University, where he was associate vice president for undergraduate studies. Thomas...

Grants & awards.(funding to colleges and universities)
June 5, 2003... California State University-Northridge, along with Community Charter Middle School, received a $7,500 grant from the Women's Sports Foundation for a new sports program geared toward girls. Clemson University (S.C.) received a $1 million...

Events.(Calendar)
June 5, 2003... JUNE June 19-21 National Coaching Conference "Taking Coaching Education to Another Level: Giving Athletes the Edge" The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel State College, Pa. Contact: Pam Logan Phone: (814) 863-5118...

A time for innovative thinking. (Last Word).(making graduate and professional schools accessible to African Americans)
June 5, 2003... In a recent article in Black Issues In Higher Education, a U.S. Department of Education official stated that he knew of few strategies for making graduate and professional school accessible to African Americans. Since I knew of at least one (I...

An eclectic mix: from affirmative action to Mali. (Editor's Note).(Editorial)
June 19, 2003... As we await the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action, along with the rest of the higher education community, we decided to use what could be our last edition before the Court delivers a ruling this summer to explore "class-based"...

Black college panel undergoes change: co-chair resigns; education department names new leadership. (Washington Update).(President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities)(appointments at Education Department office on Black colleges)
June 19, 2003... The co-chair of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities has resigned, setting the stage for changes on this federal panel that advises the administration on Black college policy. Dr. Benjamin F....

More outreach needed to increase USDA grant funding, report says. (Washington Update).(U.S. Department of Agriculture)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... More outreach from the U.S. Department of Agriculture could help minority-serving colleges and universities better compete for grant funding, a federal watchdog agency says. In a new report, the U.S. General Accounting Office says...

Senate 'digital divide' bill gains house companion. (Washington Update).(bills to help minority serving institutions upgrade technology infrastructure)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... A bill to combat the digital divide at Black, Hispanic-serving and tribal colleges will get a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., proposed the bill as H.R. 2183. It is a companion to a Senate-approved...

Bill supports graduate education at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. (Washington Update).(government funding )(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... New legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives would provide funding for Hispanic-serving colleges and universities with graduate programs. HSI leaders have long identified a priority to obtain federal funding for graduate education....

Southern Law Center's increasing white enrollment concerns lawmaker. (Noteworthy News).
June 19, 2003... BATON ROUGE, LA. One of the most powerful African Americans in the Louisiana Legislature is warning that historically Black Southern University Law Center may be turning too White. Caucasian students accounted for 33 percent of the...

Legendary Florida A&M Business dean set to retire: Dr. Sybil Mobley is recognized by many as a trailblazer in business education. (Noteworthy News).(Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. School of Business and Industry )
June 19, 2003... After spending the last four decades at the helm of Florida A&M University's School of Business and Industry (SBI), and creating a new standard for business programs around the country, Dr. Sybil Mobley says it's time for her to go. Dean...

Ole Miss acquires unique drums from Ghana. (Noteworthy news).(University of Mississippi promotes African drumming)
June 19, 2003... UNIVERSITY, MISS. Music lessons at the University of Mississippi are about to become even more dynamic, thanks to a recently acquired, hand-carved drum set from West Africa. Intricately decorated and culturally rich, the 15 drums are...

Henry Louis Gates donates slave novel to Yale University. (Noteworthy News).(manuscript by female African American, Hannah Crafts)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... NEW HAVEN, CONN. Yale University became home to the first known novel written by a female slave, thanks to a donation from Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. during a ceremony held last month on the New Haven, Conn., campus. The 301-page...

Howard University looks to create DNA bank. (Noteworthy News).
June 19, 2003... WASHINGTON Howard University hopes to create the nation's largest bank of DNA from Black Americans with the aim of studying genes involved in diseases that disproportionately strike Blacks. The DNA bank isn't funded yet, but the...

Texas A&M to open branch campus in Qatar. (Noteworthy News).(working with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS Texas A&M University will open a branch campus in Qatar specializing in engineering education and research this fall, the university announced last month. "This is an extraordinary opportunity for Texas A&M to...

Georgia regents push to increase Black male enrollment. (noteworthy news).(recommendations to increase enrollment of black males at Georgia's 34 public colleges and universities)
June 19, 2003... ATLANTA Peer pressure and lack of parental support are among the reasons fewer Black men than Black women choose to attend college, Georgia's Board of Regents was told last month in a report examining the phenomenon and suggesting ways to...

Study: death rate from colorectal cancer higher for rural Blacks. (noteworthy news).(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... HERSHEY, PA. Rural Blacks are more likely to develop and to die from colorectal cancer than are rural Whites, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Penn State University College of Medicine. The study, presented last...

Babson College, HBCU consortium to develop entrepreneurship curriculum. (noteworthy news).(hsitorically black colleges and universities, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, North Carolina A&T and Southern University)(supported by grant from Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation)
June 19, 2003... WELLESLEY, MASS. Babson College and four historically Black colleges and universities have formed a partnership to support entrepreneurship initiatives. Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, North Carolina A&T and Southern University...

Million-dollar Black college donors honored. (noteworthy news).(Kresge HBCU Initiative's annual Learning Institute)
June 19, 2003... ATLANTA Four prominent African American alumni of historically Black colleges and universities were honored for their generous gifts to their alma maters last month during a ceremony at the Coca-Cola Company headquarters in Atlanta. ...

Lowest-ever loan rates to make college more affordable. (noteworthy news).(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... WASHINGTON U.S. Education Secretary Roderick Paige promised financial relief to millions of students and borrowers struggling to pay college tuition bills when he announced last month that federal student loan interest rates will drop to...

Clinton criticizes Bush's handling of domestic issues during Tougaloo commencement Speech. (noteworthy news).
June 19, 2003... JACKSON, MISS. Former President Bill Clinton accused President Bush of spending more time fighting the war on terrorism than on domestic issues during a commencement speech at Tougaloo College. "I supported the president when he asked...

Class-based affirmative action: battle over race-conscious approaches pushes idea to the surface. (Affirmative Action Watch).
June 19, 2003... In an effort to highlight and promote race-neutral approaches to college and graduate school admissions at competitive institutions, the Bush administration has recently put a bright spotlight on the idea of class-based or economic affirmative...

What's in a name? Study shows that workplace discrimination begins long before the job seeker shows up for an interview.
June 19, 2003... Thinking of naming your child Keisha or Aisha? How about Rasheed or Tremayne? African American pars across the nation may have to think again, as a recent study has shown that workplace discrimination begins long before the job seeker shows up...

From Timbuktu to Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian exhibit highlights Mali's intellectual roots, cultural traditions.
June 19, 2003... An important center of learning where Islamic and West African scholars met and attracted thousands of students around West Africa to come and study, Timbuktu has recently become a major area of academic study. And Washington's Smithsonian...

An era of change. (BI Bookshelf).(Diversity and Motivation: Culturally Responsive Teaching )(Book Review)
June 19, 2003... Diversity and Motivation: Culturally Responsive Teaching By Raymond J. Wlodkowski and Margery B. Ginsberg John Wiley & Sons, Jan. 2003 (second edition), 384 pp., $27.00 paperback, ISBN 0-7879-6742-4 Many of my colleagues and I have been...

Minority women see advancement through information technology. (Tech Talk).
June 19, 2003... UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. When compared to middle class and professional minority women, poor minority women have higher expectations for social and economic advancement through opportunities in information technology (IT), including escaping...

Toyota USA foundation announces awards for math, science teaching. (Tech Talk).(supports programs teaching K-12 math and science)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... NEW YORK The Toyota USA Foundation has announced that it is awarding $695,965 in grants to four universities to support initiatives designed to enhance the teaching of K-12 math and science. Recipients of the awards are the University of...

Funding challenges top survey of IT issues. (tech briefs).(survey of information technology in higher education)
June 19, 2003... WASHINGTON In the fourth annual "Current IT Issues Survey," EDUCAUSE, the leading association for information technology in higher education, reports that IT funding challenges have become the No. 1 issue on three of the four survey...

New association to set digital teaching standards. (tech briefs).(International Digital Media and Arts Association)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... MUNCIE, IND. Sixteen universities and colleges have formed the International Digital Media and Arts Association, which will provide research, organizational and teaching assistance in creating standards for evolving digital media...

Magic Johnson Foundation, HP open tech center in Michigan. (tech briefs).(Magic Johnson HP Inventor Center at the Black Child and Family Institute in Lansing)
June 19, 2003... LANSING, MICH. Aiming to push community-based technology as a means to bridge the digital divide, the Hewlett-Packard company and the Magic Johnson Foundation have opened the 11th Magic Johnson HP Inventor Center at the Black Child and...

Learning the lingo of the electronic age. (Personal Computing).
June 19, 2003... As if the world of computers and the Internet isn't difficult enough, it also comes with its own vocabulary. Just as with any other field, you can't walk the walk unless you talk the talk. Acronyms, jargon and buzzwords serve several...

Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute. (On The Move).(appoints Dr. M. Christopher Brown II as executive director)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... DR. M. CHRISTOPHER BROWN II has been named executive director and chief research scientist of the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute of the United Negro College Fund. Brown earned a bachelor's from South Carolina State University, a...

Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. (On The Move).(Columbia University appointment)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... VIELKA V. HOLNESS is the new associate director and director for training for the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action at Columbia University. Previously, she was director of the Center for Career Development at Pace University...

Oak Ridge Institute. (On The Move).(Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... MICHAEL HUBBARD has joined the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education as a group manager for its Science and Engineering Education organization. Among his responsibilities are activities involving HBCUs and other minority educational...

South Carolina State University. (On The Move).(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... DR. ANDREW HUGINE JR. has been named the ninth president of South Carolina State University. Hugine served as the interim executive vice president. He also served as professor of mathematics and in several other administrative positions. He...

Temple University. (On The Move).(Dr. C. Kent McGuire dean of College of Education)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... DR. C. KENT MCGUIRE has been named dean of the College of Education at Temple University. McGuire also served in the Clinton administration and as an assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. He earned a bachelor's from the...

Institute for Teaching and Learning. (On The Move).(Bristol/Warren Rhode Island school district and Roger Williams University partnership)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... DR. CLANCIE WILSON has been appointed the first director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning, a collaborative effort between the Bristol/Warren Rhode Island school district and Roger Williams University. Wilson earned a bachelor's from...

Grants & awards.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2003... The American Indian College Fund received a $60,000 grant from the UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of the United Parcel Service. The grant will be used for scholarships for American Indian students attending tribal colleges across the United...

Events.(Calendar)
June 19, 2003... JULY July 8-12 National Association of Black Accountants 32nd Annual National Convention "Change = Opportunity" Boston www.nabainc.org July 9-12 NASFAA The National Association of Student ...

Teaching Du Bois at the right moment. (Last Word).(civil rights leader W. E. B. Du Bois)(Column)
June 19, 2003... This has been a deliberate semester. I teach an honors freshman English course at Morgan State University in Baltimore, where there has been a semester-long celebration of W.E.B. Du Bois' seminal work The Souls of Black Folk. The text is an...