Black Issues in Higher Education articles from May 2000

Black Issues in Higher Education archives from May 2000

Howard Official: Computer Problems Are Minor.
May 11, 2000... Dear Editor: Michele N-K Collison's March 30 article, "Howard bugs typify challenge of updating technology," was a gross misrepresentation. In addition to being factually inaccurate, Ms. Collison based much of her article on an...

CORRECTIONS.(Correction Notice)
May 11, 2000... A chart that ran in the March 16 edition of Black Issues incorrectly listed the number of executive positions at the American College Personnel Association. The organization has four total executive positions; one is held by an African American...

Latest Civil Rights Report Looks Into Playing the Percentages.(abolishment of affirmative action severely affects minority enrollment)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... Across the nation, several states have replaced affirmative action with percentage programs in college admissions. California, Texas and Florida are at the forefront of this trend. Pennsylvania is looking into the possibility. But while...

Quote of Note.(Representative William Clay, Missouri)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... "This repeal demonstrates a shameful ignorance of race relations. It aids and abets those who live to Preach hatred and violence." - Rep. William Clay, D-Mo., criticizing plans to create a block grant from funding currently used for many...

Black Lawmakers Blast Block Grant Plan.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... WASHINGTON -- A Republican plan to convert safe-schools funding into a wide-ranging block grant is under attack from African American lawmakers who say it will hurt race relations -- and increase violence -- at schools. "This repeal...

Education Secretary Promotes Study Abroad.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Education is urging lawmakers and colleges to promote international education -- sending American college students overseas and bringing foreign students to study here. Increasing those foreign-exchange...

New Program Will Help African Universities.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Four philanthropic foundations in the United States joined together late last month to launch a five-year $100 million program to expand higher education opportunities in sub-Saharan African countries. The Carnegie Corp.,...

Judge Grants Motion in Suit Against Michigan Law School.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A federal judge ruled last month in favor of applicants challenging the University of Michigan Law School's minority admission policy. U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman granted a motion giving challengers access to a...

Harvard Officials Name Professorship After Producer Quincy Jones.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard University has named an African American music professorship after Quincy Jones, the legendary producer-arranger-composer who has a record 77 Grammy nominations. The Quincy Jones professorship of African-American...

After Initiative 200, Applications Down for Minorities at U. of Wash.(abolishment of affirmative action in admissions)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... SEATTLE -- Applications by minorities to the University of Washington are down for the second consecutive year since passage of Initiative 200, which bars affirmative action in admissions. But acceptances are on the upswing, and university...

Univ. of Utah's Only Black Tenured Professor Quits for Better-Paying Job.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... SALT LAKE CITY -- While criticizing the University of Utah's lack of diversity, its only tenured Black professor has quit to accept a higher-paying job elsewhere. Dr. Mark McPhail submitted his resignation two days after a report alleged...

UNC Governors Approve Tougher Admission Standards.(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Students seeking admission to the University of North Carolina will have to meet stricter standards for math and foreign language skills beginning in 2004. The UNC Board of Governors voted last month to increase the...

Motive Unknown In E-Mail Case; Minorities Feel Anger, Shame.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Tarsha Michelle Claiborne appeared as unnerved as anybody when minority students at the University of Iowa's dental college began receiving threatening e-mails. Claiborne, one of 13 Blacks enrolled at the College of...

Alabama's Bryant Defends Himself Against Black Caucus' Criticism.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... TUSCALOOSA, Ala.-- Paul Bryant Jr. says racial comments attributed to him 11 years ago in a magazine article were fabricated and shouldn't be used to block him from becoming a trustee of the University of Alabama, where his father was a...

Lincoln U. Moving to Integrate Student Population in Mo.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Founded by Black veterans of the Cival War, Lincoln University has become a college where White students are more numerous than Black but the two groups are rarely seen together. In response, the school's Board of...

Alabama Moves Greek Rush To Encourage Racial Integration.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama is moving its fraternity and sorority recruitment season partly to encourage racial integration among Greek organizations. Beginning in the fall, Greek rush will start in mid-September rather...

Sorry, Wrong Numbers.(surveys on affirmative action)(Brief Article)(Polling Data)(Statistical Data Included)
May 11, 2000... Critical scholars reject recent affirmative action studies as having biased questions and implementing poor practices. NEW YORK -- Civil rights leaders, cholars and others are dismissing he validity of new surveys sponsored by...

Level Playing Fields?(diversity in college athletics)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... Study suggests colleges and universities look to their own athletic departments to find models for diversity. LAWRENCE, Kan. -- In the current post affirmative-action climate, college administrators seeking ways of achieving diversity may...

Selecting Conference Sites.(political issues enter into decisions)
May 11, 2000... No longer a simple matter LOS ANGELES -- When the Student National Medical Association held its 2000 convention late last month, its leaders were keenly aware that they were meeting in a state that has an infamous anti-affirmative action...

Decisions of the HEAD & HEART.(African American academic leaders)
May 11, 2000... More Black leadership talent making deliberate choice to serve HBCUs JACKSON, Miss. -- From the outside, choosing Ronald Mason Jr., a former Tulane University senior vice president and general counsel, to be president of Jackson State...

Colleges Byte Back When Music Software Jams Networks.(Napster)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... PITTSBURGH -- Forget beer guzzling and ballroom dancing. The new rage on college campuses is swapping free music over the Internet, and school administrators say it's getting out of hand. Students are so taken by a powerful new computer...

Students Blame Professor in Cheating Scandal.(homework solutions downloaded from web site)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... HANOVER, N.H. -- Some Dartmouth College students accused of swiping homework answers off the Internet say their professor tricked them into cheating to get revenge on a disrespectful class. Rex Dwyer, a visiting professor from North...

Memory Problem Reported with Dell Notebooks.(defective chips)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... AUSTIN, Texas -- Dell Computer Corp. says as many as 400,000 of its notebook computers may contain defective memory chips after numerous customers reported their computers frequently froze up, lost data or damaged files. The problem...

Gigahertz Processor May Revolutionize PCs.(Advanced Micro Devices Inc. introduces Athlon chip)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The whiz-bang computer age just got even faster. The first gigahertz processor hit the market in March, crunching information at 1,000 megahertz, or 1 billion bits of information per second -- a speed many engineers thought...

Internet Site a Resource for Companies, Interns.(USInterns.com)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... PITTSBURGH -- Finally, the Internet does what it sounds like it does -- nets interns. A new Pittsburgh-based Internet company hopes that with its help, college students need not experience the sweaty palms that come with contacting...

Building a Better Brain for Your PC.(operating system options for personal computers)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... The recent release of Windows 2000, the successor to Microsoft's business-oriented Windows NT, is forcing many people to look again at their operating-system strategy. Whether you use a personal computer at work or home, its operating...

Catching The Campus Intranet Portal Wave.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... Internet users know Yahoo, Excite, Microsoft Network, and America Online as popular Internet portals. As such, these super Web site destinations and online services provide users a comprehensive collection of services, including search engines...

Survey Says: Diversity Bias is Bad Science.(anti-affirmative action author Marc Berley misconstrues poll results)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... "Is it right for a college or university to give preferential treatment to some minorities in the admissions process even if it means taking away opportunities from other qualified applicants?" This question was part of a survey on academic...

What's College For? The Struggle to Define American Higher Education.(Review)
May 11, 2000... What's College For? The Struggle to Define American Higher Education Zachary Karabell Basic Books 1998 $14 paperback "What's College For?" is a seemingly simple question that grows more complicated as author Zachary Karabell surveys...

Career Consultants.(personal narratives)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... DR. BEN VlNSON, III Assistant Professor of Latin American History Barnard College, Columbia University NewYork, NY A few years ago, if someone had told me that I would have a career teaching history in a university classroom, I might...

Professional APPOINTMENTS.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... ASSOCIATION DR. ANTOINE GARIBALDI, provost and chief academic officer at Howard University, has been selected as a senior fellow at the Educational Testing Service. When he assumes the position June 1, he will be involved in a variety of...

GRANTS &AWARDS.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... [solid sqaure] Central State University has received a $25,000 grant from the Ashland, Inc. Foundation to promote faculty and student excellence programs. [solid square] The City University of New York has received a $145,000 donation from...

Notes From Underground: Despite a Ban, Pledging Remains.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... Officials with Omega Psi Phi fraternity recently agreed to pay $1 million to a former University of Louisville student who pledged the house, then suffered renal failure after being beaten with a wooden paddle during a hazing incident three...

Incarceration, Higher Education and Hypocrisy.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
May 11, 2000... In higher education studies, much of what is offered as research is later confirmed to be a mere pretext for racial bias and prejudice. But every now and then you run across research that you instinctively know is first-rate and a confirmation...

Ga. Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Plaintiffs in Admissions Suit.(University of Georgia)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... ATLANTA-Atlanta lawyer Lee Parks says the Board of Regents has met its "Gettysburg" in a federal appeals court ruling on a lawsuit claiming discriminatory admission practices at the University of Georgia. Parks predicts that U.S. District...

BI What's New Programs Accreditations, & Initiatives.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... The University of Alabama at Birmingham will establish a network of volunteers to try to find out why Blacks are more likely than Whites to die of cancer. The study, to be funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, is part of a...

The Fine Art of HISTORY.(African American Art)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2000... Collection on African American artist and heritage GREENBORO, N.C -- African American artist Romare Bearden celebrates Black life -- a Southern rural morning, a Jazz Rhapsody -- with his bold use of color and inimitable focal points....

Survey Reveals Black, Hispanic Parents Place High Value on College.(www.publicagenda.org)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Compared to White parents, a greater number African American and Hispanic parents recognize the value of sending a child to college, new national research says. Data from Public Agenda and the National Center for Postsecondary...

Quote of Note.(on federal intiatives in Mississippi Delta)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... "We want to strengthen their hands with more information on federal grants and programs." -- Jacqueline Woods, U.S. Department of Education community college liaison, on federal initiatives in the Mississippi Delta.

Clinton Initiative Would Improve Access to Services.(presidents' New Markets initiative targets Mississippi Delta)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... WASHINGTON -- A new initiative from the Clinton administration and several members of Congress may benefit Black colleges, two-year institutions and students of color in high-poverty areas of the South. The president's New Markets...

Forum Focuses on Education Needs of Hispanics.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... WASHINGTON -- The education and workforce development needs of the nation's fastest-growing minority population was the focus of the Election Year 2000 National Capitol Forum on Hispanic Higher Education, held here earlier this month by the...

GEAR UP Offering $47 Million in Grants.(Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Students of color may gain from the U.S. Department of Education's latest announcements under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP. Department officials say they will make available...

Perkins Grants at Center of Looming Senate Debate.(U.S. Senate debates funding for vocational education)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... WASHINGTON -- A U.S. Senate showdown is looming on yet another plan that may tinker with vocational education funding under the Carl D. Perkins Act. Funding for vocational schooling is already under the budget microscope in the Clinton...

Morgan State Blocks Competing Doctoral Programs.(decision draws criticism from Baltimore-area public universities)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... BALTIMORE -- New doctoral programs at Baltimore-area public universities have been put on hold at the urging of Morgan State University officials, prompting critics to claim the school is using its historically Black status to block competition...

UMass Senate Phases Out Minority Set-Asides.(student government no longer to set aside seats for minority students)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... AMHERST, Mass. -- Student senators at the University of Massachusetts have voted to stop setting aside a share of campus government seats for minority students. Currently, 13 percent of the university's undergraduate student senate seats...

UVA Officials Dispute Web Site's Admissions Predictor.(conservative think tank accuses University of Virginia of favoring minority students)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- A think tank that has criticized the University of Virginia for favoring Black applicants over Whites has posted an "admissions predictor" on its Web site that claims to show an applicant's odds of getting into the...

What's New North Florida Minority Enrollment Lags Without Affirmative Action.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Black enrollment at the University of North Florida, where affirmative action ended in 1989, lags behind other campuses in the state, a university administrator acknowledged last month. The testimony came during an...

Programs, Accreditations, & Initiatives.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... The Association of American Medical Colleges, in collaboration with Pfizer Inc. and the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative, has established a new institutional grant program entitled "Caring for Community." The program's purpose is to...

University of South Carolina Protests Discrimination Report.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Officials at the University of South Carolina are asking federal investigators to reconsider a report that says the school might have discriminated against 26 Black maintenance workers. University officials faxed a protest...

Ala. Technical College Officials Fear Losing Black Heritage.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The state Board of Education voted in favor of merging Montgomery's two technical colleges, despite the threat of legal action from opponents of the move who fear H. Councill Trenholm State Technical College will lose its...

Angelou, Mfume Cancel Ohio State Speeches.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Poet Maya Angelou and Kweisi Mfume, leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, declined to speak earlier this month at Ohio State University because of a strike by about 1,900 janitors, drivers...

U. of Iowa Spokeswoman's Comment Draws Fire.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa spokeswoman Ann Rhodes says she was trying to be funny, but her comment about White men being "the root of most evil" is drawing widespread criticism. More than 300 negative phone calls and e-mails have...

Panel Offers Diversity Goals For Texas HBCUs.
May 25, 2000... AUSTIN, Texas- A Texas panel has recommended ways for the state's two historically Black public universities to erase findings by federal officials that traces of segregation linger in Texas higher education. Called "Priority Plan 2000,"...

Due Process: Florida A&M, Florida International Finally Get Law Schools.
May 25, 2000... TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Two months ago, more than 11,000 angry protesters marched here on Florida's Capitol to protest Gov. Jeb Bush's plan to end affirmative action in university admissions and state contracting. Now the Florida governor is...

The Changing Face of Philanthropy.(Illustration)
May 25, 2000... Where the color line yields to the bottom line ATLANTA -- Just before the winter holiday break, a group of 70 Black professionals gathered here at the Georgia Institute of Technology for a reception. They nibbled hors d'oeuvres and traded...

The Art of Fund-Raising.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Tina Daniels gets resumes from people all the time as director of annual giving and reunion programs at the University of Michigan law school. "Everybody thinks they can be a fund-raiser," she says. "They think it's so...

A New Spectrum.(in African American studies)
May 25, 2000... In some ways, the state of the African American Studies discipline has never been healthier. According to the National Council for Black Studies, four schools currently offer doctoral studies in the discipline. That list doesn't include...

Department, Program, Institute or Other?
May 25, 2000... Black Studies officials say the road to the department is sometimes a tough one When officials at the Alabama Commission on Higher Education announced in February that they would not approve a Black Studies major at the University of...

African American Studies.
May 25, 2000... A discipline in search of a methodology? Five minutes on the World Wide Web makes the point more plainly than a full weekend with a stack of college catalogs: There are as many types of African American Studies programs as there are...

UVA Gets Grant to Revamp Black Studies.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... The Ford Foundation just gave the University of Virginia's Carter G. Woodson institute for African and African American Studies a $250,000 grant to revamp its program. With help from Ford, five outside consultants and more than 30...

Yahoo! They Made It.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... For first time in years, two Black colleges named 'most wired' HAMPTON, Va. -- As the only historically Black institutions to make the Yahoo! Internet Life "Most Wired Colleges" year 2000 list, officials at Hampton University here and...

Hobsons HBCU Guide To Include Atlanta University Schools.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... ATLANTA -- The four historically Black schools that make up the Atlanta University Center are the latest institutions to sign up for inclusion in Hobsons Publications "The Guide to Historically Black Colleges and Universities." The interactive...

Engineering Council, MCI WorldCom To Grow Minority Tech Pool.
May 25, 2000... WASHINGTON -- The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering Inc. has teamed up with telecommunications giant MCI WorldCom to create programs to boost the number of minority graduates in critical technology fields. MCI WorldCom has...

Getting Certified in a High Tech World.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Tek.Xam, a four-hour technology skills exam designed for students with liberal arts and other nontechnical degrees, seeks to provide graduates with a ticket to the new economy. For graduates who have analytical skills that...

Building A Better Web Site Through Free Association.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... How good is free? The no-cost Internet bandwagon continues to accelerate, with Web sites, Web storage space, Web-based software programs, and Internet service providers offering services completely free of charge. Some Web sites even...

Professional APPOINTMENTS.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... ACADEMIC DR. MARSHALL B. BASS has been elected chairman of South Carolina's Voorhees College Board of Trustees. Bass is the founder of Marshall B. Bass and Associates Inc., a management consulting firm. Bass earned a bachelor's degree from...

GRANTS & AWARDS.(major contributions to universities and colleges)(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... Hampton University has received a $4.1 million contribution from the Pepsi Bottling Group and the PepsiCo Foundation that will be used for the university's $200 million Capital Campaign and Leadership Institute. Tuskegee University has...

Publish or Perish: The Saga of an Assimilation Essay.(Brief Article)
May 25, 2000... My failure to motivate a student to publish a significant essay some 17 years ago continues to haunt me. In October of 1983, I passed back the first set of freshman papers with my usual comments. In those days, I would face my students squarely...