September 22, 2005

THE MOST HIGHLY CITED BLACK MATHEMATICIANS

IN MONEY TO PAY FOR COLLEGE, BLACK FAMILIES CONTINUE TO HAVE A HUGE DISADVANTAGE

BLACK FRESHMAN ENROLLMENTS AT TRINITY COLLEGE — A SECOND STRONG YEAR IN A ROW

THE MOST POPULAR COLLEGE CHOICES FOR BLACK STUDENTS WHO TOOK THE ACT TEST

TUITIONS SKYROCKET AT BLACK COLLEGES BUT THEY REMAIN A BARGAIN

BLACK STUDENT YIELD AT BOWDOIN COLLEGE TOPS 40 PERCENT

PROGRAM AT BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY SEEKS TO INCREASE BLACK MALE TEACHERS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

AUTHOR ZADIE SMITH IN HOT WATER IN BRITAIN

REWARD OFFERED AT UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOR INFORMATION ON A SERIES OF HATE CRIMES ON CAMPUS

ARE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP RULES TO BLAME FOR THE DWINDLING NUMBER OF BLACKS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL?

NEW JOURNALISM AWARDS ESTABLISHED AT HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITY

BLACK FIRST-YEAR ENROLLMENTS PLUMMET AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

THE MISSION OF THE NATION'S MOST DIVERSE MAJOR UNIVERSITY

NEW HONORARY SOCIETY FOR BLACK Ph.D. RECIPIENTS

VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY UNDER ACCREDITATION WARNING


WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY -
NMR Research Associate

The Bennett Department of Chemistry at West Virginia University seeks a Research Associate with NMR experience. The primary responsibility is oversight of the Department's NMR instruments, which include a Varian Inova 600 MHz spectrometer, and two JEOL spectrometers. Duties include routine maintenance, troubleshooting, scheduling, and user training; there is also expectation of developing collaborative research projects with faculty. The position requires a PhD in chemistry, biochemistry, physics, or related discipline with experience in one or more of the following areas: multi-dimensional solution-state NMR, structural determination of biological systems, structural elucidation of small organic molecules, solid-state NMR. This is a non-tenure track, nine-month academic year appointment, with a three-month summer supplement. Initial term is three years, assuming positive performance reviews. Benefits include health insurance and retirement.

Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to: NMR Research Associate Committee, C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, PO Box 6045, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6045.

Review of completed applications will begin on October 15, 2005 and will continue until the position is filled.

West Virginia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Women and protected class individuals are encouraged to apply.

To view more academic opportunities, go to http://www.jbhe.com/jobs.html

For information about advertising in the JBHE Weekly Bulletin, the print issue of The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, or on JBHE's Web site, please go to http://www.jbhe.com/ad_rates.html

"More has been spent in Alabama than in any other state on college desegregation remedies to this point."

— Jim Blacksher, the Birmingham attorney who sued the state of Alabama in 1981 seeking to end the state's segregated system of higher education. To date the state has appropriated $181 million over the past 12 years to fund the settlement in the case.

THE MOST HIGHLY CITED BLACK MATHEMATICIANS

Analyzing the database of the Institute of Scientific Information in Philadelphia, JBHE conducted a citation analysis of a group of 96 black scholars who teach mathematics at American colleges and universities.

Here are the three black mathematicians we identified as having the most academic citations in academic journals during the calendar year 2004:

• Clifford V. Johnson, professor of physics at the University of Southern California, leads our rankings of the most highly cited black mathematicians. Professor Johnson is a theoretical physicist who works mainly with string theory, quantum gravity, gauge theory, and M-theory. He used mathematical tools to study objects such as black holes.

Professor Johnson, who was cited 65 times in academic journals in 2004, is a graduate of Imperial College, London University, and holds a Ph.D. from Southampton University.

• William A. Massey is the Edwin S. Wilsey Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering at Princeton University. A native of Jefferson City, Missouri, Massey is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Stanford University. For more than 20 years he was a top engineer at Bell Laboratories before coming to Princeton in 2001. Dr. Massey has published more than 50 academic papers on applied probability analysis. He was cited 59 times in academic journals in 2004.

• Emery N. Brown, a mathematical biologist, is director of the Neuroscience Statistics Research Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He also serves as an associate professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School. His research is in the area of neural information coding, which uses mathematical techniques to decipher how neurons receive and transmit information.

Dr. Brown is a Harvard man to the core. He is a 1978 magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College. He holds a master's and Ph.D. in statistics from Harvard and is also a graduate of the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Brown is widely published in academic journals. In academic journals, he was cited 45 times by his peers in 2004, placing him third in the JBHE rankings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN MONEY TO PAY FOR COLLEGE, BLACK FAMILIES CONTINUE TO HAVE A HUGE DISADVANTAGE

New data released by the Census Bureau shows that the median income of black families in the United States in 2004 was $30,134. This is down from $30,442 in 2003, a decrease of one percent. Since the year 2000, the median black family income is down 7.4 percent in inflation adjusted dollars.
In 2004 the median white family income was $48,977, down slightly from a year ago. Since 2000 the median white family income is down about 2 percent with inflation taken into account.

In 2004 the median income of black families in the United States was 61.5 percent of the median income of white families in this country. This ratio has changed very little over the past 35 years.

The decline in black families' income must be viewed against an average 30 percent or more in college and university tuition over the past five years. A serious squeeze impacts the average blak family that plans college for its children.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACK FRESHMAN ENROLLMENTS AT TRINITY COLLEGE — A SECOND STRONG YEAR IN A ROW

In 2004 Trinity College, the highly ranked liberal arts institution in Hartford, Connecticut, enrolled 38 black freshmen. This was more than double the number of black first-year students at Trinity in the fall of 2003. The one-year percentage increase in black freshmen was higher at Trinity than at any of the other 24 highest-ranked liberal arts colleges in the United States.
This year's numbers show that last year was no fluke. Now there are 37 black first-year students at Trinity, just one less than a year ago. Blacks are 6.4 percent of the entering class.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MOST POPULAR COLLEGE CHOICES FOR BLACK STUDENTS WHO TOOK THE ACT TEST

The American College Testing program's ACT test is the most popular standardized college admissions test in the Midwest, Southern states not on the Atlantic Coast, the Great Plains, and in the Mountain West. Thus it is not surprising that the colleges and universities to which black students who take the ACT test want their score results sent are in these regions of the country.
The three schools that black ACT test takers chose most often to send their scores are the historically black institutions Florida A&M University, Clark Atlanta University, and Tennessee State University. Also among the top 10 most popular colleges and universities to which black students wanted to send their ACT scores were the following HBCUs: Jackson State University, Southern University, Alabama A&M University, and Grambling State University. The only three predominantly white institutions that made the list of the 10 most popular schools for black students to send their ACT scores to were Florida State University, Michigan State University, and Georgia State University.

None of the nation's 30 highest-ranked universities was among the list of the 35 most popular destinations for black students to send their ACT scores.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TUITIONS SKYROCKET AT BLACK COLLEGES BUT THEY REMAIN A BARGAIN

In 1997 JBHE conducted a survey which showed that the nation's privately operated historically black colleges and universities continued to hold an advantage in providing a tuition bargain for students compared to either the nation's highly ranked private institutions or the leading state-operated universities. But our data showed at the time that over the previous five years the black colleges and universities had increased their tuition and other fees at a rate higher than the percentage increase at the top private institutions and flagship state universities. Since 1997 the same group of black colleges and universities have increased their comprehensive fees by an average of 53.4 percent. The large state universities in our survey have increased their fees by a slightly higher percentage, averaging an increase of 54.2 percent. The highly ranked private universities have increased their fees by an average of 44.5 percent over the past eight years.
Over the past 13 years, the average comprehensive fee at the private black colleges has increased from $8,787 to $19,606. This is an increase of 123 percent. If we were to factor inflation into the figures, tuition and fees at the private black colleges have risen an average of 65 percent over the past 13 years. (Inflation was about 35 percent during the period.)

However, the average tuition and fees at the black colleges is still about one half the fees charged by the nation's highest-ranked private institutions. For example, the comprehensive fee at Morehouse and Spelman colleges, two of the most highly respected black colleges, is about $24,000. This is only 60 percent of the comprehensive fee at the elite private colleges.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACK STUDENT YIELD AT BOWDOIN COLLEGE TOPS 40 PERCENT

Given its location in Maine, one might conclude that Bowdoin College would have difficulty attracting black students. Yet this year Bowdoin posted one of the highest black student yields of any of the nation's highest-ranked colleges.
This year the number of blacks who applied to Bowdoin and the number of blacks accepted for admission were both down from a year ago. But a black student yield of over 40 percent produced 28 black first-year students. This is one more than a year ago. Blacks make up 5.9 percent of the freshman class at Bowdoin this year. A decade ago, there were only eight black first-year students at Bowdoin.

Bowdoin's black student yield this year is higher by 10 percentage points or more than peer institutions such as Amherst, Wesleyan, Haverford, Smith, Trinity, Carleton, Mount Holyoke, Colgate, and Colby.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROGRAM AT BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY AIMS TO INCREASE BLACK MALE TEACHERS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

More than three quarters of the students in the Prince Georges County school system are black. But 75 percent of the teachers are white and most of these teachers are women. Black male students have very few role models in the classroom.
Now, Bowie State University, the historically black institution in Maryland, is teaming up with the local school system in Prince Georges County to increase the number of black males teaching in the elementary and secondary schools. The Men Equipped to Nurture program, funded by a federal grant, provides black male teachers in the public schools with money to complete their teacher certification classes at Bowie State and also pays their teacher certification examination fees. About 15 hours of classroom work are required for teacher certification in Maryland and examination fees can cost up to $185. In return, the teachers agree to stay in the county school system for at least two years after they have obtained certification.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTHOR ZADIE SMITH IN HOT WATER IN BRITAIN

Five years ago Zadie Smith, a graduate of Cambridge University, burst onto the London literary scene with the publication of her first book, White Teeth. The book, about interracial relations in a London neighborhood, sold more than one million copies and won the prestigious Whitbred Prize. Smith, who is 30 years old and a highly attractive woman whose father is English and whose mother is from Jamaica, became an instant celebrity in Britain.
In the fall of 2004, Smith fled to Harvard University to study and teach. More importantly, she wanted to escape the limelight in Britain where her every move was chronicled in the press. In a recent interview with New York magazine, Smith said she "craved the anonymity" she could get in the United States. "I'm not interested in being stared at," she said.

Now Smith has returned to Britain. But other comments she made in the New York magazine interview have turned the British press against her. She called her native land "disgusting" and "vulgar." She noted, "It's the way people look at each other; just general stupidity, madness, vulgarity, stupid TV shows, aspirational assholes, money everywhere."

Now a target of the British press rather than its darling, Smith also might not find a welcome refuge on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. She also stated in the interview that "in America, only a few weirdos read."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REWARD OFFERED AT UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOR INFORMATION ON A SERIES OF HATE CRIMES ON CAMPUS

The Alumni Association of the University of Virginia has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for a series of racial incidents on campus this fall. Racist graffiti has been written on doors in several campus buildings. On three occasions, racial slurs have been yelled from a passing car at black students on campus.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP RULES TO BLAME FOR THE DWINDLING NUMBER OF BLACKS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL?

Today, about 10 percent of the players in Major League baseball are African Americans. This is about one half the level that prevailed a generation ago.
Dusty Baker, the manager of the Chicago Cubs, thinks he knows why. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Baker noted that under NCAA rules colleges and universities are permitted to give out only 11.5 scholarships for baseball each year. Most schools split the scholarships so that they can offer some money to more players. But in football and basketball, far more full athletic scholarships are available. "If you're a low-income black athlete going to a school that cost 30 grand and you're on a partial scholarship," asks Baker, "who's going to pay the other 20 grand? College baseball isn't conducive to the average African-American kid."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW JOURNALISM AWARDS ESTABLISHED AT HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITY

The Institute for Advanced Journalism at North Carolina A&T State University, the historically black educational institution in Greensboro, has announced the creation of the Vernon Jarrett Awards for Journalistic Excellence. The awards, which will be presented to journalists "for outstanding coverage of people of African descent and the issues which impact their lives" are named after the Chicago-based newspaper columnist and television commentator, Vernon Jarrett. Jarrett was a graduate of Knoxville College and taught at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The first awards will be presented in April 2006 in six different categories of broadcast and print journalism. Additional categories will be added in the future.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACK FIRST-YEAR ENROLLMENTS PLUMMET AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

There are 151 black freshmen at the University of Kentucky this fall. They make up only 4 percent of the first-year class. The number of black freshmen at the university is down 40 percent from a year ago.
Admissions officials attribute the decline to a slight increase in the minimum entrance requirements, which are based on a scale that combines a student's high school grade point average and the student's score on the ACT standardized college admissions test. For a reasonable chance of admission to the university, students need a score of 20 on the ACT test. The median black score nationwide on the ACT is 17.

Officials at the University of Kentucky say that this coming year they will increase recruiting efforts aimed at black students. The university also plans to offer more scholarships earmarked for African Americans.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MISSION OF THE NATION'S MOST DIVERSE MAJOR UNIVERSITY

In the latest U.S. News ratings, Rutgers University, the flagship state university in New Jersey, was ranked as having one of the most diverse student bodies of any institution of higher learning in the nation. At the main campus in New Brunswick, whites make up only 55 percent of all students and blacks are 9 percent of the student body. At the Newark campus only 29 percent of the students are white and 19 percent are black. At the Camden campus, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, blacks are 15 percent of the student body.
In a recent letter to the campus community, Rutgers University president Richard L. McCormick showed his strong commitment to racial diversity in higher education. He wrote, "Social justice requires that educational opportunity must be afforded to students regardless of their economic status, background, or heritage. Academic excellence depends on a diverse learning environment because everyone gets a better education when they study with people who are not just like themselves. Our mission is to achieve excellence in teaching, discovery and service — all of which are done best in a diverse, multicultural setting that is characterized by mutual respect and the free exchange of ideas."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW HONORARY SOCIETY FOR BLACK Ph.D. RECIPIENTS

A new honorary society for black recipients of the Ph.D. has been established by Howard University and Yale University. The Bouchet Honor Society is named after Edward Alexander Bouchet, the first black graduate of Yale and the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from an American university. Bouchet was the sixth American of any race to earn a Ph.D. in physics.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY UNDER ACCREDITATION WARNING

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities placed Virginia Union University, the historically black institution in Richmond, on a 12-month accreditation warning. The warning issued by the accreditation agency said that the university had failed to show that it employed a competent faculty.
The university claims that the problem was with just one academic department and that the situation has been resolved. The accrediting body will revisit the issue next June to decide if any further action will be taken.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPOINTMENT
Joseph L. Graves Jr. was appointed dean of the Division of University Studies at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. He was a professor of biological sciences at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPOINTMENT
William B. Harvey was named to the newly created post of chief officer for diversity and equity at the University of Virginia. He has served for the past five years as vice president of the Center for Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity at the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C. He previously served as dean of the school of education at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

Harvey is a graduate of West Chester University. He holds both a master's and doctorate in education from Rutgers University.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPOINTMENT
Clyde Howard, director of affirmative action at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, was appointed to the Kansas Human Rights Commission.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPOINTMENT
Mary E. Howell was appointed dean of students at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. She was the dean of student services at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Dean Howell is a graduate of Brooklyn College. She holds a master's degree in educational administration and supervision from the New York School of Education and an educational doctorate from Rutgers University.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRANTS
Six historically black colleges and universities in South Carolina received a total of $7.3 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy:

• Allen University received a $2 million grant for programs to improve its mathematics and science programs.
• Benedict College was awarded a $500,000 grant to support research and student development in programs for national security.
• Claflin College received a $2 million grant for its program on the Preparation of a Technologically Literate Science Workforce to Meet the Needs of the Twenty-First Century.
• Morris College was the recipient of a $500,000 grant for a program to prepare students for careers in nuclear security.
• South Carolina State University was awarded a $1.3 million grant to establish an academic program in radiochemistry.
• Voorhees College received a $1 million grant to support its program called Lighting the Way: The Voorhees College Virtual Learning in Cyber Security Education.




• The average grade point average for African-American females who graduated from high school in 2005 and who had taken the ACT standardized test for college admission: 2.94
• The average grade point average for African-Americans males who graduated from high school in 2005 and who had taken the ACT standardized test for college admission: 2.72

Source: American College Testing Program


YOUR ADVERTISEMENT CAN GO HERE
Want to reach thousands of decision makers in higher education with a timely message? Do you have a notice of an employment opportunity at your college or university? Place your advertisement in the JBHE Weekly Bulletin at very reasonable rates. There are also package deals for advertising here, at JBHE.com, and in the print version of our journal. For more information, contact Elaine Kursch at (212) 399-1084.

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION:
For an in-depth analysis of the status and progress of African Americans in higher education, subscribe to the quarterly print version of The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. To subscribe, simply log on to http://www.jbhe.com and click on the "Subscribe Online" button on the top left-hand corner of the home page.

To contact The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, e-mail us at info@jbhe.com or call (212) 399-1084. To discontinue receiving this e-mail newsletter, simply reply to this message and ask to be removed from the list. Please note that this message was sent to the following e-mail address: khh1@sbcglobal.net.
© 2005 The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
All rights reserved