Morgan State president to stay on for seven more years
By Sheyla Fairley
Morgan State University’s, Baltimore, MD, Board of Regents voted to extend university president David K. Wilson’s contract through 2030, which would make him the fourth-longest-tenured president in Morgan State’s history.
According to an article, “the University has progressed and flourished in a variety of key ways,” such as student success, educational achievement, campus growth and development, financial stability, and research advancements since Wilson’s appointment as the “10th president of Morgan in July 2010.”
“There’s a lot more work to be done. We’re building a research powerhouse here at Morgan, and the pieces we’re putting in place now, along with the work that is being undertaken, will enable the University to continue making a consequential impact on the communities we serve, long after my stewardship has concluded,” said Wilson. “It is a profound honor to serve as president at one of the nation’s best and fastest-rising universities. I am humbled by and appreciative of the Board of Regents’ continued trust in my capabilities and vision as president. Their support of the direction this University is headed under current leadership is laudable.”
For more details, read the full article here.
WSSU incorporates virtual reality (VR) into training for nursing students
By Sheyla Fairley
Winston-Salem State University’s School of Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC, will be teaming up with the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC, with almost $800,000 in funding provided by the North Carolina Collaboratory to launch a virtual reality training program for nursing students.
As stated in a release, the use of virtual reality offers “students early access to train in clinical environments through simulated real-world experiences” with the experiences “designed to develop clinical judgment and increase knowledge retention, as well as provide students with safe and early access to clinical environments.”
“As one of our state’s highest producers of nurses, it was imperative for us to rethink training, given the current challenges. VR will help us fill these gaps while positioning our students for long-term success. The collaboration with UNCSA has been stellar. We are all appreciative of their work to launch this groundbreaking initiative,” said WSSU Chancellor Dr. Elwood Robinson.
Delaware State University students recruiting African Americans to be bone marrow and stem cell donors
By Sheyla Fairley
According to an article, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, students “Taylor Davis, Ryan Noelle Hunter, Vanessa Choute, Khianna Scott-Roberts, Bria Porter, and Kaitlin James” have joined the effort to “increase the number of much-needed African American bone marrow and stem cell donors” by becoming “volunteer representatives of the Be The Match Program, a global leader in bone marrow or blood stem cell transplantation.”
“Our primary focus is to get more African Americans on the registry, because we are a minority and we are underrepresented. There are a lot of people not getting matches due to this,” Choute said. “African Americans are the lowest in terms of those on the registry and those with matches.”
For more information, read the full article here.
Livingstone College partners with nonprofit to help students in foster care
By Sheyla Fairley
Livingstone College, Salisbury, NC, has partnered with the nonprofit Home4Me to launch a center for students who have aged out of foster care that will provide them with the resources and tools to get a college degree.
According to an article, after being born to a teenage mother, Livingstone College President Dr. Anthony J. Davis was raised by a foster care mother after his grandmother, who was expected to be their caregiver, “died on the same day as Davis’ birth”, and he ended up joining the United States military “ninety days” before his 18th birthday.
“Eighty-four percent of all youth who are aging out in America say if they could, they would go to college. Only 3% go, and only 1% graduate. We’re going to launch a center on our campus to change the trajectory of young people aging out, because the data is not in their favor. On the campus, we’re going to provide the structure, the support, the stability and the sanctuary you need to [be successful],” said Davis.
Read the full article, here.
Howard University selects historian Ben Vinson as its new president
By Sheyla Fairley
Ben Vinson III, PhD, a historian of the African diaspora, will succeed Wayne A. I. Frederick as the 18th President of Howard University, Washington, DC. He will officially take on the role on September 1, 2023.
“The opportunity to lead Howard at this historic juncture represents the honor of a lifetime. Howard’s incredible legacy, its remarkable trajectory, combined with the fine talent of its faculty and staff, situate Howard at the uppermost echelons of higher education,” said Vinson in a release. “Combined with the uniquely transformational power of a Howard education, the students, faculty, staff, and alumni constitute a positive force of change in our society. Our world needs Howard at maximum strength. I look forward to returning to the DMV, which I consider home, and working with the broader campus community to fortify Howard and help build upon its incredible tradition of delivering excellence, truth, and service to greater humanity.”
