Obama to Appoint Willie Pearson to HBCU Board

President Obama plans to appoint Willie Pearson, Professor of Sociology in the School of History, Technology, and Society to serve on the newly reestablished Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

The President announced the reestablishment of the HBCU Board of Advisors February 26th. The Board will provide input to the President and the Secretary of Education on methods, programs, and strategies to strengthen HBCUs. Pearson will be one of the eleven members appointed to serve on the board.

Pearson specializes in sociology of science and sociology of the family, with a focus on broadening participation in science and engineering and the careers of African-American PhD scientists.

He has previously served in Washington as Chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Committee for Science, Engineering and Public Policy and the National Science Foundation Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering. For More Information Contact Rebecca Keane Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Contact Rebecca Keane 404-894-1720

UM a Leader in Improving Minority Graduation Rates

The University of Maryland has risen to No. 14 among then nation's Top 25 research universities who have made significant strides in improving minority graduation rates, according to the Education Trust. The rankings, which appeared online, were identified using data compiled from the years 2002 to 2007.

The Education Trust promotes high academic achievement for all students at all levels -- pre-kindergarten through college. Its goal is to close the gaps in opportunity and achievement that consign far too many young people -- especially those from low-income families or who are black, Latino, or American Indian -- to lives on the margins of the American mainstream.

The Education Trust's numbers align with other data confirming UM's commitment to minority achievement.

Among the Top 25 Public Universities in America, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, UM graduates more African American students -- a combined baccalaureate, master's and doctorate total -- than its peers. Also, The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education surveyed flagship universities to determine which schools have improved the most in graduating black students. In its data, UM raised its graduation rate by 20 percent, from 46 percent (1998) to 66 percent (2008), and ranked No. 4 on the JBHE list.

According to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, UM ranks among the top 25 U.S. schools in graduating African Americans, Asian Americans and in total minority degrees.

The Education Trust: "This brief highlights the efforts of public colleges and universities that have boosted graduation rates for minority students -- sometimes even closing the gaps between minority students and their peers. The data presented here provide a baseline for colleges seeking to raise minority graduation rates and show that improvements are taking place in a range of settings.

"The focus is on the top gainers among public colleges and universities in graduating underrepresented minority students -- African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American students. Nationally, two-thirds of minority students who attend a four-year college attend a public institution. Given the mission of public colleges to serve the higher education needs of their states, these institutions must do their utmost to ensure that far more young Americans from minority backgrounds earn a college degree."

For Immediate Release March 5, 2010 Contacts: Herb Hartnett, 301 405 4628 or hhartnet@umd.edu

Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice documentary VIDEO

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will premiere a documentary about civil rights pioneer Donald Hollowell April 15 at 6 p.m. at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta.

Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice is a production of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies, an interdisciplinary documentary and research program dedicated to chronicling Georgia’s history in the Civil Rights movement. The documentary chronicles the life of Hollowell, one of the civil rights movement’s legendary advocates for the cause of social justice.

The premiere will be followed by a panel discussion. Judge Glenda Hatchett, star of the television courtroom series, Judge Hatchett will moderate the discussion and panelists include Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., chair of the Hollowell Professorship endowment committee; the Rev.. Joseph E. Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Mary Frances Early, the first African-American student to graduate from UGA; and Federal Judge Horace T. Ward.

Tickets for the premiere are $100. Proceeds will support the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies in the UGA School of Social Work.

Born and raised in Wichita, Kan., Hollowell did not encounter the Jim Crow restrictions of the South. But he did face racial discrimination while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Hollowell’s experiences with segregation and his involvement with the Southern Negro Youth Congress after the war inspired him to study law, which ultimately became his weapon of choice in the fight for social justice in the South and across the nation, according to Maurice Daniels, dean of the School of Social Work and director of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies.

“His dedication and sacrifice for the ideals of equal opportunity and social justice changed the course of our nation’s history and will continue to open doors of opportunity for generations to come,” said Daniels.

Hollowell died of heart failure on Dec. 27, 2004, at the age of 87.

However, his legacy lives on among the scores of those he influenced and uplifted, said Daniels.

News Release Writer: Wendy Jones, 706/542-6927, wfjones@uga.edu Contact: Maurice Daniels, 706/542-5424, daniels@uga.edu Mar 4, 2010, 14:39

IU Jacobs School of Music professor emerita Camilla Williams honored with Sagamore of the Wabash at Black History Month Gala

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Renowned opera singer Camilla Williams, a professor of voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music from 1977 to 1997, was honored with the Sagamore of the Wabash award at a Feb. 27 Black History Month Gala organized by the City of Bloomington.

The award, the highest honor the governor of Indiana can bestow, recognizing individuals who have brought distinction and honor to the state, was presented by Indiana State Rep. Peggy Welch.

During the ceremony, which took place at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Bloomington, Safe and Civil City Director Beverly Calender-Anderson presented Williams with a framed proclamation from the City of Bloomington.

Renowned soprano Camilla Williams, right, was honored with a Sagamore of the Wabash award. The award was presented by Indiana State Representative Peggy Welch, left. "Courtesy of Indiana University."

Williams, who lives in Bloomington, is known worldwide as the first African American soprano to perform in mainstream theaters and opera companies. In 1946, she broke the color barrier at the New York City Opera, singing the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. In 1954, she became the first African American to sing a major role with the Vienna State Opera, performing her signature part of Cio-Cio-San. She performed throughout the United States and Europe with some of the world's leading opera companies until her retirement from opera singing in 1971. Born in 1919 in Danville, Va., Williams sang the national anthem at the White House in 1963, the same year she sang before 200,000 people prior to Martin Luther King's legendary "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. She was one of the pioneering African American opera singers profiled in the 2000 PBS documentary Aïda's Brothers and Sisters: Black Voices in Opera.

She was also profiled in the 2006 PBS documentary The Mystery of Love.

Williams was the first African American voice professor at IU and the first African American professor at Beijing's Central Conservatory. She was one of eight women honored in 2007 by the Library of Virginia during Women's History Mont and in 2009, was saluted during a "Tribute to Camilla Williams" program by the New York City Opera and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In September 2009, she was awarded the IU President's Medal for Excellence, one of the highest honors IU's president can bestow.

Sagamore of the Wabash

The Sagamore of the Wabash award was created during the term of Governor of Indiana Ralph F. Gates, who served from 1945 to 1949. The term "sagamore" was used by American Indian Tribes of the northeastern United States to describe a tribal chief, while Wabash refers to the state river of Indiana. Previous recipients of this award have included astronauts, politicians, presidents and regular citizens. Indiana University chancellor Herman B Wells received the award six times. Elinor Ostrom, IU's Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science and the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, was honored with the award by Gov. Mitch Daniels in December 2009.

The IU Jacobs School of Music's previous recipients include Distinguished Professor David N. Baker, faculty violinist Joshua Bell and Dean Emeritus Charles H. Webb, who received three Sagamore awards -- from Governors Bowen, Orr and O'Bannon.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 4, 2010 Media Contacts: Linda Cajigas Jacobs School of Music lcajigas@indiana.edu 812-856-3882. Alain Barker Jacobs School of Music abarker@indiana.edu 812-856-5719

Racial discrimination in Union Army pensions detailed by new study

Twenty years after the Civil War ended, the 179,000 African-American veterans of the Union Army saw racial inequality widen as the Pension Bureau left most of them out of a rapid expansion.

According to a new Brigham Young University study, the program shifted away from its relatively color-blind roots when it began granting disability claims based on chronic illness to soldiers who had not been wounded in the war.

During the 1880s, the Pension Bureau approved applications from uninjured white veterans at more than twice the rate of approval for uninjured black veterans.

Union Army veteran John Pinkey served in Company B of the 104th Infantry Regiment of the USCT (U.S. Colored Troops). Pinkey submitted this photo as part of his pension application.

“Black veterans were far less successful than whites for conditions that were hard to verify and required a degree of trust,” said Sven Wilson, an associate professor of political science at BYU. Wilson reports his findings in the American Journal of Public Health. Extending the history of black Civil War vets The research draws from a large Union Army data set collected primarily by BYU students at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Typically it took a student one hour to locate and record a single soldier’s military, pension, medical and census records. The project began as a way for University of Chicago economist and Nobel laureate Robert Fogel to study human aging. Wilson’s new study is one of the first to explore the experiences of black veterans.

Reconstruction: Powerless without a paper trail

During the Reconstruction period, the Pension Bureau awarded monthly disability payments only to veterans disabled by war injuries. To weed out fraudulent claims, the Bureau required applicants to produce documents like birth certificates, military papers and hospital records.

For many black veterans – three-fourths of whom were former slaves – such records simply didn’t exist.

“The Union Army had a hard time staffing the hospitals of black regiments, so ailing black soldiers were not sent to the hospital as often as white soldiers,” Wilson said. “Since they didn’t get sent to the hospital, they didn’t have a paper trail of illness or injury. As a result they had a harder time applying for a pension.”

An enrollment gap emerged, with wounded white veterans getting pensions at twice the rate of wounded black vets.

The silver lining during this period was that blacks who met the application requirements fared about as well as whites. Between 1865 and 1878, the Pension Bureau approved 83 percent of the applications submitted by wounded white veterans and 77 percent submitted by wounded black veterans.

“The fact that the Pension Bureau gave it to both blacks and whites was an accomplishment for the time,” Wilson said. “The pension was a tremendous financial boon for black families in a time when the economic opportunities of African-Americans were severely limited by Jim Crow policies.”

Ballooning bureaucracy leaves black vets behind

During the 1880s, political pressure changed how the Pension Bureau operated. Review boards became more lenient about linking veterans’ various conditions to the war. Veterans awarded new claims also became eligible for back payment.

Racial inequality widened as the program expanded because black veterans’ claims were believed far less readily than whites, especially if the disability was harder to verify medically. Wilson’s study shows that a claim of chronic back pain, for example, was twice as likely to be approved for a white veteran.

Applicants with highly verifiable ailments such as varicose veins, on the other hand, had roughly the same chances regardless of race.

Second chance comes too late for most

Twenty-five years after the war ended, a new law dropped the requirement that the disability must trace back to the war. The new rule required just proof of service and a current disability or chronic illness.

“Even in this period of overwhelming injustice, black veterans benefited from the pension program,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately most black veterans did not live to the turn of the century when the program peaked in terms of equal treatment.”

Media Contact: BYU News Joe Hadfield 801 422 9206

Photo by: Kurz and Allison, retrieved from Library of Congress National Archives.

Navy launches new ship: the USNS Charles Drew

There are schools and medical clinics named after surgeon Charles Drew, but he received his biggest honor Saturday -- fittingly, during Black History Month -- when a 689-foot Navy ship was named after the African American medical pioneer.

The USNS Charles Drew was christened by his three surviving children and splashed into San Diego Bay. "It was an extraordinary honor," said his daughter, former D.C. Council member Charlene Drew Jarvis. "The whole weekend has been emotional because I was a 9-year-old girl when my father died."

The vessel was named after Drew for his groundbreaking work in storing and transferring blood, which saved untold lives in World War II.

Bebe Drew Price breaks a champagne bottle against the USNS Charles Drew as Charlene Drew Jarvis looks on. (Ken Wright/General Dynamics)

The Washington native died in 1950 from severe injuries in a car accident, not -- despite persistent urban myths -- from being denied hospital care because he was black. He was only 45, but already a nationally recognized figure. In 2008, Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter selected Drew to join ships named after other explorers and pioneers: Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, Alan Shepard, Robert Peary, Amelia Earhart, Carl Brashear and Wally Schirra. Saturday's formal launch included the entire Drew clan, Howard University surgeon LaSalle Leffall, and a speech from Surgeon General Regina Benjamin.

Then Bebe Drew Price, the oldest of the three Drew sisters, swung the traditional bottle of champagne. "She absolutely smashed it!" Jarvis told us. "But the most extraordinary part was seeing the Charles Drew slip into San Diego Bay."

The supply ship will deliver food, ammunition and fuel to combat ships at sea. No word when she'll sail into Washington; the Navy hasn't announced if the Drew will be based on the East or West Coast.

For Immediate Release: For more information, please contact: Edna Yohannes Chief of Staff at Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science Telephone: (323) 563-4981 or cell (323) 681-4225

CHARLES DREW UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE 1731 East 120th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90059 p 323 563 4987 f 323 563 5987 www.cdrewu.edu

Preparing Young Men in 2010 To Be Successful in Life

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A free March 27 conference for young men, their parents and people who work with them is intended to help them with issues they confront.

The Saturday morning event – “Preparing Young Men in 2010 To Be Successful in Life” – is free and open to the public. The sessions are geared to boys 9–18 and adults such as educators, counselors and parents interested in their healthy development.

The conference will run from 9 a.m. to noon at Myers Middle School, 3741 Pulliam Drive off Klondike Lane. There is no registration.

The University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work is sponsoring the event with Canaan Community Development Corp., which runs an after-school program for young males.

Social work students organized the conference, which features local African American men as speakers and role models.

For example, former UofL basketball player Derwin Webb, now a Louisville attorney, will present “What Are Sports Doing For You?” Our Lady of Peace chemical dependency counselor Henry Fuqua will discuss “Setting Future Goals.” Another speaker will be Shawn Gardner, who heads the 2NOT1 nonprofit organization that encourages absent fathers to connect with their children.

Other topics include “Dating and Treating Women with Respect” and “Why School is Important.”

For more information, contact Sharon Moore, 502-852-0751 or semoor02@louisville.edu, or Robert Holmes III, 502-776-6369.

Judy Hughes (502) 852-6171 judy.hughes@louisville.edu

Music historian to speak March 9 at KU on black women's narratives in jazz

LAWRENCE — Tammy Kernodle, historical musicologist and author of “Soul on Soul: the Music and Life of Mary Lou Williams,” will give a lecture on jazz at the University of Kansas.

As part of the University Honors Program lecture series “Writing Jazz,” Kernodle will present “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit: Constructing Black Women’s Conversion Narratives in Jazz,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 9, in Spooner Hall. Her lecture explores a convergence of jazz, spirituality and African-American women’s narratives that is rarely considered in jazz history. The artists on whom she will focus are Mary Lou Williams and Alice Coltrane. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Kernodle teaches in the music department at Miami University in Ohio. Her work focuses on African-American music, American music and jazz. In addition to her acclaimed musical biography of jazz pianist, composer and arranger Williams, she has written extensively on composer William Grant Still.

Tammy Kernodle

Kernodle is editing a three-volume encyclopedia of African-American music. More information is available at arts.muohio.edu/music/people/faculty-listing-bios/tammy-kernodle. Kernodle’s appearance is sponsored by the University Honors Program in association with the Commons and the American Studies Program. -30- The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.

kunews@ku.edu | (785) 864-3256 | 1314 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045

Feb. 26, 2010 Contact: Sherrie Tucker, American Studies Program, (785) 864-2305

ROBERT C. DAVIDSON JR. ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN

February 25, 2010, Pasadena, Calif. – The Board of Trustees of Art Center College of Design announced today that Robert C. Davidson Jr. has been elected board chairman. His appointment continues a new era of leadership at the College, following the announcement of a new president in October 2009.

Davidson is the first African-American to serve as board chairman at Art Center, and among the first African-Americans to assume Board leadership of a member institution within the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design

Mr. Davidson has served on the Board since 2004. Most recently, he served as chair of Art Center’s Presidential Search Committee, tasked with finding a new president and chief executive officer for the College, which resulted in the appointment of Dr. Lorne M. Buchman to that role. Mr. Davidson has also served on the Board’s Executive, Audit and Governance Committees, the latter of which he has chaired since 2007.

Robert C. Davidson Jr.

In making the announcement, outgoing Board Chairman John P. Puerner said, “Elevating Art Center to a place of new leadership has been rewarding. I am pleased to pass the torch to Bob, who has proven to be a valuable asset to the College and is sure to help maintain Art Center’s leadership position in art and design education.” Mr. Davidson said, “It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to serve as board chairman for an institution as distinguished as Art Center. As the College celebrates its 80th anniversary, it is with a sense of excitement and renewed commitment that we will partner with Lorne to help Art Center achieve new levels of greatness.”

Dr. Buchman said, “I had the great privilege of getting to know Bob during the presidential search process. He proved to be deeply committed to Art Center and dedicated to helping me establish a clear vision for the College, engaging students, faculty and the entire Art Center community in imagining the future of art and design education.”

Dedicated to community involvement, Mr. Davidson sits on the board of a number of other organizations, including Morehouse College, where he serves as vice chairman of the Board of Trustees; Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.; Broadway Federal Bank; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; The White House Fellows Commission; the University of Chicago Graduate School Advisory Council. He is also vice chairman of the South Coast Air Quality Management District Brain and Lung Tumor and Air Pollution Foundation.

Previously, Davidson was a director of Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles; Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce; Rebuild L.A.; Museum of Contemporary Art; Charles Drew University School of Medicine; Armory Center for the Arts; Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; the African/American Museum of Art; Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles; Fulcrum Venture Capital Corporation; Los Angeles Urban League; and the Planning Commission for the City of Pasadena.

Among the many honors Mr. Davidson has received are the Man of the Year Award from the March of Dimes, the Bennie Award for Leadership from Morehouse College, the president’s residence at Morehouse College named in his honor, the Father of the Year Award from the American Diabetes Association, the Ronald H. Brown Award , the Raoul Wallenberg Save the Children Award from the Shaare Zedek Medical Center Jerusalem, Black Businessman of the Year from the Los Angeles Chapter of the Black MBA Association and Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year from the National Association of Investment Companies.

Mr. Davidson is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Surface Protection Industries, which he founded in 1978, and which became one of the top African American-owned manufacturing companies in California. Previously, he co-founded and served as vice president of the Urban National Corporation, a private venture capital firm that raised over $10 million for investments into minority-controlled businesses.

Mr. Davidson received a B.S. from Morehouse College, earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Morehouse College. Pasadena residents, Mr. Davidson and his wife, Faye, are the parents of three sons: Robert III, John Roderick and Julian.

About Art Center: Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, Art Center College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. Art Center offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in a wide variety of art and design disciplines, as well as public programs for all ages and levels of experience. Renowned for its ties to industry, Art Center is the first design school to receive the United Nations' Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status, providing opportunities for students to create design-based solutions for humanitarian and non-profit agencies around the world. During the College's 80-year history, Art Center's alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live, and important issues in our society. * * *

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jered Gold Marketing and Communications Art Center College of Design 626.396.2251 jered.gold@artcenter.edu

United States' First Female African American Rabbi to Share Her Life Story During March 3 Lecture at Pitt

PITTSBURGH-The path to the pulpit has been a long and winding journey for Alysa Stanton, the United States' first female African American rabbi. Stanton will share her life experiences during a free public lecture titled “Layers of Healing, Layers of Hope” at 7:30 p.m. March 3 in the Ballroom of Pitt's William Pitt Union, 3959 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

Born to a Christian family in Cleveland, Ohio, Stanton converted to Judaism at age 24. She completed seven years of rabbinical training at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion before assuming the role of rabbi of Congregation Bayt Shalom, a 60-family synagogue in Greenville, N.C., in June 2009.

Prior to converting to Judaism and preparing for the rabbinate, Stanton worked as a psychotherapist specializing in grief counseling; her counseling experience includes the treatment of individuals affected by the murderous 1999 shooting rampage at Columbine High School.

She is an alumnus of Colorado State University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1988 and a master's degree in education in 1992; she received a professional counselor's license in 1998.

Stanton's presentation is sponsored by Pitt's Office of Cross Cultural and Leadership Development and Departments of Cultural Studies, History, and Religious Studies, as well as by the Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh and the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh. For more information on the event, call 412-621-8875 or e-mail carlya@hilleljuc.org. ### 2/26/10/amm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE University of Pittsburgh Contact: Patricia Lomando White 412-624-9101 (office); 412-215-9932 (cell) laer@pitt.edu

Doing Business with Beauty: Black Women, Hair Salons, and the Racial Enclave Economy

March 24, Aida Harvey Wingfield, "Doing Business with Beauty: Black Women, Hair Salons, and the Racial Enclave Economy." Harvey Wingfield will discuss her recent book in which she argues that, while an increasing number of small business owners are black women, the existing theoretical paradigms fail to sufficiently explain why this is so. To correct this, she advances a more precise theoretical model to explain black women's businesses: that of the "racial enclave economy." She coined the term to describe the ways gendered racism operates as a systemic issue that influences black women's entrepreneurial activity.

In her talk, she will address the ways gendered racism operates to shape black women's entrepreneurship that are often overlooked in the existing literature and public debates on business ownership.

Adia Harvey Wingfield Assistant Professor Race, Class & Gender, Work & Occupations, Social Theory Email: aharvey@gsu.edu Room: 1057 Telephone Number: (404) 413-6509

The University of Texas at Arlington News Release — 24 February 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media contact: Sue Stevens, Senior Media Relations Officer, 817- 272-3317, sstevens@uta.edu

Federal Government and Depression Author Target African-American Community with Mental Health Campaign

WASHINGTON – The leading federal mental health agency and mental health activist Terri Williams, whose book Black Pain documented her own struggle with depression, kicked off a nationwide, two-year campaign Tuesday at Howard University to increase treatment for African Americans with mental disorders.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Williams, who established a foundation to help African Americans with depression after her mental breakdown, joined the Ad Council and Williams’ Stay Strong Foundation to unveil three television public service announcements they hope will diminish the stigma of mental health among African Americans. The announcements will be sent to 33,000 media outlets.

During the launch at the university’s Cancer Center, the organizations also highlighted a new Web site, www.storiesthatheal.samhsa.gov, with videos of African Americans, famous and unknown, talking about their struggles with depression and their families’ history of mental health issues, and how it affected them.

Terri Williams

Williams pointed participants to her organization’s Web site that deals with depression, www.usedtobeme.net, and urged young African Americans to help remove the stigma associated with mental disease. “Depression is killing black people by the thousands,” Williams said, “and it’s important to talk about it, no matter what our own personal fear might be. We must share our stories with each other, especially our young.” The campaign targets African Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 because they have a higher incidence of mental health disorders than the overall population, said Paolo del Vecchio of SAMHSA. “We also know the increase in the suicide rate among young African Americans is twice the rate of their white counterparts,” he said. “Additionally, less than one half of African Americans who need treatment receive it.”

The event, which coincided with the first HBCU National Mental Health Awareness Day, was coordinated by sociologist Donna Holland Barnes, an instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Howard University and director of the University’s Suicide Prevention Program.

“Unfortunately, many African Americans do not recognize this is a significant problem within our community,” said Barnes, who lost a son to suicide. “We are less likely to seek help. If we do seek help, we’re less likely to comply with treatment. The result can be fatal, and can lead to either suicide or homicide.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ron Harris Director of Communications Office of University Communications 202.683.0182 rjharris@howard.edu

Minority Internship Program Applications Due in March for Summer, Fall 2010 Placements

MACOMB, IL - - Applications for Western Illinois University students who are interested in participating in the Summer and Fall 2010 Minority Internship Program (MIP) are due Monday, March 22 in the African American studies (AAS) department office, Morgan Hall 232 on the Macomb campus.

The program, which is funded by a Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA) grant through the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), is a one semester, paid internship that allows fulltime junior, senior and graduate minority students to combine work and learning experiences. Western is a member of the Five University Consortium, along with Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governor's State University and Northeastern Illinois University.

The program is designed specifically for African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native American and Alaskan Native students who are U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents to improve their understanding of organizational decision-making, policy-making and to empower them through career goal assessment, work experience, the establishment of mentorships, and enhanced networking skills and opportunities.

Students arrange their internship sites with the assistance of their academic advisers and the Career Services Office. Interns must work between 30 and 35 hours per week and attend monthly seminars. Fulltime interns are appointed for one academic term and are paid a monthly stipend. Academic credit for enrolling fulltime in an approved internship credit course is required during the internship semester.

This semester, WIU has three students on MIP internships. McKenzie Cherestal (Evanston, IL), a senior law enforcement and justice administration major, who is interning with the Niles (IL) Police Department; Dail Rice (Rock Island, IL), a WIU-Quad Cities campus master's candidate in counseling who is interning at Rock Island High School; and Robert Shelby (Macomb, IL), a master's candidate in sociology who is interning at The Crossing in Macomb. Previously, MIP students have interned throughout the continental U.S. and Alaska as well as London, Hong Kong and Australia.

Alphonso Simpson Jr.

"Through financial support and mentoring, it is our hope we can provide an enhanced experience for the interns who have been selected to represent WIU. The MIP is designed to make the internship experience easier and more rewarding for these exceptional students," stated MIP campus co-chairs Alphonso Simpson Jr., AAS interim chair, and Fran Hainline, office support specialist. To apply, undergraduates must be at least a fulltime junior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale.

Fulltime graduate students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25.Applications for Summer and Fall 2010 semester internships are available in the African American studies office in Morgan Hall 232. For more information, call the AAS department at (309) 298-2282.

An e-mail has been sent to all qualified students inviting them to apply. Interested students who have questions about their qualifications should call (309) 298-1181, e-mail MIP@wiu.edu or visit the African American studies office. Students at WIU-Quad Cities can contact Curtis Williams, (309) 762-1495, or e-mail CM-Williams11@wiu.edu, for information or applications.

Western Illinois University Posted By: Bonnie Barker, University Relations Phone: (309) 298-1993 * Fax: (309) 298-1606

Wellesley's Joanne Berger-Sweeney Honored for Her Medical Research by The HistoryMakers

WELLESLEY, Mass.—Calling her "one of five of the nation's leading medical scientists," The HistoryMakers organization honored Wellesley College Associate Dean Joanne E. Berger-Sweeney at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry this month.

Berger-Sweeney, Wellesley's Allene Lummis Russell professor in neuroscience and professor of biological sciences, presented her research in a panel discussion at the event.

The HistoryMakers, a national nonprofit research and educational institution, is dedicated to educating the world about African American history and achievement. Its program, "The Value of Science: Improving the Quality of Life," featured Berger-Sweeney and four other top scientists.

The event attracted more than 600 participants including trustees of the Chicago science museum and The HistoryMakers.

"I spoke about my research regarding Rett Syndrome, an autistic-spectrum disorder," Berger-Sweeney said. "I work with a mouse model where we take the genetic mutations that cause the disease in humans and test mice to see how closely they resemble the human model.

We are trying diet and nutrition as a way of mitigating the symptoms of the syndrome."

Berger-Sweeney and her fellow scientists also spent a day with inner-city middle school students at the museum.

"Each of us gave short talks and there were scientific demonstrations to engage their interest," said Berger-Sweeney. "Each class had a student videographer with a Flip camera who interviewed us about how we became scientists. The videos were shown at the end of the day to all of the students. They really got into seeing themselves in the videos and that was terrific."

Joanne Berger-Sweeney

Recognized internationally for her work on brain disorders affecting memory, Berger-Sweeney's teaching is closely linked to her research. In her labs, Wellesley College students benefit from directly participating in that research.

A member of the Wellesley College Class of 1979, she majored in psychobiology, then earned a master's of public health at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in neurotoxicology at Johns Hopkins University. She has been a member of the Wellesley College faculty since 1991.

The HistoryMakers describes itself as "capturing American history one person at a time." Berger-Sweeney now becomes part of its ScienceMakers Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, which is creating a multi-media archive of video oral histories of African American scientists. The histories serve as a framework for public programs, educational materials, Web content and a YouTube oral history contest.

In addition to Berger-Sweeney, the other honored scientists were Edwin Cooper, Erich D. Jarvis, Roderic Pettigrew and Luther S. Williams. For more information, go to www.thehistorymakers.com/. ###

For Immediate Release: Feb. 23, 2010 Contact: Arlie Corday, acorday@wellesley.edu781-283-3321

Tish Norman keynote speaker at Marshall’s Women of Color program

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Tish Norman, founder of Transforming Leaders Now, Inc., a consulting company that focuses on leadership and personal development, will be the keynote speaker at Marshall University’s Women of Color program Monday, March 1.

The program, which is free to the public, begins at noon in the Don Morris Room of the Memorial Student Center on MU’s Huntington campus. Vendors and displays will be set up throughout the day in the lobby of the Memorial Student Center.

This year’s theme is “Symbols in Silver” to reflect 25 years of celebrating Women of Color Day.

Norman is the co-author of the empowerment book From Mediocre to Magnificent, and was profiled as one of the “New Leaders” in Campus Activities Magazine and featured articles published in Connections Magazine and The Future Business Leader Educational Journal.

Tish Norman

She will be speaking on “Celebrating Yourself” and “Women in Charge! Communication Strategies for Confident Women,” which promises to be a very exciting and motivational afternoon, according to Fran L. Jackson, Program Assistant II, Center for African American Students’ Programs. Norman is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and The Links. Women of Color awards will be presented and a luncheon buffet will follow. The Women of Color Program activities are coordinated by Jackson; Leah Tolliver, Director, Women’s Center; Lisa Allen, Administrative Assistant, Multicultural Affairs; Le´Kesha Glover, Assistant Director of Residence Services, and Sherri Steele, Counselor, Student Affairs.

For more information, contact Jackson at 304-696-6705.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, February 22, 2010 Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications (304) 696-7153

For further information, contact: Office of University Communications Marshall University | 213 Old Main | Huntington, WV 25755-1090 Fax: (304) 696-3197

African-Americans' attitudes about lung cancer may hinder prevention

A new survey has found that African-Americans are more likely than whites to hold mistaken and fatalistic beliefs about lung cancer, as well as being more reluctant to consult a doctor about possible symptoms of the disease, according to researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and their collaborators.

These attitudes among blacks may help explain the puzzling racial disparities in lung cancer treatment outcomes that have been documented over the past 25 years, and highlight the need for clearer, more direct public health messages directed at African-Americans, say the scientists.

Christopher Lathan, MD, MPH, an oncologist in the Division of Population Sciences at Dana-Farber, is the first author of the report in the journal Cancer. Senior author is Gary Bennett, PhD, of Duke University's Global Health Institute.

Both whites and blacks in the survey "grossly underestimated" the bleak outlook associated with a diagnosis of lung cancer — only 15 percent of patients survive for five years.

Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH

Lung cancer is the most lethal cancer in the United States, and among people diagnosed with the disease, African-American men have the highest incidence and mortality. Blacks tend to be diagnosed later than whites, when the disease is more advanced. Federal data quoted in the paper say that the 2001-2005 incidence rate of lung cancer for white men was 79.3 per 100,000 vs. 107.6 per 100,000 for African-American men, and the mortality rate for white men with lung cancer is 71.3 per 100,000 vs. 93.1 per 100,000 for African-American men. This survival gap was first detected in the early 1980s, and continues today. Previous studies have suggested that the disparity may be due in part to differences in access to care, rates of surgery, and patient preferences, Lathan says. The current study was undertaken to find out "if African-Americans think about lung cancer in a different way," explains Lathan.

Using a random-digit phone dialing method, the investigators queried patients who had been participants in the National Cancer Institute's 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS).

Both black and white respondents greatly overestimated the percentage of lung cancer patients who survive five years or longer. Many said 50 percent when the true number is 15 percent.

There were three survey questions on which blacks and whites diverged significantly. African-Americans were more likely than whites (53 percent vs. 37 percent) to say they were confused by too many recommendations on how to prevent lung cancer.

"This is shocking," says Lathan. "There is only one recommendation to decrease the chance of getting lung cancer. Stop smoking and avoid tobacco smoke."

When asked whether the disease is caused by lifestyle and behavior, 73 percent of blacks agreed, compared to 85 percent of whites.

Among blacks, 22 percent said they would be reluctant to be checked for lung cancer symptoms out of fear of receiving bad news. Only 9 percent of whites agreed with this statement.

In addition, 51 percent of African-Americans believed that they would have symptoms before a diagnosis of lung cancer, versus 32 percent of whites.

The researchers concluded, "African Americans are more likely to hold beliefs about lung cancer that could interfere with prevention and treatment."

"We really need to target out lung cancer education to communities of color," says Lathan.

"And we need to deliver really clear messages: Stop smoking if you want to prevent lung cancer. You should go to see your doctor. And we should let people known that lung cancer is deadly — more deadly than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined."

Other authors of the report are Cassandra Okechukwu, DSc, of the University of California at San Francisco and Bettina F. Drake, PhD, MPH, formerly of the Center for Community-Based Research at Dana-Farber and now at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University in St. Louis.

The research was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Media Contact: Robbin Ray (617) 632-4090

Dr. Tina Cartwright to speak on promoting scientific literacy in Sarah Denman Faces of Appalachia Symposium

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Dr. Tina Cartwright, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Services at Marshall University, will present “Launching Tomorrow’s Scientists” and share the outcomes of her work to help low-income minority children develop interest in science and find their way into science careers. The presentation will take place Thursday, March 4 on MU’s Huntington campus.

Cartwright is the featured speaker in the 2nd annual Sarah Denman Faces of Appalachia Symposium. It is scheduled from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Francis-Booth Experimental Theatre at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center. A dessert reception will follow.

In 2007, Cartwright was awarded an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to begin COMETS (COMmunities Educating Tomorrow’s Scientists), an after-school science enrichment program for 8- to 11-year-olds in community centers and schools. Since 2007, 170 students in Dunbar and Charleston have participated in COMETS, some with more than 150 contact hours.

Dr. Tina Cartwright

As Cartwright shares, economic and social dependency on technology continues to increase, and people need expanded literacy to capitalize on those innovations. But according to 2007 statistics from the National Science Foundation, just 3.1 percent of all Bachelor of Science recipients were African American men and 3.5 percent were African American women. “People often like to say that ‘It doesn’t take a rocket scientist’ to do complex things,” Cartwright said. “But we need a whole lot more scientists to keep America competitive and leading the world in innovation. Our children, no matter the color of their skin or the amount of money in their bank accounts, need to know that science is accessible and critical for our future.”

Research shows that a student’s interest in science is a better indicator for selecting a science career than grades or test scores. Yet the language of science can be inhibiting for low-income and minority students.

Cartwright studied the type of science language used by students who had high interest in science, and planned a program outside of school to provide a space where those students could develop their interest in science and their facility with science language.

Cartwright’s presentation will focus on a group of 20 students on the west side of Charleston who have consistently participated in COMETS since 2007. Her work measures students’ current interest in and use of science language, and considers as well the role of COMETS in promoting that interest in science and science language skill.

The current program will end in May, but Cartwright has recently submitted another $1.2 million grant to the National Science Foundation Science to continue the program in Kanawha County and expand it to Cabell and Wayne counties.

After Cartwright’s presentation, her project will be discussed by Steve Beckelhimer (STEM Science Coordinator for the June Harless Center), Dr. Pat Kusimo (president of the Education Alliance-Business and Community for Public Schools), and Michelle Burk (fifth-grade teacher at Dunbar Intermediate School).

The Sarah Denman Faces of Appalachia Symposium is co-sponsored by Marshall University’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Gender in Appalachia, National Endowment for the Humanities, Marshall University Multicultural Affairs, and the MU-ADVANCE Program.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, February 19, 2010 Contact: Chris Green, Co-Director, Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Gender in Appalachia 304-696-6269

For further information, contact: Office of University Communications Marshall University | 213 Old Main | Huntington, WV 25755-1090 Fax: (304) 696-3197

Transforming Community Project Creates Agents of Change

For the past five years, the Transforming Community Project (TCP) has encouraged participants to take comfort in the uncomfortable and open up about race.

The initiative has attracted a mix of faculty, staff, students and alumni in examining the issue of race at Emory through provocative dialogue and original research. A five-year effort funded by the Provost's Office, Emory's strategic plan and the Ford Foundation, TCP has lent a voice to a slave named Kitty and her owner, the first chairman of Emory's Board of Trustees, along with the first Latino, Jewish and Asian students who contributed to the University's cultural mosaic.

Apart from recovering Emory's complicated history with race, the initiative encourages hundreds of participants to be active agents of change.

Previous attendees have gone on to develop diversity programming on campus and in DeKalb public schools, conduct oral history interviews to examine an aspect of Emory's racial legacy, lead youth movements in Atlanta, or share insights with their families around the dinner table.

"A lot of diversity training is a weekend or a workshop," says TCP Director Leslie Harris, associate professor of history and African American studies. "We wanted to set up something where people stayed in conversation over time." TCP celebrated its fifth anniversary during Founders Week, and collaborated with the Emory Visual Arts Gallery to feature renowned portraitist Dawoud Bey's photographs of students across the nation, a cross-section of a generation.

Throughout the year, TCP facilitates three tiers of groups to develop creative responses to issues of race on campus, from day-to-day interactions to long-term challenges to the institution's identity.

Community Dialogue Groups members commit to meeting eight times a semester with trained peer facilitators. They are encouraged to move from intimate conversations about race to constructive public action.

Gathering the Tools Groups engage in excavating Emory's racial history, dating to the University's founding in 1836, through oral histories, archival research and multimedia presentations.

Summer faculty pedagogy seminars explore ways to incorporate Emory's strategic theme of "Creating Community, Engaging Society" into new or existing course material. TCP also works with the summer Scholarly Inquiry and Research Experience (SIRE) program to fund student projects.

Mary Catherine Johnson, assistant director of the Visual Arts Gallery and department, was instrumental in bringing Bey to campus for an artist residency this spring. A former TCP participant and two-time facilitator, Johnson says the Community Dialogue groups "were some of the most powerful experiences I've had here at Emory."

Vice President for Campus Services Bob Hascall signed up for a TCP Community Dialogue last year and encouraged his department to participate. More than two dozen Campus Services employees were "introduced to one other in a different way," he says, from exploring color divisions within the African American community, to learning about Emory's early struggles with racial division.

"It was sharing some of who we are, and how we came to be in our working environment," Hascall says.

TCP is working with the Provost's Office to secure funding for the next five years. Plans include developing an extracurricular curriculum on racial diversity for youth at Druid Hills High School and the local YMCA. In fall semester, TCP piloted a dialogue on the Middle East conflict and this spring is collaborating with the Center for Women to explore gender issues. A dialogue on sexuality is slated for next fall in coordination with the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life.

When will the community be fully transformed?

"Progress is not a word I ever use," explains Harris, who founded TCP with former Emory journalism professor Catherine Manegold. "We go back, we go forward and we go around. Communities are constantly transforming. The question is do we want to be swept along with that transformation or have an active role in guiding that transformation?" ###

News Release: University News Contact: Beverly Clark: 404.712.8780

USDA AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANNOUNCE HISTORIC SETTLEMENT IN LAWSUIT BY BLACK FARMERS CLAIMING DISCRIMINATION BY USDA

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2010 - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the successful resolution of the longstanding litigation known as Pigford II. The settlement agreement reached today, which is contingent on appropriation by Congress, will provide a total of $1.25 billion to African American farmers who alleged that they suffered racial discrimination in USDA farm loan programs. The settlement sets up a non-judicial claims process through which individual farmers may demonstrate their entitlement to cash damages awards and debt relief.

Below is a statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack: AUDIO: Media Briefing

"USDA has made it a top priority to ensure all farmers are treated fairly and equally. We have worked hard to address USDA's checkered past so we can get to the business of helping farmers succeed. The agreement reached today is an important milestone in putting these discriminatory claims behind us for good and in achieving finality for this group of farmers with longstanding grievances.

"Because this Administration firmly believed that a full and final class-wide settlement was possible, the Administration requested $1.15 billion in the 2010 budget, on top of the $100 million already provided by Congress, to facilitate a settlement. I now urge Congress to provide the funding necessary to ensure that that these farmers and USDA can close this sad chapter and move on.

"As I testified before Congress during my confirmation hearings last year, the USDA under the Obama Administration has made civil rights a top priority, which is why we are working to implement a comprehensive program to take definitive action to move USDA into a new era as a model employer and premier service provider." Below is a statement from Attorney General Eric Holder: "Bringing this litigation to a close has been a priority for this Administration. With the settlement announced today, USDA and the African American farmers who brought this litigation can move on to focus on their future.

The plaintiffs can move forward and have their claims heard - with the federal government standing not as an adversary, but as a partner."

In 1999, the USDA entered into a consent agreement with black farmers in which the agency agreed to pay farmers for past discrimination in lending and other USDA programs. Thousands of claims have been adjudicated, but thousands of other claims were not considered on their merits because the affected farmers submitted their claims after the settlement claims deadline.

To address the remaining claims, Congress provided these farmers another avenue for restitution in the 2008 Farm Bill by providing a right to file a claim in federal court. The total amount offered by the federal government in the agreement announced today, $1.25 billion, includes the $100 million appropriated by Congress in Section 14012 of the Farm Bill.

Last May, President Obama announced his plans to include settlement funds for black farmers in the FY 2010 budget to bring closure to their long-standing litigation against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The settlement is contingent on Congress appropriating the $1.15 billion that the President requested. Following the appropriation, class members may pursue their individual claims through a non-judicial claims process in front of a neutral arbitrator. Claimants who establish their credit-related claims will be entitled to receive up to $50,000 and debt relief. A separate track may provide actual damages of up to $250,000 through a more rigorous process. The actual value of awards may be reduced based on the total amount of funds made available and the number of successful claims.

A moratorium on foreclosures of most claimants' farms will be in place until after claimants have gone through the claims process or the Secretary is notified that a claim has been denied.The claims process agreed to by the parties may provide payments to successful claimants beginning in the middle fo 2011.

Ensuring equitable treatment of all USDA employees and clients is a top priority for Secretary Vilsack. He has issued a clear policy and a comprehensive plan to improve USDA's record on Civil Rights and made it clear to all employees that discrimination of any form will not be tolerated at USDA. Some of the actions taken to transform USDA into a new era as a model employer and premier service provider include:

* USDA revamped the program civil rights complaints system to improve the complaint process. For the first time since 1997, USDA now has investigators on staff to do the field work needed to investigate complaints.
* After a competitive bidding process, USDA has hired outside, private firm to do an independent external analysis of the department's service delivery programs to identify problem areas and fixes. The firm will consider programs at USDA to identify barriers to equal and fair access for all USDA customers.
* In April, USDA suspended all foreclosures in the Farm Service Agency's loan program for 90 days to provide an opportunity to review loans that could have been related to discriminatory conduct.
* USDA's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights has initiated a series of unprecedented civil rights trainings for USDA field leadership teams and required trainings for all political appointees and senior departmental leadership.
* To try and resolve internal disputes and conflicts early and to enhance the use of alternative dispute resolution at USDA, the department is also establishing a congressionally mandated Ombudsman office to improve dispute resolution efforts. #

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272(voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

Release No. 0072.10 Contact: USDA Office of Communications. (202)720-4623 U.S. Dept of Justice Office of Communications. (202) 514-2007

Multimedia Journalist Farai Chideya To Speak At Ithaca College

ITHACA, NY — During her 20-year career as a journalist, Farai Chideya has combined media, technology and social justice to produce award-winning stories on some of the nation’s most important issues.

Chideya will give a free public talk on “How Social Media and Citizen Journalism are Changing the Media Terrain and the World” on Tuesday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Ithaca College’s Park Hall Auditorium.

From 2006 to January 2009, Chideya hosted NPR’s “News and Notes,” a daily national radio show devoted to covering African American issues. A multimedia journalist, she has been an ABC News correspondent, “Newsweek” reporter and MTV News staffer and has contributed commentaries to CNN, Fox, MSNBC and BET. In 1995 she founded PopandPolitics.com, one of the longest continuously operating blogs. She also blogs for the Huffington Post.

Farai Chideya

Chideya is the author of several books on the intersections of race, media and politics, including “Don’t Believe the Hype: Fighting Cultural Misinformation About African Americans,” “The Color of Our Future: Race in the 21st Century” and “Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters.” Last year she published her first novel, “Kiss the Sky.” Her lecture is sponsored by the Park Center for Independent Media (PCIM). Based in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, PCIM is a national center for the study of media outlets that create and distribute content outside traditional corporate structures.

For more information, contact PCIM director Jeff Cohen at jcohen@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-1330.

Contact: Dave Maley Office: (607) 274-1440 news@ithaca.edu Reference: 2-18-10-36