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Mary J. Blige, NASA Pair Up to Get Girls Into Science

By goodblacknews on September 11, 2010

Mary J. Blige is collaborating with NASA to encourage girls to pursue STEM education. (Photo Source: The Thurgood Marshall College Fund)
Mary J. Blige is partnering with NASA to encourage girls and young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). NASA released two public service announcements featuring Blige and space shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin this week on NASA TV online. In addition, Blige, who cofounded the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now in 2008, has made several television appearances in the last week to talk about the program.
The goal of the collaboration is to garner attention for NASA’s Summer of Innovation, a multiweek, intensive STEM program for middle school teachers and students during summer 2010. Coordinators hope the program, which is in support of President Barack Obama’s Educate to Innovate Campaign, will counter the “summer slide” (loss of academic skills over the summer) and other issues facing students who are underrepresented, underserved, and underperforming in STEM. SOI programs will take place in several states including Idaho, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Wyoming, and students will learn about and develop projects involving wind turbines, weather stations, engineering in suborbital space, robotics, astrophysics, and space exploration.

Marian Johnson-Thompson, professor emeritus at the University of the District of Columbia, says parents should find female role models in science for their girls.  For STEM Spotlight this week, BlackEnterprise.com spoke with Marian Johnson-Thompson, professor emerita at the University of the District of Columbia and an adjunct professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She talked about five things parents can do to encourage their girls to pursue an interest in science.

Expose them to female role models. Find other women in science who can tell your daughters what they did in science when they were young girls, says Johnson-Thompson, the former director of education and biomedical research at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Use role models who can demonstrate that you can be attractive, wear nice clothes, have children, and get married–all while being successful in science. “That may sound a little bit sexist, but it turns out this is what little girls think about early on, and even the young girls I meet today in high school [think you can’t be involved in science and still be feminine],” she says. “If you can expose them to role models who have these characteristics, it is positive reinforcement for them.”
Relate science to activities that girls, in particular, will understand. Tell your daughters about the chemistry involved in cosmetology or the scientific processes involved in cooking, says Johnson-Thompson. There is an entire discipline of science devoted to food science. Show them that bread is made from yeast rising, that pickles are made as a result of the fermentation process, and explain to them the role of microorganisms in yogurt and cheeses. “Explain science so that children can see how it is used in their everyday experiences. Then it will help them to be more engaged,” she says.
Build their math skills early. “Make sure they have a good foundation in math because math is fundamental to science,” says Johnson-Thompson. “If you have a good background in math, science will come easy.”

via blackenterprise.com

M. Lee Pelton Named Emerson College’s First African-American President

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2010
1284002815_3311
M. Lee Pelton, a Harvard-educated scholar of English and poetry, was named Emerson College’s next president yesterday, becoming the school’s first African-American president and one of a handful of black college leaders in the state.
Pelton, president of Willamette University in Salem, Ore., and a national authority on diversity within academia, will join the arts and communication college in downtown Boston at a time when it is working to overcome criticism about its dearth of black-tenured faculty.  “Diversity is not an add-on, but really is core to the academic mission of institutions that thrive on having diverse points of view, divergent backgrounds, and different ethnic heritages come together,’’ Pelton said in an interview yesterday. “We need to make some progress in that area.’’  Emerson drew criticism last year after denying promotions to two black professors who later filed discrimination complaints. The shortage of black and Hispanic faculty is a challenge facing all of the most prominent universities in the Boston area, according to a Globe survey of 10 colleges earlier this year.

Pelton, 59, will succeed Jacqueline Liebergott when she retires in July 2011, after leading the college for 18 years. Liebergott, Emerson’s first female president, was responsible for moving the college from its aging facilities in the Back Bay to the edge of Boston Common and revitalizing the city’s historic theater district, once riddled with adult book stores and other seedy businesses.  Peter Meade, chairman of Emerson’s board of trustees, said yesterday that Pelton was chosen for his experience, intellect, and passion. “Lee is the total package,’’ Meade said.  “In terms of diversity, we are about average in Boston, which is not where we want to be,’’ Meade said. “It was one of the things that was clearly a priority, and we asked every candidate about it.’’  At Emerson, minorities made up 20 percent of the tenure-line professors last year.

Pelton has managed to increase student and faculty diversity at Willamette during his 12-year tenure. The number of minority students at the 1,850-student university jumped from 10 percent of the student body when Pelton arrived in 1998 to 25 percent this year, he said; the school now has the largest percentage of minority students of any four-year college in the Pacific Northwest.  The number of minority professors also doubled under Pelton’s leadership, rising from 7 percent to 14 percent of the 296-member faculty in the last seven years, according to a Willamette spokesman.  If, during the course of a search for a specialist in a particular field, a department discovered a promising minority candidate in a different field, Pelton said, he would allow faculty to invite the candidate for an interview to fill a role the department had not originally been seeking.

Pelton also started a fellowship program for minority graduate students from across the nation to spend two years at Willamette to finish their dissertations, teach a couple of courses, and increase the employment pipeline for the college.  At Emerson, Pelton said he will consider similar initiatives, as well as forge alliances with local organizations involved in preparing minority and low-income students for college, and strengthen the school’s admissions outreach.  In addition to making diversity a priority, Pelton said he will take up the board’s goal of protecting and expanding Emerson’s identity.

“Emerson is an exciting, cutting-edge college of communication and arts,’’ Pelton said. “I am passionate about the arts. I am deeply engaged in what I call the techno-cultural revolution that we are in. And I believe that Emerson has the capacity to be an intellectual and academic leader in both of these areas.’’  Meade said he hopes Emerson will have a larger international presence under Pelton’s leadership. It has already begun to forge partnerships with institutions in China, South Korea, and Japan, he said.  “We need to be at the cutting edge of the communications revolution that is taking place every day, and I believe we’ve chosen a president who understands and embraces that,’’ Meade said.

In a speech to faculty and students yesterday in Emerson’s Cutler Majestic Theatre, Pelton said he was drawn to the university in part because of his daughter, who is a junior this year.  “Today, I stand here as an extreme representative example of that thing which college and university presidents most dread and loathe: the helicopter parent, one who not only hovers nosily above presidential offices, but actually, in my case, moves to college with his firstborn child,’’ Pelton said.  A native of Wichita, Kansas, Pelton graduated magna cum laude with degrees in English and psychology from Wichita State University in 1974, focusing on 19th century British prose and poetry. He holds a doctorate from Harvard University, where he taught English and once served on the board of overseers. He was also a college dean at Colgate University and Dartmouth College, prior to assuming the Willamette presidency.

Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com

article via boston.com

M. Lee Pelton Named Emerson College's First African-American President

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2010
1284002815_3311
M. Lee Pelton, a Harvard-educated scholar of English and poetry, was named Emerson College’s next president yesterday, becoming the school’s first African-American president and one of a handful of black college leaders in the state.
Pelton, president of Willamette University in Salem, Ore., and a national authority on diversity within academia, will join the arts and communication college in downtown Boston at a time when it is working to overcome criticism about its dearth of black-tenured faculty.  “Diversity is not an add-on, but really is core to the academic mission of institutions that thrive on having diverse points of view, divergent backgrounds, and different ethnic heritages come together,’’ Pelton said in an interview yesterday. “We need to make some progress in that area.’’  Emerson drew criticism last year after denying promotions to two black professors who later filed discrimination complaints. The shortage of black and Hispanic faculty is a challenge facing all of the most prominent universities in the Boston area, according to a Globe survey of 10 colleges earlier this year.
Pelton, 59, will succeed Jacqueline Liebergott when she retires in July 2011, after leading the college for 18 years. Liebergott, Emerson’s first female president, was responsible for moving the college from its aging facilities in the Back Bay to the edge of Boston Common and revitalizing the city’s historic theater district, once riddled with adult book stores and other seedy businesses.  Peter Meade, chairman of Emerson’s board of trustees, said yesterday that Pelton was chosen for his experience, intellect, and passion. “Lee is the total package,’’ Meade said.  “In terms of diversity, we are about average in Boston, which is not where we want to be,’’ Meade said. “It was one of the things that was clearly a priority, and we asked every candidate about it.’’  At Emerson, minorities made up 20 percent of the tenure-line professors last year.
Pelton has managed to increase student and faculty diversity at Willamette during his 12-year tenure. The number of minority students at the 1,850-student university jumped from 10 percent of the student body when Pelton arrived in 1998 to 25 percent this year, he said; the school now has the largest percentage of minority students of any four-year college in the Pacific Northwest.  The number of minority professors also doubled under Pelton’s leadership, rising from 7 percent to 14 percent of the 296-member faculty in the last seven years, according to a Willamette spokesman.  If, during the course of a search for a specialist in a particular field, a department discovered a promising minority candidate in a different field, Pelton said, he would allow faculty to invite the candidate for an interview to fill a role the department had not originally been seeking.
Pelton also started a fellowship program for minority graduate students from across the nation to spend two years at Willamette to finish their dissertations, teach a couple of courses, and increase the employment pipeline for the college.  At Emerson, Pelton said he will consider similar initiatives, as well as forge alliances with local organizations involved in preparing minority and low-income students for college, and strengthen the school’s admissions outreach.  In addition to making diversity a priority, Pelton said he will take up the board’s goal of protecting and expanding Emerson’s identity.
“Emerson is an exciting, cutting-edge college of communication and arts,’’ Pelton said. “I am passionate about the arts. I am deeply engaged in what I call the techno-cultural revolution that we are in. And I believe that Emerson has the capacity to be an intellectual and academic leader in both of these areas.’’  Meade said he hopes Emerson will have a larger international presence under Pelton’s leadership. It has already begun to forge partnerships with institutions in China, South Korea, and Japan, he said.  “We need to be at the cutting edge of the communications revolution that is taking place every day, and I believe we’ve chosen a president who understands and embraces that,’’ Meade said.
In a speech to faculty and students yesterday in Emerson’s Cutler Majestic Theatre, Pelton said he was drawn to the university in part because of his daughter, who is a junior this year.  “Today, I stand here as an extreme representative example of that thing which college and university presidents most dread and loathe: the helicopter parent, one who not only hovers nosily above presidential offices, but actually, in my case, moves to college with his firstborn child,’’ Pelton said.  A native of Wichita, Kansas, Pelton graduated magna cum laude with degrees in English and psychology from Wichita State University in 1974, focusing on 19th century British prose and poetry. He holds a doctorate from Harvard University, where he taught English and once served on the board of overseers. He was also a college dean at Colgate University and Dartmouth College, prior to assuming the Willamette presidency.
Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com
article via boston.com

Dr. Dorothy Height's Life To Be Celebrated During The National Black Family Reunion

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2010
The late leader of one of America’s noted Black women’s organizations will be celebrated during an event that highlights the strength and value of the African-American family.
Click on image to read full article. 
Dorothy Height, the former chair and president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) who died on April 20, will be the focus of the 25th annual National Black Family Reunion Celebration on Sat., Sept. 11 on the National Mall. The Black Family Reunion is the signature program of the NCNW — which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.  “We are planning to have a huge mega-festival that will feature a special tribute to Dr. Height,” Avis A. Jones-DeWeever, the executive director of the NCNW, said.
via todaysdrum.com

Dr. Dorothy Height’s Life To Be Celebrated During The National Black Family Reunion

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2010

The late leader of one of America’s noted Black women’s organizations will be celebrated during an event that highlights the strength and value of the African-American family.

Click on image to read full article. 

Dorothy Height, the former chair and president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) who died on April 20, will be the focus of the 25th annual National Black Family Reunion Celebration on Sat., Sept. 11 on the National Mall. The Black Family Reunion is the signature program of the NCNW — which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.  “We are planning to have a huge mega-festival that will feature a special tribute to Dr. Height,” Avis A. Jones-DeWeever, the executive director of the NCNW, said.

via todaysdrum.com

Judith Jamison Honored At White House Dance Event

By goodblacknews on September 8, 2010
 

JOCELYN NOVECK,AP National Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The stately White House East Room, home to many a bill signing and ceremonial gathering, became a stage Tuesday for pirouettes, jetes, gravity-defying leaps and a few bumps and grinds as Michelle Obama inaugurated a new dance series.
Dancers of all types — ballet, modern, hip hop and Broadway — took over the room, first for a series of workshops in which students from around the country had a chance to learn from the pros.
After a short break, the students were to return to see their mentors for the day perform in an hour-long, star-studded show. Even Broadway’s young “Billy Elliot” was there — well, four Billys actually, from the show’s rotating cast.
But the main attraction was the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, whose celebrated artistic director, Judith Jamison, soon to retire after two decades in the job, was the honoree of the event.  At the afternoon workshops, young girls in leotards, their hair tightly wrapped in buns, sprawled on the shiny East Room floor, stretching their legs into splits as they warmed up. Jamison watched with a smile on her face as current Ailey dancers then taught the kids — about 100 boys and girls from across the country — excerpts from Ailey’s “Revelations,” one of the most beloved works in all of modern dance. “Slow! Slooooow,” intoned teacher Nasha Thomas-Schmitt, urging the kids at one point to take their time with a stretch.
“Wow,” said Damian Woetzel, director of the event and a former star of New York City Ballet, after the Ailey workshop. “Now you’ve danced in the White House!” he told the kids.
The 67-year-old Jamison is an icon of the dance world. She joined the Ailey company in 1965 and became the choreographer’s muse, her dramatic power as a dancer epitomized in the unforgettable 1971 solo piece “Cry.” In 1989, after Ailey’s death, she took over as artistic director. She is scheduled to step down in 2011.
“What a rare opportunity, to be invited by your country’s first lady to be honored like this,” Jamison said in a weekend interview. “I’ve been to the White House a couple of times before, but this event is totally unique. It’s so terribly important to recognize this art form and to understand how important it is to the fabric of this country.”  “This will be another clarion call to people: Pay attention to your arts!” Jamison said. “My dancers are so excited.”
Woetzel, who is on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, had a dizzying array of choices from which to cull an hour of the country’s best dance. And he said it wasn’t exactly hard to find dancers, no matter that the event came just after a summer vacation weekend.
“Everyone was so excited to be a part of this,” Woetzel said in an interview. “It’s really an exciting opportunity to present the variety of dance in this country. And the student component makes it especially unique. It’s a great way to start the school year.”
Though the Obamas have spotlighted many varieties of music since they came to the White House — there have been events celebrating Latin music, rock, jazz, country, classical and Broadway show tunes — the dance world might have felt ignored, until now.  But Michelle Obama seems to be a dance fan. Jamison noted proudly that the Obamas and their daughters spent one of their first nights out as first family taking in an Ailey performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
“They came backstage, took pictures — the dancers were thrilled,” she said.  Also on the program Tuesday: the Paul Taylor Dance Company, The Washington Ballet, Super Cr3w and the New York City Ballet.  The students came from dance schools around the country: The Alvin Ailey School, Ballet Hispanico, Cab Calloway School of the Arts, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Chicago Multicultural Dance Center and others.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
via thegrio.com

University Of Manchester Student Is Britain’s Top Black Graduate

By goodblacknews on September 8, 2010
A University of Manchester PhD student and budding entrepreneur has today been named as the most outstanding black student in Britain.

Edwin Broni-Mensah

Edwin Broni-Mensah, a 25-year old who created his first computer game at the age of seven and now runs his own company, was selected from a shortlist of 200 people.  Edwin, studying for an Applied Maths PhD as well as running his innovative refillable water bottle company GiveMeTap, topped the list by Future Leaders magazine, sponsored by Barclays Capital, Deloitte and the University of Cambridge.
The shortlist features 100 graduates in total, all who have balanced good academic grades with impressive achievements outside of their studies.  Edwin is a shining example of this, having set up a company which encourages local businesses to offer free refills of water to anyone carrying a distinctive GiveMeTap bottle.  The firm then sends 70% of its profits to help support water projects in African regions where it’s needed most.
Currently, Give Me Tap is supporting the All4One Namibia Water Project to provide clean water to 1,200 people in that Kalahari area of the southern African country.  The aim is to reduce the number of plastic bottles in landfill sites. Edwin has already managed to build up a network of over 43 restaurants and eateries as outlets in Manchester and, recently, Salford as well.  Edwin now plans to recruit more outlets across Greater Manchester and the rest of the country, and is also hoping to offer GiveMeTap’s services at the 2012 Olympics.
Born in Edmonton, North London, Edwin hopes after completing his PhD to work full-time on GiveMeTap.  He said he was delighted to receive such impressive recognition for his achievements.  Edwin added: “I am extremely delighted and feel very honoured at being recognised as one of the Future Leaders. I was overjoyed at being named number one for on such a prestigious list; and my parents were excited too.”
“What gives me the most pleasure is being in a position where I can meet and inspire young people to pursue their dreams as literally anything is possible, and the people in Future Leaders list prove that.”  “Looking forward, I would love the opportunity to speak with leading eateries chains so that I can expand GiveMeTap into every city across the UK, in order to fund our chosen water projects in Africa.”
Edwin was selected by a panel of judges after a rigorous process that included contacting every university in the country and formal interviews with all those on the shortlist.  Edwin’s first-class degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, which led to him being awarded a straight scholarship to study his PhD, impressed judges immensely, as did the fact that he managed to achieve all this while running his own bourgeoning business.
Martin Henery, entrepreneurship lecturer at Manchester Business School, said: “Edwin’s entrepreneurial spark was clear from the outset – it’s rare to work with someone who combines the ability to make things happen with such original thinking.  “Give MeTap is one of those concepts that nearly everyone can see the value of straight away, but it’s really tough to make happen. It needs true vision and tenacity to stick with it and see it through to the end goal.”
The 100 students will all be honoured on September 6th, at a prestigious reception at the House of Lords hosted by Lord Victor Adebowale.

via manchester.ac.uk

Elba Sleuths Out BBC Role

By goodblacknews on September 7, 2010


The Brit actor who’s just signed to play maverick cop Alex Cross in David Twohy’s Cross, stars in the 6-part BBC mini-series Luther playing another maverick cop (think Cracker meets Prime Suspect meets Wallender). Luther uses the Columbo trick of letting the viewer discover early on who the murderer is – the suspense comes from watching how Luther will catch the murderer. Brit TV reviewers agreed Elba saved a tired formula “pitched somewhere in that territory between fantasy and cliché that commissioning editors find so irresistible,” humphed the Guardian, while the Daily Telegraph said: “Luther lets Elba down”. Poor early reviews impacted ratings. From an audience of 5.8 million (24%) for its first outing, ratings fell to 3.1 million (12.3%) by episode five. Despite falling ratings, the Beeb announced at the Edinburgh TV festival it was commissioning Luther for a couple more two-hour specials. Luther premieres October 17.
via deadline.com

Kodak Settles Black/White Issue With Touch Of Green!

By goodblacknews on September 5, 2010
 

Kodak-thumb-400xauto-12448

A federal judge on Friday approved Eastman Kodak Co.’s $21.4 million offer to settle class-action lawsuits by black employees who maintained white counterparts were favored over them for pay and promotion.
http://www.thegrio.com/news/judge-oks-kodaks-settlement-of-race-based-lawsuit.php

Charter School In Cleveland Gets $1 Million Gift

By goodblacknews on August 30, 2010
Cliffs Natural Resources, formerly known as Cleveland Cliffs, made the substantial investment in Village Prep, an inner-city school with 180 kindergarteners and first graders.

“This is the most phenomenal thing that has ever happened to the organization,” said Village Prep founder John Zitzner. “It really allows us to keep moving forward in the right direction, to keep expanding, to keep adding more children.”
Village Prep, which started only one year ago, has a partner middle school, Entrepreneur Preparatory School, or E-Prep, which was founded in 2006 and has 300 students.
Both are located in Tyler Village, a renovated factory at East 36th Street and Superior Avenue.
“Listen, we need educated folks as we go forward, and good team members, and this school shows everything that we need as we go foward,” said Cliffs CEO Joseph Carrabba, as he helped christen the Cliffs Natural Resources K-2 Wing at Village Prep.
“It’s the foundation of Cleveland,” he told WKYC. “The children, you can see their self confidence when they come into a room. All those leadership qualities are coming along, with everything they’ll need in life skills, and an education.”
The youngsters at Village Prep and E-Prep are held to high standards, says Zitzner. “High expectations, no excuses, very strict discipline,” he explained. “It’s just setting high standards for the kids, for their parents, for everybody. For the teachers, and then holding them accountable for that.”
E-Prep students had some of the highest state achievement test scores in Ohio in April, 2010, far outpacing the average for African-American students around the state, and mostly exceeding the average scores of other public schools.
About 95 percent of the school’s enrollment is African-American, with 82 percent coming from families under the poverty line. Both Village Prep and E-Prep are open to any student in Ohio.
“Just think about all those kids that now have a future in front of them, due to the generosity of Cliffs and other fine organizations in Cleveland,” Zitzner beamed, as he led company executives on a quick tour of the exceptional school.
Carrabba also sensed the enthusiasm his company’s sizeable contribution added to the school’s already positive atmosphere.
“You can see it,” Carrabba noted, glancing at the first graders who had just welcomed his group to the school. “It just abounds in their faces. It gives you a real thrill to see this happen right in front of you.”