8-29-97
Contacts:
Valerie Grim, African American Studies, (515) 294-1284
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720
BLAKE NAMED DIRECTOR OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES AT
ISU
AMES, Iowa -- J. Herman Blake, vice chancellor for undergraduate education and professor of sociology, anthropology and education at Indiana University Purdue University, has been named director of African American Studies at Iowa State University.
Blake will be joined at Iowa State by his wife Emily Moore, founding president of Scholars for Educational Excellence and Diversity, Inc., an Indianapolis-based organization which provides services to agencies and institutions committed to academic excellence for diverse populations. Moore was been appointed a professor in the College of Education, with joint appointments with health and human performance and professional studies.
Blake and Moore were on campus in January as George Washington Carver Scholars and presented a lecture on their research on African American women in the Sea Islands of South Carolina.
"Having J. Herman Blake and Emily Moore on our campus as Carver Scholars was a great honor," said ISU President Martin Jischke. "Attracting two scholars of such distinction to our faculty permanently is outstanding for Iowa State."
Blake and Moore will start at ISU during second semester.
African American Studies is a cross-disciplinary program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The program includes courses in history, English, sociology, anthropology, religious
studies, theater and women's studies. In addition to serving as director of African American Studies, Blake also will hold a joint professorship in the College of Education's professional studies department and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' sociology department.
"Blake and Moore are committed to higher education," said ISU Provost John Kozak. "Having these two outstanding scholars on our faculty holds great benefits for our students, as well as enhancing our campus' diversity."
Blake has been vice chancellor for undergraduate education at Indiana University Purdue University since 1989. Previously, he was the Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor of Social Change at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, from 1987 to 1989; an instructor at the Lilly Endowment Workshop on the Liberal Arts, Indianapolis, Ind., from 1986 to 1994; and a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, from 1966 to 1984. Blake has written extensively on social change, liberal education and diversity. He co-authored a book, "Revolutionary Suicide," with black activist Huey Newton.
He received a B.A. in sociology from New York University, New York City, in 1960; and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1965 and 1974, respectively.
Moore has been president of Scholars for Educational Excellence and Diversity since 1996. Prior to this, she held several administrative positions with the Concordia University System from 1982 to 1996. Moore served as presidential adviser for program development and vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Concordia College in St. Paul, Minn. She served as interim academic dean, dean of education and chair of the division of education and psychology, and director of student teaching at Concordia College in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Moore received a B.S. from George Williams College, Downers Grove, Ill., in 1968; an M.A. in health education from Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., in 1972; and a Ed.D. in health education and administration from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, in 1980.
Valerie Grim has been serving as interim director of African American Studies since February and will remain in that position until Blake's arrival. Grim, an associate professor in Indiana University's department of Afro American Studies, is a visiting professor in ISU's history department. Grim earned her master's and Ph.D. from Iowa State in 1986 and 1990.
Grim will host a reception for Blake and Moore on Friday, Sept. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Black Cultural Center, 517 Welch Ave.
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Revised
8/29/97