Chronology

1855

February

Penn State University founded as the Farmers High School of Pennsylvania

1865

December

13th Amendment ends slavery

1899

September

Calvin H. Waller, first colored student admitted to Penn State

1903

September

Ralph Brock is admitted to the Pennsylvania Forest Academy

1905

May

Calvin H. Waller, first colored graduate

1906

January

Ralph Brock graduates from Penn State Forest Academy (Penn State Mont Alto)

1908

September

Clarence Muse, first known colored student at Dickinson School of Law

1909

February 12

NAACP is established

1909

September

Cum Posey, Jr., first colored student athlete

1921

March 15

Omega Psi Phi, first colored fraternity, chartered

1923

September

A colored student is refused service at State College restaurants

1929

September

Mildred Settle Bunton, first colored female admitted to Penn State

1932

May

Mildred Settle Bunton, first colored female graduate

1933

April 4

Omega Psi Phi earns highest grade point average

1936

September

James H. Redmond, first colored student in the Skull and Bones

1939

February 24

Duke Ellington performs at Rec Hall

1939

September

Herbert Nipson, first colored student elected to Sigma Delta Chi

1940

March

Barney Ewell sets a world record in the 50-yard dash

1940

September

Lincoln Hall becomes the center of colored life at Penn State

1940

December

Paul Robeson performs at Schwab Auditorium

1941

September

Dave and Harry Alston join freshman football team

1941

December 7

The Japanese Navy bombs Pearl Harbor

1942

January

Barney Ewell sets a world record in the 200-yard dash

1942

April 13

Marian Anderson performs on campus

1942

May

Charles Townes earns a Ph.D. in physics from Penn State

1942

May

Robert Beale earns a PhD in Chemistry from Penn State

1942

August 15

Dave Alston, first Negro football player, dies

1945

March

Eugene Richardson completes training at Tuskegee Army Air Field

1945

November 17

Wally Triplett, first Negro starter for the Varsity football team

1946

May

Roger Kenton Williams earns PhD in psychology

1946

November

Penn State cancels its football game at the University of Miami

1946

December

Wally Triplett, first Negro to earn a varsity letter

1947

April 10

Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity chartered

1947

April 15

Jackie Robinson, first Negro major league baseball player

1947

December

Penn State Boxing team refuses an invitation to the Sugar Bowl

1948

January 1

First interracial football game is played at the Cotton Bowl

1948

March

Council on Racial Equality is established

1948

August

Barney Ewell medals in the London Olympics

1948

September

NAACP is organized on campus

1948

October

Dennie W. Hoggard, Jr., first Negro member of the Lion’s Paw

1948

December 10

Students protest State College barbershops for refusing to cut Negro hair

1949

December

Wally Triplett, first Negro from Penn State drafted to the NFL

1950

March 3

W.E.B. Du Bois speaks at Penn State

1951

January

Hardy Williams, first Negro in Parmi Nous honor society

1952

April

Yvonne Carter is elected as president of the Mortar Board Honorary Society

1952

May 17

Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity chartered

1953

March 14

Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority chartered

1953

April

Betty Love Gibbs is denied the chance to try out for the cheerleading squad

1953

September 23

Omega Psi Phi fraternity earns highest grade point average of Greeks

1954

February

Louis A. Ivey reports as the first Negro officer aboard the USS New Jersey

1954

April

Jesse Arnelle, first Negro student government president

1954

September

Ethel Brown, member of the Mortar Board honorary society

1955

May

Jesse Arnelle graduates as an accomplished athlete, scholar, and ambassador

1955

September

Entre Nous interracial club established

1955

December 1

Rosa Parks is arrested in the Montgomery Bus Boycott

1956

September

Mary E. Godfrey, first Negro full-time faculty member

1956

September

Rev. Preston N. Williams is named assistant to the chaplain

1957

September

Robert Davage joins faculty as associate professor of psychology

1958

March

Robert H. Davage reports on racial discrimination in State College

1959

December 19

Charles Janerette, Jr. becomes the first Negro to play against all-white Alabama

1960

March 26

Students picket at State College barbershop

1960

May 21

Delta Sigma Theta sorority chartered

1961

March

DARE campaigns to remove racial divides in fraternities and sororities

1961

May

John Settle Graduates from Penn State

1961

October

Charles T. Davis joins the faculty as associate professor of English

1961

December 28

Eugene Harris breaks Jesse Arnelle’s basketball record

1962

January

University Senate rules all organizations must open membership to all students

1962

May

Marie Dutton Brown graduates and goes on to be a major player in the publishing industry

1962

November

David Robinson, first Negro named NEA first team All-American

1963

September

Charles T. Davis, first African American full tenured professor

1964

February 26

Julie Cromitie, first Negro president of women students

1964

April 15

Julie Cromitie, first Negro Miss Penn State finalist

1964

April 17

Bruce Trotman is elected senior class president

1964

September

NAACP is reestablished on campus

1964

October

Student Union for Racial Equality is organized on campus

1965

January 21

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks in Rec Hall

1965

February 21

Malcolm X is assassinated in Manhattan

1965

July

Julie Cromitie receives Ralph Dorn Hetzel Memorial Award

1966

November 5

The Supremes perform at Rec Hall

1967

January 16

Black Power conference is held on campus

1967

October

Frederick E. Douglass Association is established at Penn State

1967

October 23

Emmett Smith, Jr. becomes first known Black member of the Penn State Marching Blue Band

1968

April 4

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated

1968

April 5

Douglass Association lowers flags to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1968

May 18

Jesse Arnelle turns down alumni award in protest of Black student recruitment

1968

May 29

“The Harrisburg Ten” is admitted to Penn State

1968

May 13

Douglass Association confronts Penn State’s administration with demands

1968

June 5

Rosey Grier helps detain Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin

1968

July

Warren Coleman is named assistant track coach

1968

September

Afro-American Literature in the 20th Century course is added to the curriculum

1968

October 11

Barbara June Rose, first Black female student athlete

1968

November 4

Charles T. Davis is elected member of State College Literary Club

1969

January

Afro American Studies concentration is added as an interdepartmental program

1969

January 21

Black students alert President Eric Walker of poor communication with students

1969

January

William ‘Rick’ Collins Becomes President of the Douglass Association

1969

February 3

African Students Association chartered

1969

February 21

Students lower flag to commemorate assassination of Malcolm X

1969

April 21

Ted Thompson is elected undergraduate student government president

1969

April 3

George R. Culmer is named admissions director of special projects

1969

April

Barbara Toomer, first Black featured as La Vie Belle

1969

May 12

First annual Black Arts Festival kicks off

1969

May 23

Muhammad Ali speaks at Rec Hall

1969

June

Jesse Arnelle, first Black member of Penn State Board of Trustees

1969

July

Charles T. Davis is elected chair of Undergraduate Senate Committee

1969

August

Educational Opportunity Program is created

1969

October

Lorraine Hutchings, first Black female on the field hockey team

1969

October 10

Almaria Eberhardt, first Black Homecoming Queen

1969

November 10

Matt Robinson, Jr. debuts as Gordon on Sesame Street

1969

November 1

The Black Student Union articulates their grievances at halftime of a Penn State football game

1970

January 22

Black Panther Party discusses education and revolution

1970

April

Black Student League disrupts classes and demonstrates at Ogontz campus

1970

April 14

Black Student Union supports demonstrators from Black Student League

1970

September 19

Mike Cooper, first Black starting varsity quarterback

1970

September 21

Black Student Orientation event kicks off

1970

October

Black Student Lounge is approved for East Halls

1971

January

Benson L. Dutton, first Black alumnus selected for the distinguished alumnus award

1971

January

Black Staff Assistants group is created

1971

January 14

Black Student Lounge is approved for North Halls

1971

January 23

Black Student Lounge opens in East Halls

1971

April

First Black Penn State cheerleaders

1971

June

Black Caucus replaces Black Student Union

1971

August 18

PA Black Legislative Caucus expresses concerns with Equal Opportunity Program

1971

September

Groove Phi Groove Fellowship is established

1971

October 23

Student-operated Black Cultural Center opens on campus

1971

October 12

Black Student Union merges into Black Caucus

1972

January 7

Hardy Williams is appointed to Penn State Board of Trustees

1972

January

United Soul Ensemble becomes a gospel choir

1972

February 24

USG Supreme Court offers official charter to Black Caucus

1972

February 24

Thelma Price is named assistant vice president for student affairs

1972

May 2

Department of Minority Affairs is created

1972

June

Equal Opportunity Program introduces the Summer Intensive Program

1972

August

African Studies option is first offered at Penn State

1972

September

Paul Robeson Cultural Center is established on campus

1972

December 23

Franco Harris catches the “Immaculate Reception” for the Pittsburgh Steelers

1973

February

Black Scholars Program is launched

1974

March 27

BLK Life magazine is first published

1974

March 27

Developmental Year Program replaced Summer Intensive Program

1974

May 6

Black Unity Day promotes a new image for the Black community

1974

September 17

Forum on Black Affairs addresses concerns of Blacks

1975

January

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Banquet is sponsored by the Forum on Black Affairs

1975

May 24

Robert Williams and Tony Palimore run for USG president and vice president

1975

September

Black Studies Program is added to curriculum

1975

September

Cyril E. Griffith, first director of Black Studies Program

1975

December 12

Toni Clarke, first Black player for the Lady Lions basketball team to earn a varsity letter

1976

May

Charles L. Blockson helps found the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia

1976

June 26

Zeta Phi Beta sorority chartered

1976

December 6

Don Ferrell, first Black head coach

1977

April

DJ Johnson, first Black cheerleading squad captain

1977

September

Terrell Jones and Marilane Bond, first Blacks to head dormitory complexes

1977

September 2

Saundra Blackwell, first Black “mike lady”

1977

October

Barton A. Fields becomes Pennsylvania’s secretary of the Commonwealth

1978

September 6

Black Caucus calls for University to divest all investments in South African companies

1979

January 28

Phi Beta Sigma fraternity established at Penn State

1979

January 24

Students protest racist hoax help wanted ads printed in the Daily Collegian

1979

April 6

Takesha Dockery, first female president of Black Caucus

1979

May 4

Department of Minority Affairs sponsors first annual Spring Fashion Show

1979

September

Glen C. Moore, first known African American assistant coach of the Penn State Men’s Fencing Team

1979

November

East Halls Black Student Union is established

1980

May

Sharon Thorpe is crowned Miss Black Penn State

1980

October

Student Advisory Committee on Minority Admissions is formed

1981

May 5

Cecile M. Springer is appointed to the Penn State Board of Trustees

1981

May 6

Brotherhood Day kicks off its inaugural event

1981

November

Proposal to increase number of Black faculty and staff is presented

1982

January

Penn State Lion Ambassadors are organized

1982

February 11

“Mandatory” swim tests eliminated at Penn State

1982

April 1

Four African American students elected to USG Senate

1982

November

Hardy Williams is elected to Pennsylvania State Senate

1983

January 22

George T. Clark Memorial Lounge is approved in East Halls

1983

February 13

Pittsburgh newspapers report on African American student enrollment at Penn State

1983

March

Frederick B. Phillips founded the Progressive Life Center for African-centered human services

1983

July 19

William W. Asbury is promoted to executive assistant to the President for Administration

1983

August 30

Guion S. Bluford, first African American in space

1983

September 17

Vanessa Williams is crowned Miss America

1984

January 28

Ebony and Ivory Weekend begins at Penn State

1984

April 5

First Minority Career Awareness Day is held on campus

1984

April

Norman Lockman wins the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on race relations for the Boston Globe

1984

October 26

Charles Janerette, Jr. is fatally shot by Philadelphia police

1985

January 13

James Stewart, first recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the Forum on Black Affairs

1985

April

Katrina Scott is named president of the Committee for Justice in South Africa

1985

April 12

First Black Alumni Reunion is held at University Park

1985

August

Martin Luther King, Jr. Interest House is established on campus

1985

December

University and community events are planned to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr.

1985

December

Kahadeejah Herbert, first Lady Lion basketball player to score over 2,000 points

1986

January 20

Black Student Coalition Against Racism is formed

1986

February

Black Graduate Student Association is established

1986

February

Gina Redmond, first African American to be crowned Miss Penn State

1986

March 10

South African style “shanties” erected by the Black Student Coalition Against Racism (BSCAR)

1987

March 19

BSCAR occupies the office of University President Jordan in protest for South African divestment

1987

July

Penn State NAACP Chapter Approved

1987

September

William Asbury is appointed vice president of Student Affairs

1987

September 18

Board of Trustees votes to divest in companies doing business in South Africa

1987

November

Mahogany Magazine unveiled in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center

1987

December 12

Sigma Gamma Rho sorority is chartered

1988

March 23

Seth Williams is elected president of the Undergraduate Student Government

1988

April

Black Experience yearbook is published

1988

April

Students protest administration’s indifference to minority concerns

1988

May

N. Eric Bigelow, first Mr. Black Penn State

1988

September

Grace Hampton is appointed vice-provost of Penn State

1989

February 13

Ebony Escorts Service is organized to accompany students on campus

1989

March

Penn Stater magazine chronicles the Black Experience at Penn State

1989

May 11

Barry Robinson is elected to the Penn State Board of Trustees

1989

June

National Pan-Hellenic Council is chartered at Penn State

1989

July 1

Cynthia Baldwin, first African American president of the Penn State Alumni Association

1989

September

John Mitchell, first African American featured twirler in the Blue Band

1990

January 2

Rodney Reed, first African American Dean at Penn State

1990

February 11

Nelson Mandela is freed from prison in South Africa

1990

July 1

James B. Stewart, first vice-provost of underrepresented groups

1990

September

Mike Harrell, first African American drum major

1991

January

Essence of Joy choir is formed

1992

January 28

Sports writer Chino Wilson causes controversy on campus

1992

February 27

Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team is chartered

1992

April 28

Students boycott McDonalds for alleged harassments

1992

April 29

LA police officers are acquitted for beating an African American motorist

1992

July 1

Joanne E. Burley becomes executive chancellor for Penn State McKeesport

1992

September

Comprehensive Studies Program is launched

1992

October 14

John Mitchell, first African American Homecoming King

1993

April

Ricky Williams, first African American Nittany Lion mascot

1993

April 21

African American Alumni Interest Group is formed

1993

June 1

Eddie N. Moore, Jr., 12th president of Virginia State University

1993

September

African and African American Studies Department is formed

1994

July

Darrell Flood becomes the head coach of the cheerleading squad

1994

September

Caribbean Student Association is chartered

1994

September

Mildred S. Bunton and Calvin Waller Scholarship and Fellows programs are initiated

1995

March

Cynthia Baldwin is named distinguished alumna of the University

1995

April

Artist John T. Biggers is the subject of a major traveling exhibition in Texas

1995

May

Cynthia Baldwin is appointed to Penn State Board of Trustees

1995

September 1

John H. Stanford becomes superintendent of Seattle Public Schools

1995

September 6

Jerry Dunn, first African American athletic head coach of a major sport

1995

October 5

O.J. Simpson is found not guilty for murder

1995

November 10

“Take a Stand Rally” is held at Penn State

1996

January

Jesse Arnelle, first African American elected to chair Penn State Board of Trustees


1997

May 2

Ground is broken for the new HUB-Robeson Center

1997

July

Harold E. Cheatham is recognized as a pioneer in counseling and development by the APA

1997

September

Beverly Lindsay is appointed Dean of the University Office of International Programs

1997

November

Curtis White becomes head coach of Penn State cheerleading squad

1998

January 28

Richard Lee Snow becomes executive director of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity

1998

February

“Framework to Foster Diversity at Penn State” document is first issued

1998

August 17

W. Terrell Jones becomes vice-provost of educational equity

1999

June 24

Curtiss E. Porter becomes chancellor at Penn State Great Allegheny

1999

November

Blondell Reynolds Brown is elected to Philadelphia City Council

2000

February 12

Stan Lathan wins NAACP Image Award for The Steve Harvey Show

2000

March 27

Lady Lions basketball team makes its first Final Four appearance

2000

March

Alisia “Lisa” Salters joins ESPN as a general assignment reporter

2000

April 15

Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington are drafted by the NFL

2000

July

Walnut Building is demolished

2000

September 23

Freshman cornerback Adam Taliaferro is seriously injured during a nationally televised football game

2000

October 21

Students march silently in protest of racist acts at Penn State

2000

October 1

James E. Walker, first African American president of Southern Illinois University

2001

April 21

LaKeisha Wolf receives an anonymous letter with racial slurs and a death threat

2001

April 24

“The Village” forms to promote diversity at Penn State

2001

August 19

Mandatory diversity training video is shown during freshman orientation

2001

September 11

Al-Qaeda executes a series of coordinated suicide attacks on the United States

2001

October

Ronald R. and Judith L. Davenport pledge $3 million to the University

2001

October 19

Roy L. Austin sworn in as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

2002

January 4

Beta Phi Pi fraternity is chartered

2002

January 17

Africana Research Center celebrates its opening

2003

January 25

Carly Hughes is crowned Miss Penn State

2003

February 24

Anita McDonald becomes campus executive officer for Penn State DuBois

2003

May 31

Helen Darling presented with the WNBA Community Assist Award

2003

August

African American Alumni Organization Scholarship Fund is established

2004

January

Another edition of Framework to Foster Diversity at Penn State is released

2004

January 23

Cynthia Baldwin, first African American woman elected to chair Penn State Board of Trustees

2004

May

Former Black Caucus president Tiffanie Lewis graduates

2004

May 12

Blannie Bowen named Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

2004

September

Keagan-Michael Key premiers on MAD TV

2005

February

University cancels classes to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday

2005

March 7

Undertones focuses on the needs of the LGBTA community of color

2005

October 28

Tahiirah Allen and Theodore Jackson, Homecoming Queen and King

2005

November 19

Rohan Murphy, double amputee, debuts for the Penn State wrestling team

2006

January 18

Historical marker is dedicated to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1965 speech at Rec Hall

2006

April

Darryl Watson, first openly gay Black Caucus president

2006

October 20

Shartaya Mollett announced as Penn State’s 2006 Homecoming Queen

2007

February 5

Basketball player Jennifer Harris reaches a settlement with Coach Rene Portland

2007

February 20

John Amaechi, former basketball player, reveals his homosexuality

2007

February 1

Emanuel Osagie becomes chancellor of Penn State Fayette

2007

March

Luther Smith is presented with Congressional Gold Medal by President Bush

2007

April 23

Coquese Washington is named head coach of the Penn State women’s basketball program

2007

August 30

Vernon S. Courtney is elected president of the Association of African American Museums

2007

November

Darryl Daisey compiled the first draft of the Penn State University African American Chronicles

2008

January 17

Blockson Collection of African Americana and African Diaspora opens

2008

February

Vincent and Vance Moss, surgeons in the Army, are selected by ABC as “Persons of the Week”

2008

February 12

Cameroonian Culture through its Dances club is chartered

2008

March 30

Presidential candidate Barack Obama visits Penn State

2008

April 18

Casey Sandy captures the NCAA All-Around male gymnastics title

2008

April

Penn State is ranked 7th in African American student graduation rates

2008

April

Diversity in Aquatics Program founded by alums Shaun Anderson and Jayson Jackson

2008

June 17

Spike Lee acquires film rights to Ronald Mallett’s script on time travel

2008

September 13

Veno Leigertwood, Philadelphia community role model, is shot to death outside his home

2008

September

4,986 African American students are enrolled at Penn State

2008

November 4

Barack Obama is elected the first African American President of the United States of America

2008

November 13

Iota Phi Theta fraternity is chartered

2009

February

Black Wax Museum premiers at Penn State

2009

April 27

Anthony T. Leach is named Penn State laureate

2009

May 15

Kenneth C. Frazier is elected to Board of Trustees

2009

November

Seth Williams, first African American elected D.A. in Pennsylvania

2009

December 6

Black Caucus hosts the first annual Ashe Awards

2010

January 22

Cynthia Baldwin appointed as Vice President and the First General Counsel of Penn State University

2010

February 16

Queen Nworisara Quinn is awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship

2010

February 28

Betty Love Gibbs is named Honorary Penn State Cheerleader

2010

February 7

Jim Caldwell, fourth African American head football coach in Super Bowl history

2010

February 26

“Penn State University Pioneering African American Faculty & Staff” is released

2010

March 15

Christian Ragland and David Adewumi face off for UPUA president

2010

March

Emmanuel I. Osagie, chancellor of Penn State Fayette, dies

2010

March 22

Francis K. Achampong is appointed interim chancellor of Penn State Fayette

2010

March 20

Yvonne Carter Williams receives the Paul Robeson and Zora Neal Hurston Celebrated Elder Award

2010

June 5

Guion S. Bluford is inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame

2010

June 21

Megan Hodge, volleyball player and first Penn State athlete selected as top Collegiate Woman Athlete

2010

July 1

Lance Collins is named dean of the College of Engineering at Cornell University

2010

September

5.52% of students in the Penn State system are African American

2010

September

2.85% of the faculty and 2.68% of the staff at Penn State are African American

2010

October 5

Warren Washington is awarded the National Medal of Science

2010

October 13

Beverly McIver receives Distinguished Alumni Fellow award

2010

November 1

Francis K. Achampong is appointed chancellor of Penn State Fayette

2011

January 1

Kenneth C. Frazier becomes the CEO and president of Merck & Co.

2011

February 3

President Obama visits Penn State to discuss energy innovation

2011

March

Talor Battle breaks all time scoring record

2011

March

Tyrone Parham becomes first black chief of police at Penn State

2011

April 15

Walnut Building marker dedicated

2011

June 11

John Amaechi is awarded the Order of the British Empire

2011

August 1

Cary Fraser appointed president of the University of Belize

2011

August 15

New Black Student Union is established

2011

September

5,781 African American students enrolled at Penn State.

2011

September

2.8% of the faculty and 2.7% of the staff at Penn State are African American

2011

September 20

Roland Fryer is recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Genius Award

2011

October 23

Edward N. Thompson, Penn State director of development for the Office of Educational Equity, dies

2011

November

Adam Taliaferro wins a seat on the Gloucester County (NJ) Board of Freeholders.

2011

December 10

Guion Bluford receives the Pennsylvania Society’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement

2011

December

The Southern African Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association is launched

2012

March 16

Department of African and African American Studies renamed

2012

April 17

State College Borough Council Renames Fraser Plaza to “Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza”

2012

April 20

State College Historical Marker Dedicated at “Lincoln Hall”

2012

April 21

David Alston Bust Unveiled

2012

October 5

Tracy Edouard Elected Homecoming Queen

2013

April 14

Jalon Alexander Elected President of the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments

2013

August

Miles Chamley-Watson Wins Senior World Fencing Championship

2013

October 12

Rhonda Bates Elected 2013 Homecoming Queen

2013

December 10

John Urschel Wins William V. Campbell Trophy

2014

January 11

James Franklin Hired as Head Football Coach

2014

February 3

Black Student Union Launches “WE ARE BLACK” Campaign

2014

February 26

Kevin Clark honored as a “Champion of Change” at a White House ceremony

2014

March 22

Ed Ruth Becomes First Three-Time NCAA Champ

2014

April 11

John Urschell Named Recipient of the 84th James E. Sullivan Award

2014

May 6

Kyle Godwin wins Emmy for “Outstanding Sports Documentary Series”

2014

May 15

Wanda J. Blanchett named dean of the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education

2014

July

Kenneth C. Frazier named “Corporate Executive of the Year” by Black Enterprise Ma

2014

August

Michael Brown is killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri

2014

September 27

Kenya Crawford is elected 2014 Homecoming Queen

2014

December 2

Penn State students engage in “Black Lives Matter” protest at the HUB-Robeson Center

2015

February 11

Multicultural student-run media site “The Underground” is conceived

2015

March 15

Charmelle Green named Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman at Penn State

2015

March 23

Gregory Drane becomes first African American Blue Band Director

2015

June

Penn State establishes the Restorative Justice Initiative (RJI) as part of the College of Education

2015

July 5

Tina Q. Richardson becomes chancellor of Penn State Lehigh Valley

2015

July 15

Devon Still accepts the Jimmy V. Perseverance Award on behalf of his daughter

2015

July 15

Jasmin Wright is found dead in her West Philadelphia apartment

2015

September 1

Marcus A. Whitehurst is named Penn State’s Vice Provost for Educational Equity

2015

September

Hispanic student enrollment surpasses African American student enrollment for the first time

2015

September 1

Marcus A. Whitehurst, named Penn State’s vice provost for Educational Equity

2015

September

5.7% of Penn State students are African American

2015

December 4

Holding History: The Collections of Charles L. Blockson premieres at the Paterno Library

2015

December 10

Tanya R. Kennedy sworn in as a justice in the Supreme Court for the State of New York

2016

January 5

Richard Ross, Jr. sworn in as Philadelphia police commissioner

2016

January 5

Penn State Abington honors architect Julian Francis Abele with a plaque on campus

2016

April 27

Sovereign Magazine releases its first issue

2016

August 11

Nate Parker receives Sundance Institute Vanguard Award for “The Birth of a Nation”

2016

September

Cumberland Posey, Jr. inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

2016

September 18

Keagan-Michael Key wins Primetime Emmy Award

2016

October 6

“All In at Penn State: A Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion” kicks off

2016

November 29

Robin Pleshette Cooper elected to lead the Teamsters Local 502 CASA

2016

December 3

James Franklin becomes the first African American head coach to win a Big Ten football championship

2016

December

Jeff Ballou becomes the first African American male to head the organization The National Press Club

2017

February 22

Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the founding Brandywine Campus Black Student League

2017

April 6

The inaugural Paul Robeson Awards are held at the HUB-Robeson Center

2017

May 14

Penn State men’s outdoor track and field team won its first ever Big Ten championship

2017

July 13

Greg Davis (BS Bus1992) promoted to chief investment officer (CIO) at Vanguard

2017

October 27

Black Caucus hosts a 50th Anniversary celebration for the establishment of the Fredrick E. Douglass

2017

November

Hanif Johnson elected judge in the Dauphin County Magisterial District in Pennsylvania

2018

April 12

Haley McClain-Hill selected for the NFL Atlanta Falcon Cheerleading squad

2018

May 4

Brandon Short elected to the Board of Trustees

2018

June

Isaiah Harris wins national championship in the Men’s 800 meters

2018

June 18

Amy Freeman named director of Penn State’s Millennium Scholars Program

2018

November 14

UPUA approves designated representation for the Black Caucus on the UPUA general assembly

2018

December 1

Curt Warner and his wife Ana publish “The Warner Boys: Our Family’s Story of Autism and Hope”

2019

February 28

Clarence Lang named as Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts

2019

March 20

Osaze Osagie, fatally shot by a State College police officer

2019

March 28

Edred Richardson selected as first Black Caucus UPUA representative at the Black Caucus general body

2019

May 17

Dedication ceremony for the Warren Washington Innovation Building

2019

June 6

Christopher Jefferson named director for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life

2019

June 24

College of the Liberal Arts announces faculty hires to strengthen Department of African American Stu

2019

July 1

Randolph “Randy” B. Houston, Jr. becomes president of the Penn State Alumni Association

2019

October 5

Freddy Purnell and Marlisa Shaw named the recipients of Penn State Homecoming’s “Guide State For

2019

October

Penn State football players, and head coach defend Jonathan Sutherland, after Sutherland receiving a

2019

December 6

B. Stephen Carpenter II becomes dean of the College of Arts and Architecture

2019

December 28

Penn State football honor the late Wally Triplett at the 2019 Cotton Bowl

2020

January

Karla Trotman (BS Bus 1998) named CEO of Electro Soft, Inc.

2020

January 20

Report publiushed documenting institutional racism in hiring practices at Penn State

2020

March 11

Penn State annouces all classes will move to remote learning due to the COVID 19 outbreak

2020

March 12

Lamar Stevens’ college sports career ends prematurely

2020

April

Ala Stanford (BS Sci 1991, Med 1997) launches Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium

2020

May 25

George Floyd killed by white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin

2020

June 19

State College chapter of the NAACP hosts first official State College Juneteen celebration

2020

July 29

Harold E. Cheatham and his wife, V. Arlene Cheatham pledge estate gift of $500,000

2020

September

Penn Stater Magazine dedicates edition to “Black Voices: Alumni, Faculty and Students Speak Out”

2020

September 13

Karli Short is shot and killed in McKeesport, PA

2020

October 13

Maia Hill interviews former students for “Black Student Alumni at Penn State Oral History Project”

2021

January 4

George Grant Jr. becomes chancellor of Penn State Berks campus

2021

January 13

Rev. Dr. Donna “Mama” King dies at the age of 64

2021

January 15

“Project 1972: A Conversation with Our Elders” panel held

2021

January 27

Black Caucus members attacked through a “Zoom Bombing” at their Involvement Fair

2021

March 15

Micah Shrewsberry named head coach of Penn State men’s basketball

2021

May 7

Janiyah R. Davis elected Student Trustee by the Penn State Board of Trustees

2021

May 12

Errol Henderson filed a federal lawsuit accusing Penn State of racial discrimination

2021

September

5.8% of students enrolled at Penn State are African American

2021

October

Dedication ceremony for the The Guion S. Bluford, Jr. Building

2021

October 23

DeAndre Malcolm and Jaylen Carr recipients of Penn State Homecoming’s “Guide State Forward” Aw

2022

April

Dedication ceremony held for The Shirley M. Malcom Building

2022

May 25

Calvin Booth named general manager of the Denver Nuggets

2022

July 26

Bria Bryant debuts on the cast of Love Island USA

2022

August 10

Charles Dumas receives the 2022 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award

2022

August 17

Eberly Foundation commits funds to commission a sculpture of the Rev. James Lawson, Jr.