Year 2000: A Retrospective

T he year 2000 brought with it plenty of news and many "firsts," such as Dr. Ruth Simmons being named the first African American to lead Brown University, an Ivy League institution, and Dr. James Walker who became the first African American president of Southern Illinois University. Lawsuits against universities for using race as a factor in admissions have kept schools such as the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the University of Georgia in the courts.
Various athletic organizations called on the NCAA to boycott holding events in South Carolina and Georgia — states that continue to fly the Confederate flag. But at year's end, there remained only four Black Division I-A football head coaches, and no new ones were named to fill any of the 11 vacancies that became available.
House Republicans held a summit for presidents of historically Black colleges and universities, led by Black Congressional Republican Rep. J.C. Watts, Okla., sparking criticism from Congressional Black Caucus leaders who doubted the sincerity of the move.
Several historically Black colleges and universities, such as Southern University of Baton Rouge, kicked off the year 2000 by tightening security after receiving a threatening racist hate letter. Others schools that reportedly received the letter included Oakwood College; Alabama A&M University; Alabama State University; and Stillman College.
There are many more significant events to list, but following are some highlights from 2000.
A Few of the Many "Firsts"
•  University of Mississippi elects Nic Lott, the first Black student body president in the school's history.
•  Harvard University names African American professorship after Quincy Jones, the legendary producer-arranger-composer, making it the first endowed professorship in African American Studies given to any American university by a corporation [Time Warner Inc.].
•  Dr. James Walker was named president of Southern Illinois University, making him the first African American to hold the position.
•  University of Pittsburgh names $16,000 nursing scholarship for first Black nursing student, Adena Johnson Davis, a 1947 graduate.
•  Dr. Ruth Simmons, president of Smith College, was named president of Brown University, making her the first African American to lead an Ivy League institution, effective July 2001.