UD's Black American Studies (BAMS) program invites applications from students for it’s first-ever James E. Newton Award. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, April 30.
The recipient of the $500 award must be a junior or senior BAMS major or minor who will be selected based on his or her academic performance and who has a distinguished record of community service within or outside of the University.
The award is given in honor of James Newton, Professor Emeritus of Black American Studies and a Senior Fellow with UD's Center for Community Research and Service, who retired from his full-time faculty position in 2005 after a 33-year career at UD.
Besides his teaching duties, Newton directed BAMS, acted as chairperson of the Commission to Promote Racial and Cultural Diversity and served as a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Delaware State Advisory Committee. He also had a commitment to community service that included membership on the boards of the Walnut Street YMCA, Delaware State Arts Council, Delaware Art Museum, Tatnall School, YMCA of Delaware and Public Allies.
Newton was the first African-American to earn a master's degree in fine arts from the University of North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Illinois State University. Newton is the author of The Principles of Diversity: Handbook for a Diversity-Friendly America and of A Curriculum Evaluation on Student Knowledge of Afro-American Life and History. He also co-edited The Other Slaves: Mechanics, Artisan, and Craftsmen and has won first-prize awards in sculpture and graphics in the National African American Art Exhibition in Atlanta.
Students may nominate themselves or a fellow student for the Newton Award. Nominees must have an overall GPA of 3.0.
Applications and letters of recommendation should be addressed to Carol Henderson Belton, Black American Studies Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716.