Lehigh University, the highly rated national university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has 27 new faculty members on campus this fall. Of the 27 new appointees, two are African Americans. According to the latest U.S. Department of Education data, Blacks make up 4 percent of the nearly 4,900-member undergraduate student body.
Monica R. Miller is a new assistant professor of religion studies and Africana studies. She was a visiting assistant professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She is the author of Religion and Hip Hop (Routledge, 2012).
Dr. Miller is a graduate of Fordham University in The Bronx, New York, where she majored in religious studies. She earned a master’s degree in theological studies from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and a Ph.D. in theology, ethics, and human science from the Chicago Theological Seminary.
Darius Omar Williams was named an assistant professor of theatre and Africana studies. He is an actor, director, poet, and playwright. Dr. Williams is the co-editor of Mighty Real: An Anthology of African American Same Gender Loving Writing.
Dr. Williams is a graduate of Jackson State University in Mississippi. He holds a master’s degree in theatre from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles, and a doctorate in theatre from Ohio State University.