Rena Robinson was named an associate professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt University. She was on the chemistry department faculty at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Robinson is a graduate of the University of Louisville. She earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at Indiana University and did postdoctoral research at the University of Kentucky.
David H. Ikard was named a professor of African American and diaspora studies. He was a professor of English and director of Africana studies at the University of Miami in Florida. He is the author of the recently released Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs (University of Chicago Press, 2017). An earlier book was Blinded by the Whites: Why Race Still Matters in the 21st Century (Indiana University Press, 2013).
Professor Ikard holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from North Carolina State University. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.