In Memoriam: Bobby Lee Lovett, 1943-2022

Bobby Lee Lovett, author and long-time educator at Tennessee State University, died late last month in Nashville. He was 79 years old.

A native of Memphis, Dr. Lovett held a bachelor’s degree in history and political science at what is now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He later earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Dr. Lovett taught in the Memphis public school system and at Eureka College in Illinois before joining the faculty at Tennessee State University, a historically Black educational institution in Nashville. In addition to teaching history for more than 30 years, Dr. Lovett served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university.

Professor Lovett was the author of eight books including A Touch of Greatness: A History of Tennessee State University (Mercer University Press, 2013). His 2005 book, The Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee: A Narrative History (University of Tennesee Press, 2005), won the Tennessee History Book Award from the Tennessee Library Association and Tennessee Historical Commission.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Higher Education Grants or Gifts of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

American Students Studying Abroad in Sub-Saharan Africa

In the 2021-22 academic year, there were 4,614 American students who studied at universities in sub-Saharan Africa. This is about one tenth of the number of students from sub-Saharan Africa studying at U.S. universities.

Marcus L. Thompson Named the Thirteenth President of Jackson State University

Dr. Thompson has more than 20 years of leadership experience in early childhood, K-12 education, and higher education. He has been serving as the deputy commissioner and chief administrative officer of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, where for over a decade he has been responsible for overseeing IHL staff.

U.S. Public Schools Remain Separate and Unequal

Approximately 522,400 students, or 1 percent of overall student enrollment, attended public schools where fewer than half of the teachers met all state certification requirements. Of the students attending those schools, 66 percent were Black and Latino students.

Featured Jobs