Nikia A. Laurie was appointed interim director of the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute at North Carolina Central University in Durham. She joined the faculty at the university in 2020. Prior to her NCCU appointment, Dr. Laurie served as the director of the Retinoblastoma Center of Excellence and assistant professor at the Stanley Manne Research Institute and the Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago.
Dr. Laurie earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Xavier University of Louisiana. She holds a Ph.D. in medical science from Brown University.
Christopher Freeburg, a professor of English at the University of Illinois, was named to a Presidential Humanities and Social Science Chair. The endowed chair with funds invested by the University of Illinois System president, is intended to support humanities and social sciences scholars whose research focuses on innovation and discovery. He had been serving as the John A. and Grace W. Nicholson Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dr Freeburg is the author of Counterlife: Slavery After Resistance and Social Death (Duke University Press, 2021).
Dr. Freeberg earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.
Dawn M. Turner, associate professor of management at Oakwood University in Alabama, was given the additional duties of assistant vice president for research and faculty development and director of adult and continuing education. Her scholarly pursuits have centered around knowledge management in federal contexts.
Dr. Turner is a graduate of Oakwood University. She earned a doctorate of management degree from the University of Maryland.
