Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell has appointed Learotha Williams, Jr., professor of history at Tennessee State University, as the next Davidson County Historian. Dr. Williams is the first African American to hold the position. At Tennessee State University, Dr. Williams leads the North Nashville Heritage Project. He is also co-chair of the annual Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture.
Dr. Williams received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in African American history and Post-Civil War American history from Florida State University.
Tia-Simone Gardner was awarded tenure in the department of media and cultural studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. As an artist, educator, and Black feminist scholar, Dr. Gardner works primarily with photography, moving-image, and drawing. Her practice is grounded in interdisciplinary strategies that activate ideas of ritual, iconoclasm, and geography.
Dr. Gardner received her bachelor’s degree in art and art history from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and holds a master of fine arts degree in interdisciplinary practices and time-based media from the University of Pennsylvania. She earned a Ph.D. in feminist studies from the University of Minnesota.
Jonli Tunstall has been named associate vice provost of student diversity at the University of California, Los Angeles, and director of the UCLA Academic Advancement Program. She previously served as the program’s director of pre-college and summer programs. In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Dr. Tunstall teaches courses in the School of Education, the department of African American studies, and the department of ethnomusicology.
Dr. Tunstall earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Ph.D. in education from the University of California, Los Angeles.
