Alphonso Grant, an assistant professor in the School of Art at the University of Arkansas, died on December 5 after suffering a heart attack in his Fayetteville home. He was 50 years old.
Dr. Grant joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas in 2017 as a visiting professor of art education. He also was affiliated with the African and African American studies, political science, and gender studies programs at the university. During his time at the university, he tutored student athletes and was a strong advocate for increasing diversity on campus.
“I advocate for diversity and inclusion as an ethical action that pursues self-reflection and self-acceptance for the professor, student, and society,” Grant explained about his passion for pursuing great diversity in the academic world. “Diversity and inclusion is not simply a humanistic initiative; rather, it is a therapeutic creative process that reminisces and restores as it reintegrates knowledge from the professor, student, and the happenings within society.”
Dr. Grant was a graduate of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he majored in political science. He held a master’s degree in art education and a Ph.D. in art education and African American and diaspora studies from Pennsylvania State University.