A Trio of African American Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments

John Brooks Slaughter was appointed the Deans’ Professor of Education and Engineering at the University of Southern California. After a 15-year career as a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy, Dr. Slaughter was appointed director of the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington. He served briefly as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Washington State University before being named the first African American director of the National Science Foundation in 1980. Two years later, Dr. Slaughter was named chancellor of the University of Maryland. In 1988, he was appointed president of Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Professor Slaughter is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he majored in electrical engineering. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in engineering science from the University of California, San Diego.

Alicia E Ellis, was promoted to associate professor of German at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She was also granted tenure. She is an interdisciplinary scholar of comparative literature, with expertise in German studies, African- American studies, and Caribbean literature. Dr. Ellis is the author of the forthcoming book, Figuring the Female: Language and Identity in Franz Grillparzer’s Classical Dramas.

Dr. Ellis is a graduate of Amerhet College in Massachusetts, where she majored in Germanic literature and women’s and gender studies. She holds a master’s degree in African American studies and a Ph.D. in Germanic languages and literatures from Yale University.

Thomasenia Lott Adams, a professor of mathematics education and associate dean for research and faculty development at the University of Florida, was appointed to the U.S. National Commission on Mathematics Instruction. The commission is a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Professor Lott Adams is a graduate of South Carolina State University, where she majored in mathematics. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Florida.