Three African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Endowed Professorships

Elizabeth West was appointed to the John B. and Elena Diaz-Verson Amos Distinguished Chair in English Letters at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Professor West’s research focuses on interdisciplinary studies of early African diaspora literatures of the Americas with particular emphasis on connections of spirituality and gender from early to contemporary works. She is the author of the forthcoming book Finding Francis: One Family’s Journey from Slavery to Freedom (University of South Carolina Press, 2022).

Dr. West holds a Ph.D. in English with a certificate in women’s studies from Emory University in Atlanta.

Regina Stevens-Truss was appointed the Dorothy H. Heyl Senior Endowed Chair in Chemistry at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She has taught at Kalamazoo College since 2000.  Research in her lab focuses on testing a variety of compounds (peptides and small molecules) for antimicrobial activity.

Professor Stevens-Truss earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She holds a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Toledo in Ohio.

Deondra Rose was named the Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She holds secondary appointments in the department of political science and the department of history. She is also the director of Polis: Center for Politics and co-director of the North Carolina Scholars Strategy Network. Her research focuses on the feedback effects of landmark social policies on the American political landscape.

Dr. Rose is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Cornell Univerity in Ithaca, New York.

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