In Memoriam: Leon Leroy Haley Jr., 1964-2021
Dr. Haley joined the faculty at the University of Florida in 2017 as dean of the College of Medicine-Jacksonville. He was the first African American to hold that position. Dr. Haley also was a professor of emergency medicine and vice president for health affairs for the University of Florida.
In Memoriam: Robert Parris Moses, 1935-2021
After winning a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award" in 1982, Dr. Moses used the fellowship money to begin the Algebra Project, which uses mathematics as an organizing tool for quality education for all children in America involving their parents, teachers, and the community to boost mathematics proficiency.
In Memoriam: Douthard R. Butler, 1934-2021
Dr. Butler, who held a doctorate in public administration from George Mason University, taught undergraduate courses in government at the university for 20 years. He retired from teaching in December 2020.
In Memoriam: Henry Givens Jr. 1931-2021
Dr. Givens served as president of Harris Stowe for 32 years until his retirement in 2011. Under his leadership, the university tripled its student population, grew from one building with only one degree to eight facilities and 14-degree programs.
In Memoriam: Horace Jerome Traylor, 1931-2021
Dr. Traylor was the first African American to earn a bachelor's degree in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. He went on to serve as president of Zion College in the city.
In Memoriam: Albert James Williams-Myers, 1939-2021
A.J. William-Myers, professor emerita of African American studies at the State University of New York-New Paltz, died at his home in New Paltz on July 12. He was 82 years old.
In Memoriam: Frank M. Mundy Jr., 1951-2021
Frank Mundy directed the theater program at South Carolina State University for 32 years before retiring in 2010.
In Memoriam: Frederick Stephen Humphries, 1935-2021
Dr. Humphries served as president of Florida A&M University from 1985 to 2001. Earlier, he was president of Tennessee State University in Nashville from 1974 to 1985.
In Memoriam: Esther Arvilla Harrison Hopkins, 1926-2021
Esther A. H. Hopkins was a biophysicist, chemist, educator, and environmental attorney. She taught for several years at what is now Virginia State University before embarking on a career as a research scientist.
In Memoriam: John Benjamin Dubriel , 1938-2021
Professor Dubriel began teaching at historically Black Fort Valley State Univerity in 1970. After achieving status as a senior professor of mathematics, Dr. Dubriel was appointed director and vice president in the Office of Institutional Research, Planning Technologies, and Technological Services.
In Memoriam: Harold Leon Jeffreys III, 1943-2021
Dr. Jeffreys taught at historically Black St. Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina, for more than a half century. He served as director of bands until 2006.
In Memoriam: Tobe Johnson
Tobe Johnson taught at Morehouse College in Atlanta for 59 years before retiring in 2018 from his role as Avalon professor and chair of the political science department. He is the longest-serving faculty member in the school’s 150-year history.
In Memoriam: Carolyn Grubb Williams, 1940-2021
Dr. Williams was named president of Bronx Community College in 1996. She was the first woman to hold the position. She served in that role for 15 years.
In Memoriam: Matthew Walker III, 1965-2021
Dr. Walker joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University in 2011 and held dual appointments as professor of the practice of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering and professor of radiology and radiological sciences in the School of Medicine. He also was associate director of the Medical Innovators Development Program.
In Memoriam: Karl Von Binns Sr., 1951-2021
Dr. Binns taught in the department of hospitality and tourism management at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore for more than 22 years. He was the first African American to play varsity basketball at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
In Memoriam: Larry E. Davis, 1946-2021
Larry E. Davis was dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh from 2001-2018. He was also the founding director of the Center on Race and Social Problems at the university.
In Memoriam: Edward Leon Robinson Jr., 1970-2021
Edward L. Robinson Jr. was a lecturer in African American studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at California State University, Fullerton. He had taught at the university since 2011.
In Memoriam: Nathaniel B. White Jr., 1945-2021
Nathaniel White was one of the first five undergraduate students at Duke University and a former administrator at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
In Memoriam: Robert Daniel Flanigan Jr., 1949-2021
This past December, Danny Flanigan celebrated his fiftieth year on the staff at Spelman College. At the time of hi death, he was executive vice-president, treasurer, and chief investment officer.
In Memoriam: Barbara A. Newsome, 1946-2021
Dr. Newsome joined the faculty at Mississippi Valley State University in 2001 as an assistant professor in the social work department. During her tenure, Dr. Newsome served as the interim chair of the department, internship field coordinator and the director of the master of social work degree program.
In Memoriam: James E. Conyers Sr., 1932-2021
In 1962, James E. Conyers Sr. became the first African American faculty member at what is now Indiana State University. He taught sociology at the university for 28 years.
In Memoriam: Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr., 1935 to 2021
As a young attorney, Jordan worked on the legal battle to desegregate the University of Georgia. He later led the United Negro College Fund and the National Urban League
In Memoriam Ralph Reavis Sr., 1940-2021
Dr. Reavis was the pastor of several churches and taught for more than two decades at Virginia Union University. In 2000, he was named president of his alma mater, now called Virginia University of Lynchburg. He served in that role until 2015.
In Memoriam: Edward W. Crosby, 1932-2021
Dr. Crosby joined the faculty at Kent State University in 1969. There he founded the Institute for African American Affairs, which later became the department of Pan-African studies. He led the Black studies programs at the university for a quarter century.
In Memoriam: James Lee Conyers Jr., 1961-2021
Dr. Conyers, who began his career teaching at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, joined the faculty at the University of Houston in 2002. He has been credited with shaping and transforming the University of Houston’s African American studies program.
In Memoriam: Stephan Mickle, 1944-2021
Judge Mickle taught at the Univerity of Florida College of Law for 38 years. He was the first African American to earn a bachelor's degree and the second African Americans to earn a law degree from the University of Florida.
In Memoriam: Quincy L. Robertson, 1934-2021
Quincy Robinson served on the staff at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia for 32 years, retiring in 1999 as chief financial officer.
In Memoriam: Dollye Mary Emily Robinson, 1927-2020
Robinson began her career at Jackson State University in Mississippi in 1952 as the assistant band director and instructor of music. After a 60-year career at the university, she was named dean emerita in 2012.
In Memoriam: Ira Hicks Jr., 1928-2021
Dr. Hicks served as a vocational instructor for 22 years before joining the faculty at his alma mater Fort Valley State University in 1971.
In Memoriam: Reginald Wilson, 1927-2020
Dr. Wilson taught and was director of the Upward Bound program at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, founded and directed the Black studies program at the University of Detroit Mercy, and was president of Wayne County Community College for 10 years.
In Memoriam: Miriam DeCosta-Willis, 1934-2021
Nearly, a decade after she was not allowed to enroll at what is now the University of Memphis because of the color of her skin, Dr. Decosta-Wilis was hired as the university's first Black faculty member. She also taught at Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Howard University in Washington, D.C., George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
In Memoriam: James Carmichael Renick, 1948-2021
During a long career as a faculty member and administrator in higher education, Dr. Renick served as chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn and was provost at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
In Memoriam: Herman Wadsworth Hemingway, 1932-2020
Herman Hemingway, a lawyer, educator, civil rights activist, was the first Black graduate of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He taught for more than two decades at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
In Memoriam: Jacqueline E. Fuller Certion, 1972-2020
Jacqueline Certion was the assistant director of the Foundations for Academic Success Track, or FASTrack, in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi. In her position, Certion served as an adviser and mentor for thousands of students over the past 19 years.
In Memoriam: Theodore Carter DeLaney Jr., 1943-2020
In 1963, Theodore Carter DeLaney Jr. was hired as a janitor at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He became a full-time student in 1983. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in history in 1985 at the age of 42. After earning a Ph.D., in 1995, he joined the faculty at the university.
In Memoriam: Walter Harris Jr., 1947-2020
In 2003, Dr. Harris came to Loyola as provost and vice president for academic affairs and served in that capacity through 2008. He was provost at Loyola when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and helped students relocate to universities across the country.
