In Memoriam: Ulysses Van Spiva, 1931-2016
In 1979, Dr. Spiva was named dean of the College of Education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He was the first African American dean in the university's history.
In Memoriam: Cecil Wayne Cone, 1937-2016
Dr. Cone was a theologian, educator, author, and the former president of Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. He became a minister at the age of 13 and was named pastor of an African Methodist Episcopal Church at the age of 16.
In Memoriam: Crawford Joseph Mims, 1922-2016
During his long career in higher education, Dr. Sims taught at Rust College, Shorter College, and Philander Smith College. He was provost at Philander Smith College and on three occasions served as interim president of the historically Black educational institution.
In Memoriam: Horace Taliaferro Ward, 1927-2016
Horace Ward was a long-time federal judge who was the first African American to apply to the University of Georgia. His application for admission to the university’s law school was reject due to his race.
In Memoriam: James Bell, 1925-2016
After teaching at several HBCUs, James Bell joined the faculty at Cal Poly Pomona in 1968. Four years later, he was the first African American to be appointed a vice president in the California State University System.
In Memoriam: Jesse Edward Nash Jr., 1926-2016
A native of Buffalo, Nash joined the faculty at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, in 1965 and taught sociology and anthropology there for 33 years before his retirement in 1998. He also lectured in the School of Graduate Education of the University at Buffafo.
In Memorian: Michael Steven Harper, 1938-2016
Michael S. Harper, who taught at Brown University in Providence for 43 years, was the first poet laureate of the state of Rhode Island.
In Memoriam: Thelma Vernelle Cook, 1939-2016
Cook was an administrator at Oklahoma State University and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. She served as chair of the board of regents of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis.
In Memoriam: Raymond Gavins, 1942-2016
Dr. Gavins joined the faculty at Duke in 1970. He was the first African American to join the faculty of Duke's history department. Dr. Gavins was promoted to associate professor in 1977 and to full professor in 1992.
In Memoriam: Warren George Palmer, 1921-2016
Warren G. Palmer was an associate professor emeritus in the School of Education and an associate professor emeritus of library science at the University of Michigan.
In Memoriam: Mamie Rallins, 1941-2016
A two-time Olympian, Rallins was the first African American woman to hold a head coaching job at Ohio State University, where she also served as assistant athletics director.
In Memoriam: Herman Jones Jr., 1962-2016
Herman Jones Jr., a retired major in the U.S. Army, was the director of bands and professor of woodwinds at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina.
In Memorian: Charles Warfield, 1939-2016
Dr. Warfield joined the faculty at Western Michigan University in 1972 and retired in 2013. Upon his retirement, he was named associate professor emeritus of educational leadership, research and technology. He was also president of the Kalamazoo chapter of the NAACP.
In Memoriam: Verna B. Dauterive, 1922-2016
Verna Dauterive was a former trustee, benefactor, and adjunct professor of education at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She spent 60 years as a teacher and administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
In Memoriam: Cedric James Robinson, 1940-2016
Professor Cedric James Robinson joined the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1978. He chaired both the department of Black studies and the department of political science.
In Memoriam: Austin Chesterfield Clarke, 1934-2016
Clarke was a native of Barbados. He came to Canada in 1955 to study at the University of Toronto. The author of 11 novels, he taught at Yale University, Duke University, and the University of Texas.
In Memoriam: Joseph Pree Ramsey Jr., 1951-2016
Joseph Ramsey Jr. was former director of athletics and former chair of the Sports Hall of Fame at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
In Memoriam: Roscoe Conkling Brown Jr., 1922-2016
Roscoe C. Brown Jr. was a Tuskegee Airman who was former president of Bronx Community College in New York and a former professor at New York University and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.
In Memoriam: Ronald E. Harris, 1960-2016
At Chicago State, Harris founded the Teaching and Educating Men of Black Origin program and the Continuing the Journey Conference for Black male high school students. He was the director of the African American Male Resource Center.
In Memoriam: Michael Robert Williams, 1952-2016
Dr. Michael Williams joined the faculty at Cleveland State University in 1985 as an assistant professor of social work. In 2004, he was named director of the Black studies program at the university and remained in that post until his death.
In Memoriam: James F. Tucker, 1925-2016
Dr. Tucker served as president of Virginia State from 1968 to 1970 and then served on the economics faculty and was the director of the Center for Economic Education at Virginia Tech from 1970 to 1974.
In Memoriam: James Alan McPherson, 1943-2016
In 1978, Professor McPherson was the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. At the time of his death he was professor emeritus at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
In Memoriam: Stella Mason Parson, 1929-2016
Stella Mason Parson, a long-time educator, was the first Black woman to earn a college degree in the state of Nevada. She taught in Las Vegas public schools for 33 years.
In Memoriam: Edwin Smith, 1950-2016
Edwin Smith was the Leon Benwell Professor of Law, International Relations, and Political Science at the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern, California. He was the first African American tenured faculty member at the law school.
In Memoriam: Joyce Carol Thomas, 1938-2016
Joyce Carol Thomas, the author of more than 30 children's books and a former college professor, won the National Book Award and the American Book Award in 1983. She taught at several higher educational institutions including Purdue University and the University of Tennessee.
In Memoriam: Robert Colbert, 1950-2016
Robert Colbert was an associate professor and director of the counseling program in the department of educational psychology in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut.
In Memoriam: Joyce O. Jenkins, 1949-2016
Joyce O. Jenkins was the director of the Center for Teaching and e-Learning at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock. Prior to joining the staff at Arkansas Baptist College in 2012, Dr. Jenkins had a 26-year career at Fort Valley State University in Georgia.
In Memoriam: Samuel A. Floyd Jr., 1937-2016
Samuel Floyd Jr. was the founder of the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College in Chicago and the founder of the Black Music Research Journal.
In Memoriam: Lancelot C. A. Thompson, 1925-2016
Dr. Thompson joined the faculty at the University of Toledo in 1958. For four years, he was the only Black faculty member at the university. In 1968, Dr. Thompson was appointed vice president of student affairs, a post he held for 20 years.
In Memoriam: Daniel O. Bernstine, 1947-2016
Daniel O. Bernstine was president of the Law School Admission Council. Earlier in his career, he served for 10 years as president of Portland State University in Oregon.
In Memoriam: Gloria Naylor, 1950-2016
Naylor, who taught creative writing at several universities, was best known for her her 1982 novel The Women of Brewster Place, for which she won the National Book Award for the best first novel.
In Memoriam: June Brown, 1927-2016
Dr. Brown joined the faculty at the University of Southern California in 1969. She taught in the School of Social Work's master's and doctoral degree programs and served as chair of what is now the department of children, youth and families. In 1987, Dr. Brown was named assistant dean for academic affairs.
In Memoriam: Velma L. Blackwell
Dr. Blackwell joined the staff at Tuskegee University in 1969 and remained employed by the university until her retirement in 2008. She held many positions at the university including associate provost, director of student relations, vice president for development, and director of the Center for Continuing Education.
In Memoriam: Edgar L. Berry
Edgar L. Berry was interim vice president for student affairs at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Earlier he served as vice president for student affairs at Texas College in Tyler, Texas.
In Memoriam: Ogretta Ann Humphries Vaughn McNeil, 1932-2016
Dr. McNeil was was the first African American woman to serve on the faculty at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She also was the first woman tenure-track faculty member in the psychology department at the college.
In Memoriam: Herbert Rogers Kent, 1928-2016
Herb Kent was a radio personality in Chicago for more than 70 years and taught at Chicago State University for more than a decade. He made his last radio broadcast on the morning of his death.
