In Memoriam: Lennette Johnson Ivy, 1953-2016
Professor Ivy joined the faculty at the University of Mississippi in 1990. She served as clinical supervisor in speech pathology, an assistant and associate professor, and chair of the department of communication sciences and disorders.
In Memoriam: David Nganga Mburu, 1965-2016
A native of Kenya, Dr. Mburu taught courses in the language of Kiswahili and popular culture in East Africa at the University of Kansas. Earlier, he taught at California State University, Sacramento.
In Memoriam: Gwendolyn Ifill, 1955-2016
Gwen Ifill was a celebrated newspaper reporter and pioneering PBS television anchor who moderated two vice presidential debates. A graduate of Simmons College, Ifill held honorary degrees from 20 institutions of higher learning.
In Memoriam: Debra Saunders-White, 1957-2016
Debra Saunders-White, the 11th chancellor of North Carolina Central University in Durham, died on November 26. Dr. Saunders-White was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2015 and took a medical leave of absence in August 2016.
In Memoriam: Wayne Everett Crumwell
In 1968, Wayne Crumwell became the first African American to graduate from Davidson College in North Carolina. He later earned a law degree at Duke, opened a private law practice, and served as a faculty member at North Carolina Central University.
In Memoriam: Harold R. Benson, 1944-2016
Dr. Benson directed the land grant program at Kentucky State University for 36 years. He directed the university's extension program during that period and from 1985 to his retirement in 2011 he also directed the research program.
In Memoriam: Madelon Delany Stent
Madelon Delany Stent served as vice president for academic affairs at the University of the District of Columbia and was a professor emerita of education at the City College of New York.
In Memoriam: Hope Lewis, 1962-2016
Hope Lewis was a professor at the Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, where she had served on the faculty for a quarter century. Earlier, she was an attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In Memoriam: Dovi J. Afesi, 1945-2016
A native of Ghana, Dr. Afesi was a professor of history at Greenfield Community College in Massachusetts. Earlier in his career, he was an assistant professor of Afro-American studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
In Memoriam: Margaret W. Lewis, 1932-2016
Dr. Margaret Lewis began her career in 1958 as a staff nurse at the former Florida A&M University Hospital. She joined the faculty at the university in 1959. She later served as dean of the university's School of Nursing.
In Memoriam: Jewell Plummer Cobb, 1924-2017
In 1981, Professor Cobb was appointed president of California State University, Fullerton. She was the first African American women to lead a major university west of the Mississippi River.
In Memoriam: Charles Dwight Lahr
C. Dwight Lahr was a professor of mathematics emeritus at Dartmouth College. Dr. Lahr was the first African American to be named a tenured professor of mathematics in the Ivy League.
In Memoriam: Willie Roy Evans, 1937-2017
When the University at Buffalo was invited to play in the 1958 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida, it was told it would have to leave its star African American running back home. The team unanimously voted to decline the invitation.
In Memoriam: Roy Emile Alfredo Innis, 1934-2017
Roy Innis was an outspoken Black nationalist, civil rights icon, and national director of the Congress of Racial Equality.
In Memoriam: John Albert Davis, 1934-2017
John Davis was a former assistant clinical professor of medical education at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
In Memoriam: Courtney Salters Henderson, 1975-2017
A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, Salters Henderson joined the staff at Vanderbilt University in 1998 as an admissions counselor. In 2005 she was appointed director of student organizations and served in that post at the time of her death.
In Memoriam: Pamela Denise Anthony, 1971-2017
Pamela D. Anthony, vice president for student affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. From 2012 to 2016, she was dean of students at Iowa State University.
In Memoriam: Howard Clifton Blue, 1957-2017
Dr. Howard Blue was an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale Medical School and the deputy director of mental health and counseling at Yale Health.
In Memoriam: Lenny Knight, 1970-2017
Lenny Knight was the assistant director of the Approaching Storm Band at Delaware State University. Knight joined the staff at Delaware State University in 2007 after serving as band director at Dover High School in Delaware for 15 years.
In Memoriam: Mark Q. Sawyer, 1972-2017
Dr. Sawyer joined the faculty at UCLA in 1999 as an assistant professor. He was instrumental in transforming the African American studies program into an academic department at the university.
In Memoriam: Milton A. Gordon, 1935-2017
Dr. Gordon was named president of California State University in 1990. During his 22-year tenure, enrollments increased from 25,600 to more than 36,000. Thirteen new academic programs were established and 22 building were constructed on campus.
In Memoriam: Adam S. Arnold Jr., 1922-2017
In 1957, Dr. Arnold was hired to the faculty in the department of finance at the University of Notre Dame. He was the first African American faculty member at the university and was the first to be granted tenure. Dr. Arnold taught at Notre Dame for 30 years.
In Memoriam: Eddie Nathan Williams, 1932-2017
Eddie N. Williams was the long-time president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington and former administrator at the University of Chicago.
In Memoriam: William R. Scott, 1940-2017
William R. Scott was a professor emeritus of history at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He joined the faculty at Lehigh University as a full professor in 1992 and served as the first director of the university's African American studies program.
In Memoriam: Charles Rudolph Davis, 1937-2017
Chuck Davis was one of the nation's foremost authorities on African and African American dance. In 1983, he founded the African American Dance Ensemble in Durham, North Carolina, and taught classes at Duke University and North Carolina Central University.
In Memoriam: Gloria P. Hill, 1947-2017
Dr. Hill joined the staff at Carnegie Mellon University in 1972 as an academic adviser. Later, she served as assistant vice provost for education and assistant dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
In Memoriam: Samuel DuBois Cook, 1928-2017
Samuel DuBois Cook was the first African American faculty member at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and the long-time president of Dillard University in New Orleans.
In Memoriam: Anna Louise Cherrie Epps, 1930-2017
In 1997 Dr. Epps was named dean of the School of Medicine at Meharry Medical College, making her not only Meharry's first female dean of the medical school, but also the only African-American woman with a Ph.D. to become dean of a U.S. medical school.
In Memoriam: William A. Butts, 1933-2017
Dr. Butts taught at Mississippi Valley State University and Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. In 1975, he was named the eleventh president of Kentucky State University.
In Memoriam: Yeworkwha Belachew, 1952-2017
Yeworkwha Belachew served as assistant dean, ombudsperson, and founder of the Dialogue Center at Oberlin College. She retired in 2015 after more than 35 years of service to the college.
In Memoriam: Geri Antoinette Allen, 1957-2017
Geri Allen, an accomplished jazz pianist and composer, taught at the University of Michigan for 10 years before becoming director of the jazz studies program at the University of Pittsburgh in 2014.
In Memoriam: Julia Blanche Anderson, 1951-2017
Julia B. Anderson was the founding director of the Institute for Racial and Ethnic Health Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Later, she was a special assistant to the deputy director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
In Memoriam: Moses C. Norman, 1935-2017
Moses C. Norman, who retired as dean of the School of Education at Clark Atlanta University on June 30, died on July 11 at his home in Atlanta. He was 82 years old.
In Memoriam: Samuel Allen Counter Jr., 1944-2017
S. Allen Counter was a noted neurophysiologist and the founding director of the Harvard Foundation of Intercultural and Race Relations.
In Memoriam: Charles Lyons Jr., 1926-2017
Dr. Lyons became chancellor of Fayetteville State University in 1969. He served in that role for 18 years before resigning in 1987.
In Memoriam: Cynthia Barnes-Boyd, 1953-2017
Cynthia Barnes-Boyd was a clinical associate professor of community health and director of the Office of Community Engagement and Neighborhood Health Partnerships at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
