All Entries in the "In Memoriam" Category
In Memoriam: June Jackson Christmas, 1924-2023
A longtime clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, Dr. Christmas also taught behavioral science at the City University of New York School of Medicine and was a professor of mental health policy at the Graduate School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
In Memoriam: Faith Ringgold, 1930-2024
Ringgold was a mixed media artist, best known for her narrative quilts which centered around African American and women’s representation. She was a professor emerita of art with the University of California San Diego where she taught for 15 years.
In Memoriam: Elilzabeth Ann Vallen, 1965-2024
Dr. Vallen was the Howard A. Schneiderman ’48 Professor of Biology at Swarthmore College where she served for nearly three decades. She helped to establish the college’s Biology Scholars Program and the Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program.
In Memoriam: Barbara Jones, 1935-2024
Dr. Jones was a women’s studies scholar and cultural anthropologist. During her academic career, she taught courses at schools across the country including Merritt College in Oakland, California, where she served as chair of the anthropology department.
In Memoriam: Marjorie Perloff, 1931-2024
Dr. Perloff was a professor emerita of English with Stanford University, where she taught for 14 years. She was a scholar of contemporary and experimental poetry, authoring over a dozen books throughout her lifetime.
In Memoriam: Ruth R. Martin, 1930-2024
Dr. Martin was a professor emerita of social work at the University of Connecticut. In addition to teaching, she served the university as associate dean prior to retiring in 1999.
In Memoriam: Bertha Maxwell-Roddey, 1930-2024
In 1970, Dr. Maxwell-Roddey became the second African-American to be hired as a full-time faculty member at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. One year later, she became the founding director of the university’s Africana studies department.
In Memoriam: Ramona Edelin, 1945-2024
Dr. Edelin founded the first African American studies program at Northeastern University in 1972. She is credited for helping to introduce the term “African American” into American vernacular.
In Memoriam: Lorna Peterson, 1939-2024
For 19 years, Dr. Peterson served as executive director of Five Colleges, Incorporated, a collaborative consortium comprised of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
In Memoriam: Lena Prewitt, 1931-2024
In 1970, Dr. Prewitt joined the faculty at the University of Alabama as its first-ever Black woman professor. She served the university as an associate professor of business for over two decades prior to taking on academic and administrative leadership positions with Stillman College.
In Memoriam: Gloria Jackson, 1931-2024
Dr. Gloria Jackson had a career in higher education that spanned five decades. From 1982 to 1984, she served as president of St. Philip’s College in Texas, a historically Black community college within the Alamo Colleges District.
In Memoriam: Shani Mott, 1976-2024
Dr. Mott was a lecturer in the department of history and Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University where she worked for the past 16 years. Her academic studies focused on racial language in American popular culture.
In Memoriam: Elaine Crovitz, 1936-2024
Dr. Crovitz was an associate professor of psychology at Duke University for over two decades. She also taught psychology courses at North Carolina Central University and saw patients at the Duke University Medical Center.
In Memoriam: Lissa Jean Yogan, 1959-2024
Lissa Jean Yogan had a four-decades long career in higher education, including nearly 30 years as a faculty member in the department of sociology and criminology at Valparaiso University in Indiana.
In Memoriam: Cynthia Pfeifer-Hill, 1963-2024
Dr. Pfeifer-Hill taught biology courses at Northwestern Oklahoma State University for over two decades. During her tenure, she served as chair of the department of natural science for 10 years.
In Memoriam: Barbara Burns, 1941-2024
Dr. Burns was a member of the Duke University faculty for over three decades where she served as a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of the services effectiveness research program.
In Memoriam: Elizabeth Miller Rawlins, 1927-2024
From 1967 to 1992, Dr. Rawlins taught education at Simmons College in Boston, where she also served as associate dean of the human service program for more than decade.
In Memoriam: Barbara Reeves, 1944-2024
Barbara Reeves spent over two decades serving the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, where she taught courses on the history of science. She also taught at Cornell University, Ohio State University, and Harvard University earlier in her career.
In Memoriam: Rita Wilson
“Rita’s absence will leave a void that will be deeply felt by all who had the privilege of working alongside her,” said University of Texas San Antonio vice provost and university librarian, Dean Hendrix. “Her legacy of excellence and the positive impact she had on our library and its patrons will be remembered with great admiration.”
In Memoriam: Mary Ann Horn, 1965-2024
Throughout her career, Dr. Horn researched how applied mathematics can be utilized in the biological life science fields. She held academic and leadership appointments at Case Western University, Vanderbilt University, and the National Science Foundation.
In Memoriam: Peggy Hedrick Deierhoi, 1934-2024
Her higher education experience included academic appointments at the University of Tennessee and Georgia Perimeter College. After she retired, Deierhoi served the lifelong learning programs at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina. and Florida Atlantic University.
In Memoriam: Kristin Abbott, 1982-2024
“Dr. Abbott was an incredibly kind and responsive physician,” said Mona Dugo, assistant vice president for wellness and dean of students for Northwestern Student Affairs. “Those of us who had the honor of working with her throughout her Northwestern tenure came to rely on her ability to lead with compassion.
In Memoriam: Dana Fox, 1957-2024
Throughout the course of her 28 year career, Dana Fox served as a professor of English education, holding faculty appointments at the University of Georgia, the University of Arizona, George State University, and Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
In Memoriam: Jane Guyer, 1943-2024
Dr. Guyer was a professor emerita at Johns Hopkins University where she formerly served as the George Armstrong Kelly Professor of Anthropology and co-chair of The Academy. Throughout her career, she conducted extensive research on economic transformations in West Africa.
In Memoriam: Nancy Vacc, 1939-2024
“Nancy Vacc, with her great heart and generous spirit, not only unselfishly gave the university impactful resources, but helped shape our campus, inform our values, and move us forward,” said Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
In Memoriam: Pauline Adams, 1922-2024
Former Michigan State University professor Pauline Gordon Adams passed away on January 16. She was 101 years old.
In Memoriam: Joyce Inez Johnson Bolden, 1933-2023
Dr. Bolden’s teaching and professional career began at Utica Junior College in Utica, Missississippi. She and her husband moved to Alcorn State University in 1957. During a 42-year career at Alcorn State, Dr. Bolden served in many capacities including concert choir director, music professor, honors colloquium professor, and chair of the department of fine arts.
In Memoriam: Margaret Hammond Dornish, 1934-2023
Dr. Dornish joined the faculty at Pomona College in 1969. When she began at Pomona, Dr. Dornish was among a handful of women faculty and the lone female instructor in a building that did not have a women’s bathroom.
In Memoriam: Christy L. Burns: 1962-2023
Dr. Burns joined the faculty at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1992. She was promoted to associate professor in 1998 and retired in 2020 after 28 years of service to William & Mary.
In Memoriam: Cynthia Haldenby Tyson, 1937-2024
A native of England, President Tyson led Mary Baldwin from 1985 to 2003. Before coming to Mary Baldwin, she served as a faculty member and as vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina from 1969 to 1985.
In Memoriam: Sharon E. Barker, 1949-2023
Barker served as the first director of the Women’s Resource Center at the University of Maine from 1991 until her retirement in 2014. In that role, Barker mentored countless students, collaborated with faculty and staff, and served as a liaison with women’s organizations in the community.
In Memoriam: Colleen J. McElroy, 1935-2023
In 1983, Dr. McElroy became the first Black woman to serve as a full-time faculty member at the University of Washington. From 1995 to 2007, Professor McElroy served as editor of The Seattle Review, a literary magazine based at the university.
In Memoriam: Molly Sue Wantz, 1941-2023
Combining her education and professional life, Molly had a 41-year association with Ball State University, with an emphasis on teaching methodologies, curriculum development, and teacher training.
In Memoriam: Peggy Downes Baskin, 1930-2023
For 18 years, Dr. Baskin was a professor of political science at Santa Clara University, specializing in the study of the United States presidency, elections, and presidential management styles. She spent five years at the University of California, Santa Cruz as a senior lecturer on women and politics and women in power.
In Memoriam: Marilyn Maxine Preheim Rose, 1927-2023
Dr. Rose taught the first course on anthropology and women’s studies at the University of Iowa, and subsequently taught in both the anthropology and women’s studies departments at the university, with a focus on women and aging in cross-cultural perspectives.
