Black Women Academics in the Ivory Tower:
Research and Praxis March 5-9
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJLink
http://www.blackwomenintheivorytower.com/index.htmlSpeakers
With Keynotes by Evelynn Hammonds, Dean of Harvard College
and Cathy Cohen, Deputy Provost for Graduate Education, University of Chicago.
Other speakers include Nikol Alexander-Floyd, Camille Charles, Bonnie Thornton Dill, Cheryl Finley,
Nancy Boyd Franklin, Tiffany Gill, Beverly Greene, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Ange-Marie Hancock,
Simone Peterson Hruda, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Wanda Hendricks, Elizabeth Higginbotham, Darlene Clark Hine,
Stanlie James, Shalonda Kelly, Jeannine LaRue, Cora Marrett, Amrita Chakabarti Myers, Evelyn M. Simien,
Valerie Smith, Hortense Spillers, Brenda Stevenson, Frances Trotman, Cheryl Wall, Rhonda Y. Williams,
Deborah Gray White, Deborah Willis, Stephanie Wright.
About Us
The idea for this conference grew from several sources. It has been over fourteen years since the historic conference “Black Women in the Academe: Defending Our Name.” Those of us who are involved in the 2009 conference believe it is time to re-visit some of the issues raised by that successful conference, particularly in light of statistics that show a decline in the number of black faculty on campuses around the country. Additionally, conversations surrounding the issues raised in the edited volume, Telling Histories: Black Women Historians in the Ivory Tower (UNC Press 2008), have spawned interest in the concerns of black women in the academe. As the contributors to that volume express in so many different ways, black women bring unique experiences to academia, experiences that at once chronicle the advances made in the area of academic diversity and demonstrate the terrain yet to be traveled. The contributors to Telling Histories, and the
concerned faculty at Rutgers, believe that a conference that reviews and assesses the scholarship on black women, that explores ways to successfully navigate the academic terrain, and that devises strategies to insure a diverse faculty and curriculum is well worth holding. If Rutgers’ new President’s Council on Institutional Diversity and Equity is any indication, discussions like these are occurring at many academic institutions, and a conference on those who stand at the nexus of racial, ethnic and gender policy is well worth holding.
SCHEDULE
Thursday March 5th
9:00 – Welcome
9:15 – 10:15 – Keynote Address: Evelynn Hammonds, Dean of Harvard College
10:30 – 12:00 – What Does It Mean to be a Black Woman Who Reads Books for a Living in the 21st Century?
Cheryl Wall, Rutgers University: Chair and Discussant
Hortense Spillers, Vanderbilt University, *
Farah Jasmine Griffin, Columbia University: “That the Daughter's May Soar: Black Women Writing Tomorrow.”
Valerie Smith, Princeton University,*
12:00 – 1:30 – Lunch: Reflections on Black Women in the Sciences
Simone Peterson Hruda, Florida A & M University, Florida State University, College of Engineering.
1:30 – 3:00 – The Making of Brave
Discussion by the new editors of the new edition of All the Blacks are Men, All the Women are White, But Some of Us are Brave
Stanlie James, Arizona State University.
Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Spelman College.
3:15 – 5:00 – The Politics of Political Science in Academy
Chair: Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Princeton, Chair: "Master's Tools: The limitations and promises of quantitative research for studying African American women's politics."
Ange-Marie Hancock, University of Southern California : “Beyond the Oppression Olympics: Seeking Intersectional Solidarity Among Black Women in the Academy.”
Nikol Alexander-Floyd Rutgers University): 'Written, Published, ... Cross-Indexed, and Footnoted': Producing Black Female Ph.D.s and Black Women's and Gender Studies Scholarship in Political Science."
Evelyn M. Simien, University of Connecticut: “Pre- and Post-Tenure Reflections on Charting a Course for Black Women’s Studies in Political Science”
5:15 – 6:00 – How We Got Over: New Research and New Experiences from Newly Minted Professors
Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, University of Indiana: “Juggernauts and Juggling Acts: Surviving Graduate School and the Tenure Track with Your Sanity (Mostly) Intact."
Tiffany Gill, University of Texas: "Clearing Hurdles: Promise, Perspective, and
Perseverance on the Tenure Track."
Stephanie Wright, West Georgia State: “Life in the Fast Lane: Prioritizing as an academic, wife, and mother.”
Reception
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Friday March 6th
9:00 – Welcome from President McCormick
9:15 – 10:15 – Keynote Address: Cathy Cohen, Deputy Provost for Graduate Education, Chicago
10:30 – 12:00 – Doing and Making History: Black Women Historians in the Academy
Darlene Clark Hine, Northwestern University, Chair and Discussant
Rhonda Y. Williams, Case Western Reserve University: "Obscured Lives, Hidden Histories: Expanding Narratives of Black Women's Activism in the Post-WWII Era."
Wanda A. Hendricks, University of South Carolina: "Elements of Continuity: Reflections on Fannie Barrier Williams and Being a Black Woman in The Academy."
Brenda Stevenson, University of Los Angeles: "Uncovering Enslaved Female Identity/Excavating a Liberated Self: Life in the Academy."
12-1:30 – Lunch: Reflections on Black Women Administrators in the Academy
Jeannine LaRue, Vice President of Public Affairs, Rutgers University
1:30-3:00 – Sociology Panel
Elizabeth Higginbotham, University of Delaware, Chair: "Reframing Work for Black Women: Master Narratives as Constraints to Scholarship. "
Camille Charles, University of Pennsylvania: "She's Got Game: Finding Success in the Ivy League While Putting Family First."
Bonnie Thorton Dill, University of Maryland : "New Wine, Old Bottles?: How do mentoring, persistence, and family support facilitate Black Women's careers in higher education?"
Cora Marrett, National Science Foundation: *
3:15 – 4:30 – Black Women in Psychology: The Challenges and Perspectives
Beverly Greene, St. Johns University: Chair and Discussant
Nancy Boyd Franklin, Rutgers University: "The Recruitment and Retention of Black Women in the Ivory Tower."
Shalonda Kelly, Rutgers University: "Obtaining tenure despite structural issues and adverse racial perspectives: The challenges, and some helpful solutions."
Frances Trotman, Monmouth University: “Racism, Sexism and IQ: Implications for African American Women in U.S. Institutions of Higher Education.”
4:45 – 6:00 – The Way We Look: Image Presentations of Women in Academe
Deborah Willis, New York University : “Beauty Matters or Posing Beauty in the Academy.”
Cheryl Finley, Cornell University: “Art, Education, Destination: Lois Mailou Jones at Howard University and in the World.”
Reception
* To Be Announced.
Author