When I was a kid I liked to play “school” and give myself assignments. Aside from the Indiana Jones film enterprise I knew nothing about what it meant to be a professor. Even in college, the idea of being a professor never entered my mind, but I loved learning so much that I eventually learned there is a place for people who do not want to stop learning and “being” in school. So, here I am—a professor at my hometown university.

I was born in Columbus, Ohio and raised in the South Linden neighborhood, where both of my parents’ families eventually settled—one side from domestic migration and the other side from international migration. I attended Columbus Public Schools and then attended Denison University and majored in Classical Studies and English Literature with a minor in French. Participating in the GLCA/ACM Newberry Library research program during my senior year at Denison was when I realized professional post-baccalaureate programs were not the only means by which I could stay in school. After Denison, I attended Ohio State University and earned dual masters degrees in Black Studies and English Literature. I earned a doctorate in English Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park. I was not quite ready to stop being a student, so not long after beginning a tenure-track professor career at Ohio State University, I enrolled in Moritz College of Law’s MLS program. I have an agreement with myself that that was my final degree program.

As I settled into no longer being a formal student, I discovered grant writing. Writing and leading grant projects has allowed me to continue learning about different disciplines and fields of study. I have led grant teams on a project—Transnational Black Citizenship—exploring how the humanities can inform public policy and a project focused on Racial Sensitivity Software design for law enforcement. I have joined colleagues on grant-funded projects that designed Middle Grade STEAM Curriculum and another that partners with the Columbus Division of Police and the Divided Community Project to design cultural sensitivity training to improve internal police relations and enhance recruitment and retention of under-represented officers. My collaborations have also extended to the Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine, where I have collaborated on scholarship, teaching, and curriculum development. I love working with my colleagues across so many disciplines and fields of study, learning just enough to keep me from being a professional student!

In addition to research and teaching, I have served in various leadership roles at Ohio State. I am a past vice chair and chair of the Department of African American and African Studies as well as past director of that department’s off-campus Community Extension Center. In the Department of English I have served as co-chair of associated faculty and as an elected member of the Executive Committee. Participation in the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Institute, Ohio State’s President and Provost’s Leadership Institute, and an American Council on Education leadership workshop assured I was well-prepared for administrative service.

I try to be deliberate and intentional about not always working. Borrowing from the great wordsmith Toni Morrison, my three sons are “my best things,” and I enjoy nothing more than spending time with them and my husband, who has been my best friend and diehard cheerleader for a very long time. In my deliberate free time, I lift weights (a lot), occasionally lap swim and cycle, I love spa days and sitting on my deck with my dogs. I strive to be of “Service to all mankind” as a proud member and Silver Star of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.