First Black Tenured Professor Honored

Trudier Harris was recently honored for her groundbreaking role as Williams & Mary's first tenured African-American faculty member.  

Following her lecture on Sept. 28, Trudier Harris was presented with an award in honor of her historic role at W&M by members of the committee for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the university's first African American residential students. 

Harris received her undergraduate degree from Stillman College and  her master's and doctoral degrees from Ohio State University.  She has written or edited nearly two dozen books, including the Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature, and she received multiple honors and awards for her scholarly work and teaching. 

In the 1970s, Harris was a member of the English department's faculty. Now a University Distinguish Research Professor of English at the University of Alabama and formerly J. Carlyle Sitterson Distinguish Professor of English at UNC Chapel Hill, she returned to W&M's campus as the Department of English's Sara and Jess Cloud Distinguished Lecturer.