Past and Present Cosby Endowed Professors

Professorship: 2012-2014

Tananarive Due (pronounced tah-nah-nah-REEVE doo) is a Cosby chair in the humanities. She is a NAACP Image Award winner and an American Book Award-winning author of nine books, ranging from supernatural thrillers to a mystery to a civil rights memoir.

Professorship: 2010-2011

Shirley Franklin, was a Cosby chair in the social sciences.  She is the former two-term Atlanta mayor and the current chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Purpose Build Communities.

Alison Bernstein, Ph.D., was a Cosby chair of humanities.  She she is the director of the Institute for Women's Leadership at Rutgers University.

Professorship: 2008-2009

M. Jacqui Alexander, Ph.D., was a Cosby chair in the humanities. She is professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Toronto.

Professorship: 2007-2009

Lisa E. Farrington, Ph.D., was a Cosby chair in the humanities.  She is an accomplished curator, author, and art historian.

Nawal El Saadawi, Ph.D., was a Cosby chair in the social sciences.  She is an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician and psychiatrist.

Professorship: 2005-2007

Pearl Cleage, C'71, was a Cosby chair in the humanities and is an Atlanta-based writer.

Patricia McFadden, Ph.D.,was a Cosby chair in the social sciences.  She is a sociologist, writer, educator, and publisher from Swaziland.

Professorship: 2003-2005

Renita J. Weems, Ph.D., was a Cosby chair in the humanities.  She is a Bible scholar and an ordained elder in the African Methodist Church.  

William Darity, Jr., Ph.D., was a Cosby chair in the social sciences.  He is an Arts & Sciences professor of public policy, professor of African and African-American studies and economics at Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. 

Professorship:  2002-2004

Bernice Johnson Reagon, Ph.D., was a Cosby chair in the fine arts.  She is an internationally known producer, composer and recording artist and is the founder and spirit behind the Grammy Award-nominated a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey and the Rock.

Shelia Walker, Ph.D., was a Cosby chair in the humanities 2002 to 2003; chair in the social sciences 2003 to 2004.  She is a a cultural anthropologist and filmmaker.

Professorship:  2001-2003

Ayoka Chenzira, Ph.D., was a Cosby chair in the fine arts.  She is an award-winning filmmaker and digital media artist.