Political Science: Dorian B. Crosby, Ph.D.

Dr. Dorian B. Crosby is a Spelman alumna. She earned her B.A. from the department of political science where she was inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha (the Political Science Honor Society). She earned her M.A. from the University of Delaware in Political Science and International Relations. Her Ph.D. was completed at Clark Atlanta University, where her dissertation focused on resettled Somali women in Clarkston, Georgia. She is a member of the American Political Science Association and International Studies Association.

Dr. Crosby has been teaching at Spelman since 2006. Her courses include Introduction to Political Science, National Government in the U.S., State & Local Government, Public Administration & Public Policy, Legislative Process, and special topics in international relations, such as Introduction to Refugee Studies. Her research and publication interests center on refugees, particularly resettled refugee women in the United States (with emphasis on African refugee women).

Dr. Crosby was awarded a Nebraska Humanities Council Grant in 2005 to organize a dialogue between the Sudanese and Omaha communities in Omaha, Nebraska. This successful forum was covered by National Public Radio (NPR), as well as the local TV and print media. As a result, a database connecting Omaha refugee agencies and the Sudanese community was created.

In 2008, Dr. Crosby received a Spelman Campus Leadership Initiatives Grant. She organized and moderated the discussion, which was designed to educate the Spelman community about refugees. It resulted in the first Spelman volunteers to work with metropolitan Atlanta area refugee relief organizations. Dr. Crosby is currently completing a book on refugee curriculum.