Several of our faculty are recipients of awards, achievements and promotions in Spring 2026! Africana Studies Faculty are scholars who are consistently on the forefreont of research and scholarship in their respective fields.

Alexis Boylan has been appointed the Rhoda Shivers Chair in the School of Fine Arts – The Rhoda Shivers Chair was established in September 2021 in recognition of the generosity of Jay S. Shivers, Ph.D., retired UConn professor, and his son and daughter -in-law, Jed Shivers, `81 MBA, and Sandra E. Shivers, Ph.D. The individual appointed to the Rhoda Shivers Chair in the Art & Art History Department within the University’s School of Fine Arts will be a nationally or internationally recognized researcher, scholar, and teacher and will have made significant contributions to the field of nineteenth-century art, with demonstrated expertise and the ability to teach courses in impressionism.

 

Deirdre Cooper Owens– The Library Company of Philadelphia honored Deirdre Cooper Owens on April 17 in a program titled, The Past, Present, and Future of Black Women’s History Honoring Former Program of African American History Director Deirdre Cooper Owens. Since its inauguration, the Program in African American History has expanded its efforts to collect, preserve, and interpret Black women’s experiences across centuries, continents, and legal statuses. This event honors the tremendous strides Deirdre Cooper Owens led on this journey, in her legacy as a former Director of the Program, and through her lasting impact in the field of Black women’s history.

 

David Embrick is the 2026 Lee Founders Award Winner – Established in 1981, this prestigious award honors significant lifetime achievements that demonstrate a deep devotion to the ideals of the founders of the Society and especially to the humanist tradition of Alfred McClung Lee and Elizabeth Briant Lee.

 

 

 

Dexter Gabriel was awarded a summer fellowship at the Library Company of Philadelphia

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Cato T. Laurencin, has been named the winner of the 2026 Jensen Tissue Engineering Award 2026 by TERMIS (Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society, Inc.) Global. Laurencin is receiving the award in recognition of his groundbreaking work on polymer nanofiber technology, bioinductive implants and polymer-ceramics technologies, all of which are being used in numerous products in the field of Regenerative Engineering, which he pioneered. The award will be presented to Laurencin at the TERMIS conference in November in New Orleans.

 

 

Fumi Showers was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure at the Board of Trustees Meeting on April 29, 2026

 

 

 

 

Fiona Vernal was awarded the Connecticut Humanities Capacity Development Grant to continue the build of the Caribbean Heritage Museum.