Women Scholars Named to Endowed Chairs

Nikky Finney was named the inaugural holder of the Guy Davenport Endowed English Professorship at the University of Kentucky. She joined the faculty at the University of Kentucky in 1993 and has held visiting professor posts at Berea College and Smith College. She is the author of four books of poetry including Head Off & Split, which won the 2011 National Book Award.

Finney, a native of South Carolina, is a graduate of Talladega College in Alabama.

Tananarive Due is the 2012-2013 holder of the William and Camille Cosby Endowed Professorship at Spelman College in Atlanta. She is teaching screenwriting and journalism courses. Professor Due is the author of 12 novels including My Soul to Keep and My Soul to Take as well as the memoir Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights.

Professor Due earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Leeds in England.