Three Women Scholars Who Are Retiring From Faculty Posts

Valerie B. Lee, a professor of English at Ohio State University will step down from her post on June 30. During her tenure at Ohio State, Dr. Lee has served as vice provost for diversity and Inclusion, vice president for outreach and engagement, and chief diversity officer. She is the author of Granny Midwives and Black Women Writers: Double-Dutched Readings (Routledge, 1996).

Professor Lee earned a bachelor’s degree in English and French from Atlantic Union College in Lancaster, Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree in English from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and a Ph.D. in English from Ohio State University. Dr. Lee joined the Ohio State faculty in 1991.

Patience Essah is retiring from her post as associate professor of history at Auburn University in Alabama. She has been on the faculty at Auburn since 1990. As a tribute to her long service to the department of history a lecture series has been established in her honor.

Dr. Essah is a graduate of the University of Ghana. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Essah is the author of A House Divided: Slavery and Emancipation in Delaware, 1638-1865 (University of Virginia Press, 1996).

Anne Baird, a professor of sociology at Morehouse College in Atlanta, is retiring from her post after teaching for 44 years. Professor Baird research focus on criminal justice issues in urban and African American communities.

Professor Baird holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Emory University in Atlanta.