In Memoriam: Shirley Walker Dixon, 1946-2019

Shirley Walker Dixon, a former faculty member, administrator, and trustee of Cabrini University in Radnor, Pennsylvania, died late last month in Philadelphia. She was 73 years old.

Dr. Dixon was a pioneer in many ways at Cabrini University. In 1990, she was the first African American to be appointed to the university’s board of trustees. In 2018, she was the first person to be awarded a doctorate at the university and also became the first person to earn bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees at Cabrini.

Her teaching career at Cabrini began in 1992 when she accepted a position as an adjunct professor in the education department. Four years later, Dixon transitioned to a full-time position as Cabrini’s Coordinator of Diversity Initiatives while continuing to teach. She served as an assistant professor of education from 2007 to 2014, when she retired.

Cabrini President Donald B. Taylor stated that Dr. Dixon’s “impact on the field of education and on the Cabrini family has been immeasurable. She will be deeply missed.”