LaJuan Simpson-Wilkey will serve as the new chair in the Department of Leadership and Integrative Studies effective July 1. 

 

Simpson-Wilkey comes to us from Clayton State University where she was the inaugural chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and served as an administrator since 2011. She established the African American Studies program at CSU in 2009, and served as its coordinator for seven years.

 

Graduating magna cum laude from Fisk University with a B.A. in English, Simpson-Wilkey went on to pursue and obtain a MA and PhD from Louisiana State University. Her research interests include performance and drama, African American women's health issues, African American women's literature, and diversity studies. She has published articles on Zora Neale Hurston, Marlene NourbeSe Philips, Angela Davis, Mary Seacole, and Etta Simpson Ray, a 1961 Freedom Rider.  Additionally, she has published several book reviews, and is currently working on a manuscript about African American women's literature.

Although teaching and research are important to the new chair, she understands that fostering a relationship with the community and the students in the community will give them a greater set of skills to succeed. As a result, she has been a tutor for children 5-18 for the past several years, and she mentors young women ages 12-25 on a variety of issues.

In addition to mentoring, Simpson-Wilkey has been asked to give talks on Caribbean Literature, College Readiness, Employment Opportunities, Earnest Gaines, and a host of other topics.