黑料网吃瓜爆料

Dr. Elizabeth Spiller has been serving as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since July 9, 2024. She has more than 10 years of experience as an academic leader, having served most recently as the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

As dean, her role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, from guiding the recruitment, development and retention of faculty and staff, to advancing the college鈥檚 research and teaching programs, as well as fostering strong relationships with the college鈥檚 alumni, friends, donors and advisory councils. In addition, Dr. Spiller works closely within the university on interdisciplinary programs, joint faculty appointments, strategic academic initiatives and advancing student success.

Dr. Spiller is experienced in boosting student access and success while managing multi-site academic programs at high-impact research institutions, facilitating interdisciplinary research partnerships and undertaking successful fundraising initiatives across the arts and sciences. As a distinguished scholar of English, her work intersects the disciplines of literature, history and science, reflecting her diverse academic interests and expertise.

Before her tenure at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dr. Spiller spent three years as dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Davis, which like USF, is a member of the prestigious AAU. Spiller has also held leadership positions at Virginia Tech and Florida State University. She earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in English literature from Amherst College and both her master's degree and doctorate in English and American language and literature from Harvard University.

Dr. David Ponton III is a social theorist and a historian of Afro-America and the twentieth century United States. Through his archival research and anti-disciplinary experiments, he challenges assumptions about the meaning and purpose of history in ways that are richly empirical and theoretically sophisticated. His research on segregation utilizes Afropessimism to destabilize our understanding of change, time, and redemption in the singular moment of black suffering. He is the author of Houston and the Permanence of Segregation: An Afropessimist Approach to Urban History (University of Texas Press, 2024).

Dr. Ponton began serving as both the Director of the Institute on Black Life and the Chair of the Racial Justice Initiative in August 2024. He also serves as the Undergraduate Director for SIGS.

Dr.鈥疍enise Davis-Cotton鈥痠s a renowned expert in arts-integrated teaching and curriculum design, specializing professional development for teachers and administrators. As Director of the Florida Center for Partnerships for Arts-Integrated Teaching (PAInT Center) at USF鈥檚 Sarasota-Manatee campus, she develops evidence-based and cutting-edge methods to inform teaching and learning practices that have reached 60 national superintendents/district administrators, 300 teachers and teaching artists and over 40,000 students. 

The Black Joy Ensemble is a multi-genre collective presenting fresh interpretations of diasporic heritage music alongside original compositions. Comprised of students from the 黑料网吃瓜爆料 and Hillsborough Community College, BJE aims to reclaim joy and community, creating an oasis for Diaspora people navigating European concert and American commercial music spaces. Also, the ensemble is a vehicle for the preservation, interpretation and presentation of music from the African American Sheet Music Collection within the 黑料网吃瓜爆料Special Collections Library.  

Originally from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Widsom Nemi Otikor is an MFA poetry candidate at Texas State University. He is a writer, teacher and poet whose work captures the intricate and nuanced human journey toward self-discovery and identity. Joy to him lies in the cracks and intersections between memory and being.  

Joseph (Joe) Ambrosino is a 黑料网吃瓜爆料 4th-year student studying Political Science and History with a Psychology minor. He founded USF's Black Wellness Club to connect psychological concepts and research to the Black American experience. His passion for Black history led him to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Bristol's Black Humanities Institute where he wishes to return on a Fulbright open study award this fall. His other academic pursuits include Florida State University College of Law's Summer for Undergraduates program and competing in USF's Mock Trial/Debate teams. He serves the 黑料网吃瓜爆料community as a Resident Assistant, is the Stonecatchers' social outreach chair and co-editor-in-chief of Thread Magazine. 

Cheryl R. Rodriguez is a Professor of Africana Studies and Anthropology in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies at the 黑料网吃瓜爆料. She served for 12 years as the Director of the Institute on Black Life. Her research and teaching focus on ethnographic research methods; race, gender, class and housing policy; histories of local communities; Black women鈥檚 community activism; and Afro-Cuban women鈥檚 lives in Tampa. Dr. Rodriguez is Principal Investigator of an NSF-funded project on histories of racial violence in Florida. She is a co-editor of two Black feminist texts, Transatlantic Feminisms: Women and Gender Studies in Africa and the Diaspora and The Power and Freedom of Black Feminist and Womanist Pedagogy. She is a former Mellon Research Fellow and the 2022 recipient of the Ira Harrison Legacy Award by the Association of Black Anthropologists. 

Ta'Bria Snowden is a dynamic filmmaker, business analysis lead and the founder of TS Visuals, a storytelling-driven production company. With a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communications specializing in Media Literacy and Analysis, Ta'Bria blends her analytical expertise and creative vision to create impactful documentaries and visual content. Her work centers on amplifying marginalized voices, addressing social justice issues and delivering professional yet relatable narratives.

Santana Nyanje is a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Florida based in Gainesville. She is a designer, educator and advocate for social justice.  

Mohammed Sharif Umar is an MFA Design and Visual Communications student at the University of Florida. He has a background in graphic design, videography and has worked on waste management projects to improve sustainability within communities. His goals are to teach, contribute to the field of sustainable design research and inspire future designers. 

Helen Joseph, LMHC, is a first-generation Haitian-American expressive arts therapist, mental health equity educator and creative wellness consultant dedicated to supporting healing, growth and resilience within historically marginalized communities. Passionate about the intersection of creativity, advocacy and community mental health, Helen鈥檚 work provides accessible tools and resources that help individuals and communities heal, grow, learn and thrive. She is a licensed mental health counselor and the author of the bestselling book 鈥淗ealing What Words Won鈥檛 Reach: A Guide to Using Creativity to Heal Trauma Related to Who We Are.鈥� Through her writing, teaching and consulting, she seeks to inspire hope, connection and belief in the transformative and liberating power of creativity and community. 

Hanan Ibrahim is a graduating senior, double majoring in Biomedical Sciences and Africana Studies at the 黑料网吃瓜爆料, where she is a part of Judy Genshaft鈥檚 Honors College. She is a first-generation Ethiopian-American and spent her childhood and adolescent years in Ethiopia and Kenya. Her research interests lie in global health, health disparities and infectious diseases. She has worked as an intern with PEPFAR Zambia, is involved in research studying different viruses and maternal health disparities and is actively involved in her community as a Residential Assistant and Medical Support Team Intern with EnVision Resolution. She plans to pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH) and ultimately get her Doctor of Medicine (MD). She has a passion for helping marginalized communities. Through obtaining higher education, she wants to continue work with minority communities both in the United States and globally as a physician with a public health background. 

Kamara Mikel is a dynamic speaker, author, and Certified Mental Health Coach with over 25 years of corporate experience. She is the founder and CEO of Koach Kamara Certified Mental Health Coaches, where she specializes in providing coaching services to individuals and organizations, emphasizing practical, affordable solutions to mental health challenges. A seasoned businesswoman, Kamara holds an MBA, a bachelor鈥檚 degree in criminal justice, and an associate鈥檚 degree in paralegal studies. She is also the author of 鈥淜ept My Enemy Closer,鈥� a compelling memoir about her personal battle with depression. Kamara is deeply passionate about empowering others and inspiring audiences to overcome challenges and embrace mental wellness. 

Andrea D. Jackson, Ed.S. is a doctoral candidate in Webster University鈥檚 Transformative Learning in the Global Community program 鈥� a degree focused on equity and social justice. With over a decade of experience in education across K-12 and higher education settings, she is dedicated to advancing inclusion for marginalized communities. Her professional journey also includes serving as a marketing specialist for a Central Florida library system where she promoted educational resources and programs for underserved populations. Andrea鈥檚 research interests encompass Black Studies, queer theory, critical race theory, and education policy, contributing to meaningful change through scholarship and advocacy. 

Alanah Cooper is an Master of Arts student and graduate research assistant for the Black Cemetery Network, a project of the Living Heritage Institute at the University of South Florida. She has consulted as a research anthropologist for the African American Burial Ground Project and the 黑料网吃瓜爆料Jimmy Carter National Park Historic Structures Report, among others. In constant conversation with Black Feminist Theory, Cooper's work focuses Black geographies, memory and heritage.