National expert on Africana Studies Dr. Winston Grady-Willis joins Portland State University as the inaugural director of the School of Gender, Race and Nations.
The newly formed School, brings together students and scholars across Black Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, Indigenous Nations Studies, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies to elevate dialogue on campus and in the larger community about issues of privilege, power, and social justice.
In addition to offering undergraduate opportunities in each of the core disciplines, the School has created a new interdisciplinary Gender, Race and Nations graduate certificate. The certificate was created to help working professionals, including policymakers, educators, and civic leaders address the effects of inequality, disparity, and marginalization faced by the populations they serve.
In a statement, Grady-Willis commented about the impact the School will have, especially in the wake of recent tragedies around the country:
“From Orlando to Dallas, the past few weeks have been a sobering reminder of all that is wrong in the world. I believe the School of Gender, Race and Nations will be at the forefront of Portland State’s efforts to help empower students, staff, faculty and community members with the tools necessary to imagine and make a far better world for each and every one of us."
Grady-Willis comes to PSU from Metropolitan State University of Denver where he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Africana Studies. The principal focus of his research has been the contemporary Black freedom struggle, including nonviolent direct action, the Black Power movement and the reemergence of Black feminism. He is the author of Challenging U.S. Apartheid: Atlanta and Black Struggles for Human Rights, 1960-1977, and co-author of the e-textbook, The Struggle Continues: Historical and Contemporary Issues in Africana Studies.
He earned a BA in history from Columbia, an MPS in Africana Studies from Cornell, and a PhD in history from Emory. Prior to coming to MSU Denver he was Director of Intercultural Studies and associate professor of American Studies at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Grady-Willis will begin his tenure as director of the School of Gender, Race and Nations on August 1.