Director of intercultural studies appointed

Winston Grady-Willis, a scholar of African-American history, has joined Skidmore College as the institution's first director of intercultural studies.

The new faculty position is responsible for initiatives that support intercultural understanding, global awareness, and equity on the campus and within academic programs. The director will also work to facilitate research and scholarship in intercultural studies.

Grady-Willis, who also holds the rank of associate professor of American studies at Skidmore, has come to the college from Syracuse University, where he was associate professor in the Department of African American Studies and director of graduate studies. His areas of teaching and scholarship include 20th century African American history, black feminist thought, and Southern African history.

"It is a great pleasure to welcome Professor Winston Grady-Willis as our first director of intercultural studies," said Susan Kress, Skidmore's vice president for academic affairs. " I am confident that his experience and his expertise will inspire us to advance the goal of intercultural literacy across the campus."

Prior to his eight years at Syracuse, Grady-Willis taught at Connecticut College, Emory University, and Morehouse College. During 1987-90, following his undergraduate work at Columbia University, he taught at the intermediate-school level in the New York City public schools, in Harlem and the Bronx.

Grady-Willis is author of the book U.S. Apartheid: Atlanta and Black Struggles for Human Rights, 1960-1977 (Duke University Press, 2006). His recent articles and book chapters have focused on the Black Power movement, neighborhood activism, and the Black Panther Party.

Grady-Willis holds a bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University, a master's in Africana studies from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in history from Emory University. His honors include a 2002 Laura J. and Douglas Meredith Teaching Recognition Award from Syracuse, and a Mellon Southern Studies Fellowship (1996-97).

His pastimes include chess, Scrabble, fishing, and "reading things I'm not obligated to read."

Born in Pueblo, Colo., and raised in Denver, Grady-Willis comes to Saratoga Springs with his wife, Lisa, a lecturer in Skidmore's Theater Department, and their three young children.