In Memoriam: Huel Davis Perkins, 1924-2013

Huel Davis Perkins, professor emeritus of the humanities at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, died earlier this month at the age of 88.

A native of Baton Rouge, he graduated from Southern University in 1947 with the highest honors. He then joined the faculty at Lincoln University, a historically Black educational institution in Jefferson City, Missouri. After earning a master’s degree at Northwestern University in 1951, he joined the faculty at Southern University in Baton Rouge as an associate professor of music. He later earned a Ph.D. at Northwestern University and served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Southern University.

Dr. Davis joined the administration at Louisiana State University in 1979 as assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs. He later served as executive assistant to the chancellor and special assistant to the chancellor. He retired in 1998.

In 2005, Louisiana State University awarded Dr. Perkins an honorary doctorate and established the Huel D. Perkins Doctoral Fellowship Program in his honor. Each year the university’s Black Faculty and Staff Caucus gives out the Huel D. Perkins Leadership Award honoring a Black student at the university.