University of Kansas Historian Wins Prestigious Book Prize

jelks100Randal Jelks, associate professor of American studies and African American studies at the University of Kansas, has been awarded the 2013 Lillian Smith Book Award, which is sponsored by the Southern Regional Council, the University of Georgia Libraries, the Dekalb County Public Library, and the Georgia Center for the Book. The award is given to authors who “enhance racial awareness in their work through literary merit, moral vision, and honest representation of the South.”

51uz1CS-NgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_Professor Jelks was honored for his book Benjamin Elijah Mays: Schoolmaster of the Movement (University of North Carolina Press, 2012). Mays, a minister and president of Morehouse College in Atlanta during the years of the civil rights movement, had a profound impact on Martin Luther King Jr. and other Black leaders of that time. Mays was a graduate of Bates College in Maine and held a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in religion from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Jelks is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He holds a master of divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and a Ph.D. in history from Michigan State University. He is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. Before joining the faculty at the University of Kansas, Dr. Jelks taught at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

California State University Sacramento Launches Black Honors College

Officially launching for the fall 2024 semester, the Black Honors College will support students from all backgrounds who study Black history, life, and culture by providing them with a specialized curriculum and mentoring opportunities.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

In Memoriam: Norman B. Anderson, 1955-2024

Dr. Anderson was the assistant vice president for research and academic affairs at Florida State University at the time of his death. He had an extensive career in clinical psychology, which led him to become the first African American chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association.

Georgia State University Launches Program to Support Black Women in Tech

While Black women account for roughly 29 percent of the Georgia State University undergradaute student body, they represent only 10 percent of the university's computer science majors and 18 percent of the computer information systems majors.

Featured Jobs