Four African Americans in New Teaching Roles at Colleges and Universities

Darren Gibson, a dance director, ballet master, and musical theatre performer, is an artist-in-residence at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, for the 2019-20 academic year. He is teaching courses and mentoring students in the bachelor of fine arts program in musical theatre. Gibson is a former dance instructor in the Texas State University musical theatre department. He taught at Stephen College for one semester in 2017.

Gibson founded his own studio, the Gibson Academy of Dance in Austin, Texas. He served previously as artistic director of TexARTS Academy and director for the TexARTS Broadway Company, choreographing and directing more than 30 musicals and ballets.

ClarLynda Williams-Devine is a new associate professor of bioinformatics at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. She was an assistant professor of bioinformatics and biostatistics at North Carolina Central University. She previously held positions at Duke University Medical School and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr. Williams-Devine is a graduate of North Carolina Central University, where she majored in mathematics. She holds a Ph.D. in bioinformatics from North Carolina State University.

Deana Lawson was promoted to full professor of visual arts at Princeton University in New Jersey. Professor Lawson began teaching at Princeton in 2012. Earlier, she taught at California College of Arts in San Francisco; the International Center for Photography in New York; and the Rhode Island School of Design.

A native of Rochester, New York, Professor Lawson holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Pennsylvania State University and a master of fine arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Yannick Marshall is a new assistant professor of Africana studies at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He previously taught at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Colby College and Bates College.

Dr. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Toronto. He holds three master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in African studies from Columbia University in New York City.

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