Hodges Receives African American Hall of Fame Award
Since arriving at UT in 1982, Carolyn Hodges, a professor of German, has time and again proven her commitment and dedication to UT. After more than a decade in administration, serving as vice provost and dean of the Graduate School, Hodges became chair of the Africana Studies program in 2016. Under her leadership, the program now has more than 100 majors and minors, and the graduate certificate program is attracting talented PhD candidates. She helped get approval to hire additional tenure-line joint faculty and lecturers, infusing new life into the department and adding diverse personnel to the university’s ranks. Hodges has supported faculty members’ outreach endeavors and approved experiential learning as a component of faculty-led summer study abroad programs to Senegal and South Africa. Hodges’s own academic interests are in Afro-German literature and legacy, and under her guidance, the Africana Studies program has expanded its perception of Africa and its diaspora by becoming more globally inclusive
In our last newsletter, Professor Carolyn Hodges wrote that it has been a pleasure to serve as chair of the Africana Studies program. In fact, is has been an honor to have her as chair and it gives us faculty, staff, and students even more of a reason to be a part of the program. Just this past year, undergraduate and graduate students remarked on how grateful they were to have received knowledge from her that will impact them for the rest of their lives. The program has grown immensely under her leadership with increased majors and minors, as well as the graduate certificate program.
Since beginning her career at UT in 1982, Professor Hodges has broken barriers not only for African-American women, but all women.
Professor Hodges is the wife of Professor Emeritus John O. Hodges, Department of Religious Studies and past chair of Africana Studies. All of us in the Africana Studies are grateful to both of you. Congratulations, Professor Hodges on your 2019 African-American Hall of Fame Award.