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Clarion University hosting three Frederick Douglass Scholars

Jazz drumming in Pittsburgh, the remaking of Black women’s activism, and career change and identity, are the varied topics scheduled for presentation by Clarion University’s 2006 Frederick Douglass Summer Scholars.

This year’s Frederick Douglass Scholars, Kenan Foley, LaShawn Harris, and Clarion University alumna Trina Hess, are spending the first five-week summer session as visiting summer lecturers. They will give public presentations about their Ph.D. research June 27 at 12:30 p.m. in the Reinhard Village classroom/clubhouse at the community center and June 30 at 1 p.m. in Montgomery Hall at Clarion University – Venango Campus. The presentations are free and open to the public and refreshments will be served.

This is the sixth consecutive summer Clarion University is hosting visiting Frederick Douglass Scholars. This program provides university experience for doctoral candidates primarily from historic black colleges and universities. The presence of these teaching fellows diversifies the summer session faculty. Dr. Jocelind Gant, assistant to the President for Social Equity, coordinates the summer scholars program.

KENAN FOLEY

Foley, a performer, educator, and scholar from Pittsburgh, heard about the Douglass Scholar program last fall when his band Spirit on the Hill Jazz Ensemble performed during Clarion’s Autumn Leaf Festival. He met with Dr. Brian Roberts, assistant professor of English, and Dr. Robert Girvan, professor of sociology, who suggested he pursue his educational objectives at Clarion.

“I am very happy to be here,” said Foley. “This is a perfect location for what I want to do and the solitude enables me to think. This is a great opportunity.”

Foley received his B.M. in jazz percussion performance from Southern University, Baton Rouge, La. He is Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology specializing in jazz and African American music at the University of Pittsburgh. Most recently, Foley was an invited scholar under the auspices of the International Centre for African Music and Dance at the University of Ghana.

At Clarion, Foley is working under the supervision of Dr. Sylvia Stalker, professor of education, with her multi-cultural class.

“She is wonderful to work with and gives me tips and practical solutions to run a classroom,” he said. “I want to teach in a university setting. The experience as a Frederick Douglass Scholar has given me new insights into the academic community. Interacting with the other Douglass scholars has stimulated my own thinking. In fact, everyone at Clarion has been friendly and respectful, interested in what I am doing, and providing me with informed advice regarding my research and scholarly activities.”

Foley’s presentation, “The Interpretation of Experience: A Contextual Study of the Art of Three Pittsburgh Jazz Drummers,” focuses on the nexus relations between performance practice and the meaning of significant lived experience. In addition to being the founder and artistic director of Spirit on the Hill, he is active in community education, serving on the staff of the Afro-American Music Institute in Pittsburgh, and works as a consultant for non-profit/community music organizations.

LASHAWN HARRIS

Harris had planned to stay in New York City and write this summer, but an advertisement sent to her about the Douglass Program, led her to a website and into the program.

“I applied directly to Clarion to participate in the program,” said Harris.

Harris earned a B.A. in history/political science from Virginia Union University; participated in a study abroad program in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, through Syracuse University; and received her M.A. in history from Virginia State University. She is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in history at Howard University, Washington, D.C. At Clarion she is working with Dr. George LaRue, professor of history, in his Non-Western History class; and Dr. Todd Pfannestiel, associate professor of history, in his U.S. History After 1877 class. She has previously taught as adjunct faculty at Pace University and Howard University.

Harris’ presentation is “Beyond Respectability: The Remaking of Black Women’s Activism, 1900-1950.”

“My dissertation examines transformations within African-American women’s activism from the late 19th century to the New Deal period,” said Harris. “I specifically examine women’s ideological shift away from respectability as a liberation strategy.”

Harris views herself as an academic and a scholar, who likes to research and write. “I see this is a transition to documentary film making,” said Harris. “I want to eventually use film as an outlet to reach a larger audience.

TRINA HESS

Hess, who is from Cranberry, received her B.A. degree in German with a minor in international business. After completing an internship at Boehringer Mannheim Chemical in Mannheim, Germany, she went on to earn an M.A. in English/TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and is currently a doctoral candidate in adult education with a minor in workforce education at The Pennsylvania State University.

She is working with Dr. Brian McGuire, professor of education, in a reading pedagogy class; and Dr. Barrie Brancato, professor of education, in an instructional strategy and management class and an educational leadership class.

“It is interesting to come back in the role of a faculty member,” said Hess. “I want to teach at the college level, and to work with adults who are experiencing some kind of transition in their lives – either a career transition, or the transition from worker to returning adult student. The adult student population is one of the fastest growing segments of many colleges and universities right now. There is a need to accommodate these students to make their educational experiences enjoyable and productive."

Hess has compiled a varied background since graduating from Clarion. She studied at The Second City Training Center, Cleveland, Ohio, in script writing and improvisational acting – skills she brings into the classroom as activities to promote teamwork, concentration, and creativity. She also worked as a volunteer fund-raiser with the Leukemia Society of America in their team-in-training marathon running program. She has served as substitute teacher for the DuBois Business College in Oil City; and as a consultant, curriculum developer and classroom instructor for New Choices/New Options in Oil City.

Her presentation is “Career Change and Identity.” “I will talk about how midlife women recreate their identity after making a career change,” she explained. My research involves looking at how women and the people in their lives learn to see these women differently after they have changed careers. Important facets of my research include theories about meaningful work, adult development, and women’s ways of knowing and learning.

The Summer Scholars program is one of the three components of the Frederick Douglass Institute at Clarion University, which also includes the Frederick Douglass Collection in Carlson Library and the Frederick Douglass Graduate Assistantship program.

Frederick Douglass (1818-95) was an escaped slave, fiery abolitionist, revolutionary journalist, dedicated defender of women’s rights, a spellbinding orator, prolific writer, advisor to President Abraham Lincoln, and a public official.

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