David Walton selected to lead WCU鈥檚 new African American Studies minor program
WCU announced David Walton as its director of African American Studies minor program scheduled to begin in 2021-22.
With the hiring of a director to create an African American Studies minor program, 甜瓜视频app has come one step closer to fulfilling its promise to add the offering to its curriculum.
David Walton, an assistant professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, has been named the director of WCU鈥檚 African American Studies minor. Walton will begin his new role, which includes being an assistant professor in the Department of History, Aug. 1.
In the fall of 2018, a committee was formed to explore how to implement an African American Studies minor after a group of African American students presented the request, among others, to university administration to help improve the climate of diversity and inclusion on campus after several racial incidents occurred in 2018.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 real important that we were able to follow through with that promise,鈥� said David Kinner, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to pursue programs that address student interests and identify and allow people to find things that they鈥檙e interested in and help them explore who we are in a larger country, but also who they are as a people. It鈥檚 in line with a lot of things we were already doing, but an important piece for us to add to our curriculum.鈥�
Walton is completing his third year at UNC Pembroke where he taught 鈥淚ntroduction to African American History,鈥� 鈥淎frican American History since 1863, the Black Power Movement,鈥� 鈥淭he History of Hip Hop,鈥� 鈥淭he Black Feminist Movement,鈥� 鈥淭he History of Sub-Saharan Africa,鈥� and 鈥淚ntroduction to African American Studies.鈥�
David Walton
Prior to joining the faculty in Pembroke, Walton was a teaching assistant/instructor of record at Michigan State University; a part-time faculty member at Eastern Michigan University; and an adjunct instructor at Oakland Community College in Michigan.
He received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in African American Studies from Eastern Michigan in 2005, a master鈥檚 degree in U.S. and world history from Eastern Michigan in 2008, and a doctorate in history and African American and African studies from Michigan State in 2017.
鈥淒avid stood out because he has experience in his present position at Pembroke in running an African American Studies program,鈥� Kinner said. 鈥淗e seems to have strong connections within that academic community. He talks very passionately about building a program. We really felt like he would be a good fit for starting a new program. I think he鈥檚 also a strong historian, but we really wanted to be sure that whoever we hired could really build a program.鈥�
And that was one of several reasons the position at WCU was appealing to Walton.
鈥淥ne was that the students and community wanted it,鈥� Walton said. 鈥淭wo, it鈥檚 a great opportunity, almost a once-in-a-lifetime, to not only create a program, but then also guide it as it grows into potentially being a department. For me, to be involved in growing and expanding black studies, it鈥檚 the dream of every junior scholar.鈥�
Walton鈥檚 vision for the program, which is scheduled to begin during the 2021-22 academic year, is to place an emphasis on applied African American studies, applying the knowledge and the skills to improve African American communities, while also seeing the program become central to the campus鈥檚 expression of diversity, particularly the African diaspora cultural expression, he said.
In addition, Walton said he would like to see students share their present their class projects with schools, churches and local libraries, as well as present their research at academic conferences. He wants WCU to have the premiere African American Studies program in the state.
鈥淚 want to create a pipeline out of Western Carolina for those interested in pursuing a graduate-level degree in black studies,鈥� Walton said. 鈥淚 want kids in high schools in North Carolina who say, 鈥業 want to get a degree in black studies,鈥� to say, 鈥業鈥檝e got to go to Western Carolina because there鈥檚 no other place to go.鈥欌��
Kinner said Walton will spend his first year in Cullowhee assessing the needs of the program, determining what current courses will become a part of the program and deciding what type of courses will be added.
This fall, Walton will teach an 鈥淚ntroduction to African American Studies鈥� class and a to-be-determined upper level course.
