Distinguished professor in English, literary scholar at KU receives Chancellors Club Teaching Award

HBW has created the largest digital archive of African American fiction currently in existence, and provides numerous professional learning opportunities for KU undergraduates and graduates.

Former students who wrote in support of Graham’s nomination praised her as an innovator, mentor and advocate. Mona Ahmed said Graham worked with students regardless of their area of study, whether they were from the humanities, science or mathematics.

“She has effortlessly created a space for everyone, which is especially important for marginalized students who often can feel lost in the crowds of the majority at KU,” Ahmed said. “She has a knack for seeing potential in students, even when they don’t see it in themselves.”

Kathryn Conrad, chair of the Department of English, hailed Graham’s development of teachers both within and outside KU through years of workshops and seminars, many funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation. She also noted Graham’s dedication to students.

“She has been a key source of recruitment, mentorship and support of students, and in particular students of color, both in the classroom and beyond,” Conrad wrote in her nominating letter.

Graham said the award is a tribute to her late aunt and mother, and their influence as courageous and dedicated teachers during some of the most difficult years in the South.

“I grew up hearing my great aunt’s stories of Klan terror and watching my mother’s tireless advocacy for students forced to learn in hostile and violent school environments after desegregation,” Graham said. “From them I learned that teaching was a test of one’s character and bound to a commitment to change a single life, and by implication, the lives of others. It was a way to change a world in desperate need of change. I am grateful that KU has allowed me to extend the vision of generations of Black educators whose lead I follow. It’s a privilege I don’t take lightly.”

Graham plans to use the award to assist graduate teaching and research assistants, whom she praised for their dedication.

“I want to thank all of my current and former students, and those who are part of our unique experiment in teaching, learning, and research at the Project on the History of Black Writing,” she said. “I accept the Chancellor’s Teaching Award, which I will redistribute through a socially responsible model that will provide some degree of relief for many of our working students.”

The Chancellors Club was founded in 1977 and recognizes donors who give $1,000 or more annually to the Greater KU Fund. As an honoree, Graham will receive a $10,000 award and recognition at a future Chancellors Club celebration.