Holly Y. McGee, Taft Professor of Public Humanities

The Taft professorship provides a dedicated funding line for research and creative projects, as well as money to augment and redistribute the teaching and service load of the recipient. The Taft Professorship in Public Humanities is awarded for a term of three years.

Selection was based upon past scholarly success and the promise of future scholarly and/or creative distinction. A national and international reputation for outstanding scholarly and creative work in public humanities and/or social justice studies – broadly conceived – particularly those drawing on recent and ongoing projects that can be expected to continue into the future, was expected, and delivered.

The Taft Professorship in Public Humanities is geared for faculty that have successfully participated in socially- and/or community-engaged humanistic inquiry; who have experience in public-facing, humanistic scholarship and/or education, and who are prepared to speak in accessible ways to a variety of audiences, both within and outside academia. We are proud to announce the selection of Holly Y. McGee as the Taft Public Humanities Professor.

Dr. McGee is an Associate Professor in the Department of History specializing in U.S. History and African American History, with an emphasis on black women’s activists and intellectual history, comparative political activism in the United States and South Africa, and popular culture in the twentieth century. She holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History and an MA in Afro-American Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She also should an MA in Applied Social Science from the Florida A&M University – Tallahassee, and received her BA in English from Dillard University – New Orleans.

Dr. McGee has raised significant resources for programming funds and created dozens of experiential learning opportunities for students, faculty, and staff members at the University of Cincinnati. This includes more than $1,000,000 in federal money that will make its way to Cincinnati in Fall 2021! She has committed herself to create campus, community, and travel opportunities that substantively enrich the student experience.

To learn more about Dr. McGee, please vist her research profile at the following link: https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/mcgeehy.