Dr. Deidre Hill Butler
- Title
- Dr. Deidre Hill Butler
- First Name
- Andrea
- Last Name
- Belair
- Current location
- Department of Special Collections, Schaffer Library
- Relationship to Union
- Faculty
- When this took place
- 2020/2020
- My Experience
- Dr. Deidre Hill Butler joined the Union College community in the fall of 2001. The aftermath of 9/11 is a powerful memory. She witnessed and participated in how we came together as a community to mourn, grieve, and press forward. The beauty from the ashes was an experience and expectation of rich relationships throughout various campus communities. Hence, diversity, equity, and inclusion are the focus of her teaching and research. Her research areas encompass the sociology of Black resilience. She is an Associate Professor of Sociology and new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion/Academic Chief Diversity Officer. Her book Beyond Mammies and Matriarchs: Visibility of Black Stepmothers with SUNY Press is forthcoming. She has contributed to various edited volumes and has published widely in various Africana academic journals. She is the former Director of the Africana Studies program at Union College. She was Union’s POSSE 5 mentor. She is an affiliate faculty member in the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program, American Studies Program, and Religious Studies programs. She is a co-founder of the Union Coalition for Inclusiveness and Diversity (UCID). She is the former co-lead of Union‘s Women’s Commission. She served as the Feminist Mothering Caucus Chair for the National Women's Studies Association. Dr. Hill Butler curated two community-engaged photo exhibits based on ethnographic interviews with North Nashville residents and the interviews are part of the Nashville Public Library Digital History Project. Both exhibits display images of Black community resilience in the Bordeaux neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee since the 2010 devastating flood. She is also a Life Member of the Association of Black Women Historians. She is an active member of the Professional Women of Color Network of the Capital Region. She is a frequent participant of the Faculty Resource Network and a staunch advocate for and participant in academic writing retreats. She is on the leadership team for the Capital Region Anti Racism Alliance, on the Boards of Safe Inc. of Schenectady and Cocoa house Inc. She is a member of the Duryee AME Zion Church; Delta Mu Omega Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; the Greater Albany Chapter of Jack and Jill of America; the Schenectady Silhouettes; and the Schenectady Chapter of the NAACP. She is excited to co-teach a Minerva Online course this fall, Critical Perspectives and Action on Inequality, Power, & Privilege, designed to engage students and colleagues to develop action plans for social justice.
- Location - URL
- belaira@union.edu
- Item sets
- Pillars and Walls: Submitted Stories
Part of Dr. Deidre Hill Butler