Research Development Academy Helps CAS Faculty Find Fresh Approaches
By Randall Brown
Three faculty members from the UT College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) presented in the closing session for the 2023-2024 Research Development Academy (RDA), which empowers faculty to advance in research, scholarship, and/or creative activities in a collegial environment with supportive guidance.
Assistant Professors Shinnerrie Jackson, Department of Theatre; DeLisa Hawkes, Africana Studies; and Beau Gaitors, Department of History, represented CAS in the academy’s day of closing presentations, and were recognized in the RDA Finishers Ceremony.
Jackson participated in the RDA to gain insight and guidance on incorporating academic research and writing into her performance practice. She has more academic activities planned already.
“I am in the process of contributing to an article, to be announced, and have increased productivity for myself,” she said. Her presentation at Friday’s closing session discussed “The Actor as Griot,” an exploration in fusing the basic techniques of the griot, a traditional African storyteller, with modern acting techniques.
In her closing presentation, Hawkes offered an overview of her manuscript-in-progress, Separate Yet Intertwined: Rediscovering Black Indigeneity in the New Negro Renaissance. The academy helped her connect with scholars from across the university to learn new research approaches.
“As scholars, we are so invested in certain areas of our research that we sometimes overlook themes that are obvious to others,” said Hawkes. “RDA gave me this community and also taught me about the resources the university provides to help frame my research for both academic and community-based audiences.”
The interactions in the RDA gave her new ideas for approaching different professional areas.
“I will implement strategies for creatively considering how my research, teaching, and service complement each other and how to highlight those responsibilities in my professional profile,” she said.
Gaitors also presented on his research advances. His work focuses on marginalized voices in Latin American history that are often overlooked in dominant narratives, specifically the significant contributions and complex realities of African descendants in Latin America in the decades following the abolition of slavery in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico.
Open to all tenure-track faculty across backgrounds and disciplines, the RDA emphasizes support for researchers from minoritized and underrepresented racial, ethnic, and gender groups, as well as faculty that identify as LGBTQ+, who have the potential to contribute to the University of Tennessee’s discovery mission and advance UT’s values of inclusion and access.
RDA is a collaboration between the Office of the Provost, Division of Access and Engagement, and the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development. RDA Fellows come from across the university and have a wide range of interests and goals.