Soyica Colbert Appointed Vice Dean
October 11, 2019 — Georgetown College is thrilled to announce that Soyica Colbert (C’01), Director of Theater and Performance Studies and a Professor of African American Studies and Theater and Performance Studies, has been appointed Vice Dean. Her appointment will start in January 2020.
About Colbert
Colbert is the Idol Family Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the author of The African American Theatrical Body: Reception, Performance and the Stage (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and Black Movements: Performance and Cultural Politics (Rutgers University Press, 2017). Colbert edited the Black Performance special issue of African American Review (2012) and co-edited The Psychic Hold of Slavery (Rutgers University Press, 2016).
She is currently working on two forthcoming book projects, a monograph, Becoming Free: An Intellectual Biography of Lorraine Hansberry, and a co-edited collection, Race and Performance After Repetition. Colbert has published articles in American Theatre, African American Review, Theatre Survey, Modern Drama, Boundary 2, South Atlantic Quarterly, Scholar and Feminist Online, and Theatre Topics and in the collections: Black Performance Theory, Contemporary African American Women Playwrights, and August Wilson: Completing the Cycle.
Colbert is the recipient of the Schomburg Scholars-in-Residence Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson Foundation Career Enhancement Fellowship, Stanford Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship, Mellon Summer Research Grant, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library Fellowship. Her research interests span the 19th-21st century, from Harriet Tubman to Beyoncé, and from poetics to performance. Her impressive academic background and commitment to improving higher education are invaluable assets to the university.
“I am delighted to announce that Prof. Soyica Colbert, a truly outstanding scholar and experienced academic leader will be joining the Dean’s office as a vice dean of faculty,” said Georgetown College Dean Chris Celenza. “Professor Colbert’s experience and vision will help guide a series of new initiatives, and she will complement our excellent existing team.”
Accomplished Academic
“Throughout my career, working collaboratively has been key to my development. I love learning in community,” said Colbert. “In my new role, I look forward to working with colleagues across the arts and sciences to realize our visions for a justice-centered College of the twenty-first century.”
In her time at Georgetown and beyond, Colbert has shown a wide and varied skill set and diverse area of interests. She attributes many of her successes to cooperative efforts across many fields.
Phillips Resumes Work on NIH Grant
Deborah Phillips, Professor of Psychology
Colbert will step in for Professor Deborah Phillips, Professor of Psychology and affiliated faculty of the McCourt School of Public Policy. Phillips has been in the role since 2017.
“It has been an immense honor to have been invited to dedicate three years of my time at Georgetown to the collective efforts of the Dean’s office aimed at bringing a spirit of transparency, support, and trust to the College community,” Phillips said.
Phillips will continue her work as a professor of psychology at Georgetown. “I have been very fortunate to earn a major NIH grant to study the factors that enable pre-K education to have lasting impacts on young children’s lives,” she said. “It is time for me to focus on this work and to re-engage with the undergraduate and graduate students with whom we are so fortunate to engage as their professors.” Phillips’ dedication to the University over the past three years has left an indelible mark on the College. The results of her hard work will continue to have a positive impact for years to come.
-by Shelby Roller (G’19)