Now Reading: Trinidadian-Born Carole Boyce-Davies Joins Howard University Faculty
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Trinidadian-Born Carole Boyce-Davies Joins Howard University Faculty
Trinidadian-born academic Carole Boyce-Davies has been appointed to one of Howard University’s distinguished endowed positions. Boyce-Davies will serve as the Eric Eustace Williams, Ph.D., Endowed Chair in Caribbean Studies. The position honors the scholar and historian who became Trinidad and Tobago’s first prime minister.
Her formal installation is scheduled for Sept. 17 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Boyce-Davies currently serves as chair and professor of African Diaspora Literatures in Howard’s Department of Literature and Writing. Her academic work focuses on Caribbean and African diaspora literature, culture and intellectual thought.
A distinguished academic career
Boyce-Davies joined Howard’s faculty in 2023 after an academic career spanning several major institutions.
She previously held positions at Cornell University, Northwestern University and Florida International University.
She is the H.T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters emerita at Cornell. She also served there as a professor of Africana Studies and Literatures in English. Boyce-Davies is also a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Havana.
Her relationship with Howard began long before her faculty appointment.
She earned a master’s degree in African Studies from the university. She later completed a doctorate in African and Caribbean Literature at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.
Boyce-Davies also holds an advanced postgraduate degree in International Law from St. Thomas University in Miami. Her concentration was in Intercultural Human Rights Law.
Honoring the legacy of Eric Williams
The appointment carries added significance because of the longstanding relationship between Howard University and Eric Williams. Before entering Caribbean politics, Williams taught at Howard University.
He later became a central figure in Trinidad and Tobago’s political history. Williams became the country’s first prime minister following independence from Britain on Aug. 31, 1962.
The endowed chair bearing his name will support research, teaching and intellectual exchange focused on the Caribbean and its global influence.
Howard University President Emeritus and Interim President Wayne A. I. Frederick said the chair will help extend Williams’ intellectual legacy to new generations.
Frederick highlighted Williams’ belief that scholarship could have an impact beyond academia. His work demonstrated how ideas could serve people, communities and nations.
Boyce-Davies, he said, represents a similar tradition through her work connecting the Caribbean and the wider African diaspora.
Deep ties to Trinidad and Tobago
The appointment also reflects Howard University’s longstanding connections with Trinidad and Tobago. Frederick was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago before enrolling at Howard as a student.
Boyce-Davies’ career has also been closely connected to the legacy of Williams. While at Florida International University, she served as director of African New World Studies from 1997 to 2006. During her time there, she co-founded the Eric Williams Lecture Series with Williams’ daughter, Erica Williams Connell.
The series was hosted at FIU for 19 years before moving to the University of Texas in 2021.
Advancing Caribbean scholarship
Boyce-Davies will now lead an academic chair dedicated to a Trinidadian scholar whose work has already played a significant role in her own career. Through the position, Howard aims to encourage new research and teaching on Caribbean history, culture and thought.
The chair will also provide a platform for dialogue about the Caribbean’s influence around the world.
For Boyce-Davies, the appointment brings together several strands of her academic journey: Trinidad and Tobago, Howard University, Caribbean scholarship and the intellectual legacy of Eric Williams. She will be formally installed as the Eric Eustace Williams, Ph.D., Endowed Chair in Caribbean Studies on Sept. 17.
