We are excited to share that Dr. Chris Dancy, Associate Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and African American Studies, is joining the #DigBlk leadership team as its new co-director. As changes occur in AI and higher education at warp speed, this added focus will place #DigBlk at the forefront of interdisciplinary and cutting-edge scholarship in Black digital research, collections, and machine learning. CBDR’s multi-institutional projects with Black archives have the power to transform learning in a moment when AI adds new urgency and stakes to the work of digital research. Training students at the intersection of the humanities and AI will create new opportunities to reimagine the preservation of Black histories and to shape a shared commitment to a liberatory future.

Dr. Dancy joins Dr. P. Gabrielle Foreman as Dr. Shirley Moody-Turner completes her term as the inaugural co-director. We take this opportunity to thank Dr. Moody-Turner for the vision, expertise, and spirit that have made possible #DigBlk’s launch and record of student recruitment, work, and success.