Steering Committee

Photo of Dr. Anne BaileyAnne C. Bailey
Director, Harriet Tubman Center
Professor, History

Background

Anne C. Bailey is a writer, historian, and a Professor of History at SUNY Binghamton. Bailey is committed to a concept of “living history” in which events of the past are connected to current and contemporary issues.  She is also concerned with the reconciliation of communities after age- old conflicts like slavery, war and genocide.  In her work, she combines the elements of travel, adventure, history, and an understanding of contemporary issues with an accessible style.

For twenty-five years, Bailey has been researching and writing about the public memory of slavery and freedom.  Her first book, African Voices of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Beyond the Silence and the Shame helped pioneer research on the then understudied African perspective of the slave trade. Her second book,  published in 2017 by Cambridge University Press, The Weeping Time: Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History, carves out new territory by focus on rarely studied slave auctions in US history. This book is as much about the memory of slavery as it is about the actual auction itself. This story, however, is not only about the past. Modern day descendants have been piecing together their own history and reclaiming their fragmented past. It is a story of weeping, but it is also a story of the resilience of Black families then and now.  Her books have won several awards and reviews of her work  as well as her articles are in wide circulation including  The New York Times 1619 Project,  Perspectives Journal of  the American Historical Association, Newsweek and Publishers Weekly. The substantial interest in her latest book and fruitful discussions with colleagues led to the founding of the Harriet Tubman Center.

Bailey is also committed to sharing her work with the public at various events. Of note, on March 18, 2013, she was invited to speak at the United Nations on the occasion of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. She shared her research, writing and other professional experiences with NGOs that are affiliated with the United Nations. In so doing, she was able to honor the lives and contributions of enslaved black Americans and others in the African Diaspora.

Education

  • PhD, MA, University of Pennsylvania
  • BA, Harvard University

Research Interests

  • African-American History
  • African Diaspora Studies
  • Public History and Memory
  • African History
  • Caribbean History and Cultures
  • Oral History
  • Civil Rights

Learn more about Anne C. Bailey online
https://annecbailey.net

The 1619 Project  by The New York Times Magazine


headshot of Sharon A. Bryant, PhD

Sharon A. Bryant, PhD

Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Decker College; Co-Director; Associate Director; Associate Professor, Master of Public Health (MPH) Program; Co-Principal Investigator

Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP); Harriet Tubman Center for Freedom and Equity (HTC); Public Health; Upward Bound Math-Science (UBMS)

Background

After earning her doctorate in medical sociology, Sharon Bryant spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research at Brown University. She conducted research applying the Transtheoretical model to screening mammography. When she finished her postdoc, she worked for two years as a health policy analyst in the Office of Minority Health at the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Bryant was an assistant professor in the Africana Studies Department of Binghamton's Harpur College of Arts and Sciences before transferring to the University's Decker School of Nursing.

She is the project director/co-director of three grant-funded educational programs.

  • The Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program is funded by the New York State Department of Education to increase the number of college students to major in disciplines related to the licensed and STEM professions.
  • The Science and Technology Entry Program is funded by the New York State Department of Education to increase the number of Johnson City School District middle and high school students who attend college and major in disciplines related to licensed and STEM professions.
  • The Upward Bound Math Science Program is a TRIO program funded by the United States Department of Education to encourage Binghamton High School students to attend college and major in STEM disciplines.

In March 2019, Bryant was appointed director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Decker School of Nursing. She serves on national, community and University communities that address diversity, equity and inclusion.

Education

  • PhD, medical sociology, Yale University
  • MPhil, medical sociology, Yale University
  • MA, medical sociology, Yale University
  • BA, sociology, Howard University

Research Interests

  • Health promotion and disease prevention behaviors of underrepresented populations
  • Intimate partner violence among college students

Teaching Interests

  • Health disparities and vulnerable populations
headshot of Krishnaswami Srihari

Krishnaswami Srihari

Dean

Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science

Background

Distinguished Professor Krishnaswami “Hari” Srihari was appointed dean of the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University in June 2009. A prolific scientist, Srihari is known as an expert in many diverse aspects of electronics packaging and manufacturing. Over the past seventeen years, he has also pioneered research focused on the use of systems engineering principles in enhancing efficiency in health care delivery.

Srihari joined the faculty of the Watson School in 1988 where he served as chairman of the Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering.

He has played a key role in the creation of university-industry partnerships as director of the Watson Institute of Systems Excellence (WISE).

Srihari was appointed executive vice provost for international initiatives and chief global affairs officer for Binghamton University in June 2015.

He has published over 475 technical papers in leading peer-reviewed journals and at conferences, and authored over 1,000 technical reports. Srihari has directed and graduated over 160 MS graduate students and over 40 students at the PhD level.

Srihari has secured over $40 million dollars in external sponsorship. Srihari earned the academic rank of distinguished professor. Granted only by SUNY trustees, it is the highest academic rank possible and is conferred on individuals who have achieved national or international prominence. Srihari was named an IIE Fellow in 2014. He has also been recognized with the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, the University Award for Excellence in International Education, and APLU’s Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award.

Education

  • BS, University of Madras
  • MS, PhD, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Research Interests

  • Electronic packaging and electronics manufacturing
  • Health care delivery
  • Health systems
headshot of Mohammad T. Khasawneh

Mohammad T. Khasawneh

SUNY Distinguished Prof; Department Chair; Healthcare Systems Engineering / Health Systems / Manhattan Graduate Program Director; Professor; Director

Systems Science and Industrial Engineering; Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE)

Background

Mohammad Khasawneh is a SUNY distinguished professor and chair of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering at Binghamton University. He received his PhD in industrial engineering from Clemson University in August 2003 and his BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology, in 1998 and 2000, respectively. 

Khasawneh’s research is focused on healthcare systems engineering, operations management, and data science. He serves as the director for the Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE), an institute for advanced studies that generates $2.5-3 million in research funds annually. In addition, he is the founding director of the Healthcare Systems Engineering Center, anorganized research center (ORC) at Binghamton University.

Since 2003, Khasawneh has been leading a wide spectrum of projects with U.S. hospital systems that focus on applied research in the area of healthcare systems engineering. More specifically, his research is focused on the novel application of systems engineering to transform healthcare systems into high-performance environments that produce better patient outcomes at lower costs. His work is applied in ways that lead to optimal healthcare, including more efficient use of hospital resources; better outpatient scheduling; streamlined patient flow; improved patient satisfaction; reduced hospital-acquired conditions (such as infections and patient falls) through predictive analytics; and improved clinical, operational and financial performance using advanced data science methods.His health systems engineering center generates over $1 million annually in sponsored research from various healthcare and hospital systems.

Building on a successful research program and partnerships with health systems around the country and an academic concentration/minor, at the graduate/undergraduate levels, Khasawneh developed a 12-month Executive Master of Science with a Health Systems Concentration, which has been offered in Manhattan since 2013. He has also been instrumental in developing a new MS degree program in Healthcare Systems Engineering.

Over the years, Khasawneh presented his research at various national and international conferences, including China, India, Mexico, Jordan, Korea, Thailand, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Canada. His research activities thus far have led to 60-plus refereed journal articles, 120-plus conference articles, one patent and three new invention disclosures. In addition, his sponsored research efforts thus far have resulted in over $15 million in external funding and over $39 million in software/equipment grants.

In 2006, Khasawneh received a U.S. Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship to evaluate the use of multi-sensory cues to improve the landing of unmanned aerial vehicles. In 2009, he received another fellowship from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research to design ergonomic computer workstations for very large displays. He received the State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2011, the University Award for Outstanding Graduate Director in 2015, the University Award for Excellence in International Education in 2016, and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities in 2021. He is a member of the
Alpha Pi Mu and Alpha Epsilon Lambda honor societies.

Khasawneh also holds Diplomate status with the Society for Health Systems (SHS), a professional society within the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) that supports the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity within healthcare. More recently, Khasawneh was also recognized as an IISE Fellow, the highest classification of the IISE membership. He also holds an honorary visiting professor position with the Industrial Engineering Department at Hebei University of Technology in Tianjin, China, and Vellore Institute of Technology in Vellore, India.

In 2022, Khasawneh was named a SUNY distinguished professor, the highest faculty rank that SUNY awards. It is reserved for those who have achieved national or international prominence and an exemplary reputation within their discipline.

Google Scholar

Education

  • BS, MS, Jordan University of Science and Technology
  • PhD, Clemson University

Research Interests

  • Healthcare delivery systems
  • Human factors engineering/ergonomics
  • Digital human modeling in manufacturing and healthcare

Awards

  • University Award for Excellence in International Education, State University of New York (2015-2016)
  • University Award for Outstanding Graduate Director, State University of New York (2014-2015)
  • Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, State University of New York (2010-2011)

Kathleen Sterling, PhD photoKathleen Sterling, PhD
Associate Professor, Anthropology
Affiliated faculty, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
 

Background

Kathleen Sterling is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and affiliated faculty in the
Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies program. Her archaeological fieldwork and
interpretation focuses on Late Pleistocene peoples in Southwestern Europe. She is currently co-director of the excavation and research at Peyre Blanque, an open-air late Paleolithic site in the French Pyrénées. The themes of her work are concerned with dispelling myths about human ancestors as violent, primitive, and limited, and the misconception that racism and sexism are part of our evolutionary heritage. She is also concerned with the sociopolitics of anthropology, particularly in the ways in which this has an impact on knowledge production and opportunity. Finally, Dr.Sterling is one of the original supporters of the Tubman Center and is a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Panel.

Education

PhD, MA, University of California, Berkeley
AB, Harvard College


Research Interests

European prehistory
Black feminist theory
Gender and feminist science
Lithic technology
Situated learning and identity
Communities of practice
Paleolithic visual imagery
Hunting and gathering societies
Landscape archaeology
Sociopolitics of archaeology
Evolutionary theory
 


Advisory Committee

  • Dr. Mary Frances Berry (preeminent historian at the University of Pennsylvania and former Chairwoman of the US Commission on Civil Rights)
  • Dr. Omowunmi Sadik (Distinguished Professor, New Jersey Institute of Technology)
  • Dr. Keisha Blain (Binghamton University alumna and University of Pittsburgh  historian)
  • Dr. Cynthia Marasigan (Asian and Asian American Studies)
  • Dr. Patricia Lespinasse (Africana Studies)
  • Dr. Joshua Price (Sociology)
  • Dr. Robyn Cope (Romance Languages)
  • Dr. Curtis Kendrick (Dean of Binghamton University Libraries)
  • Dr. Linda Biemer (Binghamton University Council)
  • Dr. Bernice DeGannes Scott (Economist, Spelman College)
  • Dr. Yasmin Hurd (Binghamton alumna and Neuroscientist, Mt. Sinai Hospital)
  • Dr. Lee Williams (Historian, Tennessee State University)
  • Dr.  Michael West (Historian, Penn State)
  • Dr. Hilary Hickling (University of West Indies)
  • Dr. Kent F. Schull (History Chair, Binghamton University)
  • Patt Gunn (CEO @ Underground Tours of Savannah, LLC. and Director of the Gullah Geechee Institute)
  • Monica Guient, former Assistant Dean, Academic Diversity and Inclusive Excellence, Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science
  • Dr. Myra Sabir, Professor emerita

..and I prayed to God to make me strong and able to fight, and that’s what I’ve always prayed for ever since.

-Harriett Tubman

Research Assistants—Past and Present

Photo of reseach assistant Morgan RachlinMorgan Rachlin

This fall, I officially started at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine. I graduated from Binghamton University in 2019 with a BS in Integrative Neuroscience and a minor in Africana Studies. I am passionate about educating myself and others regarding disparities present in society. I am interested in the medical field and look forward to bridging these gaps through my future career, as a physician.


Photo of Research Assistant Monet SchultzMone't Schultz
Deputy Chief Of Staff, NYS Assembly

I graduated from Binghamton University in May 2018 where I majored in Sociology, led the Black Student Union, was a member of the Binghamton Speech and Debate Team, as well as participated in other sociopolitical initiatives. My interest in this topic stems from the mantra “the personal is the political”; highlighting and reconciling with the devastating impacts of American Slavery is very important to me, especially when its legacy is echoed through the threads of today’s society. I am currently the Deputy Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson, the youngest Black lawmaker in New York State.


Photo of Research Assistant Kelly WuKelly Wu

I am a senior at Binghamton University studying Biochemistry. While working with Dr. Bailey on this project, I was thankful to be made aware of the lack of memorials recognizing the history of slave auctions all around the country, in contrast to the plethora of Confederate monuments. Following this enlightening research experience, I hope to expand my skill set and venture into the field of scientific laboratory research.

Affiliate Members

North Nashville Heritage Project

Tennessee State University