Jacqueline Jones Royster

Dr. Royster, former Dean of Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts (2010 – 2019), is Professor of English in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication.

A graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Royster earned an M.A. and D.A. in English from the University of Michigan. Her research centers on rhetorical studies, literacy studies, women’s studies, cultural studies, areas in which she has authored and co-authored numerous articles and book chapters.

She is the author or co-author of four books: Southern Horrors and Other Writings: The Anti-Lynching Campaign of Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1997), Traces of a Stream: Literacy and Social Change among African American Women (2000), Profiles of Ohio Women, 1803-2003 (2003), and Feminist Rhetorical Studies: New Horizons in Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies (2012).

She is the co-editor of two books: Double-Stitch: Black Women Write about Mothers and Daughters (1991) and Calling Cards: Theory and Practice in the Study of Race, Gender, and Culture (2005), and the editor of an anthology for college writing courses, Critical Inquiries (2003).

She was consulting writer for Writer’s Choice, a textbook series for grades 6 – 8, and co-editor of Reader’s Choice, a literature series for grades 9 – 12, both published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Prior to joining Georgia Tech in 2010, Royster served as Senior Vice Provost and Executive Dean of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University (OSU).

Selected External Grants:

• Mellon Foundation (PI) - $1 Million (2017-2019)
• Ford Foundation (PI) - $80,000 (2018-2019)
• National Center for Civil and Human Rights (co-PI) - $97,000 (2019)

Current and Recent Projects: Dr. Royster is currently focused on three book projects:

• Woman’s Era:  Mapping the Terrain of Nineteenth Century African American Women's Leadership and Activism
• Memoirs, Letters, and Autobiographies of Women during the American Civil War
• A Community-Centered Model for Campus-Community Engagement

Professional Associations:

• Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition
• Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC)
• National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• Rhetoric Society of America (RSA)