Dr. Deidre Hill Butler's diversity, equity, and inclusion work in higher education and community organizations span thirty years. She recently joined the inaugural diversity team at Union. She is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion/Academic Chief Diversity Officer. She is also an Associate Professor of Sociology. Her research areas encompass the sociology of Black resilience. Her book *Beyond Mammies and Matriarchs: Visibility of Black Stepmothers* with SUNY Press is forthcoming. She has contributed to various edited volumes and has published widely in various Africana academic journals. She is the former Director of the Africana Studies program at Union College. She was the POSSE 5 faculty mentor. She is an affiliate faculty member in the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program, American Studies Program, and Religious Studies programs at Union College. She is a co-founder of the Union Coalition for Inclusiveness and Diversity (UCID). She served as the Feminist Mothering Caucus Chair for the National Women's Studies Association. Dr. Hill Butler curated two community-engaged photo exhibits based on ethnographic interviews with North Nashville residents and the interviews are part of the Nashville Public Library Digital History Project. Both exhibits display images of Black community resilience in the Bordeaux neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee since the 2010 devastating flood. She is also a Life Member of the Association of Black Women Historians. She is an active member of the Professional Women of Color Network of the Capital Region. She is a frequent participant of the Faculty Resource Network and a staunch advocate for and participant in academic writing retreats. She is on the leadership team for the Capital Region Anti-Racism Alliance, on the Boards of Safe Inc. of Schenectady and Cocoa house Inc. She is a member of the Duryee AME Zion Church; Delta Mu Omega Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; the Greater Albany Chapter of Jack and Jill of America; the Schenectady Silhouettes; and the Schenectady Chapter of the NAACP. She is co-teaching a Minerva online course this fall, Critical Perspectives and Action on Inequality, Power, & Privilege, designed to engage students and colleagues to develop action plans for social justice.
Deidre Hill Butler
Job Title
Associate Professor of Sociology
Preferred pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Department/Program:
Sociology, Africana Studies, American Studies, Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies, Campus Diversity & Inclusion
Sociology, Africana Studies, American Studies, Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies, Campus Diversity & Inclusion
Research interests
Professor Hill Butler’s research areas encompass the sociology of African American Culture and African American women’s representations in society. Her current focus is the role of African American women in contemporary stepfamilies. She has published articles in Afro-Americans in New York Life and History: An Interdisciplinary Journal and The Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering. She is a lifetime member of the Association of Black Women Historians and contributed an article to the organization’s 2008 text, Emerging Voices and Paradigms. She also guest-edited an Africana Mothering-themed edition of The Journal of Pan African Studies.
Teaching interests
She is co-teaching a Minerva Online course this fall 2020, Critical Perspectives and Action on Inequality, Power, & Privilege, designed to engage students and colleagues to develop action plans for social justice.
Publications
Her book Beyond Mammies and Matriarchs: Visibility of Black Stepmothers with SUNY Press is forthcoming. She has contributed to various edited volumes and has published widely in various Africana and Gender studies academic journals.
Additional media
Distinctions
Professor Hill Butler was awarded the 2011 Leadership Council on Inclusion Award (LCI) for her dedication to the Union College mission and her work on diversity and inclusion with students, faculty, staff and administrators. LCI enhances and promotes diversity and multicultural programs at educational institutions and agencies in New York’s Capital Region. Nominated by President Stephen C. Ainlay and supported by the LCI council Hill-Butler was recognized for her ongoing dedication to students and administrative tasks which continue to enhance inclusion efforts on Union’s campus.
Additional Information
Academic credentials
B.A., Oberlin College; M.A., Cornell University; Ph.D., Clark University
Lippman Hall 212
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Contact
Melinda A. Goldner
Fax:
(518) 388-6721