NAACP Awards | Honoring 'a true giant'

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The winner of the Champaign County NAACP’s Education Award spent more than a half-century on the University of Illinois campus, arriving in the fall of 1966 as a grad student fresh out of Alabama’s Stillman College and retiring in the summer of 2022 as one of higher ed’s foremost scholars in the history of African-American education and school achievement in the U.S.

In between: JAMES ANDERSON earned a master’s and a Ph.D., authored the American Educational Research Association’s top title of 1990, served as dean of the College of Education and won enough awards to fill a single-spaced page of a CV. ¶ What made him a one-of-a-kind educator?

That’s the question Editor JEFF D’ALESSIO posed to six of his biggest fans on campus.

ROBERT JONES

Chancellor

“James Anderson came to Illinois planning to become a teacher. Along the way, he discovered he wanted to become a historian. He turned out to be among the very best in the world at both of those.

“He is a household name — not just here at Illinois but across his entire discipline and beyond. And of all the accomplishments and achievements in Professor Anderson’s career to date, the one that I find most impressive and admirable is his dedication to the success of his students.

“He is with them without reservation from the first day they commit to do the work, and his academic family tree is truly massive in scale and scope. We are very fortunate and proud that he chose Illinois as the place he wanted to call his home for his career.”

JON HALE

Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership

“Dr. Anderson is a one-of-a-kind educator and scholar because he has built a genuine community of scholars, educators and activists across the nation from Champaign, Illinois, through a selfless commitment to a lasting vision of justice and revolutionary patience.

“With a well-placed question and any reference to his premier manuscript, ‘Education of Blacks in the South,’ Dr. Anderson can and will put you on the path that helps build a better society for all.”

ANTOINETTE BURTON

Director, Humanities Research Institute

“Professor Anderson has nurtured several generations of African American students who have in turn gone on to be educators in ways that have reshaped our schools and the next generation of learners at all levels.

“In that sense, he’s transformed American life in immeasurable ways.

“For me, what is equally moving about his impact is the way he brings his lived experience of the civil rights struggle in this country to all that he does: he knows that history, he draws on it in all the work that he does, and he helps us understand what it means for the present.

“He’s part of that history, and he keeps it alive so that we never forget the stakes of being an educator in the 21st century.”

CYNTHIA OLIVER

Special advisor to the chancellor for arts integration

“Dr. James Anderson is that special kind of scholar, administrator and human who gives of his time and advocates for and advises folks towards their full potential. He is generous and selfless, and that is especially rare.

“I appreciate Dr. Anderson for so many reasons. I remember when I was considering including academic admin in my own career. He and Dr. William Trent sat quietly and listened to my interests and concerns and as soon as I stopped talking, both told me I needed to take the position — associate vice chancellor for research, humanities, arts and related fields (2017-22).

“They encouraged me and offered ongoing support if I needed it. That was huge and I am forever grateful.

“I was also deeply moved by the breadth of his influence when I attended his retirement celebration. The number of folks who came from near and far to fete him was a clear indication of someone who gave so much to so many in multiple fields during his service in the academy. “I have great respect for him and his legacy. A true giant.”

GENE ROBINSON

Director, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

“Jim was widely respected as an academic leader on campus because of his vision, collegiality and commitment to inclusive excellence.

“As IGB director, it always was productive and enjoyable when my institute collaborated with the College of Education on programs related to public engagement and outreach. He seemed to know every graduate student and faculty member in the college, and had a knack for connecting the right people in just the right ways.”

YOON PAK

Professor and department head, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership

“Jim Anderson is the ‘GOAT,’ as he’s been lovingly referred. His greatest-of-all-time status comes in the way that he has mentored generations of scholars who occupy all ranks and leadership positions in higher education and beyond.

“He always said that our legacy as faculty comes in the students we’ve had the privilege to mentor. In his research, his groundbreaking book, ‘The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935,’ transformed the field of history of education and laid the foundation for someone like me to enter the professoriate.

“Dr. Anderson developed and taught the general education course — now EPOL 310 — on race and cultural diversity for 30-plus years, reaching students all across campus. His service for the campus is legendary, starting as a doctoral student helping to establish what is now referred to as ‘Project 500,’ and all the way through to serving as an advisor to university presidents over the years. His connection to the local community is both deep and wide.

“Through all of his internationally renowned accomplishments, Dr. Anderson remained humble, accessible, always prioritizing students, faculty and staff above himself. This is self-less leadership at best.”