Fiona Vernal

Fiona Vernal is an Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at the University of Connecticut, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She serves as Director of the EPOCH program (Engaged, Public, Oral, and Community Histories) and Interim Associate Director of the Africana Studies Institute. Her research focuses on African, Caribbean, and African Diaspora histories, emphasizing oral history methodologies. She holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and has held roles at Kalamazoo College and the Connecticut Historical Society.

Education:

• B.A. in History, Princeton University (1995)
• M.A. and Ph.D. in History, Yale University

Research Interests: Vernal’s work explores gender, slavery, urban history, Caribbean migration, and public history. Her projects include exhibits on West Indian diasporas in Hartford and digital humanities initiatives like Hartford Bound, which uses GIS to study racial dynamics in urban spaces. She has curated exhibitions addressing housing struggles, child labor in cocoa industries, and Apartheid legacies.

Awards & Grants:

• 2022 CT Humanities Partnership Grant
• 2021 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship
• NEH Humanities Connections Grant (2020)

Advising & Grants: Vernal leads interdisciplinary projects blending oral history with GIS. Her grants support infrastructure for oral history in Connecticut and collaborations with Global Training and Development Institute (GTDI). She mentors students through courses on inquiry-based learning and human rights frameworks.

Labs/Teams: Directs EPOCH, oversees Hartford Bound (GIS-based urban history project), and collaborates with the Caribbean Cultural Heritage Alliance. Her digital platforms include Caribbean Mosaics and HartfordBound.com.