Dr. Dorian Brown Crosby is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Spelman College, where she has taught since 2006. In addition to her faculty role, she is the Founding Director of Spelman’s Refugee and Forced Migration Studies minor—the first and only such program at an HBCU—and serves as faculty-mentor and board member of the College’s Social Justice Fellows Program. Education Ph.D. in Political Science, Clark Atlanta University M.A. in Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware B.A. in Political Science, Cum Laude , Spelman College Research Focus Dr. Brown Crosby’s scholarship centers on the resettlement experiences of African refugees in the U.S. Southeast, with particular attention to Somali communities in Georgia and Tennessee. Her interdisciplinary work spans forced migration studies, American government, women’s studies, ethnic and racial politics, and international relations . She employs qualitative methods—including semi-structured interviews—to explore political and civic engagement among refugee populations. Her 2020 monograph Somalis in the Neo-South: African Immigration, Politics and Race analyzes the political incorporation of Somali refugees in Clarkston, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee, highlighting how race, religion, and regional identity shape civic participation. Scientific Honors & Leadership President, Southern Region, International Studies Association (first African American to hold this office) Grants & Funding Social Justice Development Grant (2014) Gordon-Zeto Center Curriculum Development Grant (2013) Spelman Campus Leadership Initiatives Grant (2008) Nebraska Humanities Council Grant (2005) Teaching & Global Engagement Dr. Brown Crosby teaches introductory and upper-division courses including Introduction to Political Science, National Government in the U.S., State and Local Government, Public Administration & Public Policy, Legislative Process, Forced Migration in and from Africa (service-learning), and the college-wide First-Year Experience Study-Travel Seminar. She led Spelman’s first CIEE-sponsored trip to Ghana in 2014, accompanied by 27 students, and has been featured in national media interviews discussing higher education and global engagement. While specific advisee names are not listed, her extensive mentorship is evident through directed research, service-learning projects, and study-travel programs that integrate students into her community-based research on refugee resettlement.
