Current News

Human development professor named "Woman of the Year"

January 31, 2005

The Connecticut African-American Affairs Commission has named Michelle Dunlap, associate professor of human development, "Woman of the Year" and will honor her achievement at the Sixth Annual Classic Awards ceremony on Feb. 4. The award, which is given annually, rewards a demonstrated dedication, leadership and commitment to the advancement, promotion and development of the cultural, educational, social, economic or political welfare of the African-American community in the state.

Dunlap, who has been a Connecticut College faculty member since 1994, has published more than a dozen scholarly articles and two books, all designed to help people work more effectively with children and families of color. Her first book, Reaching Out to Children and Families: Students Model Effective Community Service, is used as a primary resource by faculty, students and volunteers nationwide.

Dunlap's work is particularly focused on the frequently misunderstood observance of African-American mothers and their discipline and communication styles with children. She has been repeatedly invited to make presentations of her work in locations as distant as Finland and Russia.

She is currently working on a book about the stress that minorities endure when shopping and conducting other business in the marketplace. Dunlap is a member of the Association for Higher Education as well as the Campus Compact Consulting Corp., which consists of 17 senior community service-learning scholars from across the nation.

For the past 10 years, Dunlap has successfully applied her academic and personal passion to benefit children and families in New London, Norwich and southeastern Connecticut. She has served on many boards, including the Strategic Planning Committee of the New London public schools, Steering Committee of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut Women and Girls Fund and the Board of Directors of the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut.

Michelle Dunlap's faculty profile contains a link to a list of her publications.

For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu