Carol A. Blackshire-Belay - Professional Summary: With more than 25 years of administrative experience in higher education, Dr. Carol A. Blackshire-Belay was recently appointed as Interim Provost, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Blackshire-Belay has garnered international recognition for her work in the arenas of African/African American Studies and German Linguistics.
Dr. Blackshire-Belay holds multiple degrees in the field of German Linguistics, earning her Doctorate as well as her Master’s degree from Princeton University. Prior to this, she enrolled at Ludwigs-Maximilians Universität München in Munich, Germany, where she received a Magister Artium. As an undergraduate, Dr. Blackshire-Belay attended the University of Michigan.
Throughout her career, Dr. Carol A. Blackshire-Belay has contributed immensely to the restructuring of academic programs at educational institutions where she has worked, increasing the quality and efficiency of programs and add to the funding available for faculty research. Before taking her position at Naropa University, Dr. Blackshire-Belay served as an Independent Researcher and Higher Education Consultant at Onward Education & Training, LLC, for two years.
While serving as Provost at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina FOR A SHORT STANCE, Dr. Carol A. Blackshire-Belay led the faculty in initiating several original programs for professional development. By providing comprehensive evaluations of the university’s initiatives on faculty development AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION, Dr. Blackshire-Belay was able to assess educational plans and make recommendations for stronger strategic goals. Before joining Fayetteville State University, she spent three years as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Rohnert Park, California’s Sonoma State University, A CONSTITUENT INSTITUTION WITHIN THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM.
Dr. Blackshire-Belay has published 13 books on subjects such as linguistics, current events, and the cultures of Africa and Germany and contributed nearly 25 articles and/or book chapters toward collaborative research efforts. In addition, Dr. Blackshire-Belay has presented many lectures and led workshops on various topics. A few of these include understanding cultural and linguistic diversity in society, an introduction to the impact of Ebonics as a language in the classroom, and an analysis of German reunification. Dr. Carol A. Blackshire-Belay maintains interest in several fields within linguistics, including morphology and syntax, comparative linguistics, and phonetics.
