New Orleans — On the day that Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry resigned from Princeton University, she took to her Twitter account to let the whole world know.
“Today I submitted my resignation to Princeton effective July 1,” she wrote. “I’m joining the faculty of Tulane this fall!”
It’s no surprise that Harris-Perry, one of the nation’s most visible Black intellectuals, would Tweet about her new job. For the past few years, she has used social networking outlets — Twitter, blogs, Facebook — and television punditry to bring her lectures and message to an audience that extends far beyond the -privileged circle of the Princeton campus.
“My base is the San Francisco airport,” the Black studies scholar and political scientist says with a laugh.
Since making her debut on the national scene in 2006, the scholar has become a towering and trusted figure among progressives and liberals who appreciate her regular commentary on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show and her columns in The Nation.
She is a rising star in the academy, having been mentored by established scholars like Drs. Cathy Cohen and Maya Angelou.
“Melissa is a talented scholar who is committed to her scholarship,” says Cohen, the David and Mary Winton Green Professor of Political Science and the deputy provost for graduate education at the University of Chicago. She notes that Harris-Perry’s decision to leave Princeton is evidence that good scholarship can take place anywhere.
