George Garrison

George R. Garrison was born in Rock Hill, SC during the days of the segregated south, and is a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement in that state.  He graduated from Emmett Scott High School, and attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he majored in philosophy.  He received three degrees from that institution--BA, 1969; MA, 1974; and Ph.D. 1976. Between undergraduate and graduate school, he spent four years as a naval officer, in the US Navy, having graduated from the U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School, and the US Naval Communication School, in Newport, RI.  He served aboard the USS Oriskany (CVA-34), and is a Vietnam Veteran. He has held faculty and administrative positions at: Spelman College, 1976-78; Howard University, 1978-1985; University of Northern Colorado, 1985-87; University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1987-1995; and Kent State University, 1995-present.  He is a tenured full professor; and his scholarly works are published nationally, and internationally.  He also taught in a Boarding School on the Navajo Nation (1981-82). Among his volunteer work and service to the community, state, and nation he has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations, among them are the Nebraska Humanities Council, and the Ohio Humanities Council, where he was Chair of the Board in both organizations; and he is a co-organizer of the Kent State United for the Gulf Coast Committee, focused on hurricane relief work. He has traveled extensively throughout the world, in western and eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and the Philippine and Hawaiian Islands.

Currently, among his many duties at KSU, he is President of the Pan African Faculty and Staff Association, a member of the faculty senate and the American Association of University Professors (KSU Chapter) Council, Faculty Advisor to student organizations, and serves on numerous university committees.  He is a recipient of the Kent State University Distinguished Teaching Award.

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Field Research

• Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon, to identify and study ancient Indigenous American trails which permitted travels through this area of the continent, and sites where they lived and farmed on the floor of the canyon 2011.  
• Wisconsin, East St. Louis (Cahokia), Mound City, Natchez, and Iowa to examine and study effigy mounds, pyramid mounds, archaeological sites, and museum exhibits for the purpose of identifying evidence of Pre-Columbian African contact, trade, and cultural exchanges with Indigenous Americans 2002-2007.
• Into the Grand Canyon to identify, study and photograph rock formations—research for classroom instruction, curriculum development, scholarly presentations and publications, 2004
• China, Thailand, Cambodia, and India to study and photograph important archaeological sites and artifacts at the Mogao Grottoes of Dun Huang, Terra Cotta Warriors at Xi’an, Buddhist Icons in Bangkok, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Buddhist Cave Temples at Ellora and Ajanta—research for classroom instruction, curriculum development, scholarly presentations and publications, 2000
• Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Canyon De Chelley, Pecos National Monument, Petroglyph National Monument and throughout Native American Land in the Southwest USA, to study and photograph important archaeological sites and artifacts in museums—research for classroom instruction, curriculum development, scholarly presentations and publication, 1999
• Amsterdam, Germany, Italy, and Greece to study and photograph important archaeological sites artifacts in museums—research for classroom instruction and curriculum development, 1998
• England, France, Italy, and Norway to study and photograph important archaeological artifacts in museums--research for classroom instruction and curriculum development, 1993                                 
• Zimbabwe and Malawi to study and photograph the ruins and important archaeological artifacts in museums--research for classroom instruction and scholarly publication, 1992 
• Mexico (Mexico City, Teotihuacan, Toluca, Cholula, Jalapa, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Palenque, Chichen Itza, and Uxmal) to study and photograph the ruins and important archaeological artifacts in museums--research for classroom instruction and publication, 1991
• Spain, Morocco, Italy and Greece for the purpose of research, study and photographing of Moorish/Islamic Culture and architecture, and Early Christian art--research for classroom instruction and curriculum development, 1988
• Egypt (Luxor, Abydos, Denderah, Edfu, Esna, Aswan, Giza, Saqqara, Memphis, Deir El-Bahari, Cairo) for the purpose of research, study and photographing of Ancient Egyptian Archaeological artifacts and architecture--research for classroom instruction, curriculum development, and publication, 1986 
• London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Athens, Oslo, Seville, Granada to research, study and photograph African art, Religious Temples, and other cultural artifacts in the British Museum, Museum of Mankind, Louvre, Dahlem Museum, Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Kon Tiki Museum, Vatican Museum, Byzantine Museum, and the Pergamon Museum--research for classroom instruction and curriculum Development, 1977, 1986, 1993, 1998

Selected Publications

• The Social Responsibility of the Academy and its Academicians, ACLS Occasional Papers, No. 31, 1995, American Council of Learned Societies.
• Philosophical Dialectic in the Black Liberation Movement: The Gentle and Strenuous Moods, The Griot, vol. 11, no. 1, Spring, 1992, 49-59.
• Black Theology and Social Change:  The Early Phase, The Journal of Religious Thought 47(Winter-Spring 1990-91), 7-16.
• Black Religion in America:  Its Source and Nature, Religion and Philosophy in the U.S.A., 2 vols., ed. Peter Freese, Verlag Die Blaue Eule, 1987.
• Afrocentrism, Ethnocentrism and Self - Determination:  The Case of the African, Proceedings, Annual Third World Conference, August, 1986, 23 pp.
• Historical Traditions in Civil Dissent and Their Corresponding Conceptions of Law, Black Law Journal, Fall, 1983, pp. 198-220.

Selected Non-Refereed Publications

• Volunteerism, Democracy and Civility, Pathways, Vol. XXVII, No. III, 2003, Ohio Humanities Council.
• The Philosophical, Theological and Historical Foundation of Black Gospel Music, Compact Disc Recording, Kent State University Gospel Choir, Linda Walker, Director.  Sound Waves Recording Co., Huron, Ohio, May, 1998.
• Malcolm X: Nebraska’s Native Son, Nebraska Humanities, Fall-Winter, vol. II, no. 4, 1992.
• Malcolm X, Resource Guide To Six Nebraska Authors, Vol. 2, ed., David McCleery. Lincoln: A Slow Tempo Press, 1992.
• The Current Challenge for DuBois’s Talented Tenth, The Hilltop, Parts I & II, Howard University, Feb., 1984.
• The Legacy of Martin L. King, Jr., National School Board Association, February, 1984.