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In Memoriam
Joseph T. Skerrett, Jr.
(June 23, 1943-July 25, 2015)
How do we miss him? Let me count the ways. Joe Skerrett and I taught together in the English Department at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst for over thirty years. In those years when what had been at the margins of our discipline, multi-ethnic studies including literature by and about women, moved to become a center of our studies, Joe was a treasured colleague and co-conspirator. We shared many intellectual interests and also many graduate students who have gone on to distinguished careers of their own: at Goucher, Northwestern, Amherst College, Loyola University, the University of Connecticut, and elsewhere.
At UMass Professor Skerrett taught courses in African American Literature, Multi-ethnic Literature, and American Studies. He also served for a number of years as the Chair of the American Studies Program. In 1996 he received the UMass Chancellor 's Award for Multiculturalism.
Joe was the consummate professional-widely published and active in many scholarly associations....