In January 2023, Dr. Kamesha Spates will join the Department of Africana Studies as the new William S. Dietrich II Endowed Chair in Africana Studies. Dr. Kamesha Spates (she/her/hers) is a medical sociologist and a funded health equity scholar. Dr. Spates is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar who works on race relations and anti-Black racism, mental health, suicide and trauma, and race and gender-based stressors. She has published two books and many scientific articles. Some of her works can be found in Essence Magazine, HuffPost, Cleveland News Channel Five, as well as over two dozen peer-reviewed journals, including Social Problems, the Journal of Black Psychology, The Ohio Journal of Public Health, Death Studies, and Sex Roles.