Donna A. Patterson, PhD
Dr. Donna A. Patterson is a Professor and is the Chair of the Department of History, Political Science, and Philosophy. She also directs the Africana Studies Program. Dr. Patterson is the author of Pharmacy in Senegal: Gender, Healing, and Entrepreneurship. She is currently working on projects on pandemics (Ebola and COVID-19), drugs, and on Black Texans. Dr. Patterson teaches courses in African, African American, and African Diaspora history and politics and in global health.
Dr. Patterson has published scholarly articles on pharmaceutical markets, women pharmacists and Ebola in the Journal of Women’s History, Anthropologie et Santé, Journal of Global Health Reports and the Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved. Recent academic publications include articles on “Women in Senegal” for the Oxford Encyclopedia of African Women’s History, “Small State, Big Impact: Delaware’s COVID-19 Response,” for the World Medical and Health Policy Journal. She is the editor of a book series: Routledge Research in Health and Healing in Africa and the African Diaspora.
Patterson regularly participates in meetings in the U.S. and abroad on a variety of topics. For instance, 2022 and 2023, she’s given talks and participated in public and private briefings on COVID-19. She’s given talks on Ebola and keynotes and workshops on Ebola. In December 2022, she moderated a side event during the African Leaders Summit in Washington, DC and in February 2023, she spoke on a panel, “Next Steps After the African Leaders Summit” at USGLC’s Mid-Atlantic Summit in Wilmington, DE.
In 2019, Dr. Patterson moderated a panel on African Diaspora Equity in Nairobi, Kenya for UNFPA. She’s given lectures and workshops to myriad places including Arizona State University, the University of London, Wesleyan University, Bank of America, Bonaventure, and elsewhere. Her media commentary on current events, global health, pandemics, international security, and racial and health equity has appeared at Slate, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Science Monitor, Globe and Mail, San Diego Union Tribune, New America Weekly, Huffington Post, Foreign Policy, SCMP, Vox, KJZZ (Phoenix NPR), Delaware Public Media, The Appeal, Delaware State News, CBS-3 Philadelphia, and in other outlets.
Dr. Patterson is on the Program and Monitoring Board of JSS Academy of Higher Education Research in Mysuru India. JSS is a major higher ed institution with extensive STEM offerings, including a hospital, pharmacy schools, a medical school, health sciences and other offerings. Patterson is also on the editorial advisory boards of Africa Today and the World Medical and Health Policy Journal. In addition, Dr. Patterson is on the advisory board of the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage. Patterson has received fellowships and grants from Fulbright, the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Princeton University, Wilson Center, New America, the West African Research Association, Kelly School of Business, and the Delaware Department of Education.
For more information, you can visit her website or follow her on twitter on Mastodon: donnapatterson [at] blacktwitter.io
Contact
Office: Department of History, Political Science and Philosophy, ETV Building
E-mail: dapatterson [at] desu.edu
Administrative Secretary, Ms. Monay Cummings, 302-857-6621; monaycummings [at] desu.edu