Centenary professor to be honored at annual African American scholarship awards banquet
SHREVEPORT, LA — Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy, associate professor of French and Francophone Studies, will be honored at the 34th annual Shreveport-Bossier-DeSoto African American Scholarship Awards Banquet. The event is Saturday, February 12, at Sunrise Baptist Church Life Center in Shreveport. Dr. Marcus Jones, first African-American president of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, will be the keynote speaker.
The Shreveport-Bossier-DeSoto African American Scholarship Awards Committee sponsors the annual banquet to recognize the achievements of local African American citizens as well as raise funds for college scholarships awarded to local students. Augustin-Billy is one of twelve local citizens to be recognized with the committee’s 2022 Outstanding African American Achievement Award.
“I am humbled to join the ranks of remarkable men and women who have endeavored to excel in their fields and beyond,” said Augustin-Billy. “More importantly, I am deeply honored to participate in an event that raises awareness and provides Black students a much-needed opportunity to further their education.”
Augustin-Billy joined the Centenary faculty in 2015 after earning her Ph.D. in French language and literatures from Washington University in St. Louis. When she was awarded tenure in February 2021, she was the first Black faculty member in Centenary’s 196 year history to achieve this distinction. The College marked this historic event with a special convocation of reflection and celebration in November 2021.
Augustin-Billy’s ongoing research interests and published scholarship include analysis of race, class and gender, travel and migration in French and Francophone African and Caribbean literatures, as well as Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She co-teaches an immersive course for Centenary students examining the experiences of Black Americans in Paris as part of the College’s Centenary in Paris program and also teaches a yearly May Module course in Haiti, where she grew up as the daughter of missionaries.
Augustin-Billy was chosen for the prestigious Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award in 2019 and was honored with the Harry Blake Education Award from Mt. Canaan Baptist Church in Shreveport in 2018 for her efforts to promote Black history and culture in the field of education.