Reavis Lee Mitchell Jr. (July 12, 1947 – June 16, 2020) was an American historian and academic administrator. He was the dean of the School of Humanities and Behavioral Social Sciences and professor of history at
Fisk University
Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...
, a historically black university in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
. He was the chairman of the
Tennessee Historical Commission
The Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) is the State Historic Preservation Office for the U.S. state of Tennessee. Headquartered in Nashville, it is an independent state agency, administratively attached to the Department of Environment and C ...
from 2015 to 2020.
Early life and education
Mitchell was born on July 12, 1947, in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
.
He attended St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School and Pearl High school,
and he earned a Bachelor of Arts from
Fisk University
Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...
, Master of Science from
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...
, and PhD from
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a Public university, public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as ...
.
Career
Mitchell began his career as a member of the history faculty at Fisk University in 1980.
He also worked as an adjunct professor at the
University of St. Francis
The University of St. Francis (USF) is a private Franciscan university with its main campus in Joliet, Illinois. It enrolls nearly 3,200 students at locations throughout the country with about 1,300 students at its main campus.
History Early h ...
and
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
.
Mitchell held several administrative posts at Fisk, including Director of Institutional Advancement, Executive Assistant to the President, and Dean of Academic Affairs.
Mitchell served on the
Tennessee Historical Commission
The Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) is the State Historic Preservation Office for the U.S. state of Tennessee. Headquartered in Nashville, it is an independent state agency, administratively attached to the Department of Environment and C ...
from 2009 to his death, including as its chairman from 2015.
He was also the executive vice president of the
Tennessee Historical Society
The Tennessee Historical Society is a historical society for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was established in 1849. Its founding president from 1849 to 1856 was Nathaniel Cross, a Princeton University, Princeton-educated professor of Ancient Lang ...
.
Death
Mitchell died on June 16, 2020, in Brentwood, at the age of 72.
He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
Dr. Mitchell's life was honored at the 2021 Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference produced
profileon him as part of the 2021 conference proceedings.
Personal life
Mitchell had a wife, Dr. Patricia W. Mitchell, and four sons, Reavis L. Mitchell III, Roland W. Mitchell, Reagan P. Mitchell, and Roman B.W. Mitchell
He resided in
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.[Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...]
church in North Nashville.
Works
*
References
1947 births
2020 deaths
People from Brentwood, Tennessee
Fisk University alumni
Tennessee State University alumni
Middle Tennessee State University alumni
Fisk University faculty
Place of birth missing
Place of death missing
African-American historians
American university and college faculty deans
Historians from Tennessee
20th-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
African-American Catholics
20th-century American male writers
20th-century African-American writers
21st-century African-American writers
African-American male writers
{{US-academic-administrator-1940s-stub