- Winston Napier, Clark University's E. Franklin Frazier Chair and associate professor of English, died Sunday, May 18, after a sudden illness. A memorial event is being planned. Details will be shared with the Clark community as they are finalized. Professor Napier earned a bachelor's degree from William Patterson College in 1974 and a master's degree and Ph.D. at Howard University in 1977 and 1991, respectively. He taught at Howard University, Purdue University, George Washington University and Bates College before joining the Clark faculty in 1995 as the E. Franklin Frazier Professor. In this tenure-track professorship, Napier created and taught innovative courses on African American literature and critical theory. In addition to the traditional African American canon, his courses explored recently published works by African American writers, particularly contemporary novels of satire.
Professor Napier specialized in critical theory, 20th-century African American literary culture, an
