Fall/Winter 2007

Gift honors memory of Professor Marian Musgrave

When Marian Musgrave became the first female African American faculty member in Miami University's English department in 1969, she accepted the challenge of fostering a culture of understanding and acceptance on a campus learning to embrace diversity.

It was a volatile time in American history when the Civil Rights movement was bringing out both the ugliness and beauty of a nation, and Musgrave, armed only with remarkable intellect and compassion, won her battles one mind at a time. She headed the first Black World Studies program at Miami, and her legacy as an exceptional educator and passionate human being lives on at a university continually aspiring to her ideals.

"She was demanding, compassionate, inspirational," said Lawrence Young '65 MEd '74, a former student of Musgrave's. "As a teacher, Dr. Musgrave possessed integrity and strong character. She commanded respect and deserved it."

Young, a former director of Miami's Office of Minority Student Affairs and former president of the Miami University Alumni Association, knew Musgrave as a professor, colleague, and friend. He hopes that through his recent gift to establish a libraries acquisition fund in Musgrave's name, others may come to know her and share in her hunger for knowledge and understanding. The fund will be used to acquire African American literature and resources.

"If you went into Dr. Musgrave's apartment, the first thing you noticed was her library," Young said. "She had an enormous collection of books about everything. She believed that books were an essential part of life and humanity. I couldn't think of a better way to honor her memory than a gift that allows the university to acquire books that support her fascination with the African diaspora."

By African diaspora, Young refers to the story of how Africans separated from their homelands by the slavery trade retained their traditions and reformed and transformed their identities in the new world. Musgrave was the first professor at Miami to teach courses on African American literature, but, according to Young, her keen interest in the subject led her to also explore a much broader scope of African literature.

"Dr. Musgrave studied African Caribbean and African European literature. She wanted to explore the content of African literature in South America and Russia," Young said. "She was an extraordinary linguist who spoke a number of languages perfectly and did a lot of her work in German. She read an enormous amount of theory."

While Young's gift is a fitting tribute to a colleague who helped broaden the understanding of African American culture at Miami, he hopes it is only a beginning and encourages others who were touched by Musgrave to contribute to the fund. He drew upon a Swahili word to describe that hope.

"Nommo is the concept that a word is a seed planted in the ear of the listener," Young explained. "It is up to the listener whether that seed will grow into something important. My hope is that this gift becomes a seed that is planted into the ears of others who knew and respected Dr. Musgrave, and that they will allow it to grow and its influence to spread. The ability of the larger gift will enhance its impact on the lives of students."

For more information on how to contribute to the Marian Musgrave Libraries Acquisition Fund, please contact Heather Kogge at 513-529-5217 or koggeha@muohio.edu.