Interview of Rudine Sims Bishop by Evelyn Freeman

Abstract

Rudine Sims Bishop recalls her career as a professor focusing on multicultural children’s literature in the College of Education. Bishop came to OSU in 1986 after teaching at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. After graduating from the West Chester State Teachers College, she taught school for a number of years, then made the shift to University teaching when she was hired as an instructor at Wayne State University while earning her doctorate there. At OSU, she was hired as a Professor in the School of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education. At the time, she was only the second African-American female full professor on campus. Bishop retired in 2002, and she won the University’s Distinguished Service Award in 2013. During the interview, Bishop also discusses the climate in the College of Education for women and minority faculty and staff; her role in hiring faculty and a dean for the College; and the efforts to diversify the student body in the College. She also speaks about general equity issues and diversification efforts at the University.