Librarian Profiles: West-White, Clarissa

Reference/ Instructional Librarian

Office Location: 2nd Floor, Carl S. Swisher Library

Phone: (386) 481-2198

Email: whitec@cookman.edu

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M.S.I., Information, Florida State University, May 2019

Ph.D., Curriculum & Instruction, English Education, Florida State University, August 2001

M.S., Curriculum & Instruction, English Education, Florida State University, August 1995

B.A., English, Creative Writing, Florida State University, April 1994

Dr. Clarissa West-White is a native of Quincy, Florida, she has degrees in Creative Writing, Curriculum & Instruction English Education and Information (’94, ’95, ’01 & ’19) from Florida State University. She successfully defended her dissertation, The writing assignment: The impact teachers' assignments and instruction have on students' preferences, perceptions and class procedures, in August 2001. Dr. West-White has experience as a middle and high school English teacher, program coordinator, adult literacy director, university English department chair, and assistant professor and adjunct at a number of public and private universities in the state of Florida and online. She has completed archival projects and served as an education consultant with the U.S. and Florida Department of Education. She has received fellowships and scholarships, including: Robert Frederick Smith Internship, National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian Institute; Teacher and Librarian Scholarship Recipient, Key West Literary Seminar; National Information Standard Organization (NISO) Plus Scholarship Recipient; Preserving digital Objects With Restricted Resources  Institute Recipient; Fulbright-Hays, Turkey. 

Dr. Clarissa West-White has been employed with Bethune-Cookman University since 2014. She was initially an Assistant Professor of English and subsequent department chair in the College of Liberal Arts. Since transitioning to the library, she has become more involved in grant writing and able to secure and or serve as Principal Investigator on grants totaling nearly $50,000. She serves as the Curatorial Director for the African American Cultural Society’s Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street Water/Ways exhibition grant and most recently elected to the board of the Florida Association of College & Research Libraries.

She is a member of Golden Key International Honour Society, Pi Lambda Theta, Kappa Delta Pi, Lambda Iota Tau, Florida Library Association, American Library Association, Association of African American Museums, the National Council of Teachers of English, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, reading, writing, gardening, exploring new spaces, shopping, swimming, road trips, the beach, home improvement projects, and spending time with family.

The Equity Equation: How to Help Underserved Students Succeed, McGray-Hill, (March 29, 2019)

Digital POWRR (Preserving Digital Objects With Restricted Resources) Institute Naperville, IL 4/18-19/2019

Robert Frederick Smith Internship Program at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History & Culture (May-August 2019)

Digital Collaborations workshop on Black History in Florida at the University of Florida (July 24-25, 2019)

Association of African-American Museum Conference (August 2019, 2020, 2021)

Florida Association of College & Research Libraries Conference, (October 2019, 2020, 2021)