Dr. Asa Hilliard
On this date in 1933, Asa Hilliard was born. He was a Black professor of educational psychology.
From Galveston, TX., after completing high school, Asa Hilliard III attended the University of Denver, earning his B.A. in 1955, his M.A. in counseling in 1961, and his Ed.D. in educational psychology in 1963. Hilliard taught in the Denver Public School system from 1955 until 1960.
He began as a teaching fellow at the University of Denver, where he remained until he earned his Ph.D. He joined the faculty at San Francisco State University in 1963 and spent the next 18 years at San Francisco State, where he first became a department chairman and spent his final eight years as dean of education. He also served as a consultant to the Peace Corps and as superintendent of schools in Monrovia, Liberia, for two years.
After leaving San Francisco State, Hilliard became a Georgia State University (GSU) professor. He was the GSU Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Urban Education, serving in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Educational Psychology and Special Education. Hilliard was a founding member of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations and served as vice president. He served as an expert witness in court testimony on several federal test validity and bias cases. He co-developed an educational television series, "Free Your Mind," and "Return to the Source: African Origins."
He wrote hundreds of articles on various topics, including ancient African history, teaching strategies, and public policy. Hilliard received the Outstanding Scholarship Award from the Association of Black Psychologists, a Knight Commander of the Human Order of the African Redemption, and the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Association of Teachers of Education.
Dr. Hilliard died on August 13, 2007, in Egypt, which was the backdrop for much of his research, reportedly from complications of malaria. He was married to Patsy Jo Hilliard, former mayor of East Point, Georgia, with whom he had four children.
