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Professor Taddesse Adera (1952-2006)


Taddesse Adera

The Department of English, Linguistics, and Speech mourns the loss of its colleague, Professor Taddesse Adera, who passed away unexpectedly on January 17, 2006. A memorial celebration was held at the University of Mary Washington on Feb. 22, 2006.

We have established a scholarship fund in honor of Professor Adera's extraordinary contributions to Mary Washington College and the University of Mary Washington community. Donations in his honor may be sent to the University of Mary Washington Foundation--Adera Scholarship, 1119 Hanover Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401.

 

The following is in Amharic, Prof. Adera's mother tongue (translated, transliterated, and transcribed by Daniel Yacob). It means roughly, "Dear Taddesse, we are sorry from deep within our hearts that you have left us; our wishes are with your family."

Amharic sentiments of condolence

UMW MOURNS LOSS OF PROFESSOR

Fredericksburg, Va. - Taddesse Adera, professor of English at the University of Mary Washington, passed away unexpectedly at his Spotsylvania home on Tuesday, January 17. Dr. Adera had been a member of the faculty since 1989.

Beginning as an assistant professor at Mary Washington, he moved through the ranks and in 2001 attained the rank of professor. He had been an integral member of the university community, serving as chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, Campus Fulbright Advisor, and a member of the Race and Gender Project, the Committee on Special Programs and the Black Faculty and Staff Association.

Dr. Adera's teaching and research interests included South African, Caribbean, oral and postcolonial literature; literature of the Resistance; women of color; 19th-century British fiction; rhetoric and composition; and teaching English as a second language. He edited Silence is Not Golden: A Critical Anthology of Ethiopian Literature and translated V.I. Lenin's The State and Revolution into Amharic. [His edited anthology, The Road Less Traveled: Reflections on the Literatures of the Horn of Africa, will be published by Africa World Press in June.] He has written both poetry and a short story that have been published, and has presented more than 20 scholarly papers at regional, national and international conferences. Dr. Adera has served as executive committee member and chair of the Division on African Literatures of the Modern Language Association, an editor for several scholarly journals, and as a member of the National Screening Committee for the Fulbright Program.

Among his awards are Virginia's Outstanding Faculty Award by the State Council of Higher Education and the university's Jepson Fellow Award for distinctive contributions in teaching, research and service. Dr. Adera also was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study contemporary South African literature and culture, as well as numerous University of Mary Washington grants.

Dr. Adera also has served the local community by lecturing to area middle school students and teachers. He was a member of the Fredericksburg Area Community Relations Organization for 10 years.

Before arriving at Mary Washington, Dr. Adera taught at Grace Christian Academy, Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and the University of Washington. A native of Ethiopia, he holds a bachelor's degree from Addis Ababa University, as well as a master's and doctoral degree from the University of Washington, all in English literature.

Prof. Adera with students

Prof. Taddesse Adera was beloved by many students.

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News release prepared by: Teresa Mannix

(Source: Office of News and Information Services, University of Mary Washington)

Photos saved at 300 dpi are available at http://www.umw.edu/universityrelations/media/photos

Contact: Margaret L. Mock
(540) 654-1055