Professor Kenan was a light in a school that made me feel so lost. My first semester of my freshman year, I was struggling. As an honors student from a rural area, I had no idea what I was in … Read more

What a professor. To be fair, he taught a subject I enjoyed, but every day I was excited to be in his creative writing class. He brought such knowledge and expertise to the subject, along with a calm and pleasant … Read more

Dr. James Coleman ripped apart the first paper I wrote for him. It was a deeply labored effort to write critical theory, a language I neither understood nor particularly appreciated. Such a terrible paper—oh, it still makes me cringe to … Read more

James Coleman seldom said No to grad students. It seemed unusual that so productive a scholar, a teacher who cared so much for his undergraduate students, would willingly accept the responsibility of serving on countless grad students’ MA and PhD … Read more

I am a student at the University of Manchester in England, but I had the pleasure of taking a class with Dr. Coleman last semester during my study abroad at Chapel Hill. He was a wonderful man and I am … Read more

Last semester, my best friend Maria talked me into taking an American Literature course with her so we’d have more classes together. It was in that class that I had the privilege of meeting and learning from Dr. James Coleman, … Read more

“Race, Racism, and Gender in the Twentieth-Century African American Novel” with Dr. Coleman was my very first class here at UNC in August of 2015. I loved this seminar and looked forward to it every week! While I felt very … Read more

I would like to contribute a testimonial that provides insight into his humorous side. Dr. Coleman and I talked regularly about his class materials, sports and funny moments about our families.  Occasionally we would shake our fists at one another … Read more

James Coleman and I shared several classrooms, which we handed off to each other three days a week. I so much enjoyed our warm, friendly exchanges. He was a wonderful colleague for whom I feel great respect, and I will … Read more

James Coleman was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He welcomed me into the UNC family and became a model of hard work and care. I always marveled at his productivity. A pioneering scholar of twentieth-century African … Read more