Dr. Peggy Stevenson Ratliff
Dr. Ratliff is a native of Orangeburg, South Carolina. An avid reader, Dr. Ratliff has taught on all levels from pre-school through the college level.
Biography
Dr. Peggy Stevenson Ratliff received her Ph.D. degree in Comparative Caribbean, American and African American Women's Literature from Howard University in Washington, D C. She received both her graduate and undergraduate degrees in English Education from SC State University. During the summer of 2008, she completed a Summer Certificate Program in Leadership and Management from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Claflin University has employed Dr. Ratliff for over 35 years. She has served in the capacity of faculty, Department Chairs, and was Dean for over 20 years. She is a member of numerous committees and professional organizations. Dr. Ratliff is currently a Professor of English in the Department of English and serves as Interim Chair. Until September 2022, she coordinated Faculty Development at Claflin University.
Additionally, for six years, she served on the Board of the South Carolina Humanities Council and the SC Governor's Board of Authors. She has served as a Scholar for the South Carolina Humanities Council Book Club. In the summer of 2021, she served on the writing team of the South Carolina State Department of Education for writing standards for the state of South Carolina. Dr. Ratliff is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the Orangeburg Area Links, and Good Hope AME Church-Cope. Under her leadership, as former Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School received the SC Humanities Council Governor's Award in 2009 for Excellence in the Humanities. Her honors and awards include the James S. Hunter Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her students have several times nominated Dr. Ratliff for Who's Who Among American Teachers. She has co-authored several significant grants, one of which she was allowed to travel to India with colleagues to help bring more awareness to HIV AIDS. Dr. Ratliff also was the recipient of several small grants.
Earlier in her career at Claflin, she received several fellowships from the UNCF and Mellon Foundations totaling nearly $70,000.00, which paid her tuition to receive the Ph.D. degree. Dr. Ratliff is the author and co-author of several articles, essays, and book chapters with her late husband, Dr. Roosevelt Ratliff, Jr. She is also an assistant editor of the International Journal, The Short Story. In 2020, she and Dr. Mary Alice Trent edited a book entitled Facilitating the Transformation of the 21stCentury. Their latest book project is the Humanities and Beyond to Prepare Student Leaders for a Diverse Workplace. This anthology is slated to bepublished in early 2023.