Patricia Boyett

Patricia Boyett is the Peter J. Cangelosi/Beggars Endowed Associate Professor in the Department of History and the Director of the Women’s Resource Center at Loyola University New Orleans. She received a BFA in theatre from Arizona State University, a BA in history from Mississippi Valley State University and a PhD from the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Boyett’s research centers on gender, race, and human rights. Her book, Right to Revolt: The Crusade for Racial Justice in Mississippi’s Central Piney Woods (University Press of Mississippi, December 2015), argues that the region served as the epicenter of the Black Freedom Struggle and massive resistance and became one of the most tortuous and transformative landscapes in America. Right to Revolt was the recipient of the Eudora Welty Prize (2016). Several fellowships, including an award from Rand Institute, supported her research. Currently, she is working on a manuscript, “After the Revolt: Ballots, Backlashes, and Black Lives Matter,” which examines the modern struggle for racial equity and justice in Mississippi’s Central Piney Woods. In addition, she is developing a podcast and several articles that explore women’s leadership and women’s human rights.

As Director of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC), she works with a large student staff to host annual programs like Take Back the Night New Orleans and a Women’s Filmmaker Festival as well as research talks, panels, networking events, a podcast, and a variety of advocacy campaigns. Dr. Boyett is the co-chair of the Women’s Studies Interdisciplinary Minor and the chair of the Take Back the Night New Orleans Committee. She is a member of the Black Studies Committee and Minor, the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee, and serves as the faculty advisor for Women in Politics and Feminist Fridays. Dr. Boyett’s teaches courses that explore comparative social justice and revolutionary movements, human rights, gender and racial struggles, and international law. At the core of her teaching philosophy is her conviction that all students have limitless potential to thrive when provided equal tools and opportunities.