The Center's two new McMullan Professors joined the Southern Studies faculty during the 1997 Fall Semester. Robbie Ethridge and Kathryn McKee, who hold joint professorships between the Center and two other departments in Liberal Arts, were appointed through a $1 million endowment funded by James M. and Madeleine McMullan.

Robbie Ethridge has an appointment in Southern Studies and Anthropology. Her area of specialty is Southeastern Indians. Kathryn McKee, assistant professor of Southern Studies and English, specializes in 19th-century literature.

Ethridge received her education at the University of Georgia in Athens, where she earned three degrees. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude from the undergraduate program in anthropology. Then she completed her M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology, maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout her entire academic career. Her dissertation, "A Contest for Land: The Creek Indians on the Southern Frontier, 1796-1816," focused on the evolving society of the Creeks in light of interaction with Europeans.

A native of Macon, Georgia, Ethridge said she has been interested in American Indians since she was a little girl. During college she discovered that studying American Indian culture was a legitimate academic pursuit so she became an anthropology major.

Ethridge said of her appointment: "I am very excited about it. The Center is a strong and vital presence on campus. The academic freedom here is refreshing. I feel no obligation to follow any one theoretical or methodological point of view. This appointment is perfect for me. It allows me to combine both of my loves, anthropology and the South. I'm looking at this as a long-term job."

Kathryn McKee grew up in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and attended undergraduate school in her home state. After graduating cum laude from Centre College, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Writing in a Different Direction: Postbellum Women Authors and the Tradition of Southwestern Humor" is the title of her dissertation. While at UNC she worked at the Center for the Study of the American South and received the Earl Hartsell Award for excellence in teaching composition. She taught at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design for a year before moving to Oxford. This fall McKee is teaching Southern Studies 101, the undergraduate introductory course, and English 568, Literature of the Old South. She incorporates work from her dissertation into her classes and enjoys her students. "I am thrilled and excited to be here," McKee said. "This joint appointment is a dream job."

"In addition to my academic writing," McKee says, "I write essays and short stories to please myself but have never submitted any of these for publication. I also enjoy popular films, not necessarily art films and serious movies one expects an English professor to like. I'm also a big fan of country music."

Ethridge also likes music and was a bass player in two Athens bands during her career as a student at the University of Georgia. Her latest band, called Mrs. Atkins, broke up when she left to come to Oxford. She says the band's unique style has been called Southern Gothic Punk Rock, Art Rock, and Quirky Punk. The band played original songs, according to Ethridge, and has recorded two albums, both unreleased as of this date. Ethridge hopes to play a couple of reunion gigs with Mrs. Atkins in Oxford.

There's no doubt about it. The Center's first two McMullan professors are excellent choices who promise to make lively contributions to Southern Studies, both in and out of the classroom.

Fetzer Mills