Charisse Renee Cecil Scholarship African and African American Studies

The Charisse Renee Cecil Scholarship will be awarded to a Mason student minoring in African andAfrican American Studies (AAAS) who writes the most outstanding essay on a topic related to the African Diaspora written in a class from a number of disciplines, including but not limited to Art andVisual Technology, English, History and Art History, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Public andInternational Affairs, Religious Studies, and Sociology and Anthropology. All papers considered for the award will be judged at the discretion of professors affiliated with AAAS. 

This annual award is sponsored by former Mason professor/administrator and African and AfricanAmerican Studies founder, Dr. Marilyn S. Mobley, and current African and African American Studies and English professor, Dr. Keith Clark. The scholarshiphas been established in loving memory of Charisse Renee Cecil (1979-2011), a 2006 graduate of George Mason University who majored in English and minored in AAAS. She was an exemplary student and writer who managed to combine a towering intellect, a luminous creativity reflected in her poetry and art, and a passion for social justice. Both Professors Mobley and Clark had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring Charisse, a brilliant scholar and loving spirit who departed this life far too soon.