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Bay Path University Professor Decorti Rodgers-Tonge to be Recognized by African American Female Professor Award Association

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Longmeadow, MA— Decorti Rodgers-Tonge (Dee), MSAT, MBA, Chair of the Undergraduate Accounting Department and Assistant Professor of Accounting for Bay Path University, has been selected to receive an African American Female Professor Award (AAFPAA) by the African American Female Professor Awards Committee.

This award will be presented to Rodgers-Tonge at the African American Female Professor Awards (AAFPA) Celebration on Thursday, September 27, 2018, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Griswold Theater, American International College (Springfield, Massachusetts). She will be honored along with two other African American female college professors.

“We are so proud of Dee for this well-deserved recognition,” Dr. Thomas Loper, Associate Provost and Dean for the University’s School of Science and Management, said. “This award is a wonderful tribute to all that she is doing for her students each day, and we thank the committee for selecting her.”

According to the National Center for Education Statistics as of the Fall of 2015, “Among full-time professors, 58 percent were White males, 26 percent were White females, 2 percent were Black males, 1 percent were Black females.”

Rodgers-Tonge is the second Bay Path professor to receive the AAFPAA. In 2017, Janine Fondon, Assistant Professor and Chair of Undergraduate Communications, was honored at the inaugural event in 2017.

The goal of AAFPA is to recognize African American female faculty who are full-time, part-time, or adjunct. It is our intent that this recognition will help institutions recruit and retain African American female professors, as well as inspire African American female educators to continue their work in the classroom and pursue post-secondary assignments.

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About Bay Path University

Bay Path University was founded in 1897. With locations in Longmeadow (main), East Longmeadow (Philip H. Ryan Health Science Center), Sturbridge (MA), and Concord (MA), Bay Path’s innovative program offerings include traditional undergraduate degrees for women, The American Women's College on-ground and online, the first all-women, all-online accredited bachelor’s degree programs in the country; over 25 graduate programs for women and men; and Strategic Alliances, offering professional development courses for individuals and organizations. Bay Path’s goal is to give students confidence in the fundamentals of their chosen field, the curiosity to question the ordinary, the leadership to show initiative, and the desire to make a difference.