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Marsha Hopkins
Adjunct Associate Professor
Teaches In
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Education: 

MFA/ Creative Writing / Otis College of Art and Design 2002
BFA/ Fine Arts / Otis College of Art and Design 1997 (Cum Laude)

 

Bio/Affiliation: 

I received an MFA in Creative Writing and a BFA in Painting from Otis College of Art and Design. I am a published writer and painter proficient in metal casting, jewelry design, and ceramics.

After teaching two classes in Continuing Education in 2000 and 2001, I began teaching in the LAS Department at Otis College of Art and Design in 2002. Currently, my position is Adjunct Associate Professor in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department. Over the years, I have taught various classes, from core classes to sophomore through senior electives in LAS. Recently, I had the good fortune to interview: Congress member Karen Bass, Black Panthers Michael D. McCarty, and Emory Douglas, as well as award-winning graphic designers Art Sims and Doug Minkler and others in line with Civil Rights classes. The AlumnX Lecture series hosted a panel discussion on the Black Entrepreneurs of the Jim Crow Era. The panelists were members of the History Council at the California African American Museum, and for some, the entrepreneurs they presented were their ancestors. It was my pleasure to be the organizer and the moderator.

I joined the History Council at the California African American Museum in 2008 and became a member of the Project Committee. Later, I chaired the Project Committee (2016 &2017), the History Council (2016-2022), and the Executive Committee (2016-2022). During 2022&2023, I was the consultant to the Executive Committee. Other affiliations include the Biddy Mason Foundation, FFN Network, The History Council, and the BHM Collective, to name a few.

 

Professional Affiliations:

  • NMAAHC Public Programs
  • Member of the American Literature Association
  • Smithsonian Learning Lab
  • Course Hero 
  • Khan Academy (Online Resource)
  • Beyond Image (Online Magazine)
  • Harvard Graduate Project Zero
  • Toni Morrison Society
  • World Channel / PBS
  • American Experience / PBS
  • Gilder Lehrman Institute of America
  • Faith Foster Families Network
  • Member of Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation
  • California African American Museum:
    • Consultant to Executive Committee (2022-)
    • Chair of the History Council (2015-2022)
    • Chair of Executive Committee (2015-2022)
    • Member of the Executive Committee (2014-2015)
    • Chair of Project Committee (2014 - 2016)
    • Volunteer (2008-)

 

Awards/Honors: 
  • Certificate Alumnx Exploration Series Speaker 2021
  • Certificate of Appreciation North Star Society/ NMAAHC 2021
  • Curricular Diversity Grant /Spring 2018
  • OARS Grant /Fall 2017
  • Volunteer of the Year, 2012 & 2015 California African American Museum

 

Professional Accomplishments/Exhibitions:  
  • Intersectionality class for Spring 2023 designed using the Hyflex mode.
  • Successfully completed the Hyflex Workshop as part of the Curricular Innovation Series. 2022
  • Created/Contributing to History Project for Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation Foster Care Facility. (2022 - )
  • Collaboration for Exhibition Patriot Hall Topic Veterans / Artists Otis Alums
  • Virtual Education Summit July 28-29, 2022 (Certificate)
  • Smithsonian: Inspiring Civic Engagement Virtual Workshop. (Certificate July 1, 2022)
  • How to Teach Juneteenth- (Certificate June 2022)
  • Co-Founded the Alumni online exhibition Degrees of Blackness. (2022 -)
  • Organizing the Black/Asian Collective (2022 - )
  • Cultural Awareness in a Global Context/Completed 2021
  • Interviewed Griot and Black Panther Michael D. McCarty for the AlumX Exploration Series. 2021
  • Organized and moderated a Panel Discussion on the Black Entrepreneurs of the Jim Crow Era for the AlumX Exploration Series. 2021
  • Curricular Innovation Series. 2021
  • Peer Review Panelist for California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowships 2021
  • Lecturer Oral History class at UCLA. 2020
  • Faculty Learning Community Member
  • Presented at AICAD 2019
  • Organized and moderated panel discussion Passing the Torch: Intergenerational Activism in the 21st Century at the CAAM MLK celebration. 2019 
  • Collaborated with the Docent Council at CAAM to create History in a Trunk, a traveling exhibition. 2018
  • Collaborated for the exhibition St. John’s Bible Celebration at Pacific Azusa University. 2018
  • Contributor/Editor California Timeline a History of Early Los Angeles.
  • Interviewed Colonel Ralph Smith, retired Airforce Pilot and Co-Founder of Tuskegee Airmen Archive at Riverside University 2015
  • Collaborated with the History Curator at CAAM to create a series of wall panels on the history of CAAM.  (Contributor/ Researcher/ Editor) 2016
  • Interviewed Synthia Saint James as part of the Conversations@CAAM series 2014
Publications:  

 

  • With Purpose SMBG Poetry Contest/ Honorable Mention 2021
  • Short Story “Martin”/ City Pride Magazine 2019
  • Short Story “Dogs” / Postmedia books 2017
  • James Beckworth /Beyond Image (Online Magazine) 2015
  • Juan Francisco Reyes /Beyond Image (Online Magazine) 2015
  • Martin’s Funeral/ Beyond Image (Online Magazine) 2015
  • Sampling Black Churches CAAM Editor, writer, researcher 2015
  • Stalker, Nothing Moments 

 

Clients/Employment History:  

Otis College of Art and Design 

  • Adjunct Associate Professor (2023-present)
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor (2015-2023)
  • Senior Lecturer  (2010-2015)
  • Lecturer   (2002-2010)
  • Academic Advisor (2002-2015)
  • Office Manager (1998-2002)
  • Department Assistant  (1997-1998)