There’s a new face on campus!
The HBCU recently announced that actor and writer Joseph C. Phillips is joining the Clark Atlanta University (CAU) faculty.
We’ve seen him as Judge Leonard Payton on Good Trouble, Greg Davis in 13 Reasons Why, and most notoriously Lt. Martin Kendall on The Cosby Show. We can’t forget his other roles in NCIS, How to Get Away With Murder, and General Hospital, which earned him a NAACP Image Award nomination! When he isn’t on the screen, Phillips writes a weekly column called, “The Way I See It” and is the author of He Talk Like A White Boy. For ten years, he served as a director on the state board of the California African-American Museum where he chaired the accessions committee and was responsible for approving all art or artifacts for the museum’s collection. He has plenty of civic engagements as a motivational speaker at The Red Cross; Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles; the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America; the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission, and many more. Now, he will be joining the CAU staff as a Theatre and Communications Studies professor.
The university recently announced his joining of the faculty and praised him for his work within the Black community. CAU President George T. French Jr. stated, “Joseph brings a wealth of awe-inspiring talent, meaningful engagement in the community, and a portfolio of informed, decisive commentary to the university. We anticipate that he will inspire independent thinking, civic responsibility, and a passion for interdisciplinary learning in our students—which aligns perfectly with our mantra to “lift our community by lifting our voices.”
The actor took to Facebook to express his joy for the new role in a post saying, “The secret is out, I’m loving my new gig.”
He started his educational journey at the University of the Pacific as a communications major before transferring to New York University. He became a fellow at the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian College, an Abraham Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute and the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. He then went on to write and teach a seven-week course entitled, “Black Conservatism in America.”
Congratulations, Mr. Phillips!
Photo: Yahoo News/CAU