Meet Our Staff

The founding Director of the Roberson Project since 2017, Woody Register (C’80) has been teaching courses at Sewanee on nineteenth- and twentieth-century American society and culture, gender, and slavery’s role in the development of American institutions and society for nearly thirty years. As a colleague, collaborator, and friend for over twenty years, Houston Bryan Roberson and his impact as a teacher, scholar, and citizen continue to inspire and guide Woody’s work. Woody’s involvement with the Roberson project was sparked first by his own research into Sewanee’s particular history in connection with slavery, and was then influenced by the international movement among colleges and universities to study the history and impact of their institution’s indebtedness to slavery — and slavery’s indebtedness to their institutions. Woody has been a newspaper reporter and editor, has a doctorate in history from Brown University, and presently is the Francis S. Houghteling Professor of American History. He has published extensively on American cultural history, including an essay, "Makers of Sewanee," in the current issue of The Sewanee Review. 

Assistant Professor of History (Tiffany Momon | The University of the South), Tiffany Momon, is a public historian whose research and teaching overlap and support the work of the Roberson Project, especially with respect to blacksewanee.org, techniques of writing historic structure reports, heritage development plans, and submitting National Register of Historic Places nominations, and teaching courses in public history.

Dr. Momon’s work includes advocating to city and state governments in support of local history projects and archaeology ordinances and partnering with local communities to document and preserve their history. Additionally, she works closely with several historically black colleges and universities to raise funding for historic preservation projects and public archaeology on those campuses as well as consulting with several museums.  Dr. Momon’s current research focuses on the lives, artistry, and labor of enslaved and free craftspeople and can be viewed at blackcraftspeople.org. 

Andrew Maginn is a transnational historian whose research focuses on the legacies of slavery and emancipation. Dr. Maginn has taught at several colleges and universities, offering courses in the African Diaspora, World, American as well as Latin American and Caribbean history within a multiplicity of disciplines. His recently completed dissertation, “First Families of Haiti in the Trans-Atlantic World, 1791-1880” included genealogical research of enslaved and free individuals of color in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. The impact of this research was recognized by several grants, fellowships, and publications. 

While enrolled in his doctoral program at Howard University, Dr. Maginn encountered several colleges and universities struggling to understand their connection to the legacies of slavery. This exciting blend of contemporary politics, history, and higher education has drawn Dr. Maginn to the Roberson Project. Dr. Maginn currently supports the Roberson Project as it makes the University of the South a leader in this national conversation through archival research, participation in digital humanities projects, and educational programming.

Maia Council is a public historian whose graduate research at Middle Tennessee State University focused on the lost Franklin Expedition and the legacy of colonialism in British museum exhibits about polar exploration. During her time at the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU, her work centered around cemeteries and the stories and experiences of the community members buried therein, including a predominantly Black county cemetery in Chattanooga now under the protection of the Trust for Public Land, as well as a digitization initiative at the R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation, an historic Black publishing company in Nashville. She is a native of Signal Mountain, Tennessee.

Chris McCreary joined the team in February of 2024 to help with a wide variety of departments within the project. Chris brings a background from theater and arts education to handle administrative activities, event and project management, graphic design and video production, as well as social media management and marketing. Chris received his MFA in Directing from Brooklyn College, and his BFA in Theater Studies (with an emphasis in Acting and Directing) from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX - his home town. Chris is honored and grateful to be a part of the team and looks forward to expanding the reach and deepening the impact of The Roberson Project's work. 

October Kamara is a public history graduate student at Middle Tennessee State University. She is concentrating on Museum Management and is specifically interested in digital humanities and museum education. On top of working for the Roberson Project, October is a graduate researcher for the Center for Historic Preservation Teaching with Primary Resources. Her research interests include black activism in the South, black queer history, and black power movements in the South.

Klarke Stricklen is a senior American Studies Major with a minor in African American studies at the University of the South. Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Klarke is passionate about fostering inclusive spaces that empower marginalized communities, especially in the deep South. She is a member of the Roberson Project’s Working Group, and has worked as a summer intern with the Save Sewanee Black History initiative. Klarke is the current President of the Sewanee NAACP unit, and was recently named a 2021 Truman Scholar.

Silas McClung is a sophomore from Crossville, Tennessee. He intends to major in Politics and minor in Business. He is an active member of Greek life, tutors for the Center for Speaking and Listening, and is also a Student Research Fellow for the “Go Tell It On the Mountain” Project, a collaborative faculty/student study of speaking and listening on the mountain.