BTT Welcomes New Faculty at Duke

We’d like to continue our welcome of new Black faculty at Duke by highlighting Dr. Olanrwaju Akande (SSRI), Dr. Angelica Leigh (FUQUA), Dr. Daisy Lovelace (FUQUA), Dr. H. Timothy Lovelace, Jr. (Law), and Dr. Boyla Mainsah (PRATT). These professors have brought their unique talents and diverse interests to campus and we are excited to welcome them to Duke University.

Olanrewaju Akande

Dr. Olanrewaju M. Akande is an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Social Science Research Institute, and the Department of Statistical Science at Duke University. Dr. Akande completed both his MSc in statistical and economic modeling and his PhD in statistical science at Duke. His research areas include Bayesian modeling, models for editing erroneous data, multiple imputation, missing data, mixture models, and hierarchical modeling. His research focuses primarily on developing statistical methodology for handling missing and faulty data, with particular emphasis on applications that intersect with the social sciences, and can be readily applied by statistical agencies and data analysts.

Angelica Leigh

Dr. Angelica Leigh is an Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Dr. Leigh received her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Her research takes a dynamic approach to studying diversity in the workplace, specifically the influence that “mega-threat” events, like the deaths of Black civilians at the hands of police or other diversity related societal events, have on minority employees and organizations as a whole. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including receiving 2nd place in the 2019 INFORMS/Organization Science dissertation proposal competition.  

Daisy Lovelace

Dr. Daisy Lovelace is an Associate Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She earned her doctorate at the University of Virginia and teaches courses on Leadership and Communication. Lovelace also offers short courses on the LinkedIn Learning platform on a range of topics from inclusive leadership to public speaking. Prior to joining Duke, she taught at the Kelley School of Business, Princeton University, and the University of Virginia.  “I’m thrilled to be joining #TeamFuqua and the broader Duke family,” said Dr. Daisy Lovelace to the BTT regarding her new position.

H. Timothy Lovelace

Dr. H. Timothy Lovelace, Jr. joins Duke Law faculty after transitioning from Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. Now at Duke, Dr. Lovelace teaches courses in American legal history, constitutional law, and race and the law. Dr. Lovelace completed his J.D. and Ph.D. at the University of Virginia and received multiple awards over his academic year, including the inaugural Armstead L. Robinson Fellow of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies. Lovelace’s current book project, The World is on Our Side: The U.S. and the U.N. Race Convention (Cambridge University Press), examines how U.S. civil rights politics shaped the development of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Boyla Mainsah

Dr. Boyla Mainsah is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Mainsah earned her doctoral degree at Duke University and has released numerous publications over the years. Her research focuses on developing signal processing and machine learning algorithms to extract useful information from biomedical data and provide meaningful outputs for diagnostic purposes or to control neural-prosthetic devices that replace or supplement deficiencies in the human nervous system.