Interview with Dr. Andrea Frohne, Director of the African American Research and Service Institute (AARSI)
Photo Credit: Ohio University
Photos of the AARSI
Click here to view the AARSI's website.
Interview Transcript:
Dr. Frohne: My name is Dr Andrea Frohne. I'm a professor at Ohio University, the Director of AARSI, the African American Research and Service Institute and the Director of the PhD program in the College of Fine Arts. It's called the School of Interdisciplinary Arts, and I am a professor in Art History of the African world.
Peyton: Okay, so tell me a little bit about where you grew up, your childhood and your parents professions.
Dr. Frohne: So, I was born in Berlin in Germany and lived there until the age of six, and then we moved to the US. My father is from Indiana. He was a composer in contemporary classical music. My mother is from Europe. She's from England, and she became an academic advisor at a university.
Peyton: So where did you go to college and what was your degree/degrees in?
Dr. Frohne: So I grew up in Macomb, Illinois, and I did my undergraduate degree at Western Illinois University there, and then I went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and did my Master's in art history, and then pursued a PhD at State University of New York in Binghamton.
Peyton: Okay, and then what were your degrees in? Like, your specific degrees in each of the colleges?
Dr Frohne: My undergrad degree is in English literature with a minor in Art History and German, and my Master's and PhD are both in Art History.
Peyton: And then when did you decide that you wanted to put that into a teaching career, to kind of combine the art history with that?
Dr. Frohne: I pretty much had a sense that I would like to teach art history when I began the master's degree. But to be honest, when I was a child, I always used to act out being a school teacher and force my younger sister to be the student.
Peyton: That's cute. Okay, so what exactly is your position here at OU? And then, how did you find yourself at OU?
Dr. Frohne: Well, in 2006, I was very, very fortunate and happy to be offered a tenure track job here at Ohio University. So, that's when I moved here, 20 years ago, and so I began as assistant professor, got promoted to associate professor, then got promoted to full professor, and now I'm the Director of the School of Interdisciplinary Arts PhD program and the Director of the Research Institute here in African American Studies.
Peyton: Okay, and then, what research with that or accomplishments do you hope to one day achieve, or are on the horizon that you're kind of focusing on right now?
Dr. Frohne: So, I've written one book about my first project, which was the African burial ground in New York City, and I have a second book that's about to come out about contemporary artists from the Horn of Africa, which is the northeast part of Africa, living in North America and Europe. And so now, we are working on black and brown life across Southeast Ohio through the arts.
Peyton: What is the most rewarding part of your position? And then what is the hardest?
Dr. Frohne: The most rewarding part of my position is that I never get bored in my job. I have so much variation. I get to teach undergrad students one semester. I get to teach PhD students, the next semester. I get to work with community organizations such as Mount Zion Black Cultural Center and attend events with community members, so I think I really like that I can always come to work and expect something new.
Peyton: And then what is the hardest part of the position?
Dr. Frohne: The hardest part of the position for me is that I just want to keep working and working. I just always have so much to do, and the hardest part is to make myself stop.
Peyton: Well, that's kind of a positive. And then if you could choose just one moment or accomplishment or research study that you have completed, in regard to your career, which is the one that you are most proud of?
Dr. Frohne: I think what I'm most proud of with my career and my research is that I find it so exciting to focus on projects that aren't very well known, and that I get to do the primary research to present the topic to the broader academic community.
Dr. Frohne: My name is Dr Andrea Frohne. I'm a professor at Ohio University, the Director of AARSI, the African American Research and Service Institute and the Director of the PhD program in the College of Fine Arts. It's called the School of Interdisciplinary Arts, and I am a professor in Art History of the African world.
Peyton: Okay, so tell me a little bit about where you grew up, your childhood and your parents professions.
Dr. Frohne: So, I was born in Berlin in Germany and lived there until the age of six, and then we moved to the US. My father is from Indiana. He was a composer in contemporary classical music. My mother is from Europe. She's from England, and she became an academic advisor at a university.
Peyton: So where did you go to college and what was your degree/degrees in?
Dr. Frohne: So I grew up in Macomb, Illinois, and I did my undergraduate degree at Western Illinois University there, and then I went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and did my Master's in art history, and then pursued a PhD at State University of New York in Binghamton.
Peyton: Okay, and then what were your degrees in? Like, your specific degrees in each of the colleges?
Dr Frohne: My undergrad degree is in English literature with a minor in Art History and German, and my Master's and PhD are both in Art History.
Peyton: And then when did you decide that you wanted to put that into a teaching career, to kind of combine the art history with that?
Dr. Frohne: I pretty much had a sense that I would like to teach art history when I began the master's degree. But to be honest, when I was a child, I always used to act out being a school teacher and force my younger sister to be the student.
Peyton: That's cute. Okay, so what exactly is your position here at OU? And then, how did you find yourself at OU?
Dr. Frohne: Well, in 2006, I was very, very fortunate and happy to be offered a tenure track job here at Ohio University. So, that's when I moved here, 20 years ago, and so I began as assistant professor, got promoted to associate professor, then got promoted to full professor, and now I'm the Director of the School of Interdisciplinary Arts PhD program and the Director of the Research Institute here in African American Studies.
Peyton: Okay, and then, what research with that or accomplishments do you hope to one day achieve, or are on the horizon that you're kind of focusing on right now?
Dr. Frohne: So, I've written one book about my first project, which was the African burial ground in New York City, and I have a second book that's about to come out about contemporary artists from the Horn of Africa, which is the northeast part of Africa, living in North America and Europe. And so now, we are working on black and brown life across Southeast Ohio through the arts.
Peyton: What is the most rewarding part of your position? And then what is the hardest?
Dr. Frohne: The most rewarding part of my position is that I never get bored in my job. I have so much variation. I get to teach undergrad students one semester. I get to teach PhD students, the next semester. I get to work with community organizations such as Mount Zion Black Cultural Center and attend events with community members, so I think I really like that I can always come to work and expect something new.
Peyton: And then what is the hardest part of the position?
Dr. Frohne: The hardest part of the position for me is that I just want to keep working and working. I just always have so much to do, and the hardest part is to make myself stop.
Peyton: Well, that's kind of a positive. And then if you could choose just one moment or accomplishment or research study that you have completed, in regard to your career, which is the one that you are most proud of?
Dr. Frohne: I think what I'm most proud of with my career and my research is that I find it so exciting to focus on projects that aren't very well known, and that I get to do the primary research to present the topic to the broader academic community.