Tamar carroll studies and teaches women's history from the colonial period to present. Her research focus is on women and social movements in New York City from the war on poverty through the AIDS epidemic. She also teaches 20th-century U.S. political and cultural history, as well as U.S. women's history and history of the family.

Rebecca Edwards is an expert on deaf history and culture. Her research has focused on the impact of deaf individuals in society and how sociological and societal understanding of deafness has changed over time.

She teaches courses on American Deaf History and the History of Baseball. Edwards holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Rochester.

Joseph Fornieri is a professor of political science at RIT and a leading scholar on the life and political thought of Abraham Lincoln. Fornieri has conducted extensive research, written and spoken widely on Lincoln's political accomplishments, thought, and influence on modern society. He was awarded a Fulbright to Prague in 2009, appointed to the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, 2009 and is also a member of the Lincoln Forum. Some of his books include Abraham Lincoln's Political Faith, Lincoln's America: 1809-1865, published by Southern Illinois University Press, and The Language of Liberty: The Political Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln, now in its second edition. He is completing a book on Lincoln's statesmanship that will be out in 2014.

William Johnson, Jr., is a political scientist who has spent the bulk of his career in social service and local government. He served as mayor of the City of Rochester, N.Y., from 1994 to 2005.

His expertise includes local and state government, especially local government consolidation, urban issues which focus on the revitalization of distressed communities, and smart growth and land-use policies.

Prior to serving as mayor, Johnson was the President/CEO of the Urban League of Rochester (1972-1993) and a political science professor at Mott Community College in Michigan (1967-71). Johnson has been a Monroe Community College trustee (1976-82), chairman of the board of directors for Partners for Livable Communities in Washington, D.C. (2002-05) and Chairman of the New York State Employment and Training Council (1979-83). He is currently the chairperson of the Center for Community Progress in Washington, D.C.

Johnson earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Howard University, Washington, D.C. (1965, 1967) and holds doctorates of humane letters and laws from: Keuka College (1990), St. John Fisher College (1998), Rochester Institute of Technology (1999) and the University of Rochester (2006).

Richard Newman is an expert in African-American history, environmental history and the early American republic.