New Department Co-Chair is Hooked on History

As a child, Dr. Lisa Hill says she was fascinated by museums and often spent time reading the accompanying plaques displayed at each exhibit.

Her passion for history didn’t diminish during her college days; in fact, it grew and garnered shape by her interests in race relations, women’s history, the Civil War, and civil rights.

“Those two areas: the Civil War and civil rights, are my favorite eras to teach,” explained Dr. Hill. “I am currently working on a history of a 19th century African-American physician from New Haven and Yale, Dr. Cortlandt van Rensselaer Creed. It’s fascinating as his story folds neatly into the overall book I’m writing on Reconstruction in New Haven.

Now back in the city she grew up in, Dr. Hill is Hamden Hall’s new co-chair of the History Department. While the 2017-2018 school year is her first foray “under the pines,” she is certainly no stranger to the classroom.

“I started teaching in 1991 when I was a graduate student at Emory University,” she said. (Dr. Hill has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, and a master’s and Ph.D. from Emory.)

From there she graced the halls of the History and English Departments of George Mason University, American University, and Bowie State University. In 2007 she became the Assistant Chair of History, Government and Politics, and African American History at the University of Maryland; and in 2011, she was invited to join the faculty at Tuskegee University as the Chair of History and Political Science.

“I remained there for five years and ended my tenure at Tuskegee as Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Dr. Hill.

At Hamden Hall, she can be found in her Whitson classroom exchanging ideas with Advanced Placement and Honors’ history students. Her enthusiasm is infectious and her broad smile seems to put students at ease as they explore the presidencies of Lincoln, Johnson, and others.

Hamden Hall isn’t her first prep school – 12 years ago she transitioned from the college campus to Flint Hill Prep School in Fairfax, Virginia. While at Flint Hill she developed a civil rights seminar.

“I found I enjoyed my younger students because I could observe their maturity firsthand. It is more pronounced with younger people. I also enjoyed their energy and ideas,” she maintained.

As co-chair of Hamden Hall’s History Department, Dr. Hill said one of her objectives is to “scaffold the learning skills of our students.”
“When students graduate, they will have a strong foundation on not just about what happened in the past but how they can apply those lessons to build a better future,” said Dr. Hill.

Her colleague, History Department co-chair Tom Iampietro, offered praises for Dr. Hill’s educational credentials and overall experience.

“Lisa Hill is an extraordinary addition to the Hamden Hall faculty. Incredibly learned with a firm background in administration and pedagogy, she will contribute to this community in endless ways in the years ahead. We are very lucky to have her with us,” he said.

When not in the classroom, Dr. Hill said she enjoys reading, dancing, swimming, and walking with her husband, George Lyons Jr. Esq., who is an attorney and a lobbyist in Washington, DC. An avid traveler as well, Dr. Hill names Charleston, South Carolina, as the most impactful historical destination she’s been fortunate to visit.

“I used to go every year. I love visiting the plantations and taking pictures of the surroundings and observing what the racial dynamics of the day were,” she explained.

Overall, Dr. Hill said she sees her job as both a historian and teacher as one tasked with bringing to light the whole picture of this country – including “its shining moments and its darkest hours.”

“I try to emphasize to my students that humans are flawed beings and anything we build, must have flaws; however, everything that is flawed is not ugly.”