Paul Keith Jackson Jr. ’73

Paul Keith Jackson Jr. ’73 died on August 8 of a heart attack in Atlanta. Paul came to Dartmouth from Withrow High School in Cincinnati. At the College he majored in theater and was a member of the Dartmouth Players, the Dartmouth Dance Company and Le Cirque Français. Paul was also a member of Zeta Psi, the Afro-American Society, and the Hanover Opera Society. After graduation Paul earned a master of arts in playwriting at the University of Cincinnati and later a Ph.D. in theater at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his career teaching middle school students at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Moving to Spelman College in Atlanta in 1986, Paul rose through 12 years from assistant professor to professor in the theater department. In 1998 he joined the theater faculty at Miami University of Ohio until he retired in 2017. A witty, exuberant, and beloved instructor, Paul taught world theater history, directing, and seminars on topics that included playwright August Wilson, African-American theater, and gender, race, class, and sexuality in theater. Paul was an active member and former vestry man of the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Cincinnati. He is survived by his husband, James, and a sister. Memorial contributions may be made to the Paul Bryant-Jackson Memorial Scholarship Fund, Miami University Foundation, Attn: Susie Sadler, 725 Chestnut St., Oxford, OH 45056, or to the Open Door Ministry, Church of the Advent, 2366 Kemper Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45206.