June 17, 2008
Lenore V. Buford, Ph.D.
Fisk University, B.A. '51
School of Graduate Studies, '54 and '69, Romance
languages
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Current home: Shaker Heights, Ohio
Lenore Buford was a Fisk University "campus brat." When Dr. Buford was in the second and fourth grades, her mother, Alzada, worked at the university. She recalls with fondness the campus community's "800 baby sitters" she and other children of university employees had, as well as the students who attended Fisk. Deciding to attend the familiar campus was a natural choice.
Dr. Buford planned to major in English and minor in history with the goal of a career in journalism. As an undergraduate, she helped to start the first student newspaper. Seven students launched the Fisk Forum in September 1948. She also worked on the Fisk Herald, a literary publication. Other enjoyable activities included tours organized by faculty, international student projects, dance, and membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
"Commencement is perhaps my fondest memory of Fisk. It was the realization that never again would we be able to be together again as we were on that day during those hours. I have so many wonderful stories of so many extraordinary people."
Dr. Buford continued the momentum from graduation by traveling to Paris, where she lived for two years, immersing herself in the language and culture. Rather than embark on a journalism career, she decided to engage in studies in French literature and civilization and earned a dipl ô me d'études supérieures at the Sorbonne (University of Paris) in 1953.
Back in the states, she wanted to continue her education. She chose Western Reserve University's School of Graduate Studies, where she majored in education and Romance languages, completing her doctorate in 1959. She was a teaching fellow at Western Reserve from 1961-65, and an assistant professor of Romance languages. She credits the "brilliance, zeal, generosity, humanity, caring, and productivity of the group of professors who inspired us and had more faith in us that we had in ourselves," as essential to her success as a graduate student and teacher. In 1969, her dissertation, The Sentiment of the Absurd in Voltaire, was published.
She taught French and Spanish language, literature, and civilization at Tallmadge College, Southern University, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Nebraska, and Cuyahoga Community College.
She has served on the Case Visiting Committee of the Humanities, was a proposal evaluator for the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C., a National Institute for the Humanities fellow at Yale (1977-78), and a member of the College Language Association.
Dr. Buford has served on the boards of the Zonta Club of Cleveland and the Cleveland Play House, and has been involved with the African American Outreach Committee of the Cleveland Foundation.
Now retired from teaching, Dr. Buford travels extensively, having gone on her 21st cruise in June 2006.
Posted by: Heidi Cool June 17, 2008 03:33 PM
Category: Alumni
, Legacy
, School of Graduate Studies