She joined the faculty at the university in 2011. As a Whiting Public Engagement Fellow, Dr. Skipper will develop a series of workshops and training programs for curators, historians, and educators who are involved in the Behind the Big House project. The project, which began in Holly Springs, Mississippi, seeks to educate the public about the lives of slaves on historical plantations. Dr. Skipper is a graduate of Grambling State University in Louisiana, where she majored in history. She earned a master’s degree at Florida State University and a Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin.