She received her B.A. in History and Education from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in American History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research specializes in African-American Educational History, with a focus on public and oral histories. She examines the connections between race, politics, and historical memory in southern education. As a former public high school teacher, she is committed to exploring these connections between the contemporary past with recent educational policies. Dr. Waugh teaches courses in African-American history and educational methodology.