VCU news

By Mike Porter

W. Avon Drake, Ph.D., associate professor of political science in Virginia Commonwealth University's School L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, died Friday, March 14, in North Carolina following a lengthy illness. He was 61.

Drake joined VCU in 1986 as an assistant professor of political science and director of African-American studies, a role in which he continued until 1993. He served as an associate professor of political science until his retirement in January 2008.

At VCU, Drake taught courses in African American politics, affirmative action and its critics, black political thought, politics of the Civil Rights movement and black intellectuals. 

Dean Robert Holsworth informed faculty in the College of Humanities and Sciences of Drake's death in an e-mail.

"Avon was a dedicated teacher whose courses on African-American political thought and the Civil Rights movement had a significant impact on a number of our students. Dr. Drake exhibited remarkable commitment to the classroom, continuing to teach even when his illness compelled him to carry an oxygen tank at all times," Holsworth wrote.

Drake co-authored "Affirmative Action and the Stalled Quest for Black Progress," which received the annual Outstanding Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists in 1997.  He was often quoted in print media over the years and served for a year as a weekly social commentator for WRIC-TV in Richmond.

"He will be remembered as a gifted scholar and insightful critic who never minced words. He was a complex person who was comfortable on his front porch and in his Mercedes Benz, in cowboy boots and blue jeans, tailored suits and bow ties, in the college classroom or a political debate," said M. Njeri Jackson, Ph.D., special assistant for diversity, Office of the Provost.

Drake is survived by his wife, Doris, and two children.  Funeral services were to be held in North Carolina.