Rodney Higgins

Higgins was born in 1911[2] and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] He attended Southern Illinois Teachers College, where he graduated with a B.Ed. degree in 1935.[1] He then attended the University of Iowa,[3] where he obtained an M.A. in 1936 and a Ph.D. in 1940, both in political science.[1] Higgins joined the United States Army in 1943, and in 1944 he joined the American Red Cross.[1]

Higgins subsequently became a professor at Southern University. He was chair of the department from 1946 to 1964.[3] This made him central to the development of political science and other social sciences at Southern University, which awarded its first degree in political science in 1948.[3] During Higgins's time as chair, the department awarded hundreds of degrees.[3] According to Southern University's Southern Digest, Higgins "established a foundation for not only Political Science at Southern, but also Sociology, History, Economics and Geography".[1] As a researcher Higgins made contributions to journals including University of Iowa Studies and the Quarterly Review of Higher Education among Negroes.[1]

The Rodney G. Higgins Hall for Social Sciences at Southern University was named after Higgins.[1] Higgins is also the namesake of the Rodney Higgins Best Faculty Paper Award given annually by the National Conference of Black Political Scientists.[4] Higgins was particularly noted as a teacher and as an advisor, and several prominent political scientists identified him as the person who first made them consider studying politics.[5] His students included Jewel Prestage,[6] Lucius Barker,[5] and Shelby F. Lewis.[4]

Higgins died in 1964.[2] He remained chair of the political science department at Southern University until his death.[3]