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FAMU Professor Found Strangled

By Yewande Addie
Black College Wire

Sheryl Shivers-Blackwell

A management professor at Florida A&M University was found strangled in her Tallahassee, Fla., home and her husband was discovered critically injured, police said. He later died at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Police said they did not think any outside party was involved.

Sheryl Shivers-Blackwell, 36, an associate professor in the division of management in the FAMU School of Business and Industry, died from "asphyxiation through strangulation," according to an autopsy performed on July 6.

Her husband, Baron Blackwell, 43, had been in critical condition at Tallahassee Memorial since the night of July 5, when he called 911 to report that he and his wife were injured, police said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital on July 7.

Evidence gathered by police led "investigators to believe that incidents of domestic violence did occur in the home," according to a Tallahassee Police Department news release.

Police said that at about 6:20 p.m. July 5, officers who responded to reports of an injured person found Blackwell and Shivers-Blackwell in separate rooms. He was "found to be in need of serious medical attention" and she was lying dead on a bed, they said.

Neither police nor the patient information center at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital would provide details on Blackwell's injuries, except to say he had superficial wounds. An autopsy was scheduled.

The death of Shivers-Blackwell marks the second loss of a professor in the School of Business and Industry this year. Kenneth R. Gray, 55, a professor of management and international studies, died in March after suffering a heart attack while on a rock-climbing excursion.

Torey Alston, 22, a senior business student and one of Shivers-Blackwell’s students, said his professor was always smiling and upbeat and never gave any indication that anything was wrong.

"I am probably the only student that was in Dr. Gray’s and Dr. Blackwell’s classes at the time of their passing, and it has definitely been an interesting and tragic experience to have two unexpected tragedies of two outstanding professors," said Alston, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Alston said one of Shivers-Blackwell's most recent projects was helping the School of Business prepare for its initial accreditation.

Lydia McKinley-Floyd, dean of the school, said "It’s more than tough. The entire thing is just so devastating, especially with this being the second faculty member to pass away within the last three or four months. She was such a warm, beautiful and wonderful spirit and she was committed.

"I was just talking to her earlier this week. She was working on a project for Monday over the weekend to assure that the project was completed . . . That’s how committed she was," McKinley-Floyd said. Shivers-Blackwell received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from FAMU. "She loved her students and she loved FAMU, especially as a two-time alumna," the dean said. "She gave her all for her students and for this program and for that she will be sorely missed."

The Rev. D'Mrtri Crafton Cato-Watson married the Blackwells in Broward County, Fla., in May 2003, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

The newspaper said Baron Blackwell had moved to Tallahassee to be with his wife, leaving his job at the Mobile Housing Board in Mobile, Ala.

"He received his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and a master's degree in business administration from Clark Atlanta University. He enrolled in Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville in 2005, but left in 2006.

"Before attending law school, Cato-Watson and others said Blackwell was at home caring for the children while seeking employment. His resume indicates he had been employed since 1988 before moving here," the newspaper said.

"He became Mr. Mom for a little while and wasn't happy with that," Cato-Watson said in the story.

"Daaim Shabazz, who teaches international business at FAMU, attended graduate school with Blackwell at Clark Atlanta. He said Blackwell worked in Atlanta while pursing his master’s degree full-time," the story continued.

“'He really didn’t like Tallahassee,' Shabazz said. 'He wasn’t pleased.'

"Cato-Watson, who is close to Shivers-Blackwell's father and stepmother and has talked to them since the incident, said she and family members knew her friend's marriage was troubled. Shivers-Blackwell had told her stepmother about an abusive environment.

"'She was praying that there would be a change,' Cato-Watson said of Shivers-Blackwell. 'But when there are issues like that, you can pray from a distance to be safe,'" the newspaper reported.

McKinley-Floyd said there will be a memorial on campus, but that the school wanted to give the family time to grieve before making plans. "I know she was a part of a very large church and we know they will be celebrating her life, so we’ll be coordinating with family and the church to make sure everything is done properly," she said.

The couple's 3-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter were taken into custody by the Florida Department of Children and Families after police arrived.

Yewande Addie, a junior journalism student at Florida A&M University, is news editor of the Famuan. Sidney Wright IV and Regina Dawson contributed to this story. To comment, e-mail .

Posted July 6, 2007; updated July 7