Kate Aguilar

Kate Aguilar joined the History Department at Gustavus in the fall of 2021. As a professor of African American History, trained in the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field of African American Studies, she teaches both parts of the African American History survey course.

In addition to the survey courses, Dr. Aguilar is a trained sport historian who has helped Gustavus develop a Sport Management minor. She teaches a course on the Black athlete in America and contributes to public scholarship in the field as a contributor to the blog SPORT IN AMERICAN HISTORY and through a Washington Post op-ed on the Black quarterback, "It took until 2023 for two Black QBs to start in a Super Bowl. Here’s why." She is a proud member of the North American Society for Sport History, in which she serves on the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonisation Coordinating Group. 

While Kate is committed to her scholarship and activism, her great passion is serving students. She feels honored to do so as a member of the History Department, African/African Diaspora Studies program, Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies program, and in Sport Management. She is also a part of a broader community of scholars working on campus to learn more about, implement, and assess inclusive teaching pedagogies through an HHMI Grant. 

“Books saved my sanity, knowledge opened the locked places in me and taught me first how to survive and then how to soar.”
― Gloria E. Anzaldúa