Dr. James E. Walton, a professor emeritus of English at Fresno State and the first faculty to serve as coordinator of the University’s Africana Studies Program, died in Fresno on Aug. 15. He was 74.

An educator for more than half a century, Dr. Walton taught American literature and writing at the University from 1990 to 2018. He retired as chair emeritus of both English and Africana Studies.

Before coming to Fresno State, Dr. Walton taught for 20 years at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where he received the Great Teacher Award in 1989. He previously taught for three years at Canton McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio.

Honora Chapman, interim dean of Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities, praised Dr. Walton’s high level of professionalism, especially during his multiple terms as English chair. “He managed the largest faculty in our college with great skill and humanity,” she said.

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