Dr. Phebe Hayes

Fellow the Center for Louisiana Studies, 2020-2025

Following a long and successful career as a professor of Communicative Disorders and as Dean of the College of General Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Dr. Hayes has emerged an important voice in Louisiana Studies and in the Acadiana community as the Founder and President of the Iberia African American Historical Society (IAAHS). Founded in 2017, the IAAHS seeks to explore, understand, and make accessible the full story of African American history and culture in Iberia Parish and rural southern Louisiana in general, with a particular focus on the often neglected contributions of African Americans to the region's civic life. Dr. Hayes' work has already led to numerous successes, including the creation of historic marker honoring, Dr. Emma Wakefield Paillet, Louisiana's first black female physician. 

Read Dr. Hayes' full biography.

To learn more about the Iberia African American Historical Society, click here. 

Read more about Dr. Hayes' work: 

• A Legacy Remembered, Acadiana Lifestyle Magazine 
• Lettres d’amour: Uncovering History, Acadiana Profile Magazine
• New Iberia trailblazer honored as first African American woman to receive medical degree in LA, KLFY