1950
Dr. Ford is born in Cumberland, Virginia to Thomas Ben and Senola White Ford.
1972
Dr. Ford receives a Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland.
1973
Dr. Ford serves as coordinator of recruitment and special programming at the University of Maryland SLIS (now UMD iSchool).
1974
Dr. Ford receives a Master of Library Science from the University of Maryland.
1974
Dr. Ford becomes a reference librarian at the Washington Technology Institute.
1978
Dr. Ford serves as a branch librarian at the University of the District of Columbia.
1980
Dr. Ford becomes unit supervisor of the Van Ness Campus Library at the University of the District of Columbia.
1981
Dr. Ford is appointed Head of Circulation at the University of District of Columbia.
1982
Dr. Ford becomes coordinator of reference and circulation at the University of District of Columbia.
1985
Dr. Ford is appointed Head of Hunt Library at Carnegie Mellon University.
1988
Dr. Ford is appointed executive director of the Oakland Library Consortium.
1995
Dr. Ford receives a Doctor of Philosophy and a Certificate in Management of Nonprofit Organizations from the University of Pittsburgh.
1995
Dr. Ford is appointed Dean of Library Services at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
2000
Dr. Ford is appointed Dean of University Libraries at the University of Memphis.
2002
Dr. Ford marries Louis Paris, Jr.
2010
Dr. Ford receives the Educational Freedom Award from the University of Memphis chapter of the NAACP.
2014
Dr. Ford is a panelist and presenter of “Civil Rights Collections in Tennessee Libraries” at the 99th Annual Convention for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
2016
Dr. Ford receives the Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Award from the University of Memphis.
2017
Dr. Ford becomes a professor of university libraries at the University of Memphis.
2018
Dr. Ford is honored with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who.