A proposal to reunite the Department of African American Studies and the African Studies Program in the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts into a single academic unit — the Department of Africana Studies — has been approved by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost after receiving the endorsement of University Faculty Senate and faculty in the respective units. Penn’s State Board of Trustees also was informed of the reunification during its May 7-8 meeting.
“This is a pivotal next step for Penn State and our college to take to strengthen the interdisciplinary study of Africa and people of African descent as a critical component of a liberal arts education,” said Clarence Lang, Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts. “The reunification heightens our ability to solidify the academic and scholarly interconnections between African and African American Studies and build on the complexities that a unified field can advance. It also aligns our approach with those taken being taken by our counterparts in the Big Ten and elsewhere and better positions us as leaders in the field in terms of student success and faculty productivity.”
Gabeba Baderoon, associate professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, African studies and comparative literature at Penn State, was recently awarded an honorary doctorate from South Africa’s Nelson Mandela University.
Baderoon, a South African native and co-director of Penn State’s African Feminist Initiative, was recognized for her work as a poet, scholar and public intellectual, with the university referring to her as “one of the foremost literary voices to emerge from democratic South Africa.”
Max Lustig’s Penn State story reflects that of a student who followed his interests, challenged himself and built a foundation for a future in the law by embracing every opportunity available to him.
Lustig graduated earlier this month with degrees in history and African studies and a certificate in Holocaust and genocide studies in the College of the Liberal Arts. He will soon step into an exciting next chapter that includes a legal internship with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the highest scholarship Brooklyn Law School offers.
Sabrina Knox and Morgan Overman are tying the knot after receiving a liberal arts education through Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts and the Schreyer Honors College.
The now-engaged couple came together through their studies and are graduating from the University as student marshals for two liberal arts majors — Knox for philosophy and Overman for African studies. Though they are following distinct professional pathways, the two complement each other through a shared dedication to success and leadership.
Sinfree Makoni, Liberal Arts Professor of African Studies and Applied Linguistics and director of the African Studies Program in the College of the Liberal Arts, was awarded the 2026 President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration for his his research, teaching, mentoring and service.
Fatoumata Doumbia, African studies and global and international studies student, is connecting her Malian heritage with her professional interests in international development and diplomacy.
Faculty, staff, and students gathered in the Dewey Room at Pattee Library for the, “African Studies Program Majors & Minors Event”. Faculty members went over course offerings and descriptions for both the spring 2026 and fall 2026 semesters.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — National parks in East Africa protect endangered wildlife but sometimes do not support local human populations, according to Edwin Sabuhoro, assistant professor of recreation, park, and tourism management at Penn State. New research by Sabuhoro and two Penn State doctoral students from East Africa demonstrated that poverty and lack of adequate food supply drive most of the poaching and other illegal activities in one such park.
The African Studies Program is delighted to announce that our colleague Michelle Sikes has been promoted to Associate Professor, effective July 1.
