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.
On Friday, May 5, 2023, AFR celebrated its graduates in the annual donning of the Kente Cloth Ceremony.
Congratulations to all the 2023 graduates!
Majors:
Minors:
This is a photograph of African Studies faculty, affiliates and graduate students at the close of the African Studies Retreat on 8/14/2023 at the Graduate Hotel in State College.
African Studies own Dr. Yael Warshel publishes new article exploring, “So-called firsts scored by the Moroccan ‘Muslim, Arab, African, post-colonial’ and Amazigh Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup football games,” that is out now in the Journal of North African Studies, 28(2), 219-229.
