About the Center

The Kansas African Studies Center represents the African Studies Council of more than forty Africanists across the University of Kansas.

The KASC, as well as other area studies centers, reports to the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and works with the Graduate Studies and the Office of International Programs. The Center has a direct and dynamic relationship with the Department of African & African-American Studies.

Mission & Governance of the Center

The Center coordinates and develops the interdisciplinary interests of Africanists across the University of Kansas, and promotes the understanding and study of Africa in the university, the state, and the region. Its mission includes the enhancement of curriculum, the sponsorship of research, the organization of conferences, the promotion of special projects, the acquisition of library and related sources, the conduct of outreach programs, the seeking and acquistion of grants and special funding to make these activities possible and to assist the university in their realization.

The Center Director is appointed by the College. The Executive Committee consists of the Director and Associate Director, the African Language Coordinator, one member of the Department of African & African-American Studies, five at-large representatives and a student representative from the humanities, social sciences, professional schools and natural sciences, and the University Libraries, all elected by the Council annually; Ex officio members of the Executive Committee include the Chair of the Department of African & African-American Studies, the Center's Program Assistant, the Dean of International Programs or a representative, the Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for Area Studies Departments and Programs. The Executive Committee meets monthly and functions as the major policy-formulating body for the Center.

(From the Bylaws, adopted by the University of Kansas African Studies Council, April 24, 1998. Revised April, 2007)

Background of the Center

The Center originated from initiatives in the Department of African & African American Studies in the 1980's, and crystallized in the 1990's with Title VI grants in Foreign Languages and Area Studies. Since then the Center has been a designated National Resource Center in African Studies with Title VI funding during two three year cycles (1994-1997, 2000-2003) and the current four-year cycle (2006-2010). KASC also awards Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships, with U.S. Department of Education funding for graduate student language training in Arabic, KiSwahili, Hausa, and Wolof. KU's Africanists have received numerous other research and grant programs from the U.S. Department of Education {KU's Business School twice has been designated as a Center for International Business (CIBER)} and the Department of State (Grants for University Affiliation Programs with Gaston Berger University in Saint Louis, Senegal and the University of Zambia in Lusaka). KU's African Studies Faculty have received many Fulbright Fellowships to Africa.