As the semester slowly comes to a close, the African Studies Center (ASC) would like to recognize our community members who were awarded for their hard work this year.
This last week, ASC Director Omolade Adunbi and Academic Program Specialist Marwa Hassan headed to San Francisco to participate in the 66th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association. There were two driving factors to the ASC’s participation in this year’s meeting, the support of the center’s new National Resource Center grant and a finalist nomination to Omolade Adunbi for the Best Book Award. Adunbi’s book Enclaves of Exception: Special Economic Zones and Extractive Practices in Nigeria (Indiana University Press, 2022) received an Honorable Mention. The Book Prize is presented annually by the African Studies Association for the best scholarly work on Africa published in English during the previous year. Considered to be among the most prestigious awards for books about Africa, past winners have included highly regarded authors who rigorously examined an area of scholarly interest. The selection committee for the Book Prize consists of five senior scholars chosen to represent a broad spectrum of the disciplines associated with the study of Africa. This year, the selection committee read over 90 books and selected Professor Adunbi’s book to go into the final six nominees.
Another member of our ASC Community was also nominated for an award at ASA’s 66th Annual Meeting. Kuukuwa O Manful won the 2023 Graduate Student Paper Prize with her submission of, “Building Classes: Secondary Schools and Sociopolitical Stratification in Ghana.” The ASA Board of Directors established the annual Graduate Student Paper Prize in 2001, and it seeks to single out an essay presented at the previous year’s Annual Meeting.
ASC’s Projects and Events Coordinator, Teyei Pam, has won the first inaugural II Outstanding Advocate of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award! As decided by the II Steering Committee, his nomination was compelling and reflective of all the hard work he puts in to make everyone feel included. The Award celebrates staff members who consistently advance the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the International Institute. The recognition of this award was given at the II Staff Awards and Holiday Luncheon on December 14 at 11:30, where all II Staff and Faculty came together to close off the semester.
