Congratulations to Associate Professor of Linguistics, Andries Coetzee, on being named Associate Director of the African Studies Center (ASC). In addition to his work with U-M Linguistics and the ASC, he is very involved with the Linguistic Society of America, for whom he has co-directed the 2013 Linguistic Institute, and served as chair of the Program Committee (overseeing the organization the LSA Annual Meeting). He is incoming editor of the LSA's flagship journal, Language. He was inducted as a fellow of the LSA in 2015. He also maintains close ties with his home university in South Africa (the North-West University) where he holds the title of Extraordinary Professor.

About the African Studies Center (from their website)

The African Studies Center (ASC) at the University of Michigan provides strategic guidance and coordination for Africa-related education, research, and training activities on campus, and promotes opportunities for collaboration with African partners on the continent.

The center’s mission:

  • Deepen and expand scholarly and educational partnerships between U-M and African institutions
  • Support exchanges of students, faculty, and staff between U-M and African institutions
  • Enhance the study of Africa, past and present, within the U-M curriculum
  • Connect faculty and students working in/on Africa from all colleges and units on campus
  • Foster interdisciplinary research to find imaginative solutions to contemporary social, cultural, medical, technological, and environmental problems
  • Serve as a public resource on Africa and Michigan’s involvement with it for the state and local community

Established in July 2008 within the International Institute, ASC is funded by the Office of the Provost and organized around four primary research initiatives that have been funded separately by the Office of the President:

African Heritage Initiative (AHI) supports research related to the arts, humanities, and interpretive social sciences, which highlights the dynamic, contested process by which African cultures and histories are made;

African Social Research Initiative (ASRI) promotes social science research on democratic governance and distributive politics; income dynamics and poverty; and gender, health, and development;

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Initiative (STEM-Africa) nurtures the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in Africa, which extends scientific knowledge and yields solutions to global problems; and

U-M African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS) Program supports the development of the next generation of African scholars by integrating them into international academic networks, and promotes U-M’s international commitment to research and teaching collaborations across diverse disciplines, from engineering to literature to economics.

Over the past eight years, the center has:

  • Strengthened and expanded institutional partnerships in Africa
  • Implemented a competitive student and faculty grants program to support research and travel
  • Strengthened Africa-focused curriculum and expanded education abroad programs in Africa
  • Sponsored numerous Africa-focused events at U-M and at partner institutions in Africa
  • Introduced new research projects that support research and knowledge on Africa