CAS Student Spotlight

Fallon Jiménez was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, where she did an MS and BS in Animal Production Sciences at the National University of Colombia.

African & African American Studies Summer Camp 2024

The School Board of Alachua County, in conjunction with the University of Florida Center for African Studies and the African American Studies Program, hosted its first African and African American Studies Summer Camp.

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of May 3rd

Raphael Osarense Iyamu, a computational linguist from Benin City, Nigeria, has recently earned his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Florida. With a foundational education in Linguistics from the […]

UF’s Carter Conference examines Africa’s future

Nicole Harris leads a discussion on innovative ways of infusing Africa and the diaspora in K-12 curriculum

CAS hosted its annual Gwendolen M. Carter Conference, uniting leading experts, scholars, students, and community members to address pressing issues facing Africa’s people and environments.

CAS Fall Outreach

In the month of October, Dr. Agness Leslie, fulfilling her role as the CAS Outreach Director, collaborated with UF students and professors to coordinate community engagement presentations at Eastside High […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of October 10th

Belay Alem is an international student who was born and raised in the Northern part of Ethiopia. He is a Ph. D candidate in the Department of Anthropology. Before starting […]

CAS Shining Student Spotlight: Khumo Nicole Senuku

Khumo Nicole Senuku is a graduating student from UF’s Master of Sustainable Development Practice program. Born and raised in Gaborone, Botswana, Khumo has always been deeply committed to community development, […]

CAS Shining Student Spotlight: Chioma Iyamu

Chioma Iyamu is from Nigeria and pursued her undergraduate degree in Accounting at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. She recently completed a master’s degree in Sustainable Development Practice, […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of April 19th

Macodou Fall is a PhD Candidate and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Religion at the University of Florida. He holds a BA and a Master’s degree in English from Cheikh […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of April 11th

Walter Tapondjou was born in Douala, Cameroon, in Central Africa. He describes himself as a proud Bamiléké from Dschang, a small city in the highland of the west region where […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of March 8th

Kayan Clarke was born and raised in Jamaica. She is a fourth year PhD Public Health student in the Environmental and Global Health Department. She completed her undergraduate studies at […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of March 1st

Grace Tovkach is a fourth-year undergraduate student, majoring in International Studies and Dual Languages (French and Russian). Although born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, her work and studies have taken […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of February 22nd

Lory is a 5th-year Ph.D. candidate in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. She obtained a B.S. and M.S. from Virginia Tech in Biological Systems Engineering. She traveled to Uganda several times […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of February 1st

Matthew is originally from Florida, though he spent significant time outside the state (and the country). He is a graduate student in the geography department, and he is closely connected […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of January 17th

Mosúnmọ́lá O. Adéòjó was born and raised in Nigeria before traveling in 2017 for a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistantship (FLTA) Program at Yale University. She is currently a Ph.D. […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of November 23rd

Khumo Senuku’s research examines systems thinking in addressing structural poverty among the formerly incarcerated– creating equitable and inclusive prosperity for all. She is conducting her study locally in Gainesville, working […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of November 9th

Amanda Ojeda was born and raised in Miami, Florida, with a heritage from Cuba and Venezuela. She is a microbiologist with five years of lab experience, including working in the […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of November 2nd

Cristovão Nwachukwu is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in English at the University of Florida. He obtained his B.A. in Portuguese and English language and literature in 2017 from the Federal […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of October 26th

Amie Edwards is a second-year Ph.D. Candidate in the College of Design Construction and Planning, School of Architecture. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design from the […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of October 19th

Faith Aiya is a second-year master’s student in the food and resource economics department. She hails from Edo, Nigeria, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 2017. Faith’s […]

CAS Community Spotlight: Pazeni Sauti Africa Choir and Eric Murianki (Director)

CAS Community Spotlight Pazeni Sauti Africa Choir and Eric Murianki (Director) Eric Murianki is Director of Pazeni Sauti and a graduate research assistant at the Center for Arts, Migration, and […]

Faculty Feature: Dr. Brian Child

Associate professor in the Department of Geography and the Center for African Studies Dr. Brian Child is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Center for African Studies. […]

Faculty Feature: Benjamin Soares

Professor in the Department of Religion Benjamin Soares is a scholar of Islam and Muslim societies in Africa whose research focuses on religious life from the early 20th century to […]

Faculty Feature: Fatimah Tuggar

Fatimah Tuggar | Associate professor in Art & Art History Interdisciplinary artist Tuggar was born in Nigeria and raised there and in the United Kingdom. She has studied, lived, and […]

Research Tutorial at Home Student Feature: Lauren Gilbertsen

Research Tutorial At Home with Dr. Rose Lugano Documentation of for a Kitaita (Kidaw’ida)-English Dictionary: Final Review in Preparation for publication The objective of the research was to conduct a […]

Undergraduate Research Tutorial at Home with Dr. Janzen

Glimpses of Haiti in West Africa, 1900-1920 Philip Janzen Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Florida In 2016, I was in Ibadan, Nigeria, reading through the Herbert Macaulay collection […]

CAS Outreach: Crump Elementary School – Virtual Africa Day Celebration (Summer 2021)

The Crump Elementary School in Memphis TN hosted a virtual Africa Day on May 25, 2021. Ms. Tanisha William- the organizer and teacher at Crumps elementary School is an alumnus […]

Student Feature: Katelyn Flaherty, Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellow

Katelyn Flaherty is a 4th year MD-PhD student in the Department of Environmental and Global Health. Her research focuses on pre-hospital care in low-and-middle income countries, specifically Ghana. Globally, leading […]

Dr. Child Selected for Honorary Position as African Councilor for IUCN

Dr. Brian Child was asked to stand to be one of four African Councilors for IUCN by the African Community Leaders Forum and others. Following the recent global elections at […]

New Faculty Feature: Rujeko Dumbutshena

Rujeko Dumbutshena Assistant Professor, School of Theatre & Dance Please join the Center for African Studies in welcoming Rujeko Dumbutshena as Assistant Professor in the School of Theatre and Dance. […]

Welcome to Kiyesha Brooks

CAS Administrative Support Assistant I Please join the Center for African Studies in welcoming our new Administrative Support Assistant I, Kiyesha Brooks, to the Main Office Team. Kiyesha will be […]

Marit Østebø Named 2021-2024 Term Professor

Congratulations to Dr. Marit Østebø, recently named a 2021-2024 Term Professor at University of Florida. These three-year professorships were created by UF to recognize faculty who have established a distinguished record […]

Introducing Dr. Rose Lugano as Programs in African Languages Coordinator

The Program in African Languages (PAL) is one of the Center for African Studies’ central components in its mission to work with the rest of the University in promoting Africa-related studies on […]

MDP Student Ange Asanzi Presents Work on Inequality in Alachua County

Watch the presentation here and read a summary of her work below! Summary In this presentation, Ange presents the results of her MDP field practicum research through which she explored […]

CAS Welcomes Dr. David Rifkind to UF

David Rifkind will join the UF faculty July 1 as Director of the School of Architecture after 14 years at Florida International University. Trained as an architect and as an […]

CAS Outreach with Belay Alem

Ancestral Lands in FL and the Home Sweet Home Project Belay Alem (Graduate Student, CAS & Anthropology) recently was accepted as a volunteer research associate in the Three Rivers Legal […]

Virtual Speakers for Black History Month at Newberry Elementary School

Newberry FL February 22- 26, 2021 The Assistant Principal of Newbery Elementary School invited the CAS graduate students to speak at their Black History Month (Week). They presented to students […]

Outreach at Crumps Elementary School

With Oyindamola Oyebade Global Learning Series- Nigeria 02/25/2021 Oyindamola gave a presentation in Ms. Tanisha Williams’ class in Crumps Elementary School in Memphis, TN on February 27, 2021. She gave […]

Felicity Tackey-Otoo Presents at Three Local Schools

“The Cloth Talk: Meaning of Some Selected Wax Prints” Terwilliger Elementary School, Gainesville 2/3/2021 Irby Elementary School, Alachua 2/5/2021 Lake Forest Elementary School, Gainesville 2/11/2021 Felicity presented at these three […]

Nicole Harris named 2021 Alachua County Teacher of the Year

Ms. Nicole Harris was awarded the Teacher of the Year for Alachua County. She was awarded the Teacher of the Year at Gainesville High School last year. She is an alumna of the Teacher’s […]

Recap: SASA with Ayobami Edun

On Feb 10th, 2021, Ayobami Edun, a PhD Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UF presented at the SASA (Students in African Studies Association) meeting. His lecture was titled, […]

CAS Community Outreach

Graduate Student Maurine Andia Akifuma Presents at Idylwild Elementary School “The Role of Domesticated Animals in African Communities and the Lion King Movie,” by Maurine Andia Akifuma at ldylwild Elementary School, […]

Dr. Mandisa Haarhoff at ASA 2020 Teacher’s Training Session

COVID 19 in Africa: The Danger of a Stereotype Lens Dr. Mandisa Haarhoff This presentation reflected on how stereotypes continue to be a framework for making sense of African countries. […]

Doro Wot (ዶሮ ውጥ) with Kyle Fahey

Doro Wot (ዶሮ ውጥ) Graduate Student Kyle Fahey is a talented chef. He knows how to make Ethiopian dishes, like this Doro Wat, with the help and experience of the […]

Ms. Harris (GHS) Awarded Teacher of the Year

Ms. Nicole Harris was awarded the Teacher of the Year at Gainesville High School. She is an alumna of the Teacher’s Summer Institute hosted by the Center for African Studies. She […]

Candace Aho: Administrative Support Assistant I

Candace grew up in Gainesville loving the University of Florida. She attended Westwood Middle School & Gainesville High School and graduated from Florida State University with a BS Hospitality Administration. […]

Returning from the Field: Graduate Student Megan Cogburn on Research and Motherhood

Research Post Written by Megan Cogburn (PhD Candidate, Anthropology) For the past 8 months I have been in Tanzania completing a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research project. My ethnographic research focuses […]

Africa Museum Night: Beyond the Mask

Africa Museum Night: Beyond the Mask On Thursday February 13, the Harn Museum of Art hosted Africa Museum Night: Beyond the Mask. The event provided attendees with the opportunity to […]

Spotlight Feature: James Inedu-George, CAS Architect-in-Residence

The Center for African Studies welcomes James Inedu-George, who joins the Center as Architect-in-Residence over the next few weeks. Inedu-George currently works as Architect and Head of Design Services for […]

Student Feature: Martina Onyenwe

Martina Onyenwe is a 3rd year Public Health and International Studies dual degree student. She has a minor in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance as well as a certificate in Geospatial […]

Student Feature: Savannah Hall

Savannah Hall is a third year anthropology student, currently focusing her studies on zooarchaeology. She has studied Kiswahili at the University of Florida since her first semester, and continues to […]

Graduating Student Feature: Dr. Mandisa Haarhoff

Mandisa Haarhoff graduated this semester with a Ph.D. in English Literature. She became involved in the Center for African Studies through her committee member, Professor Emeritus Dr. Hunt Davis. Dr. Agnes […]

Research Feature: Riley Ravary

Our own Programs and Communications Officer, Riley Ravary, will bid a eight-month farewell to the Center as she heads to Uganda for dissertation research on a Fulbright-Hays DDRA grant. Riley’s research […]

Student Feature: Melody Mullally, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Melody Mullally is a senior Undergraduate student in Anthropology, History, and Botany. In spring of 2017, she participated in the University of Florida’s study abroad program in Ethiopia, researching Stone […]

Staff Spotlight: Raeann Meyerhoff

Please join the Center in welcoming Raeann Meyerhoff, our new Administrative Support Assistant. Raeann is a recent University of Florida graduate and has a B.A. in International Studies with a focus […]

Student Feature: Carli Snyder, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

In her work this semester at the Center for African studies, Carli Snyder hopes gain more knowledge and insight on how she can forward the Center as much as possible in my […]

Student Feature: Morgan Ungrady, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Morgan Ungrady is a 4th year Political Science major. She has a specialty in International Relations as well as a minor in French. Morgan has been involved with the Center for African […]

Student Feature: Melody Mullally, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Melody Mullally is a senior Undergraduate student in Anthropology, History, and Botany. In Spring of 2017, she participated in the University of Florida’s study abroad program in Ethiopia, researching Stone Age […]

Student Feature: Mouhamadou Hoyeck, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Mouhamadou Hoyeck is a 4th year political science major and African Studies minor. Throughout his two years spent at the University of Florida as an undergraduate student, Mouhamadou has participated extensively in […]

Student Feature: Elisabeth Rios-Brooks, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Elisabeth Rios-Brooks is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Florida. She is currently double majoring in Anthropology and International Studies with a focus on Africa. Her involvement throughout her […]

Student Feature: Ayobami Simeon Edun

Ayobami Simeon Edun is a first-year master’s student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. He graduated from Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria in […]

Student Feature: Dan Eizenga

Dan Eizenga is a PhD Student in Political Science focused on the Sahel. During his first two years as a PhD Student, Dan benefitted from Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships […]

Student Feature: Kehinde Ojo

Kehinde Ojo is a second-year master’s student in the Department of Food and Resource Economics, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Florida. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in […]

Student Feature: Laurin Baumgardt

Laurin Baumgardt is a first year PhD student in Anthropology. His prospective PhD research centers on questions of urban innovation, humanitarian design, and urban planning strategies. The research will be based […]

Student Feature: Emmanuel Akande

Emmanuel Akande is a 3rd year Ph.D. student in the Department of Food and Resource Economics (FRE). He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics from University of Lagos, Nigeria, in 2008 […]

Student Feature: Sarah Meyers

Sarah Meyers is a Center for African Studies graduate student in Anthropology. She is a first year student and holds a FLAS Fellowship with the Center. Her research examines the use […]

Student Feature: Fezile Mtsetfwa

Fezile Mtsetfwa is a PhD student at the School of Natural Resources and Environment enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Ecology Program. She also works for the Center for African Studies as the […]

Outreach Feature: Felicity and Ebenezer Tackey-Otoo

Eastside High School Felicity Tackey-Otoo was at the Eastside High School on Thursday November 2, 2017 to give a presentation on traditional and modern dressing in Ghana during their History […]

Student Feature: Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim is a PhD candidate in political science and a research associate with the Sahel Research Group. His dissertation, “Political Contestation and Islamic Discourses in the Sahel: Global […]

Outreach Feature: Megan Cogburn and Jordan MacKenzie

Megan Cogburn (PhD student, Anthropology) and Jordan MacKenzie (CAS Adjunct Lecturer, Swahili) recently led a Tanzania/Swahili club at Littlewood Elementary School in Gainesville as a part of their multi-age classroom program. Megan and Jordan showed […]