SADAH Professor Elected Vice President of African Studies Association

UPDATE: Dr. Adérónké Adésànyà now serves as President of the African Studies Association as of November 2022.

SADAH professor Adérónké Adésànyà has been elected to serve as vice president of the African Studies Association, an international, 2,000-member organization that promotes a better understanding of all facets of the African continent, including its politics, economics, society, culture and art.

Election to ASA vice presidency constitutes a three-year commitment to the ASA. As vice-president, Adésànyà will chair two of the most important committees: the Annual Meeting Committee and the Nominations Committee. She also will work closely with the president, offering support and advice on day-to-day matters of the association.

"This call to service is a big deal," says Adésànyà. "It offers a platform to be able to put new issues concerning the field on the front burner, work on relations between Africa and the world; and open up the space for young voices."

Adésànyà has served as a board member during her 15 years of membership in the ASA. During the annual meeting in November that she is helping to plan, Adésànyà will be a speaker in the “Author Meets Critics” forum to discuss The Yoruba: A New History, a groundbreaking new book by Akin Ogundiran.

Earlier this year, Adésànyà joined the Museum Advisory Board of the new Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art of Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria. YSMA-PAU is the first independent art museum within a university structure in that country; its goal is to preserve and create educational programs about Nigerian art. The museum was founded with a contribution of 1,000 art pieces from Prince Shyllon's private collection, the largest in Nigeria.