Why We Need Your Support
AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES - WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
Since its start in 1970, the Department of African American Studies has grown to be one of the most successful programs in the country. The department offers a wide variety of courses leading to both undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates, as well as bridges into the English and history departments doctoral programs. We believe that the deepest understanding of the complex reality of race in America requires a truly interdisciplinary approach that draws on history and literature, the social sciences, and the arts. We are committed to bringing academic research to the broadest possible audience, and to do so, we need your support.
There are numerous ways in which additional support would help our department and communities. Gifts will be used to provide additional funding for recruitment to our master’s degree program and to support graduate students, most of whom come from underrepresented groups and families with limited resources. Funding support will be used toward graduate-student teaching and project assistantships, student research trips, and conference participation. In addition, we need funding to provide cultural and community-oriented programs beyond academic course offerings, something that is extremely important to our faculty, students, and community members. As a program that started as an outgrowth of the student concern for relevance in higher education, the work we do is essential for our college and community.