African Studies receives grant

The University's African Studies program, in cooperation with Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore colleges, has received a $520,000 Title VI grant from the U. S. Department of Education, according to Sandra Barnes, chairperson of the African Studies steering committee. "[The grant] will allow us to establish a very viable program for the study of Africa at the undergraduate level," Political Science Professor Thomas Callaghy said. The African Studies program at the University has been developing and expanding over the past six years. In June, Barnes applied for the grant, which was approved in the early fall. The grant will allow the four-school consortium to establish an African Studies Undergraduate National Resource Center, which will be located on the University campus, temporarily in the museum building. The center will be the coordinating body for the expansion of the program, Barnes said. "There are very few African study centers in the United States," Barnes said. "Penn will now become one of those few." The consortium held its first grant-sponsored activity on November 5. Faculty and community members participated in a day-long workshop, including seminars and speakers. "It demonstrated what is possible," Haverford Political Science Professor Harvey Glickmam said. "You have a first class group of people who will be able to share ideas." Professors in each school are planning to develop more courses, seminars, workshops and other programs. They also hope to bring in outside speakers, both from the local area and from Africa. "Our three colleges are now better integrated with Penn in African studies," Glickmam said. "It's good news for both graduate and undergraduate students." Ray Hopkins, a political science professor at Swarthmore, said the reason for the grant is that Swarthmore does not have the resources to develop a comprehensive African studies program alone. "By combining resources ? we're going to facilitate the concentration of African Studies for undergraduate students," he said. "What is most exciting is what happens outside of the classroom," Bryn Mawr Sociology Professor Mary Osirim said. "We'll be putting students in direct contact with African culture." Osirim added that she hopes to develop opportunities for students in the consortium to study, intern or do research in Africa. Another possibility, Hopkins said, would be an Africa Day celebration on all four campuses. "[The grant] is going to really cement the message that there is ? an involved community out there," Anthropology graduate student Ivonne Teh said. "It gives us recognition and more money to do bigger and greater things."