African American Studies Advisory Committee Report and Recommendations

May 2005

Executive Summary.

The committee recommends that African American studies eventually achieve the status of a

department. To thrive, the new unit needs to exploit the great wealth of resources represented by

faculty not currently affiliated with AA WS who have an interest in revitalizing the program. The

successful transition will best be achieved through a series of stages.

The reformation of African American studies should parallel other initiatives that invigorate the

study of African American life and culture at the UI. The committee recommends the creation of

a Center for Midwestern African American Life and Culture, to be administered by a university-

wide advisory committee. The Center will serve as a focus for research, scholarship and

programming, a locus for visiting faculty and a home for a post-doctoral program, and, by

focusing on an underemphasized aspect of the African American experience, serve as a

foundation for a research initiative that would be unique to the University of Iowa.

The Iowa Promise, the 2005- 20 1 0 strategic plan of the university, emphasizes diversity and its

significance to educational excellence, the need for undergraduates to obtain global competency,

and the need for the UI to effectively engage with its local, regional and global community

members. Curricular and research units focusing on African American studies should be a

catalyst for UI efforts on these fronts. The committee recommends a closer collaboration with

various UI constituencies, including the UI cultural centers and student, faculty and staff

organizations, as well as local and regional institutions to help create a beneficial climate.

A. Committee Composition and Charge

The African American Studies (AAS) Advisory Committee was appointed by Dean Maxson in

fall 2004 and began its work in January 2005. Committee members were:

Chair: Lauren Rabinovitz, Professor, American Studies

Loyce L. Arthur, Associate Professor, Theatre Arts

Venise T. Berry, Associate Professor, Journalism and Mass Communication

Marcella David, Professor of Law & International Studies and Office of the Provost

Ed Folsom, Carver Professor of English

Michael E. Lomax, Associate Professor, Health and Sport Studies

Raymond A. Mentzer, Krumm Family Chair of Reformation Studies, Religious Studies

Salome Raheim, Associate Professor, Social Work

Leslie A. Schwalm, Associate Professor, History

Brooks Landon, Professor and Collegiate Fellow, English (ex officio)

The committee was charged with advising the College on "how to achieve a visible, vital

presence in African American studies in order to meet the needs of the University's students and

faculty and to promote academic vitality and diversity on our campus."