A Malawian academic, Prof Paul Tiyambe Zeleza has been appointed Vice Chancellor of the United States International University-Africa (USIU-A), with effect from January 1 2016.
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Prof Paul Tiyambe Zeleza[/caption]
According to a statement from the institution’s Board of Trustees, Zeleza’s appointment was made Wednesday after a rigorous, extensive recruitment process which kicked off a few months
Zeleza, who was also appointed vice president for academic affairs at Quinnipiac university of Hamden, Connecticut in the United States of America, will replace Professor Freida Brown, who has served the University for the last 21 years.
“Dr Zeleza will work in close alignment with the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and other members of the Management Council, to oversee a broad spectrum of activities including the four academic schools, student affairs, admissions, registration, library, faculty development, information technology, operations and the implementation of the strategic plan,” the statement reads in part.
The University’s Chancellor, Manu Chandaria, said all parties are committed to helping Zeleza to succeed.
Brown said he is pleased that he will be succeeded by a distinguished Malawian academic and manager who has much to offer the University at all levels.
He wished Zeleza “ every success in continuing the development of the United States International University-Africa and its work.”
Fact file
Zeleza joined Loyola Marymount University in 2009 as the dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts and as presidential professor of African American studies and history. Before that, he served as head of the Department of African-American Studies and as liberal arts and sciences distinguished professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Malawi and his master's from the University of London, where he studied African history and international relations. He holds a Ph.D. in economic history from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Zeleza's academic work has crossed traditional boundaries, ranging from economic and intellectual history to human rights, gender studies and diaspora studies.
He has published more than 300 journal articles, book chapters, reviews, online essays and short stories and authored or edited 26 books, several of which have won international awards including Africa's most prestigious book prize, the Noma Award, for his books "A Modern Economic History of Africa" (1993) and "Manufacturing African Studies and Crises" (1997). His most recent books include "Barack Obama and African Diasporas: Dialogues and Dissensions" (2009) and "In Search of African Diasporas: Testimonies and Encounters" (2012).
He has presented nearly 250 keynote addresses, papers, and public lectures at leading universities and international conferences in 31 countries and served on the editorial boards of more than two-dozen journals and book series and edited a personal online magazine, The Zeleza Post.
Zeleza was recognized by the Carnegie Corporation in a New York Times advertisement for being one of 43 immigrants whose contributions have enhanced America. -
Tiyambe Zeleza novel Smouldering Charcoal is part of the senior secondary school literature curriculum,.