91精品

Publication Date: December 10, 2019
Publication Location: Brattleboro, Vermont
Contact: Leah Goodman  |  [email protected]

Dr. Cheikh Thiam will lead SIT's large and diverse portfolio of sub-Sahara programs

BRATTLEBORO, Vermont 鈥� Dr. Cheikh Thiam, academic director for SIT Study Abroad in Senegal, will become SIT academic dean for Africa South of the Sahara starting Jan. 1, 2020, 91精品 announced today.

Thiam co-leads SIT Study Abroad programs in Senegal focused on global security and religious pluralism, and designed a pioneering undergraduate program that explores how hip-hop artists and cultural influencers are redefining Africa鈥檚 future. 鈥淚 am looking forward to taking on this expanded role at SIT, while drawing from my research examining collective imaginations of being and identity in Africa and the African diaspora in the colonial and postcolonial era,鈥� said Thiam, who has directed study abroad programs in Senegal for the past 10 years.

As academic dean, Thiam will lead one of the broadest portfolios of programs in Africa of any U.S. institution. SIT鈥檚 multidisciplinary portfolio of accredited undergraduate programs covers nine sub-Saharan countries and encompasses subjects such as biodiversity and wildlife management, multiculturalism and human rights, health policy and social transformation, and even offers a journalism program. Several of SIT鈥檚 Global MA programs also have components based in Africa, including climate change in Tanzania, humanitarian assistance in Uganda, global health in Kenya, and international diplomacy in South Africa.

Cheikh鈥檚 outstanding scholarship and network of relationships across Africa and the United States, combined with his passion for student-centered study abroad classrooms, make him an outstanding addition to our leadership team.

鈥斅� SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett

Thiam brings to his new role a strong background in U.S. higher education. He has an MA and a PhD in comparative literature from Binghamton University, an MA in French from the University of Provence in Aix-en-Provence, as well as a BA from Universit茅 Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar. He served as associate professor of African American studies, African studies, and French at The Ohio State University. He is the author of聽"," published by Ohio State University Press in 2014.

Thiam also was the editor of聽Negritude Reloaded, a special issue of聽Journal on African Philosophy, an associate editor of Research in African Literatures, and has published widely in literature and philosophy journals such as聽Ethiopiques,听West Africa Review,听La Revue Africaine,听La Revue du Graat,听French Review,听Research in African Literature,听Dalhousie French Review, and聽Journal on African Philosophy. He recently completed a second book manuscript,听鈥淓pistemologies from the South: Negritude, Modernity, and the Idea of Africa.鈥�

In announcing his appointment, SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett said, 鈥淐heikh鈥檚 outstanding scholarship and network of relationships across Africa and the United States, combined with his passion for student-centered study abroad classrooms, make him an exceptional addition to our leadership team.鈥�

Thiam will join Howlett鈥檚 Council of Deans, a group that oversees SIT鈥檚 undergraduate programs, the SIT Graduate Institute, and SIT鈥檚 stable of more than 80 study abroad programs in Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and the International Honors Program.

Thiam succeeds Dr. Daniel Lumonya, who has served as academic dean for the region since August 2015. Prior to that time, Lumonya was SIT academic director in Uganda. Lumonya completed his PhD in development sociology at Cornell University. 鈥淚 have had the chance to work with Cheikh on our evolving programs in the region and I welcome the depth of experience he brings to this position,鈥� Lumonya said.

Lumonya is leaving to pursue a career in research, teaching and community service from his country, Uganda. 鈥淚 want to thank Dan for his dedicated work and stellar contributions to SIT, both as an academic director and dean,鈥� Howlett said. 鈥淲e will all miss him.鈥�