Affiliated Faculty | African Studies Program

Affiliated faculty are listed alphabetically, noting their geographic areas of Africa experience, teaching and research.

If you are a faculty member at Pitt with interest and are interested in affiliating with African Studies, please complete our online form and attach your current CV for consideration to join our affiliated faculty.

Barry Ames

Andrew W. Mellon Professor and Department Chair
barrya@pitt.edu
(412) 648-7276
View Website

Department:

Political Science

Regions of Interest:

Southern Africa

Countries of Interest:

Mozambique

Research:

Comparative Politics; Decentralization/ Devolution of Political Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Susan Andrade

Associate Professor
sza@pitt.edu
(412) 624-6550
View Website

Department:

English

Regions of Interest:

West Africa

Research:

Cultural/Women's Studies, Post-Colonial African Literature, and African Fiction

Danielle Andrews-Brown

Lecturer and Environmental Studies Program Coordinator
dma65@pitt.edu
412-624-6615
View Website

Department:

Geology and Environmental Science

Regions of Interest:

Southern Africa

Countries of Interest:

South Africa

Research:

Water and Soil Quality

Elena Baylis

Associate Professor
ebaylis@pitt.edu
(412)-867-8690
View Website

Department:

Law

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, Central Africa

Countries of Interest:

Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone

Research:

International Law and the Interaction Between International and Community Groups in Post-Conflict States

Eric Kwadwo O. Beeko

Adjunct Faculty, Department of Africana Studies & Department of Music
erb16@pitt.edu
(412) 648-7548
View Website

Department:

Music, Africana Studies

Regions of Interest:

West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa

Research:

Ethnomusicology; Performing Arts; Ghanaian Neo-Pentecostal Performance Traditions; Black Performance Aesthetics and Politics of Identity

Yodit Betru

Assistant Professor
ykb2@pitt.edu
412-624-6854
View Website

Department:

Nursing

Carol Mastrangelo Bove

Senior Lecturer
cbove@pitt.edu
(412) 624-6631
View Website

Department:

English

Regions of Interest:

North Africa, Southern Africa

Research:

World Literature and Film; Translation Studies; and Literature and Psychoanalysis

Jerome Branche

Professor of Latin American and Cultural Studies
branche@pitt.edu
(412) 624-5468
View Website

Department:

Hispanic Languages and Literatures

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

Racialized Modernity and How Creative Writers Imagine and Articulate Slavery, Freedom, the Nation, Being, and Gender

Ronald A. Brand

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg University Professor, Academic Director, Center for International Legal Education
rbrand@pitt.edu
(412) 648-1307
View Website

Department:

Law

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Countries of Interest:

Kenya, Tunisia

Research:

International Legal Education, Private International Law, Comparative Law, Dispute Resolution

Betty Braxter

Assistant Professor, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
bjbst32@pitt.edu
(412) 624-7188
View Website

Department:

Nursing

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

Women and Adolescent Health

Robin Brooks

Assistant Professor
rob88@pitt.edu
412-624-3356
View Website

Department:

Africana Studies

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Countries of Interest:

Jamaica, U.S.

Research:

20th and 21st Century Literature, African-American, Caribbean, and American Multiethnic Literatures, Feminist Theories and Postcolonial Studies

Thuy D. Bui

Associate Professor and Global Health Tract Director
buithuy@pitt.edu
(412) 692-4888
View Website

Department:

Medicine

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, Central Africa

Countries of Interest:

Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania

Research:

Social Determinants of Health, Global Health Education, Clinical Reasoning

Heath Cabot

Assistant Professor
hcabot@pitt.edu
412-648-7500
View Website

Department:

Anthropology

Macrina Chelagat Lelei

Adjunct Assistant Professor
macrina@pitt.edu
412-648-2058
View Website

Department:

Administrative and Policy Studies

Regions of Interest:

Africa, East Africa

Countries of Interest:

Kenya

Research:

Education in Africa, International Development, Access and Opportunities, Gender equity

Danny Choi

Assistant Professor
dannychoi@pitt.edu
412-648-7275
View Bio

Department:

Political Science

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Kenya, Zambia, Ghana

Research:

Comparative Politics, Elections and Representation, Political Parties, and Identity Politics

Christopher R. Cook

Assistant Professor, Pitt Johnstown Director of International Studies, Pitt Johnstown
ccook@pitt.edu
(814) 269-2977
View Website

Department:

Political Science

Regions of Interest:

Central Africa

Countries of Interest:

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Research:

Peacekeeping, The Connection Between Conflict and Economic Exploitation, Media and Press Perceptions of African Conflict

Yolanda Covington-Ward

Assistant Professor
YDC1@Pitt.edu
(412) 648-7556
View Website

Department:

Anthropology, Africana Studies

Regions of Interest:

West Africa, Central Africa

Countries of Interest:

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia

Research:

Anthropology, Cultural Performance

Neil Doshi

Assistant Professor of French
doshi@pitt.edu
(412) 624-6260
View Website

Department:

French & Italian Languages & Literatures

Regions of Interest:

North Africa

Countries of Interest:

Algeria

Research:

The Relationships Between Textual Forms and Live Performance in Postcolonial Contexts

Gerald Douglas

Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics
gpd6@pitt.edu
412-648-9323
View Website

Department:

Medicine

Regions of Interest:

Southern Africa

Countries of Interest:

Malawi

Research:

Health information systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abimbola Fapohunda

Instructor
aof3@pitt.edu
412-648-4165
View Website

Department:

Behavioral and Community Health Sciences

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Tanzania, Nigeria

Research:

Racial and Ethnic Health Disparaties

Steven Finkel

Department Chair and Daniel H. Wallace Professor of Political Science
finkel@pitt.edu
(412) 648-7283
View Website

Department:

Political Science

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, Southern Africa

Countries of Interest:

Kenya, South Africa

Research:

Comparative Political Behavior; Public Opinion; Democratization

Muge Finkel

Assistant Professor
mfinkel@pitt.edu
(412) 383-9483
View Website

Department:

Public and International Affairs

Regions of Interest:

North Africa

Countries of Interest:

Egypt, Morocco

Research:

Social Policy, Economic Development

Sandra Founds

Associate Professor, Coordinator of the Family Nurse Practitioner Area of Concentration
foundss@pitt.edu
(412) 624-3822
View Website

Department:

Nursing

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

Research of Quantitative of Five Genes Differentially; Women's Health and Pregnancy

Felix Germain

Associate Professor
ffg4@pitt.edu
412-648-2024
View Website

Department:

Africana Studies

Regions of Interest:

West Africa

Countries of Interest:

France, the Caribbean, West Africa, and the United States

Research:

Race Relations, Colonization, Decolonization, Postcolonial Migration, Labor Relations, Black Social Movements, and Gender Relations

Laurence Glasco

Associate Professor
lag1@pitt.edu
(412) 648-7486
View Website

Department:

History

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

Race, Ethnicity, Urban History

Shelome Gooden

Associate Professor and Department Chair
sgooden@pitt.edu
(412)-624-5922
View Website

Department:

Linguistics

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

African American Vernacular English, Creole Languages

Arif Jamal

Liason Librarian
ajamal@pitt.edu
412-648-7759
View Website

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Lauren Jonkman

Assistant Professor, Coordinator of International Pharmacy Student Experiences
ljf1@pitt.edu
412-648-8563
View Website

Department:

Pharmacy

Regions of Interest:

Southern Africa

Countries of Interest:

Namibia, Malawi

Research:

Public Health, International Pharmacy Practice

Jacob Kigo Kariuki

Assistant Professor
kigok@pitt.edu
412-624-8149
View Website

Department:

Nursing

Regions of Interest:

East Africa

Countries of Interest:

Global

Research:

Health Equity, Global Health, Cardiovascular Health Disparity

Lois Kepes

Liaison Librarian, University of Librarian System
lois@pitt.edu
(412)-648-7578
View Website

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Julius Kitutu

Associate Professor & Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Alumni Relations
jmm@pitt.edu
(412)-624-6910
View Website

Department:

Nursing

Regions of Interest:

Africa

Research:

Research Computing and Statistics

Macrina Lelei

Associate Director
macrina@pitt.edu
412-648-2058
View Bio

Filipo Lubua

Swahili Instructor, Less Commonly Taught Languages Center
lubua@pitt.edu
412-624-5512
View Website

Department:

Linguistics

Regions of Interest:

East Africa

Countries of Interest:

Tanzania, Kenya & USA

Research:

Academic entrepreneurship in Instructional Technology, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Self-learning in LCTLs, Instructional technology and design, Online learning and teaching.

Paul Nelson

Associate Professor
pjnelson@pitt.edu
(412)-648-7645
View Website

Department:

Public and International Affairs

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

Human Rights and International Development

Solomon Ofori-Acquah

Associate Professor, Hematology/Oncology Division
sfo2@pitt.edu
(412) 648-9231
View Website

Department:

Medicine

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania

Research:

Molecular Hematology, Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), and Endothelial Biology Related to Novel Therapies for Pulmonary Vascular Dysfunctions

Mary Ohmer

Associate Professor, COSA Chair
mlo51@pitt.edu
412-624-8214
View Website

Department:

Sociology

Regions of Interest:

West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Ghana

Research:

Social work and field placements in NGOs in Ghana

Jennifer Petrie-Wyman

Assistant Director and Adjunct Faculty
jlp224@pitt.edu
724-272-4852

Department:

Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, West Africa

Research:

Ethical Leadership in Africa; Women's Leadership in Africa; Decolonizing the curriculum; African Performing Arts

Louis Picard

Public Administration Program Director, Professor
picard@pitt.edu
(412)-624-7918
View Website

Department:

Public and International Affairs

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Ghana, Guinea, South Africa, Morocco, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Ethiopia, Eritrea

Research:

African Politics, human security, international development

Maureen Porter

Faculty, Project Director, Fulbright-Hays on Ethiopia
mporter@pitt.edu
412-648-7041
View Website

Department:

Education

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa

Research:

Human Rights, Migration, Culturally-Responsive Education Policy

Shalini Puri

Professor, Director Literature Program
spuri@pitt.edu
(412)-624-2824
View Website

Department:

English

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

Post-Colonial, Cultural Studies

Marcus Rediker

Distinguished Professor
red1@pitt.edu
(412)-648-7477
View Website

Department:

History

Regions of Interest:

West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Sierra Leone

Research:

Africa and the Atlantic,Early American History,Atlantic History,

Michele Reid-Vazquez

Assistant Professor
mbr31@pitt.edu
(412) 624-7206
View Website

Department:

Africana Studies

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

African Diaspora in the Atlantic and Caribbean

Serena Rivera

Visiting Assistant Professor
ser86@pitt.edu
412-624-2703
View Website

Department:

Hispanic Languages and Literatures

Regions of Interest:

Southern Africa, West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola

Research:

Intersections of Food, Gender and Race in Lusophone African and Latin American Literatures, Abject Food Politics in Lusophone African and Latin American Literature, The Politics of Food and the Body, Women's and Gender and Sexuality Studies

Pernille Røge

Assistant Professor
per20@pitt.edu
412-648-7451
View Website

Department:

History

Regions of Interest:

West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Senegal

Research:

Eighteenth-century France and Europe, Early Modern European Empires, Atlantic History, Intellectual History

Taylor Seybolt

Director, Ford Institute for Human Security Associate; Associate Professor
seybolt@pitt.edu
(412) 624-8691
View Website

Department:

Public and International Affairs

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan and South Sudan (Darfur Region)

Research:

Humanitarian Intervention and Ethnic Conflict

Oronde Sharif

Lecturer, Major Advisor, Curriculum Coordinator
senegal1@pitt.edu
(412)-648-2276
View Website

Department:

Africana Studies

Regions of Interest:

West Africa

Research:

African dance

Matiangai Sirleaf

Assistant Professor
matiangai.sirleaf@pitt.edu
(412) 648-1364
View Website

Department:

Law

Regions of Interest:

Southern Africa, West Africa

Countries of Interest:

Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa

Research:

Public International Law, International Human Rights Law, Comparative Law, International Criminal Law, the Law of Emerging Nations as well as Law & Development

John Stoner

Executive Director for Academic Affairs, UCIS; Lecturer
stonerjc@pitt.edu
(412)-648-7485
View Website

Department:

History

Regions of Interest:

Southern Africa

Countries of Interest:

South Africa

Research:

Modern South Africa, American Cold War policy in Africa

Amir Syed

Visiting Assistant Professor
amir.syed@pitt.edu
412-648-7451
View Website

Department:

History

Regions of Interest:

West Africa

Research:

Construction of religious authority, scholarly culture, and Islamic knowledge practices

Christel Temple

Associate Professor
cnt15@pitt.edu
(412)-648-7556
View Website

Department:

Africana Studies

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

African,diaspora literature,cultural theory

Nuno Themudo

Associate Professor
themudo@pitt.edu
(412)-648-7432
View Website

Department:

Public and International Affairs

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

Public organization management, environment and development policy, corruption and transnational governance

Janice Vance

Assistant Professor of Communication Science and Disorders
jvance@pitt.edu
412-383-6562
View Website

Department:

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, Southern Africa

Countries of Interest:

Tanzania, South Africa

Research:

Applied linguistics,prosodic processing in children and adults, acquired neurogenic speech and language disorder

Peter Veldkamp

Director of Education, Division of Infectious Diseases
veldkampp@dom.pitt.edu
(412)-383-1675
View Website

Department:

Medicine

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

HIV/AIDS, global health, general infectious diseases and tropical infections

Karin Elisabeth Warner

Professor
DrKarinWarner@pitt.edu
412-383-7746
View Website

Department:

Nursing

Mari Webel

Assistant Professor
mwebel@pitt.edu
(412) 648-7451
View Website

Department:

History

Regions of Interest:

East Africa

Research:

Modern Africa, History of Health and Disease, Environmental History, Imperialism and Colonialism

Josef Werne

Department Chair
jwerne@pitt.edu
(412) 624-8775
View Website

Department:

Geology and Environmental Science

Regions of Interest:

East Africa

Countries of Interest:

The East African Rift Valley, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia

Research:

Paleoclimate & Environmental Change, Biogeochemistry and Geobiology, Limnology

Sylvanus Wosu

Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Diversity
snn2@pitt.edu
(412)-624-9842
View Website

Department:

Swanson School of Engineering

Regions of Interest:

East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa

Research:

Mechanical Engineering