University of Connecticut |Mission Statement
Established in 1989, the primary mission of the Institute for African American Studies (IAAS) is to enlighten and inform the University of Connecticut community and the people of the State of Connecticut, nation and the world about the history, culture, contributions and experiences of people of African descent in the United States and abroad. To achieve this goal, the IAAS promotes high quality research, scholarship, and teaching of the African American experience and sponsors a wide variety of programs on topics and issues that are critical to Black America and pertinent to a better understanding of the Black world.
The IAAS functions with a director and tenured as well as tenure-track faculty with specializations in a broad range of disciplines and a special interest in the African American and African Diaspora experience. Our faculty have joint appointments in the departments of history, sociology, music, drama, art and art history, political science, English, women studies, psychology, and Caribbean and Latino studies. We also have affiliate faculty in the physical sciences. We also have a program coordinator, an advisory board, teaching and research fellows, and student assistants. The Institute is centrally located on the main campus in Storrs, with offices in Wood Hall.
Professor Olu Oguibe, Interim Director
Ms. Rose Lovelace, Program Coordinator
Phone (860) 486-3630