Welcome to the fall semester from the African Studies Center (ASC)! I hope your summer was both productive and restorative, and that you are stepping into the semester with renewed energy. The start of fall always fills campus with fresh vibrancy as students and faculty return, reminding us of our shared responsibility to keep the ASC among the leading centers of African Studies in the United States and a global leader in advancing critical scholarship, partnerships, and global learning on and with Africa. Among the 400 international students joining MSU this year, we are delighted to welcome 70 from Africa, a reminder of the vitality of our community and the opportunities before us. 

This semester marks the second half of our 65th anniversary celebrations—65 years of impact through research, teaching, outreach, and engagement in Africa, at MSU, in Michigan, and beyond. We had a very busy spring packed with commemorative events. This past summer, we proudly showcased the celebration with and at the Alliance for African Partnership annual meeting in Malawi and in partnering with the inspiring Malawi Colloquium 2025 in co-celebrating 40 years of groundbreaking, lifesaving research on cerebral malaria and Dr. Terrie Taylor’s leadership in this transformative work. Looking ahead, we invite you to join us for several public-facing anniversary events, including a six-month Africa Exhibit at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, a three-month exhibit at the MSU Library, and a performance by Zimbabwean musician Charles Mapfungo at the Wharton Center. 

At the same time, we acknowledge the difficult financial environment in higher education and here at MSU. The ASC faces an 11.2% budget reduction this year, alongside continued uncertainty about the Department of Education’s Title VI and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) for this year and about the program. These programs are vital to sustaining a cadre of globally informed experts and to maintaining U.S. competitiveness. If you are able, I encourage you to make your voice heard by contacting your congressional representatives using the pre-drafted Action Alert here: https://p2a.co/08Euvjp. 

Despite these headwinds, we continue to move forward with resilience and purpose. Last academic year we awarded nearly $500,000 in FLAS fellowships and faculty and student research and curriculum in the 2024-25 financial year, enhanced global learning, and deepened community outreach in Michigan. Through the Africa@MSU collaboration, we continue to pursue efficiencies including pooling resources with the Alliance for African Partnership (AAP), the Partnerships for Sustainable Community Development’s Tanzania Partnership Program (TPP), and other units to support student research, faculty internationalization, and global engagement. 

In the months ahead, we will prioritize sustaining ASC’s core strengths—faculty support, African language and curriculum development, student support, reimagined outreach, and global learning innovation through models such as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). To remain strong, we are also diversifying our funding sources, rethinking programs, and consolidating resources, while continuing to highlight faculty, student, and alumni excellence through an improved newsletter and streamlined but more impactful Eye on Africa and African Tea Time series. 

I warmly invite you to join us in upcoming events: our ASC Fall Welcome Event on September 12, the Faculty Welcome Event on October 17, and your participation in Advisory Committee elections as we thank outgoing members, Dr. Krista Isaacs, Dr. Walter Hawthorne, Dr. Terrie Taylor and Dr. Deo Ngonyani for their dedicated service and counsel. I am deeply grateful to the hardworking ASC staff for their dedication under challenging circumstances, and I thank you—faculty, students, and partners—for your continued engagement. 

As we enter this academic year, let us carry a spirit of resilience, innovation, and shared purpose. The challenges before us are real, but together we can reimagine, adapt, and thrive. For 65 years, the ASC has flourished thanks to its people—thanks to you. Now, let us move boldly into the future with courage, creativity, and conviction. 

Wishing you a successful semester, 
Leo C. Zulu 
Director, African Studies Center