Niara Sudarkasa

Niara Sudarkasa

"Dr. Sudarkasa, scholar in residence at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, previously served for nearly 12 years as president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. A renowned anthropologist, Dr. Sudarkasa is an authority on the roles of African women, Yoruba trade and migration in West Africa, and African and African?American family structure.

"She was an assistant professor at New York University and at the University of Michigan, where she rose to full professor. She also served as associate vice president for academic affairs at Michigan, directed the Center for AfroAmerican and African Studies, and was a research scientist at the Center for Research on Economic Development. A former Senior Fulbright Research Fellow and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. Sudarkasa has served on 20 state and national boards, including the inaugural USIA Trilateral Task Force on North American Education, linking the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

"She was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the Peace Corps National Advisory Council and by President Bill Clinton to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. Dr. Sudarkasa has received 13 honorary degrees from U.S. and African universities and is one of 75 women included in Brian Lanker's book, I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America.“


 * Director, Academy for Educational Development