African American Studies
R. Tunde Adeleke, Director

The African American Studies Program has been in existence for almost two decades, but remains a fledgling effort- in some respects for deliberate reasons. The leaders of the program seek to develop a program that is ultimately a dynamic response to the ISU environment, particularly the students, while tracking national and international trends in the discipline.

The mission of the African American Studies Program is to positively impact ISU students through academic offerings that challenge them to active involvement in their learning while meeting high and rising expectations. The academic program will be centered around the research, teaching and service of sensitive colleagues who understand the relation between high quality research and creative pedagogy based on high expectations.

Currently the program focuses on raising student expectations as well as active involvement in the learning process. This is done through courses as well as student support programs. The program offers one core course, Introduction to African American Studies (AfAm 201), as well as a series of cross-listed courses that fulfill program expectations. Students may minor in African American Studies by taking the core course plus 12 additional credit hours.

The student support programs annually involve 60-100 students in academically focused activities designed to increase their academic performance and ultimately their persistence to graduation. In Spring 2004 these efforts were recognized in a special edition of the FOCUS magazine published by The Lumina Foundation for Education that gave national attention to meritorious programs that promoted student persistence to graduation. The theme of the FOCUS magazine was "Refuse to Lose."